Electronic mail communications system with client email internet service provider (ISP) polling application and related methods

• US 8,065,363 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2010
• Issued: 11/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Roberts, Aaron
• Primary Examiner(s): Follansbee; John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hussain; Imad
• Application Number:
  US12/889,464
• Publication Number:
  US 20110016176A1
• Time in Patent Office: 424 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/206
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

An electronic mail (email) communications system may include a mobile wireless communications device, a wireless communications network connected to the Internet, and an Internet Service Provider (ISP) server connected to the Internet for receiving emails for a given user. The system may further include an email proxy server connected to the Internet for pushing emails from the ISP server to the mobile wireless communications device via the wireless communications network. A user computer may be connected to the Internet and may include a client email application for periodically polling the ISP server to detect new emails. The client email application may also send new email notifications to the email proxy server upon detection of new emails to cause the email proxy server to push the new emails to the mobile wireless communications device.

Claims

1. An electronic mail (email) system for use with at least one mobile wireless communications device and an Internet Service Provider (ISP) server for receiving emails, the email system comprising:

an email proxy server configured to push emails from the ISP server to the at least one mobile wireless communications; and

a computer comprising a client email application configured to poll the ISP server to detect new emails, and to send new email notifications without the new emails to the email proxy server upon detection of new emails to cause said email proxy server to push the new emails to the at least one mobile wireless communications device.

2. The email system of claim 1 wherein said client email application is configured to further provide an operational status confirmation notification to said email proxy server after a period during which no new email notifications are sent.

3. The email system of claim 1 wherein said client email application period of polling is user selectable.

4. The email system of claim 1 wherein said client email application is configured to periodically poll the ISP server.

5. The email system of claim 1 wherein each email has a respective unique identification (UID) associated therewith;

and wherein said client email application is configured to poll the ISP server for new emails based upon the UIDs.

6. The email system of claim 5 wherein the new email notifications comprise the UIDs of the new emails.

7. The email system of claim 1 wherein said client email application is configured to establish a semi-permanent Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) connection with said email proxy server for sending new email notifications.

8. The email system of claim 7 wherein said client email application is configured to send the new email notifications using an HTTP POST request.

9. The email system of claim 7 wherein said email proxy server is configured to poll the 1SP server to detect new emails if the semi-permanent HTTP connection with said client email application is terminated.

10. The email system of claim 7 wherein said client email application is configured to initiate the semi-permanent connection using an HTTP GET request.

11. The email system of claim 7 wherein said client email application is configured to send the new email notifications using an HTTP POST request.

12. The email system of claim 1 wherein said client email application is configured to further provide an operational status confirmation notification to said email proxy server after a period during which no new email notifications are sent.

13. The email system of claim 1 wherein said client email application period of polling is user selectable.

14. An electronic mail (email) system for use with at least one mobile wireless communications device and an Internet Service Provider (ISP) server for receiving emails, the email system comprising:

an email proxy server configured to push emails from the ISP server to the at least one mobile wireless communications, each email having a respective unique identification (UID) associated therewith; and

a computer comprising a client email application configured to

establish a semi-permanent Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) connection with said email proxy server,

poll the ISP server to detect new emails based upon the UIDs, and

send new email notifications without the new emails to the email proxy server upon detection of new emails to cause said email proxy server to push the new emails to the at least one mobile wireless communications device.

15. The email system of claim 14 wherein said client email application is configured to periodically poll the ISP server.

16. The email system of claim 14 wherein said email proxy server is configured to poll the ISP server to detect new emails if the semi-permanent HTTP connection with said client email application is terminated.

17. The email system of claim 14 wherein said client email application is configured to initiate the semi-permanent connection using an HTTP GET request.

18. An electronic mail (email) communications method comprising:

polling an Internet Service Provider (ISP) server connected to detect new emails for a given user a client email application on a computer comprising a processor;

sending new email notifications without the new emails to an email proxy server using the client email application upon detection of new emails; and

pushing emails from the ISP server to a mobile wireless communications device of the given user using the email proxy server.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein polling comprises periodically polling.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein each email has a respective unique identification (UID) associated therewith;

and wherein polling comprises polling the ISP server for new emails based upon the UIDs.

21. The method of claim 18 further comprising establishing a semi-permanent Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) connection between the client email application and the email proxy server.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising polling the ISP server to detect new emails if the semi-permanent HTTP connection with the client email application is terminated.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein the client email application initiates the semi-permanent connection using an HTTP GET request;

and wherein sending comprises sending the new email notifications using an HTTP POST request.