Method and apparatus for maintaining a unified view of multiple mailboxes

• US 6,360,272 B1
• Filed: 05/28/1999
• Issued: 03/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Access Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Palm, Inc. (TCL Technology Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Toto, Gregory M., Golden, Michael E., Lincke, Scott D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wiley, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): JEAN, FRANTZ B
• Application Number:
  US09/321,984
• Time in Patent Office: 1,026 Days
• Field of Search: 709/238, 709/206, 709/203, 709/218, 709/226, 709/228, 379/88.17, 379/88.18, 379/88.22, 370/352
• US Class Current: 709/238
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]

Abstract

A method of presenting a unified view of two mailboxes, each mailbox associated with a client is described. The unified view allows the user to see all actions she/he performed on a message in one mailbox performed in all other unified mailboxes. One of the clients has both a high cost, e.g. wireless, communication channel and a low cost, e.g. synchronization, communication channel. When a message is received by a client from its respective mailbox without an identifier, an identifier is generated and a copy of the message is sent to the other mailboxes with the identifier. When the user performs actions on a message with a client, the identifier for the message and the action can be conveyed to the other clients in a message to the other mailboxes. The unified view can be selectably updated either over the high cost communication channel or the low cost communication channel. The presence of two communication channels enables the cost of performing the unification to be contained. The user can select options to control the unification process and the use of the high cost communication channel, e.g. summarize messages over 250 words and/or remove attachments.

Claims

1. A method for exchanging electronic messages between a fist computer and a second computer, the first computer being coupleable to the second computer using a high cost communication channel and a low cost communication channel, the method comprising;

accessing a first message addressed for a first mailbox;

determining an identifier for the first message on the first computer;

signaling at least a portion of the first message and the identifier to a second mailbox;

detecting a user-action affecting a property of the first message in the first mailbox;

responsive to the user-action, automatically signaling the identifier of the message and an identification of the action to the second mailbox;

detecting a selection for one of either the high cost communication channel or the low cost communication channel; and

responsive to the selection, using the identifier of the message and the identification of the action to indicate on the second computer the property of the first message in the first mailbox using the selected one of the high cost communication channel or the low cost communication channel.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting a user-action affecting a property of the first message in the first mailbox includes detecting a user-action affecting a status of the first message in the first mailbox.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein detecting a user-action affecting a status of the first message in the first mailbox includes detecting a deletion of the first message within the first mailbox.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising automatically signaling the distinguishing identifier and an identification of the deletion to the second mailbox so as to cause the first message to be deleted within the second mailbox.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting a user-action affecting a property of the first message in the first mailbox includes detecting a move of the first message within the first mailbox.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising automatically signaling the distinguishing identifier and an identification of the move to the second mailbox so as to cause the first message to be moved within the second mailbox.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein detecting a move of the first message within the first mailbox includes detecting the first message as being marked read.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein using the identifier of the message and the identification of the action to indicate on the second computer the property of the first message includes signaling a communication from the second mailbox to the second computer using the high cost communication channel, the communication comprising the identifier of the first message and the identification of the user-action.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein signaling a communication from the second mailbox to the second computer using the high cost communication channel includes signaling the communication from the second mailbox to the second computer without signaling the communication to the first computer.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising unifying the property of the first message in the first mailbox with a property of the first message in the second mailbox.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein using the identifier of the message and the identification of the action to indicate on the second computer the property of the first message includes signaling a communication from the second mailbox to the second computer using the low cost communication channel, the communication comprising the identifier of the first message and the identification of the user-action.

