Electronic mail notification system and method within a hybrid network that transmits notifications via a continuous, high-speed channel

• US 6,067,561 A
• Filed: 02/07/1997
• Issued: 05/23/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hughes Network Systems LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hughes Electronics Corporation (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Dillon, Douglas
• Primary Examiner(s): Asta, Frank J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vaughn, Jr., William C.
• Application Number:
  US08/797,506
• Time in Patent Office: 1,201 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/204, 709/205, 709/206, 709/201, 709/207, 709/217, 709/239, 709/202, 379/88, 379/93.01, 379/90.01, 379/93.17, 379/93.24, 379/100.08, 358/402, 375/222, 455/412, 395/200.34, 395/200.35, 395/200.36, 395/200.37
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages

Abstract

An electronic mail alert system includes an e-mail server for administering an e-mail account of an e-mail service subscriber and an e-mail alert front-end. The e-mail server includes a subscriber account memory for storing an indication that e-mail has been received by the e-mail server for an e-mail alert service subscriber as well as a communication port for allowing the e-mail alert service subscriber to retrieve e-mail from the e-mail server via a subscriber terminal remote from the e-mail server. The e-mail alert front-end is coupled to the e-mail server and polls the e-mail server periodically to determine whether e-mail for the e-mail alert service subscriber has been received by the e-mail server. The front-end is also coupled to a satellite transmitter so that an e-mail notification can be disseminated, via a continuous, high-speed communication channel, for reception by the subscriber terminal to apprise the subscriber that e-mail for the e-mail alert service subscriber has been received by the e-mail server.

Claims

1. An electronic mail front-end for an electronic mail alert system, the electronic mail alert system having an electronic mail server which administers a subscriber electronic mail account and stores electronic mail previously sent to the server from a remote terminal, wherein the electronic mail server includes a subscriber account memory for storing an indication that electronic mail has been received by the server for a service subscriber, and communicating means for allowing a subscriber terminal to retrieve electronic mail from the server, the electronic mail front-end comprising:

polling means for polling the server to determine whether the server has received electronic mail for the service subscriber, the electronic mail having been sent to the electronic mail server from a remote terminal; and

notifying means responsive to the polling means for disseminating an electronic mail notification to the subscriber terminal, via a high-speed, continuous communication channel, the subscriber terminal being one of a stand-alone personal computer, a personal computer connected to a computer network, and a local area network electronic mail server, and the high-speed, continuous communication channel being one of a satellite link and a cable connection, the subscriber terminal further being connected to the electronic mail server of the electronic mail alert system via a dial-up connection to request previously notified electronic mail, such that the same subscriber terminal is provided with both a high-speed, continuous communication channel for receiving electronic mail notification and a dial-up connection for requesting previously notified electronic mail.

2. The electronic mail front-end of claim 1, wherein the electronic mail notification comprises an indication that electronic mail for the service subscriber has been received by the server.

3. The electronic mail front-end of claim 1, wherein the subscriber account memory of the server additionally stores electronic mail received by the server for the service subscriber.

4. The electronic mail front-end of claim 1, in combination with a subscriber terminal, wherein the subscriber terminal includes retrieving means for retrieving electronic mail from the server.

5. The electronic mail front-end of claim 4, wherein the communicating means comprises a high-speed, continuous communication channel between the server and the retrieving means of the subscriber terminal.

6. The electronic mail front-end of claim 5, wherein the electronic mail notification comprises part of a packet-carrying bitstream sent from the electronic mail alert front-end to a plurality of subscriber terminals.

7. The electronic mail front-end of claim 5, wherein the high-speed, continuous communication channel comprises a satellite link.

8. The electronic mail front-end of claim 5, wherein the high-speed, continuous communication channel comprises a cable-modem coupled to the server and a cable connection coupled between the cable modem and the subscriber terminal.

9. The electronic mail front-end of claim 4, wherein the communicating means comprises a switched, low-speed communication channel between the server and the retrieving means of the subscriber terminal.

10. The electronic mail front-end of claim 9, wherein the low-speed communication channel comprises a dial-up connection between the server and the retrieving means of the subscriber terminal.

11. The electronic mail front-end of claim 9, wherein the subscriber terminal includes requesting means for requesting information via the low-speed, switched communication channel and wherein the electronic mail server includes sending means responsive to a request from a subscriber terminal for sending requested information to the subscriber terminal via the high-speed, continuous communication channel.

12. The electronic mail front-end of claim 1, wherein the polling means of the front-end polls the server periodically.

13. The electronic mail front-end of claim 1, wherein the notifying means sends the electronic mail notification for the service subscriber to the subscriber terminal.

