WikiPatents - Community Patent Review
Create Free Account  |  License or Sell Your Patent  |  WikiPatents Marketplace  |  WikiPatents Blog
Username:  Password:  
    
Advanced Search
System and method for synchronizing electronic mail between a client site and a central site    

Get related patents on CD
United States Patent5961590   
Link to this pagehttp://www.wikipatents.com/5961590.html
Inventor(s)Mendez; Daniel J. (Mountain View, CA); Riggins; Mark D. (San Jose, CA); Wagle; Prasad (Santa Clara, CA); Ying; Christine C. (Foster City, CA)
AbstractA system includes an e-mail engine which uses a proper protocol to retrieve an e-mail from a first mail store and to store the e-mail in one or more folder structures. Upon request, the first mail store may send configuration data indicating the proper protocol to the e-mail engine, which can then properly configure itself. An e-mail synchronization module uses a predetermined criterion to determine whether the e-mail was previously sent and whether to synchronize the e-mail with a second mail store. The e-mail synchronization module may also synchronize the e-mail of specific folder structures. The second mail store may be located on a global server, which upon proper identification and authentication provides roaming users with access to its contents. A communications module establishes a communications channel through any firewalls with the second mail store. A web engine sends the e-mail via the communications channel to the second mail store.
   














 Title Information Submit all comments and votes
 
Patent Text Patent PDF Print Page Summary File History
Plain text PDF images Print Summary File History Custom Search
Drawing from US Patent 5961590
System and method for synchronizing electronic mail between a client

     site and a central site - US Patent 5961590 Drawing
System and method for synchronizing electronic mail between a client site and a central site
Inventor     Mendez; Daniel J. (Mountain View, CA); Riggins; Mark D. (San Jose, CA); Wagle; Prasad (Santa Clara, CA); Ying; Christine C. (Foster City, CA)
Owner/Assignee     Roampage, Inc. (Mountain View, CA)
Patent assignment
All assignments
Company News
Publication Date     October 5, 1999
Application Number     08/897,888
PAIR File History     Application Data   Transaction History
Image File Wrapper   Patent Term   Fees
Litigation
Filing Date     July 22, 1997
US Classification     709/206
Int'l Classification     G06F 013/00
Examiner     Harrell; Robert B.
Assistant Examiner    
Attorney/Law Firm     Graham & James LLP
Address
Parent Case     CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part application of patent application, Ser. No. 08/865,075, entitled "System and Method for Using a Global Translator to Synchronize Workspace Elements across a Network," filed on May 29, 1997, by inventors Daniel J. Mendez, Mark D. Riggins, Prasad Wagle and Christine C. Ying, which is herein incorporated by reference, which is a continuation-in-part of patent application Ser. No. 08/835,997, entitled "System and Method for Securely Synchronizing Multiple Copies of a Workspace Element in a Network," filed on Apr. 11, 1997, by inventors Daniel J. Mendez, Mark D. Riggins, Prasad Wagle and Christine C. Ying. These applications have also been assigned to RoamPage, Inc.
Priority Data    
USPTO Field of Search     364/DIG. 1 364/DIG. 2 358/402 379/93.24 379/100.08 395/182.18 395/200.3 395/200.57 395/825 395/670 395/676 395/680 709/206
Patent Tags     synchronizing electronic mail between client site central site
   
Enter a comma (,) or semicolon (;) between multiple tag words/phrases.
Describe this patent:
 Amusing   
 Clever   
 Complex   
 Efficient   
 Historic   
 Important   
 Innovative   
 Interesting   
 Practical   
 Simple   
[no votes]
Patent WIKI

Share information and news about this patent, including information and news about the technology, inventors, company, ligation and licensing.

