Claims:We Claim:

1. A method of performing efficient mail distribution in an organizational mailing system, the method comprising:
receiving at least one mail at the recipient organization from at least one sender organization;
checking for an identifier on the received mail at the recipient organization, wherein the identifier including at least one header and at least one content value;
matching the header and content values from the pre-stored templates available at the recipient organization;
performing mail list expansion, if the mail header or content value matches with the existing templates; and
distributing mails to the end recipient mail box based on the matched mail header and content values of the mail.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of matching including comparing the header and content values of the received mail against pre-defined templates stored in a directory server to smartly identify the purpose of the mail and to whom it should be sent to.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
manually sending the mail to the appropriate recipient if there is no match of the header and the content values within the existing or pre-stored templates.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of distributing mail comprises of fetching the distribution list from the matched template to perform expansion of the same.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of sending at least one mail from the originating organization including a header value and a content value.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, further including mail distribution templates comprising of header templates and content templates, both of which are entered in a directory server during the setup of the mailing system at the recipient organization and the sender organization.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the header templates are represented by values and content templates are represented by keywords.
8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the originating organization need not know the exact recipient to whom the mail has to be addressed, the origination organization can send it to the recipient organization, wherein the distribution engine and processing engine can identify and send the mail to the intended person.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the combination of the processing engine and distribution engine helps in smart identification and efficient distribution of mails based on the mail header and content.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing engine is invoked only when the mail is not addressed to a group.

11. A system for performing group mail distribution in mailing systems, the system comprising: at least one originating organization and at least one recipient organization, the originating organization and the recipient organization are connected by a network via at least one router, the recipient organization having a distribution engine, wherein the distribution engine is built to retrieve mailing list and perform expansion of mailing list and direct mail to the members of the mailing list.

12. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the group mail is sent from the originating organization as a single mail to the recipient organization by user agent of the mail client without performing mail list expansion.

13. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein a new header is added to the mail client to mention the group name

14. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein sending the group mail as a single mail from originating organization to recipient organization circumvents the need of sending multiple copies of the mail thereby efficiently utilizing available bandwidth. , Description:FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10, rule 13)

“A method and system for performing efficient mail distribution in an organizational mailing system”
By
BHARAT ELECTRONICS LIMITED
Nationality: Indian
M/s. Bharat Electronics Limited, Corporate Office, Outer Ring Road, Nagavara, Bangalore-560045, Karnataka, India

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

Field of the invention
The present invention mainly relates to email distribution and more particularly to a method and system for performing efficient email distribution to people across organizations based on specific value in email headers or email content.
Background of the invention
The era of communication has taken a gigantic leap with the onset of electronic messages commonly referred to as mail or email. Electronic mail, or email, is well known in the art which is a method of exchanging digital messages between people using digital devices such as computers, tablets and mobile phones. Some early email systems required the author and the recipient to be online at the same time, in common with instant messaging. Today's email systems are based on a store-and-forward model. Email servers accept, forward, deliver, and store messages. Neither the users nor their computers are required to be online simultaneously.
Emails not only allow exchange of information between recipients in the form of textual messages, further it allows attachment of different types of files to the email message. Conventional email systems allow one to address an email message to multiple recipients.
Usually, the email client program has an option of distribution list where the user is allowed to maintain a list of email addresses and send messages to all of them at once. This can be referred to as an electronic mailshot. Sending mail using a distribution list differs from an electronic mailing list or the email option found in an Internet forum as it is usually for one-way traffic and not for coordinating a discussion. A distribution list is an email equivalent of a postal mailing list.
For example, document US 20150120842 A1 describes a method and system for managing groups of individuals to receive an electronic message with recipient specific selected document attachments. The method and system associates one or more documents with individual recipients prior to composing an email message. After an email message is composed, the email message is sent to the selected recipients with respective associated documents for the recipients as previously selected.
Further, document US US20080040432 A1 describes a computer system and associated method for distributing electronic communication. The electronic communication is originated from a first originating destination and is to be sent to a distribution of recipient(s). The distribution can simply consist of one or a plurality of intended recipients. When delivery information is verified, any errors leading to delivery failure of the communication is corrected to be used in subsequent response communication originated by one or more of these recipients.
Considering the example of organizational mailing systems, one limitation of the conventional email system is that there is no way to automatically re-direct mails to specific people based on the mail headers and content of the mail. Another limitation is that mail sent from one office to many people in the other office, will be sent as multiple mails from sender’s office to the recipient office.
Therefore there is a need in the art for a method and system for providing a more efficient way of distributing mails to group of people in the recipient organization.
Objective of the invention
The main objective of the present invention is to provide a method and system for efficiently distributing mails to people in the recipient organization based on the mail headers and content of the mail.
Another objective of the present invention is to send group mails as a single mail from originating organization to the recipient organization mailbox. The mail will then be distributed to all the recipients in the recipient organization.

