Email server for processing a threshold number of email jobs for a given user and related methods

• US 8,799,368 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2006
• Issued: 08/05/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Clarke, David James
• Primary Examiner(s): Truong, Camquy
• Application Number:
  US11/383,272
• Publication Number:
  US 20070073720A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,004 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709217-218, 718/101
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/466 Transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/226 Delivery according to priorities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

An electronic mail (email) server may include a pending email job queue manager for storing a plurality of email jobs for a plurality of users, and a processing email job queue manager. The processing email job queue manager may be for processing a threshold number of email jobs from the pending email job queue manager for a given user if a plurality of email jobs greater than the threshold number are available from the pending email job queue manager for the given user.

Claims

1. An electronic mail (email) server apparatus comprising:

at least one email job queue processor configured to;

store email jobs for a user account;

compare received email jobs for the user account with the stored email jobs, and discard any of the received email jobs that are duplicates of the stored email jobs;

select a plurality of the stored email jobs associated with the user account up to a threshold number of email jobs;

initialize a connection with an email storage server apparatus configured to store emails associated with the user account; and

communicate with the email storage server apparatus to process only a number of the plurality stored email jobs equaling the threshold number of email jobs before switching to a different user account.

2. The email server apparatus of claim 1 wherein the plurality of email jobs from the at least one email job queue processor are processed in an order they are received.

3. The email server apparatus of claim 1 wherein the plurality of email jobs are sequentially processed.

4. The email server apparatus of claim 1 wherein the least one email job queue processor comprises a plurality of processing threads.

5. A communications system comprising:

an electronic mail (email) storage server apparatus configured to store emails associated with a given user account; and

an email proxy server apparatus comprising

at least one email job queue processor configured to;

store email jobs for a plurality of users;

compare received email jobs with the stored email jobs, and discard any of the received email jobs that are duplicates of the stored email jobs;

select a plurality of email jobs for a given user account up to a threshold number;

initialize a connection with said email storage server apparatus; and

communicate with said email storage server apparatus to process only a number of the plurality of stored email jobs equaling the threshold number of email jobs before switching to a different user account.

6. The communications system of claim 5 wherein the plurality of email jobs from the at least one email job queue processor are processed in an order they are received.

7. The communications system of claim 5 wherein the plurality of email jobs from the at least one email job queue processor are sequentially processed.

8. The communications system of claim 5 wherein the at least one email job queue processor comprises a plurality of processing threads.

9. An electronic mail (email) processing method comprising:

at least one email job queue processor;

storing email jobs for a user account;

comparing received email jobs with the stored email jobs, and discard any of the received email jobs that are duplicates of the stored email jobs; and

selecting a plurality of the stored email jobs associated with the user account up to a threshold number of email jobs;

initializing a connection with an email storage server apparatus configured to store emails associated with the user account; and

communicating with the email storage server apparatus to process only a number of the plurality of stored email jobs equaling the threshold number of email jobs before switching to a different user account.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the plurality of email jobs are processed in an order they are received.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the plurality of email jobs are sequentially processed.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the at least one email job queue processor comprises a plurality of processing threads.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising:

at least one email job queue processor module configured to;

store email jobs for a user account;

compare the received email jobs for the user account with the stored email jobs, and discard any of the received email jobs that are duplicates of the stored email jobs;

select a plurality of the stored email jobs for the user account associated with the user account up to a threshold number of email jobs;

initialize a connection with an email storage server apparatus configured to store emails associated with the user account; and

communicate with the email storage server apparatus to process only a number of the plurality of stored email jobs equaling the threshold number of email jobs before switching to a different user account.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13 wherein the plurality of email jobs from the at least one email job queue processor module are processed in an order they are received.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13 wherein the plurality of email jobs from the at least one email job queue processor module are sequentially processed.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13 wherein the at least one email job queue processor comprises a plurality of processing threads.