11. An apparatus for presenting a unified view of a first message, sent to a first mailbox coupled by a first communication channel to a first client, on a second client the first client having a second communication channel to communicate with a second mailbox and a low cost communication channel to communicate with a second client, the second client capable being coupleable to communicate with the second mailbox using a high cost communication channel, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving the message at the first client;

means for generating a distinguishing identifier for the first message;

means for sending at least a portion of the first message and the distinguishing

identifier to the second mailbox using the second communication channel;

means for creating a second message including the distinguishing identifier and a description of the action responsive to an action on the first message on the first client;

means for sending the second message to the second mailbox using the second communication channel; and

means for selectably updating the unified view of the first message on the second client using either the high cost communication channel or the low cost communication channel.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the means for generating a distinguishing identifier for the first message comprises:

means for generating a string with an address corresponding to the first mailbox;

means for generating an increasing number; and

means for adding a header to the first message, the header including the increasing number and the string.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the means for generating a distinguishing identifier for the first message comprises means for computing a secure hash of a portion of the first message.

14. The computer data signal of claim 13, wherein the third set of instructions further comprises a seventh set of instructions for automatically summarizing messages larger than a predetermined size.

15. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave comprising:

a computer program for a unifier on a first client the computer program including

a first set of instructions for accessing a first message;

a second set of instructions for attaching a distinguishing identifier to the first message;

a third set of instructions for sending at least a portion of the first message and the distinguishing identifier to a second mailbox;

a fourth set of instructions for detecting an action of a user on the first message;

a fourth set of instructions for creating a second message including the distinguishing identifier and a description of the action;

a fifth set of instructions for sending the second message to the second mailbox to update the unified view of the first message on a second client if the second client accesses the second mailbox using a high cost communication channel;

a sixth set of instructions for selectably updating the unified view of the first message on the second client if the second client couples to the first client using a low cost communication channel.

16. The computer data signal of claim 15, wherein the computer program further includes a seventh set of instructions for accepting signals to control use of the high cost communication channel and the low cost communication channel.

17. The computer data signal of claim 15, wherein the computer program further comprises an eighth set of instructions for defining a filter, the filter for selecting whether the first message should be updated using the high cost communication channel.

18. The computer data signal of claim 15, wherein the computer program comprises an eighth set of instructions for translating an attachment included in the first message from a first format into a second format.

19. A computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein including an interface to a mail agent on a client and a unifier, the interface permitting the unifier to access a message on the client and update the view of the message in the mail agent on the client; and

wherein the unifier can selectively update a unified view of a message on a second client using either a high cost communication channel or a low cost communication channel.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the interface comprises a messaging application programming interface compliant interface.

22. A method for exchanging electronic messages between a first computer and a second computer, the first computer being coupleable to the second computer using either a high cost communication channel or a low cost communication channel, the method comprising:

receiving a first message addressed for a first location for storing messages;

automatically signaling at least a portion of the first message and a distinguishing identifier to a second location;

detecting a user-action affecting a status of the first message in the first location;

receiving a selection to update the second location using one of either the high cost communication channel or the low cost communication channel; and

responsive to the selection, automatically signaling the distinguishing identifier and an identification of the action to the second location using the selected one of the high cost communication channel or the low cost communication channel, so as to indicate in the second location the status of the first message in the first location.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein detecting a user-action affecting a status of the first message in the first mailbox includes detecting a deletion of the first message within the first mailbox.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising automatically signaling the distinguishing identifier and an identification of the deletion to the second mailbox so as to cause the first message to be deleted within the second mailbox.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein detecting on the first computer a user-action affecting a status of a first mailbox includes receiving a first message addressed for a first mailbox.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein detecting a user-action affecting a status of the first message in the first mailbox includes detecting the first message as being marked read.

27. A method for exchanging electronic messages between a first computer and a second computer, the first computer being coupleable to the second computer using either a high cost communication channel or a low cost communication channel, the method comprising:

detecting on the first computer a user-action affecting a status of a first message of a first mailbox for storing a plurality of messages;

receiving a selection to update a view of a second mailbox using one of either the high cost communication channel or the low cost communication channel; and

responsive to the selection, automatically signaling the status of the first message to the second mailbox to update the view of the second mailbox on the second computer to include the status of the first message.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein receiving a selection to update a view of a second mailbox using one of either the high cost communication channel or the low cost communication channel includes detecting the second computer coupling to the first computer using a serial port.