Abstract:
A method of providing an email service for any International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) allowing its user to send an email to any IMSI without knowing the email address of the recipient. If the recipient is not already registered with this service, a mail box is created for such recipient and he/she is provided with email access details. The method can be performed using mobile phones, tablets and personal computer systems.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a method of sending and receiving entails that enhances the functionality of a traditional email system by allowing emails to be send to any IMSI, the method can be used on mobile phones, tablets and personal computer systems. Platforms include iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows and Mac. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Occasionally, users have a need to send an email to a recipient whose email address users do not know. However, in many such instances, users know the recipient&#39;s mobile phone number, i.e., its International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). Traditional email systems do not allow sending of an email without it valid email address. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a way to not only send an email to any IMSI without knowing anything else, but also to use existing entailing features to send such email to any IMSI without requiring lots of configuration and hassle. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In its general aspect, the invention provides an enhanced mail service which allows a user to send an email to any IMSI without knowing the email address of the recipient. If the recipient is not already registered with this service, a mail box is created for such recipient and he/she is provided with email access details. 
     In one specific aspect, this service can be used through specially developed IMSI mail client application installed on a user&#39;s mobile device. In other embodiments, an IMSI mail web client or a conventional email client (e.g., Outlook) can be utilized. 
     In another specific aspect, where the user&#39;s mobile device is a mobile phone, the user will only need to install the IMSI mail client application to use the service, and no further configuration will be necessary. User will be able to send email on IMSI or receive emails on his/her IMSI right after the application is installed. 
     On tablets and desktop computer systems, user can register by providing his/her IMSI. Registration process is completed by user entering a code which was sent to user-provided IMSI. This service also supports email sending to traditional email addresses, and provides all common emailing features, e.g., “send”, “forward”, “reply”, “reply to all”, “attachment(s)”, “CC”, “BCC”, etc. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The invention is illustrated in the figures of the accompanying drawings which are meant to be exemplary and not limiting, in which like references are intended to refer to like or corresponding parts, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating the IMSI mailing system in accordance with the preferred embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating general components and processes provided by the IMSI mailing system in accordance with the preferred embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating different mail clients which can be used with the IMSI mailing system in accordance with the preferred embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating server side features and processes of the IMSI mailing system in accordance with the preferred embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram illustrating features of a client application of the IMSI mailing system in accordance with the preferred embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram illustrating configuration process on first run of the client application. 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram illustrating email sending process in the client application. 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram illustrating features of a web client. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals represent the same or similar elements, and, initially, to  FIG. 1 , in which an exemplary embodiment of the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) mail system is illustrated. Specifically, the IMSI mail system  10 , in its preferred embodiment, includes a sender system  12 , an IMSI mail server system  14  and a recipient system  16 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , user can send email to any IMSI or email address through email client  1  supporting multiple platforms using IMSI mail server  2 . The IMSI mail server  2  preferably includes a recording medium (not shown) for storing mail boxes, emails and other related information therein. Additionally, as shown in  FIG. 1  as conventional e-mail server  3  can be provided within the IMSI mail server system  14 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , email client  1  can be an IMSI mail client application  1 . 1  installed on a user device and specifically operable on different device operating systems, e.g., iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows and Mac; an IMSI mail web client  1 . 2 . i.e., a client application accessible via the Internet; or any conventional email client  1 . 3 , e.g., Outlook, etc. 
