Communications system providing message aggregation features and related methods

• US 7,689,656 B2
• Filed: 07/21/2006
• Issued: 03/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: TeamOn Systems Incorporated (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Zakharoff, Michael Jack, Gardner, Darren L., McCarthy, Steven J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Phillips; Hassan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Daftuar; Saket K
• Application Number:
  US11/459,227
• Publication Number:
  US 20070203994A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,348 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/207, 709/217, 709/219, 709/230, 709/249
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication

Abstract

A communications system may include a plurality of source message servers for storing messages for delivery to a user, a target message server having a target message box associated therewith, and an aggregation server for periodically aggregating the messages from the source message servers to the target message box for retrieval by the user. The target message server may provide a delivery failure message to the aggregation server based upon a failure to deliver a message to the target message box. As such, the aggregation server may increase a period of sending messages to the target message box based upon a delivery failure message therefrom, and thereafter decrease the period of sending messages to the target message box based upon a successful delivery of a message thereto.

Claims

1. A communications system comprising:

a plurality of source message servers, each comprising a processor and a memory cooperating therewith for storing electronic mail (e-mail) messages;

target message server comprising a processor and a memory cooperating therewith to associate a target message box therewith; and

an aggregation server comprising a processor and a memory cooperating therewith for aggregating the e-mail messages from said source message servers to the target message server;

said processor and said memory of said aggregation server also for increasing a period of sending e-mail messages to the target message box based upon an e-mail delivery failure, and thereafter decreasing the period of sending e-mail messages to the target message box based upon at least one successful e-mail delivery;

said processor and said memory of said aggregation server also for selectively re-sending e-mail messages and for executing an intelligent checker module for aggregating the e-mail messages from said source servers to said target message box.

2. The communications system of claim 1 wherein said processor and said memory of said aggregation server also executes a software agent module having a unique address associated therewith;

wherein said intelligent checker module sends the unique address with the e-mail messages to the target message box;

wherein said target message server sends delivery failure messages to the unique address; and

wherein said software agent module associates the delivery failure messages with the target message box.

3. The communications system of claim 2 wherein said processor and said memory of said aggregation server also execute a knowledge base module for cooperating with said software agent module for storing delivery failure information for the target message box;

and wherein said intelligent checker module cooperates with said knowledge base module to increase or decrease the period of sending based upon the stored delivery failure information.

4. The communications system of claim 3 wherein said knowledge base module cooperates with said software agent module to store the delivery failure information for the target message box based upon a source message box identifier and a message identifier associated therewith.

5. The communications system of claim 1 further comprising a communications device associated with a user for accessing the messages from the target message box.

6. The communications system of claim 5 wherein said communications device comprises a mobile wireless communications device.

7. An electronic mail (e-mail) message aggregation server comprising:

a processor and a memory cooperating therewith to execute an aggregation module for aggregating e-mail messages stored on a plurality of source message servers to a target message box;

said aggregation module increasing a period of sending e-mail messages to the target message box based upon at least one e-mail delivery failure, and thereafter decreasing the period of sending e-mail messages to the target message box based upon at least one successful e-mail delivery;

said aggregation module selectively re-sending e-mail messages and executing an intelligent checker module for aggregating the e-mail messages from said source servers to said target message box.

8. The e-mail aggregation server of claim 7 wherein said aggregation module further comprises a software agent module having a unique address associated therewith for associating delivery failure messages with the target message box;

and wherein said intelligent checker module sends the unique address with the e-mail messages to the target message box.

9. The e-mail aggregation server of claim 8 wherein said intelligent checker module cooperates with said software agent module to store the delivery failure information for the target message box based upon a source message box identifier and a message identifier associated therewith.

10. A method of operating an aggregation server comprising a processor for aggregating electronic mail (e-mail) messages comprising:

executing an aggregation module with the processor for periodically aggregating e-mail messages stored on a plurality of source message servers to a target message box;

the aggregation module increasing a period of sending messages to the target message box based at least one e-mail of delivery failure, and thereafter decreasing the period of sending messages to the target message box based upon at least one successful delivery e-mail;

the aggregation module selectively re-sending e-mail messages; and

executing an intelligent checker module with the processor for aggregating the e-mail messages from the source servers to said target message box.

11. A physical computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable modules to be executed by an aggregation server, the computer-executable modules comprising:

an aggregation module for periodically aggregating electronic mail (e-mail) messages stored on a plurality of source message servers to a target message box; and

said aggregation module increasing a period of sending e-mail messages to the target message box based upon at least one e-mail delivery failure, and thereafter decreasing the period of sending e-mail messages to the target message box based upon a successful e-mail delivery;

said aggregation module selectively re-sending e-mail messages for which delivery failure messages are received;

an intelligent checker module for aggregating the e-mail messages from the source servers to the target message box.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein said aggregation module aggregation module further comprises a software agent module having a unique address associated therewith for associating delivery failure messages with the target message box;

and wherein the intelligent checker module sends the unique address with the e-mail messages to the target message box.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 wherein said knowledge base module cooperates with said software agent module to store the delivery failure information for the target message box based upon a source message box identifier and a message identifier associated therewith.