14. The electronic mail front-end of claim 1, wherein the electronic mail notification indicates that the server is not operational and thus that the front-end cannot determine whether electronic mail for the service subscriber has been received by the server.

15. The electronic mail front-end of claim 1, wherein the subscriber account memory of the server contains a time-stamp for the service subscriber.

16. The electronic mail front-end of claim 15, wherein the time-stamp indicates a time when electronic mail for the service subscriber was most recently received by the server.

17. The electronic mail front-end of claim 15, wherein the time-stamp is a number that uniquely identifies a particular electronic mail message received by the server for the service subscriber.

18. The electronic mail front-end of claim 15, wherein the subscriber account memory of the server contains a predefined password for the service subscriber.

19. The electronic mail front-end of claim 18, wherein the polling means of the front-end provides the server with an access password for the service subscriber, and wherein the electronic mail notification comprises the time-stamp for the service subscriber if the access password and the predefined password are identical and otherwise comprises an indication that the access password differs from the predefined password and thus that the front-end cannot determine whether electronic mail for the service subscriber has been received by the server.

20. The electronic mail front-end of claim 15, wherein the subscriber terminal includes receiving means for receiving the time-stamp from the front-end and determining means for determining what the time-stamp indicates.

21. The electronic mail front-end of claim 20, wherein the subscriber terminal further includes informing means responsive to the determining means for informing the service subscriber of what the time-stamp indicates.

22. The electronic mail front-end of claim 15, wherein the time-stamp is updated each time electronic mail for the service subscriber is received by the server, and wherein the polling means of the front-end polls the server periodically to obtain the time-stamp for the service subscriber.

23. The electronic mail front-end of claim 22, wherein the subscriber terminal includes a time-stamp memory for storing a latest time-stamp which the subscriber terminal most recently received from the front-end for the service subscriber.

24. The electronic mail front-end of claim 23, wherein the subscriber terminal includes comparing means for comparing a time-stamp received from the front-end with the latest time-stamp stored in the time-stamp memory and for providing to the service subscriber an indication that electronic mail for the service subscriber has been received by the server if the time-stamp differs from the latest time-stamp.

25. The electronic mail front-end of claim 1, wherein the electronic mail notification comprises an indication that the front-end will not provide the service subscriber with electronic mail notifications.

26. The electronic mail front-end of claim 1, wherein the subscriber account is an internet-accessible post office protocol 3 (POP-3) electronic mail account.

27. The electronic mail front-end of claim 1, wherein the subscriber terminal is a stand-alone personal computer.

28. The electronic mail front-end of claim 1, wherein the subscriber terminal is part of a computer network.

29. The electronic mail front-end of claim 1, wherein the subscriber terminal is a local area network e-mail server.

30. The electronic mail front-end of claim 1, wherein the front-end is located remotely from the server.

31. The electronic mail front-end of claim 1, wherein the front-end is a computer program running on the server.

32. The electronic mail front-end of claim 1, further including encryption means for encrypting the electronic mail notification disseminated by the notifying means.

38. The electronic mail front-end of claim 1, wherein the packet-switched network is the Internet, and the subscriber terminal retrieves electronic mail from the electronic mail server via the Internet.

33. An electronic mail alert system, comprising:

an electronic mail server for administering electronic mail for a plurality of electronic mail service subscribers and storing electronic mail which was previously sent to the server from a remote terminal, the electronic mail server including

a subscriber account memory for storing, for each subscriber, an indication that electronic mail has been received by the server for the subscriber; and

communicating means for allowing one of the subscribers to retrieve electronic mail from the electronic mail server of the electronic mail alert system via a subscriber terminal, the subscriber terminal being one of a stand-alone personal computer, a personal computer connected to a computer network, and a local area network electronic mail server, the electronic mail having previously been sent to the server from a remote terminal; and

an electronic mail alert front-end including

polling means for polling the server of the electronic mail alert system to determine whether electronic mail for at least a particular one of the subscribers has been received; and

notifying means responsive to the polling means for disseminating an electronic mail notification to the subscriber terminal, via a high-speed, continuous communication channel, the high-speed, continuous communication channel being one of a satellite link and a cable connection, the subscriber terminal further being connected to the electronic mail server of the electronic mail alert system via a dial-up connection to request previously notified electronic mail, such that the same subscriber terminal is provided with both a high-speed, continuous communication channel for receiving electronic mail notification and a dial-up connection for requesting previously notified electronic mail.

39. The electronic mail alert system of claim 33, wherein the packet-switched network is the Internet, and the subscriber terminal retrieves electronic mail from the electronic mail server via the Internet.

