Systems and methods for implementing email delivery

• US 9,306,887 B1
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Issued: 04/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dana Brunetti, Kevin Spacey
• Original Assignee: Dana Brunetti, Kevin Spacey
• Inventors: Brunetti, Dana, Spacey, Kevin
• Primary Examiner(s): Bates, Kevin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel, Ronak
• Application Number:
  US13/826,544
• Time in Patent Office: 1,118 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

The invention relates to systems and methods for managing emails where an email server that may comprise one or more computer systems, and which may be part of an email system, receives an email addressed to a specified first user. The email server may analyze the received email and access one or more electronic databases, which may comprise information related to one or more respective registered users of the email system. The databases may be stored on one or more computer-readable storage media operatively connected to the email server.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

(a) receiving, at an email server of an email system, an email addressed to a first user of the email system, the email server comprising one or more computers;

(b) analyzing, by the email server, the received email;

(c) accessing, by the email server, one or more electronic databases stored on one or more computer-readable storage media operatively connected to the email server, the databases comprising information related to one or more respective registered users of the email system;

(i) profile information including identification information for the respective registered users;

(ii) whitelist information indicating one or more individuals and/or email addresses approved to send email to the respective registered users;

(iii) email message data including email messages accessible to the respective registered users through an email interface;

(iv) queue information including queued email messages assigned queue positions and not being accessible to the respective registered users through an email interface;

(v) password information including whitelist password codes and queue advancement password codes for the respective registered users;

(d) determining, by the email server, whether the received email is approved to be sent to the first user based at least in part on the whitelist information;

(e) based at least in part on a determination in step (d), that the received email is not approved, storing the received email as a queued email message, and assigning a queue position to the received email;

(f) sending, by the email server to a device associated with the received email, a notification message indicating that the received email has not been delivered to the first user and providing a signifier that indicates the queue position of the received email relative to queue positions of other received emails that are not approved;

(g) receiving, at the first email server, a request to advance the received email queue position, the request including a queue advancement password code;

(h) determining, by the email server, whether the received queue advancement password code is valid; and

(i) based at least in part on a determination in step (h), that the received queue advancement code is valid, updating the queue information for the first user so that the queue position of the received email is advanced.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the queue advancement password code is provided to the originator of the queued email following the provision of monetary consideration by the originator of the queued email.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the queue advancement password code is provided to the originator of the queued email following the viewing of an advertisement by the originator of the queued email.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the queue advancement password code is provided to the originator of the queued email following the registration by the originator of the queued email for an account with the email system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) comprises comparing the IP address of the originator of the incoming email to a database of whitelisted IP addresses.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) comprises comparing the IP address of the originator of the incoming email to a database of non-whitelisted IP addresses.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) comprises comparing the email address of the originator of the incoming email to a database of whitelisted email addresses.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) comprises comparing the email address of the originator of the incoming email to a database of non-whitelisted email addresses.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) comprises comparing an alphanumeric code associated with an incoming email to a database of whitelisted alphanumeric codes.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) comprises comparing an alphanumeric code associated with an incoming email to a database of non-whitelisted alphanumeric codes.

11. A method comprising:

(a) accessing, by the email server, one or more electronic databases stored on one or more computer-readable storage media operatively connected to the email server, the databases comprising information related to one or more respective registered users of the email system;

(i) profile information including identification information for the respective registered users,

(ii) whitelist information indicating one or more individuals and/or email addresses approved to send email to the respective registered users,

(iii) email message data including email messages accessible to the respective registered users through an email interface;

(iv) queue information including queued email messages assigned queue positions and not being accessible to the respective registered users through an email interface;

(v) signifiers that indicate queue position of each non-accessible email message relative to other non-accessible email messages;

(vi) queue preference information indicating one or more delivery preferences for the queued email messages becoming accessible email messages to the respective registered users;

(b) determining, by the email server, based at least in part on the queue preference information for the first user, whether a queue delivery time has arrived to convert queued email messages to email messages accessible to the first user,

(c) in response to a determination in step (b) that the queue delivery time has arrived, identifying, by the email server, one or more queued emails to convert to accessible email messages based at least in part on the queue preference information;

(d) updating, the one or more databases by the email server, so that the one or more identified queued email messages are stored as email messages accessible to the first user; and

(e) sending, by the email server, a message to a device associated with the first user indicating that one or more queued email messages are provided to the email account associated with the first user.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the queue preference information of the first user specifies a date.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the queue preference information of the first user specifies an upper limit on the number of emails to maintain in the queue.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the queue preference information of the first user specifies a period of time for which to maintain emails in the queue.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the queue preference information of the first user specifies a limit on the size of the queue, based at least in part on computer memory.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the queue preference information indicates the number of emails to deliver from the queue, based at least in part on an absolute number.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the absolute number is set by the user.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the absolute number is selected automatically by the email system.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the queue preference information indicates the number of emails to deliver from the queue, based at least in part on a percentage of the number of emails in queue.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the queue preference information indicates the number of emails to deliver from the queue, based at least in part on a percentage of the number of emails in the first user'"'"'s inbox.