Direct access electronic mail (email) distribution and synchronization system with provision for pre-configured service offerings

• US 9,118,506 B2
• Filed: 04/11/2008
• Issued: 08/25/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Gorty, Suryanarayana Murthy, Gardner, Darren L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Serrao, Ranodhi
• Assistant Examiner(s): RICHARDSON, THOMAS W
• Application Number:
  US12/101,173
• Publication Number:
  US 20080256179A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,692 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• 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

Abstract

A communications system includes a network engine that communicates with a plurality of unsubscribed mobile wireless communications devices using a communications network for sending and receiving emails therefrom. A direct access server is operative with the network engine for polling electronic mailboxes of users and retrieving email from the electronic mailboxes and pushing any email through the network engine to selected user subscribed mobile wireless communications devices. This direct access server is operative for providing at least one pre-configured service offering to a user that is linked to mail-access parameters when a user configures their respective electronic mailbox.

Claims

1. A communications server, comprising:

a network engine comprising a processor configured to communicate with a mobile wireless communications device via a communications network for sending and receiving emails therefrom; and

a direct access server comprising a processor, and configured to;

operate with the network engine to poll an electronic mailbox, retrieve email from the electronic mailbox and push any email through the network engine to the mobile wireless communications device,

configure the electronic mailbox to allow a user to login with a user name and password based on a user'"'"'s mail access parameters as an email address, provide access to the electronic mailbox from the mobile wireless communications device and provide access to at least one service offering as at least one of a mail or address service offering based on;

the user'"'"'s mail-access configurations including one of mail server, mail protocol and communications port matching a predefined set of mail-access configurations and the determination that the user is one of a predefined group of users, and when there is a matching, configuring the service offering based on the mail access configurations, and receiving a user'"'"'s acceptance of the service offering.

2. The communications server according to claim 1, wherein a user to which the service offering has been provided has an option of accepting or rejecting the service offering.

3. The communications server according to claim 1, wherein the direct access server is operative for automatically providing the at least one service offering to the user.

4. The communications server according to claim 1, wherein the at least one service offering comprises a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service.

5. The communications server according to claim 1, wherein the at least one service offering comprises an address book synchronization service.

6. The communications server according to claim 1, wherein the at least one service offering comprises a mail-notification service.

7. The communications server according to claim 1, wherein the at least one service offering comprises a financial service.

8. A communications server, comprising:

a network engine comprising a processor configured to communicate with a mobile wireless communications device via a communications network for sending and receiving emails therefrom; and

a direct access server comprising a processor and SOAP module, and configured to;

operate with the network engine to poll an electronic mailbox retrieve email from the electronic mailbox and push any email through the network engine to the mobile wireless communications device, and

configure the electronic mailbox to allow a user to login with a user name and password based on a user'"'"'s mail access parameters as an email address, provide access to the electronic mailbox from the mobile wireless communications device, and provide access to a service offering including a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service, based on;

the user'"'"'s mail-access configurations including one of a mail server, mail protocol and communications port matching a predefined set of mail-access configurations and the determination that the user is one of a predefined group of users, and when there is a matching, configuring the service offering based on the mail access configurations, and receiving a user'"'"'s acceptance of the service offering.

9. The communications server according to claim 8, and further comprising a SMTP mail server and a database for storing data relating to the SMTP mail server wherein the SOAP module is operative for querying, updating and modifying data within the database.

10. A communications method, comprising:

providing a network engine comprising a processor configured to communicate with a mobile wireless communications device via a communications network for sending and receiving emails therefrom;

providing a direct access server comprising a processor configured to;

operate with the network engine to poll an electronic mailbox, retrieve email from the electronic mailbox, and push any email through the network engine to the mobile wireless communications devices;

configuring the electronic mailbox to allow the user to loin with a user name and password based on the user'"'"'s mail access parameters as an email address, providing access to the electronic mailbox from the mobile wireless communications device; and

providing access to at least one service offering as at least one of a mail or address service offering, based on;

the user'"'"'s mail-access configurations including one of a mail server, mail protocol and communications port matching a predefined set of mail-access configurations and the determining that the user is one of a predefined group of users, and when there is a matching, configuring the service offering based on the mail access configurations, and receiving a user'"'"'s acceptance of the service offering.