Method and apparatus for maintaining a unified view of multiple mailboxes

• US 7,266,586 B2
• Filed: 11/04/2005
• Issued: 09/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ACCESS Systems Americas Incorporated (Access Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: ACCESS Systems Americas Incorporated (Access Company Limited)
• Inventors: Lincke, Scott D., Toto, Gregory M., Golden, Michael E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jean; Frantz B.
• Application Number:
  US11/267,864
• Publication Number:
  US 20060059272A1
• Time in Patent Office: 669 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/218, 709/238, 709/249, 379/88.17, 379/88, 379/88.18, 379/88.22, 370/352
• US Class Current: 709/206
• 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 comprising performing a machine-executed operation involving instructions for presenting a unified view of a first message sent to a first mailbox on a second client using a low cost communication channel and a high cost communication channel, a first client having a second communication channel with a second mailbox and a low cost communication channel with the second client, the second client capable of being coupled in communication with the second mailbox using the high cost communication channel, wherein the machine-executed operation is at least one of:

A) sending said instructions over transmission media;

B) receiving said instructions over transmission media;

C) storing said instructions onto a machine-readable storage medium; and

D) executing the instructions;

wherein said instructions are instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of;

receiving the first message at the first client;

generating a distinguishing identifier for the first message;

sending at least a portion of the first message and the distinguishing identifier to the second mailbox using the second communication channel;

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

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

selectably causing 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.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selectably updating the unified view further comprises:

using the low cost communication channel when the second client is coupled in communication with the first client;

updating the unified view of the first message on the second client using the at least a portion of the first message and the action;

removing the at least a portion of the first message and the second message from the second mailbox after updating the unified view.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the selectably updating the unified view further comprises:

using the high cost communication channel when the second client is coupled in communication with the second mailbox;

receiving the at least a portion of the first message on the second client from the second mailbox;

receiving the second message on the second client using the second message; and

updating the unified view of the first message on the second client using the second message.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the high cost communication channel comprises a wireless communication channel.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the low cost communication channel comprises a synchronization communication channel.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the action comprises at least one of reading the first message, replying to the first message, forwarding the first message, classifying the first message, and deleting the first message.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message includes an attachment, and wherein the at least a portion of the first message comprises a predetermined amount of the first message without the attachment.

8. A method comprising performing a machine-executed operation involving instructions for presenting a unified view of messages in a first mailbox and a second mailbox, wherein the first mailbox is hosted by a first host and the second mailbox is hosted by a second host, wherein the machine-executed operation is at least one of:

A) sending said instructions over transmission media;

B) receiving said instructions over transmission media;

C) storing said instructions onto a machine-readable storage medium; and

D) executing the instructions;

wherein said instructions are instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of;

a first client of the first mailbox receiving a first message addressed to the first mailbox;

determining whether the first message has been assigned an identifier;

if the first message has not been assigned an identifier, then;

generating a first identifier that is unique relative to other identifiers assigned to the messages by the first client of the first mailbox and a second client of the second mailbox, and

sending at least a portion of the first message to the second mailbox;

detecting an action taken on the first message by the first client; and

in response to detecting the action, transmitting a second message to the second client that includes the first identifier and a description of the action.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein:

a set of channel communications between the first client and the second client includes a first channel of communication and a second channel of communication;

the steps further include selecting the first channel of communication; and

wherein the step of sending the first message includes sending the first message via the first channel.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first channel of communication does not require participation of the second host to transmit the first message.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the second channel of communication includes a wireless channel of communication.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein selecting the first channel of communication includes selecting the first channel based on relative cost between the first channel and the second channel.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein sending the first message is deferred until a connection is established over the first channel.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the steps further include, if the first message has been assigned an identifier, foregoing sending at least a portion of the first message to the second mailbox.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein sending the second message causes the action to be repeated on the second client.