EFFICIENT ATTACHMENT OF USER-SELECTED FILES TO E-MAIL FROM HANDHELD DEVICE

• US 20090282463A1
• Filed: 05/11/2009
• Published: 11/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Russell, Graham, McIsaac, Steven Douglas, Sangster, Ian, Martsyna, Nataliya
• Granted Patent: US 9,998,422 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/4
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication

Abstract

A wireless telecommunications system includes facilities in a wireless hand-held device (WHHD) that allows a user to browse files available to that user on storage devices in an enterprise network, and to identify one or more such files to be attached to an e-mail message to be composed on or transmitted from the handheld. The system includes facilities in an enterprise network, such as a file delivery server, that cooperates with the WHHD to provide the file browsing service. A mail agent cooperates with the WHHD, responsive to instruction from the handheld to send an e-mail message that is to contain an attachment, to request the file delivery server to retrieve the identified files and assemble an e-mail containing those files as attachments. The WHHD may receive from the user appropriate credentials needed to access files available to that user on storage devices in the enterprise network, and may forward the credential to the file delivery server and the mail agent. These components may use the credentials to provide the file browsing service and to retrieve the identified files.

Claims

1. A method in a wireless hand-held device of composing an e-mail message that will include a remote file attachment, comprising:

receiving an instruction from a user to attach a file to an e-mail message to be sent to at least one recipient;

receiving user selection of a file to attach to the e-mail message;

receiving user instruction to send the e-mail message; and

sending, to a mail agent, a portion of the e-mail message and an attachment instruction identifying the file, wherein the attachment instruction causes the mail agent to assemble a complete e-mail message comprising at least the portion of the e-mail message and the file identified in the attachment instruction retrieved from the file delivery server.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after receiving an instruction from a user to attach a file to an e-mail message to be sent to at least one recipient, requesting a file browser service from a file delivery server; and

providing the file browser service to the user, using information furnished from the file delivery server via a network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the attachment instruction further comprises a parameter specifying the MIME content type of the file.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the attachment instruction further comprises a parameter furnishing file access credentials.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein requesting the file browser service from the file delivery server further comprises:

receiving, from the user, credentials needed to access files on the file delivery server; and

furnishing the credentials to the file delivery server.

6. A method in a mail agent for attaching a file to an e-mail message, comprising:

receiving, from a wireless hand-held device, a portion of an e-mail message comprising an attachment instruction identifying a file located elsewhere from the device;

retrieving the file from the file delivery server;

causing a complete e-mail message to be assembled, the complete e-mail message comprising at least the portion of the e-mail message received from the wireless hand-held device and the file retrieved from the file delivery server; and

causing a mail server to transmit the complete e-mail message to a recipient.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the attachment instruction further comprises credentials needed to access the file from the file delivery server, and further comprising:

furnishing the credentials to the file delivery server prior to retrieving the file.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein causing a complete e-mail message to be assembled comprises:

causing a mail server to assemble the complete e-mail message.

9. A wireless hand-held device comprising:

a user interface;

a file browser that uses information furnished from a file delivery server located elsewhere from said device;

a wireless network interface for accessing a wireless network;

an e-mail application;

the e-mail application being adapted to;

receive via the user interface a request to attach a file to an e-mail message;

receive from the file browser a selection of the file to be attached; and

transmit via said wireless network interface to a mail agent an instruction to send a complete e-mail message containing the file as an attachment, the file being located elsewhere from the device.

10. An enterprise hand-held server comprising:

mail agent for receiving an e-mail message from a wireless hand-held device and transmitting the e-mail message with an attachment to a recipient, said mail agent adapted to;

responsive to an instruction received from the wireless hand-held device via said wireless network to send an e-mail message containing an identified file as an attachment, request said file from a file delivery server;

receive the identified file from said file delivery server; and

instruct a mail server to assemble an e-mail message including the identified file as an attachment.

11. A mail system operatively coupled to a wireless network for use with a wireless hand-held device comprising:

a file delivery server operatively coupled to storage containing user files;

a mail server;

a mail agent, said mail agent adapted to;

responsive to an instruction received from a wireless hand-held device via said wireless network to send an e-mail message containing an identified file as an attachment, request said file from said file delivery server;

receive the identified file from said file delivery server; and

instruct the mail server to assemble an e-mail message including the identified file as an attachment.

12. The system of claim 11, comprising:

an enterprise hand-held services enhancement server, wherein the mail agent and the file delivery server are included as components in the enterprise hand-held services enhancement server.