 References Submit all comments and votes
 
*references marked with an asterisk below are user-added references
 U.S. References
 
Add a new US reference:  
ReferenceRelevancyCommentsReferenceRelevancyComments
5870759
Bauer

Feb,1999

[0 after 0 votes]
5832483
Barker

Nov,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5799318
Cardinal

Aug,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5790425
Wagle
709/218
Aug,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5790790
Smith
709/206
Aug,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5778346
Frid-Nielsen
705/9
Jul,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5765171
Gehani
707/203
Jun,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5758354
Huang

May,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5758150
Bell
707/10
May,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5758355
Buchanan

May,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5757916
MacDoran

May,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5745360
Leone
715/513
Apr,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5729735
Meyering
707/10
Mar,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5721914
DeVries
707/10
Feb,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5721908
Lagarde
707/10
Feb,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5717925
Harper
707/102
Feb,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5715403
Stefik
705/44
Feb,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5713019
Keaten
707/10
Jan,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5710918
Lagarde
707/10
Jan,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5706502
Foley

Jan,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5701423
Crozier
715/762
Dec,1997

[0 after 0 votes]
5684990
Boothby
707/203
Nov,1997

[0 after 0 votes]
5682524
Freund

Oct,1997

[0 after 0 votes]
5680542
Mulchandani
714/28
Oct,1997

[0 after 0 votes]
5678039
Hinks

Oct,1997

[0 after 0 votes]
5666553
Crozier
715/540
Sep,1997

[0 after 0 votes]
5652884
Palevich
713/1
Jul,1997

[0 after 0 votes]
5647002
Brunson
709/206
Jul,1997

[0 after 0 votes]
5634053
Noble
707/4
May,1997

[0 after 0 votes]
5627658
Connors
358/407
May,1997

[0 after 0 votes]
5623601
Vu
726/12
Apr,1997

[0 after 0 votes]
5613012
Hoffman
382/115
Mar,1997

[0 after 0 votes]
5600834
Howard
707/201
Feb,1997

[0 after 0 votes]
5581749
Hossain
707/10
Dec,1996

[0 after 0 votes]
5572643
Judson
709/218
Nov,1996

[0 after 0 votes]
5392390
Crozier

Feb,1995

[0 after 0 votes]
5386564
Shearer
707/101
Jan,1995

[0 after 0 votes]
5263157
Janis
707/9
Nov,1993

[0 after 0 votes]
4897781
Chang
707/201
Jan,1990

[0 after 0 votes]
4875159
Cary
707/203
Oct,1989

[0 after 0 votes]
4831582
Miller
707/104.1
May,1989

[0 after 0 votes]
 Foreign References
 Other References
 Market Review Submit all comments and votes
   
Market Size
Estimate the gross annual revenues of the relevant market sector:
> $10B
$5B - $10B
$2B - $5B
$500M - $2B
$100M - $500M
$10M - $100M
$1M - $10M
$500K - $1M
$100K - $500K
< $100K
[No votes]
$0
 
$0   $2.5B   $5B   $7.5B   $10B

[0 market size comments]
Market Share
Estimate the percentage of the relevant market sector this invention will capture:
75% - 100%
50% - 74.99%
25% - 49.99%
10 - 24.99%
5 - 9.99%
2 - 4.99%
1 - 1.99%
< 1%
[No votes]
0.0%
 
0%   25%   50%   75%   100%

[0 market share comments]
Reasonable Royalty
What percentage of gross sales should the inventor or assignee be paid?
75% - 100%
50% - 74.99%
25% - 49.99%
10 - 24.99%
5 - 9.99%
2 - 4.99%
1 - 1.99%
< 1%
[No votes]
0.0%
 
0%   25%   50%   75%   100%

[0 reasonable royalty comments]
Public's "Guesstimation" of Royalty Value
Market SizeN/A[No votes]
xMarket ShareN/A[No votes]
xReasonable RoyaltyN/A[No votes]

N/A

[0 Guesstimation of Royalty Value Comments]
License Availablity
If you are NOT the owner or assignee, answer here:
Yes, license is available for purchase

No, license is not currently available



[No votes]
[0 license availability comments]
License Availablity
If you ARE the owner or assignee, answer here:
Yes, license is available for purchase

No, license is not currently available



[No votes]
[0 owner/assignee comments]
Competitive Advantage
Does this invention have a significant competitive advantage over similar technologies?
Yes

No



[No votes]
Most helpful competitive advantage comment
[No comments]

[0 competitive advantage comments]
Commercial Alternatives
Are there viable commercial alternatives for this invention?
Yes

No



[No votes]
Most helpful commercial alternative comment
[No comments]