     The process performed by IMSI mail server  2  is further illustrated in  FIG. 4 . In accordance with the preferred embodiment, server  2  receives an email sending request (Step  2 . a . 1 ) to a recipient&#39;s IMSI or IMSI@imsimail.com address from email client  1 , or a mail box creation request (Step  2 . b . 1 ) from IMSI mail client application  1 . 1 . Alternatively, Server  2  can also receive a mail box verification request (Step  2 . c . 1 ) discussed further below. On receiving the email sending request (Step  2 . a . 1 ), server  2  will check if a recipient mail box exists (Step  2 . a . 2 ). If the recipient mail box exists server  2  will place mail into the existing mail box (Step  2 . a . 5 ). Otherwise, server  2  will create a new recipient mail box (Step  2 . a . 3 ), a welcome email to the recipient (Step  2 . a . 4 ) and will place both the sender&#39;s email and the welcome e-mail into the newly created mail box (Step  2 . a . 5 ). Further, to alert the recipient, server  2  will send a communication (e.g., SMS) to the recipient&#39;s IMSI address (Step  2 . a . 6 ) to provide the email access details. 
     On receiving the mail box creation request (Step  2 . b . 1 ) from the IMSI mail client application  1 . 1 , server  2  will verify if a mail box exists (Step  2 . a . 2 ) for the requestor&#39;s IMSI. If mail box does not exist, server  2  will then create a mail box (Step  2 . a . 3 ) and will send a “Successfully Created” message as a response to the email client  1  (Steps  2 . a . 8 ;  2 . d ). Similarly to the steps discussed above server  2  will also create a welcome email ( 2 . a . 4 ) and will place the welcome email into the newly created mail box (Step  2 . a . 5 ). 
     On receiving the mail box verification request (Step  2 . c . 1 ) from the email client  1 , server  2  will verify existence of the mail box (Step  2 . c . 2 ) using the requestor&#39;s IMSI and password. If the mail box exists, server  2  will send a response “Exists” to the requestor (Steps  2 . c . 3 ;  2 . d ). Otherwise, it will send a response “Does Not Exist” (Steps  2 . c . 4 ;  2 . d ). It should be noted that, in the preferred embodiment, the Step  2 . c . 2  (mail box verification) may be performed at the conventional email server  3 . 
     Processes performed at the IMSI mail client application  1 . 1  are illustrated in  FIG. 5 . Client application  1 . 1  can be conventionally installed, e.g., from an Application Store, or from imsimail.com (Step  1 . 1 . 1 ). On running the client application  1 . 1  for the first time, the process of configuration is performed (Step  1 . 1 . 2 ), as described below with respect to  FIG. 6 . Further, during each run of the client application  1 . 1 , the process of verification is performed (Step  1 . 1 . 3 ). After running the client application successfully, a user can send an email to any IMSI or email address (Step  1 . 1 . 5 ), can view the inbox (Step  1 . 1 . 6 ), can configure email forwarding to traditional entails (Step  1 . 1 . 7 ), can change password (Step  1 . 1 . 8 ), and/or can attach other multiple IMSIs to the same mail box (Step  1 . 1 . 9 ). Client application  1 . 1  is also configured to perform mail box auto synchronization (Step  1 . 1 . 10 ) periodically. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , in the preferred embodiment of the invention, upon running the IMSI mail client application  1 . 1  for the first time (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 1 ), the client application checks the user device to determine whether it is a mobile phone or any other device (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 2 ). If the user device is a mobile phone, then the application obtains the IMSI (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 3 ) and sends a verification request to IMSI mail server (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 4 ) by providing IMSI. Application then checks the server response (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 5 ). If the response is “Does Not Exist,” then application  1 . 1  sends a mail box creation request to the IMSI mail server (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 13 ). Next, Application again checks the server response (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 14 ). If the response is “Successfully Created,” the local configuration is set (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 15 ), application home is displayed to the user (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 16 ), and mail box synchronization is performed (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 17 ). Otherwise, an error message is prompted to the user (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 18 ). 
