| 摘要 |
A system synchronizes digital messages from one user's multiple digital message accounts into one mailbox. The user identifies the message accounts from which digital messages are to be aggregated. When a new digital message arrives for one of the message accounts, a server providing the message-dependent storage sends an arrival notification to a synchronization system, or is accessed by the synchronization system at various points to check for message arrival, when notification is not forthcoming. Upon determining the arrival of a new digital message, the synchronization system retrieves the new digital message(s) and stores the retrieved message(s) in an integrated mailbox provided by the synchronization system, so that messages from various digital message accounts are collected into the integrated mailbox. This allows the user to manipulate messages in each of the individual accounts using the integrated mailbox without having to access the various accounts individually. |
| 主权项 |
1. A method for synchronizing digital messages from multiple digital message accounts of a user, the method comprising steps of:
creating a group of a user's multiple digital message accounts provided by multiple message account providers, wherein:
one of the providers maintains email messages in a first storage for at least one of the user's digital message accounts, andanother of the providers maintains in a second storage associated with another of the user's digital message accounts for at least one of: Short Messaging Service (SMS) messages, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) messages, voicemails, and Visual Voicemails (VVMs); determining when a new digital message has been received in each storage for each of the multiple digital message accounts, by receiving by a synchronization notification receiving server, a notification from one of the digital message accounts that provides a notification service, and by polling by a synchronization poller one of the digital message accounts that does not provide a notification service; based on results of the determining step, retrieving, by a synchronization engine server, each new digital message from a respective one of the storages in response to each new digital message being received in storage; storing, by a synchronization mail server, retrieved digital messages in an integrated mailbox provided by the synchronization mail server, the integrated mailbox containing digital messages from the multiple digital message accounts which are accessed by a user device operated by the user, the digital messages including emails retrieved from the first storage and messages retrieved from the second storage that include at least one of: Short Messaging Service (SMS) messages, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) messages, voicemails, and Visual Voicemails (VVMs); providing, by a synchronization server, a web based user interface or a mobile based user interface via which the user registers the multiple digital message accounts and checks digital messages stored in the user's integrated mailbox; and retrieving new digital messages, by the synchronization engine server, after a predetermined amount of time from receiving the notification from the synchronization notification receiving server or from the synchronization poller, the predetermined amount of time being set individually for each digital message account. |