34. An electronic mail alert front-end for use with an electronic mail server that administers an electronic mail account of an electronic mail service subscriber by storing mail from the server which was previously sent from a remote terminal to the server, the electronic mail alert front-end comprising:

a communication port interconnectable with the electronic mail server for receiving an indication that the electronic mail server has received electronic mail for a service subscriber, the electronic mail having been previously sent to the electronic mail server from a remote terminal; and

a transmitter for sending the indication to a subscriber terminal via a high-speed, continuous communication channel, the subscriber terminal being one of a stand-alone personal computer, a personal computer connected to a computer network, and a local area network electronic mail server, and the high-speed, continuous communication channel being one of a satellite link and a cable connection, wherein

the subscriber terminal is connected to the electronic mail server via a dial-up connection to request previously notified electronic mail, such that the same subscriber terminal is provided with both a high-speed, continuous communication channel for receiving electronic mail notification and a dial-up connection for requesting previously notified electronic mail.

35. A method of notifying a subscriber of an electronic mail service including a server having a subscriber account memory and being accessible by the subscriber via a subscriber terminal so that the subscriber terminal may retrieve electronic mail from the server which was previously sent to the server from a remote computer terminal, the service further including an electronic mail alert front-end adapted for communicating with the server, the method comprising the steps of:

maintaining at the subscriber terminal a latest time-stamp indicating when the server most recently received electronic mail for the subscriber;

storing in the subscriber account memory of the server an updated time-stamp associated with the subscriber, wherein the updated time-stamp indicates a time when electronic mail for the subscriber is received by the server;

providing for the front-end to periodically poll the server to obtain the updated time-stamp associated with the subscriber and to send the updated time-stamp to the subscriber terminal via a high-speed, continuous communication channel, the subscriber terminal being one of a stand-alone personal computer, a personal computer connected to a computer network, and a local area network electronic mail server, and the high-speed continuous communication channel being one of a satellite link and a cable connection; and

providing for the subscriber terminal to compare the updated time-stamp to the latest time-stamp and to provide an indication to the subscriber that electronic mail for the subscriber has been received by the server of the electronic mail service if the updated time-stamp differs from the latest time-stamp, wherein the subscriber terminal is further connected to the server of the electronic mail service via a dial-up connection to request previously notified electronic mail.

36. A method of notifying an electronic mail system subscriber that the system has received electronic mail for the subscriber so that a subscriber terminal may retrieve electronic mail previously sent to the electronic mail system by a remote terminal, the method comprising the steps of:

polling the electronic mail system to obtain an indication that the electronic mail system has received electronic mail for the subscriber, the electronic mail having been previously sent to the electronic mail system from a remote terminal;

sending the indication to the subscriber terminal via a high-speed, continuous communication channel, the subscriber terminal being one of a stand-alone personal computer, a personal computer connected to a computer network, and a local area network electronic mail server, and the high-speed, continuous communication channel being one of a satellite link and a cable connection, and

providing the subscriber terminal with a dial-up connection to the electronic mail system for requesting previously notified electronic mail, such that the same subscriber terminal is provided with both a high-speed, continuous communication channel for receiving electronic mail notification and a dial-up connection for requesting previously notified electronic mail.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the indication is modified before being sent to the subscriber terminal.

40. A service subscriber terminal comprising:

a first communication means for requesting electronic mail from a remote electronic mail server which stores electronic mail received from a remote terminal, said first communication means being a dial-up connection between said service subscriber terminal and the remote electronic mail server;

a second communication means for receiving an electronic mail notification from the remote electronic mail server via a high-speed, continuous communication channel, the high-speed, continuous communication channel being one of a satellite link and a cable connection, such that the same subscriber terminal has both a dial-up connection to the remote electronic mail server for requesting previously notified electronic mail and a high-speed, continuous connection to the remote electronic mail server for receiving electronic mail notifications; and

alert means for alerting the service subscriber when the subscriber terminal receives an electronic mail notification from the electronic mail server,

wherein the subscriber terminal is one of a stand-alone personal computer, a personal computer connected to a computer network, and a local area network electronic mail serve.

41. The service subscriber system of claim 40, wherein the high-speed, continuous communication channel is a one-way satellite link.

42. The service subscriber system of claim 41, wherein the first communication means retrieves electronic mail from the remote electronic mail server via a switched connection.

43. The service subscriber terminal of claim 40, further comprising:

a time-stamp memory for storing a time-stamp for an electronic mail notification most recently received from the electronic mail server; and

comparing means for comparing an updated time-stamp received from the electronic mail server with the time-stamp stored in the time-stamp memory, wherein the alert means alerts the service subscriber that the subscriber terminal has received an electronic mail notification when the updated time-stamp differs from the stored time-stamp.