     If the client application determines that the user&#39;s device is not a mobile phone, it prompts a sign-in or sign-up option (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 7 ) and checks the option selected by the user (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 8 ). If the user selects the “Sign-In” option, the application allows the user to sign-in using his/her IMSI and password (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 9 ). Otherwise, the application displays the sign-up screen. At the sign-up screen, the user is prompted to enter the IMSI (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 10 ). Thereafter, a random security code is sent to the provided IMSI, preferably, using SMS or any other similar channel, (Step  1 . 12 . 11 ) and code input is prompted. User then enters the provided security code (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 12 ), and the application sends the mail box creation request to the IMSI mail server  2  (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 13 ) providing the requestor&#39;s IMSI and the code. Application then checks the server response (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 14 ), and, if the response is “Successfully Created,” the local configuration is set (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 15 ). Application home is then displayed to the user (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 16 ) and mail box synchronization step (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 17 ) is performed. Otherwise, the error message is displayed to the user (Step  1 . 1 . 2 . 18 ). 
     The process of sending email using the IMSI mail client application is illustrated in more detail in  FIG. 7 . To send an email to any IMSI or email address, a user first selects a “Compose” option (Step  1 . 1 . 5 . 1 ), and an email form is then shown to the user. User can then select a device contact or type in any IMSI or email address (Step  1 . 1 . 5 . 2 ), and press send (Step  1 . 1 . 5 . 3 ). Multiple recipients can be selected and/or entered into the “To”, “CC” and “BCC” fields. Application  1 . 1  then verifies the recipients: if any of the recipients only has the IMSI listed, the application appends “@imsimail.com” to the IMSI of the recipient to create a complete IMSI mail address (Step  1 . 1 . 5 . 4 ). This artificially constructed address indicates to the server that the mail is intended for the mail box of a recipient having the corresponding IMSI. Application then sends the email through the IMSI mail server SMTP (Step  1 . 1 . 5 . 5 ), and the user is notified that the mail is successfully sent to the recipient ( 1 . 1 . 5 . 6 ). 
     Instead of using a mobile device, a user may send email messages using the presently disclosed system by utilizing a IMSI mail web client  1 . 2 , as shown in  FIG. 8 . User can access web client  1 . 2  in any browser, and sign in using the IMSI and password (Step  1 . 2 . 1 ). After successfully signing in, the user can send email to any IMSI or email address (Step  1 . 2 . 2 ), can view the inbox (Step  1 . 2 . 3 ), can configure email forwarding to traditional emails (Step  1 . 2 . 4 ), can change the password (Step  1 . 2 . 5 ), and/or can attach other multiple IMSIs to the mail box (Step  1 . 2 . 6 ). 
     Finally, the present system can be utilized using conventional email clients, e.g., Outlook. Using any conventional email client  1 . 3 , a user can configure IMSI mail by appending “@imsimail.com” to the recipient&#39;s IMSI. POP3/IMAP and SMTP settings will be provided for the user at the imsimail.com website. Thus, an email can be sent to any IMSI by appending the extension “@imsimail.com” to the recipient&#39;s IMSI. 
     The figures in this disclosure are conceptual illustrations allowing for an explanation of the present invention. Notably, the figures and examples above are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention to a single embodiment, as other embodiments are possible by way of interchange of some or all of the described or illustrated elements. Moreover, where certain elements of the present invention can be partially or fully implemented using known components, only those portions of such known components that are necessary for an understanding of the present invention are described, and detailed descriptions of other portions of such known components are omitted so as not to obscure the invention. In the present specification, an embodiment showing a singular component should not necessarily be limited to other embodiments including a plurality of the same component, and vice-versa, unless explicitly stated otherwise herein. Moreover, applicants do not intend for any term in the specification or claims to be ascribed an uncommon or special meaning unless explicitly set forth as such. Further, the present invention encompasses present and future known equivalents to the known components referred to herein by way of illustration. 
     The foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully reveals the general nature of the invention that others can, by applying knowledge within the skill of the relevant art(s) (including the contents of the documents cited and incorporated by reference herein), readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiment, without undue experimentation, without departing from the general concept of the present invention. Such adaptations and modifications are therefore intended to be within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments, based on the teaching and guidance presented herein. 
     While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have beer presented by way of example, and not limitation. It would be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) that various changes in form and detail could be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the present inventions should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.