[0 commercial alternatives comments]
 Technical Review Submit all comments and votes
 Claims Submit all comments and votes
 


What is claimed is:

1. A client system comprising:

obtaining means for obtaining e-mail from a mail server;

determining means for using a predetermined criterion to determine whether to send the e-mail to a central mail store;

establishing means, coupled to the determining means, for establishing a communications channel with the central mail store; and

sending means, coupled to the establishing means, for sending e-mail to the central mail store.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the mail server implements a first protocol.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the obtaining means includes an e-mail engine for communicating with the mail server.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the e-mail engine implements the first protocol used by the mail server.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the e-mail engine identifies the first protocol used by the mail server.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the predetermined criterion includes a determination of whether e-mail has already been sent to the central mail store.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the determination is resolved by examining a receipt date corresponding to the e-mail and a last synchronization signature indicating the last date of synchronization with the central mail store.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the establishing means includes a communications module.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the central mail store is protected by a firewall and the communications module includes security means for communicating through the firewall.

10. The system of claim 1 further comprising means for selecting a folder structure for synchronization of all e-mails therein.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the sending means includes a web engine.

12. The system of claim 1 further comprising a synchronization-start module for using a start criterion to determine when to initiate synchronization with the central mail store.

13. A client-based method comprising:

obtaining an e-mail from a mail server;

using a predetermined criterion to determine whether to send the e-mail to a central mail store;

establishing a communications channel with the central mail store, if the predetermined criterion indicates sending the e-mail; and

sending the e-mail to the mail store, if the predetermined criterion indicates sending the e-mail.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising means for selecting a folder structure for synchronization of all e-mails therein.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of retrieving includes using the first protocol.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the step of retrieving includes the step of identifying the first protocol.

17. The method of claim 14,

wherein the central mail store is protected by a firewall; and

further comprising the step of communicating through the firewall.

18. The method of claim 13 wherein the step of using a predetermined criterion includes determining whether e-mail has already been sent to the central mail store.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the step of determining includes examining a receipt date corresponding to the e-mail and a last synchronization signature which indicates the last date of synchronization with the central mail store.

20. The method of claim 13 wherein the mail server implements a first protocol.

21. The method of claim 13 wherein the central mail store is remotely located and the step of sending includes communicating e-mail through a computer network.

22. The method of claim 13 further comprising a synchronization-start module for using a start criterion to determine when to initiate synchronization with the central mail store.

23. A client system comprising:

an e-mail engine for obtaining e-mail from a mail server;

an e-mail synchronization module for using a predetermined criterion to determine whether to send e-mail to a central mail store;

a communications module coupled to the e-mail synchronization module for establishing a communications channel with the central mail store; and

a web engine, coupled to the communications module, for sending e-mail to the central mail store.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein the mail server implements a first protocol.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein the e-mail engine implements the first protocol used by the mail server to communicate with the mail server.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein the e-mail engine identifies the first protocol.

27. The system of claim 23 wherein the predetermined criterion includes a determination of whether e-mail has already been sent to the central mail store.

28. The system of claim 27 wherein the determination is resolved by examining receipt date corresponding to the e-mail and a last synchronization signature indicating the last date of synchronization with the central mail store.

29. The system of claim 23 further comprising means for selecting a folder structure for synchronization of all e-mails therein.

30. The system of claim 23 wherein the central mail store is protected by a firewall and the communications module includes security means for communicating through the firewall.

31. The system of claim 23 further comprising a synchronization-start module for using a start criterion to determine when to initiate synchronization with the central mail store.

32. A client system for automatically downloading e-mails for a particular client from a mail server which implements a particular protocol, comprising:

means for automatically initiating a communications channel with a mail server;

means for identifying the particular protocol used by the mail server; and

means for using the particular protocol to download e-mails addressed to a particular client from the mail server.

33. The system of claim 32 wherein the means for identifying includes means for receiving configuration information from the mail server.

34. A computer-readable storage medium storing program code for causing a client computer to perform the steps of:

obtaining e-mail from a mail server;

using a predetermined criterion to determine whether to send e-mail to a central mail store;

establishing a communications channel with the central mail store; and

sending e-mail to the central mail store.