Summary of the Invention
An aspect of the present invention is to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below.
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention relates to a method of performing efficient mail distribution in an organizational mailing system, the method comprising: receiving at least one mail at the recipient organization from at least one sender organization, checking for an identifier on the received mail at the recipient organization, wherein the identifier including at least one header and at least one content value, matching the header and content values from the pre-stored templates available at the recipient organization, performing mail list expansion if the mail header and content values matches with the existing templates and distributing mails to the end recipient mail box based on the matched mail header and content values of the mail.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to a system for performing efficient mail distribution in mailing systems, the system comprising: at least one originating organization and at least one recipient organization, the originating organization and the recipient organization are connected by a network via at least one router, the recipient organization having a processing engine and a distribution engine, wherein the processing engine is built to check the header and content of the mail against pre-defined templates and wherein the distribution engine is to retrieve mailing list from the pre-defined template and expansion of mailing list is done and directs mail to the members of the mailing list.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to a system for sending group mail as a single mail to a single managed mailbox in the recipient organization instead of sending multiple mails. Thereby, the system is very efficient in using the available bandwidth by avoiding the need to send multiple copies of the mail. Once the group mail is sent as a single mail to the recipient organization mailbox, the expansion of the distribution list happens at the recipient organization and the mail is then sent to the end recipients.
Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention.
Brief description of the drawings
The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 shows a scheme of mailing system across two organizations according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 shows a block diagram of the various components involved in end-to-end mail processing from the originating to the recipient organization according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 shows a flowchart illustrating the entire end - to - end mail flow process between originating and recipient organization according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 shows a flowchart illustrating the sending of group mail between originating and recipient organization according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5 shows a flowchart illustrating the working of the processing engine and distribution engine according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and may have not been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figure may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.
Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbers are used to depict the same or similar elements, features, and structures.

Detailed description of the invention
The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplary embodiments of the invention as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.
The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the invention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.
By the term “substantially” it is meant that the recited characteristic, parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations or variations, including for example, tolerances, measurement error, measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to those of skill in the art, may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effect the characteristic was intended to provide.
Figures discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way that would limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged communications system. The terms used to describe various embodiments are exemplary. It should be understood that these are provided to merely aid the understanding of the description, and that their use and definitions in no way limit the scope of the invention. Terms first, second, and the like are used to differentiate between objects having the same terminology and are in no way intended to represent a chronological order, unless where explicitly stated otherwise. A set is defined as a non-empty set including at least one element.
The present invention is to provide a method and system for efficiently distributing mails to people in the recipient organization based on the mail headers and content of the mail. This is achieved by making templates for policy based mail distribution based on certain rules. For each policy, a corresponding distribution list will be specified in the template. Further, the present invention sends group mails as a single mail from originating organization to the recipient organization mailbox. The mail will then be distributed to all the recipients in the recipient organization.
Figure 1 shows a basic scheme of mailing system across two organizations according to one embodiment of the present invention.
The figure depicts a network 100 in which the current invention may be implemented. Network 100 comprises of computers and network devices connected via communication links. Originating organization comprises of a Mail Client 101 which is connected to mail server 102 and directory server 103. Mail client is a desktop application that enables users to receive and send emails directly on their desktop.
Typically, email client requires an email address to be setup and configured before user can start using email service. These configuration and settings generally include email address, password, POP3/IMAP and SMTP address, port number, email aliases and other related preferences. A mail server is a server that handles and delivers e-mail over a network, usually over the Internet. A mail server can receive e-mails from client computers and deliver them to other mail servers. A mail server can also deliver e-mails to client computers. The mail server used in the present invention may be a SMTP, POP3, IMAP server, etc. The directory server is a server which maps the names of network resources to their respective network addresses. Each resource on the network is considered an object by the directory server. Information about a particular resource is stored as a collection of attributes associated with that resource or object. Recipient organization comprises of Mail Client 106 which is connected to mail server 105 and directory server 107. Originating and recipient organizations are connected via router 104.In the present invention, when a group mail is sent from originating organization to recipient organization, a single mail will be sent to the recipient organization mailbox.
Figure 2 shows a block diagram of the various components involved in mail processing according to one embodiment of the present invention.
The mail client at the originating organization 200 is connected to the mail server 201. Mail is sent from sender’s organization to the recipient organization mailbox 202. The processing engine 203 is invoked for checking mail header and content values against existing templates. If it matches with any template, the distribution engine 204 is invoked to perform mail list expansion. The mail is then sent to the end recipient mailbox 205.
Figure 3 shows a flowchart illustrating the entire end - to - end mail flow process between originating and recipient organization according to one embodiment of the present invention.
The figure shows a flowchart illustrating the entire end - to - end mail flow process between originating and recipient organization. Further, the figure briefly explains the mail composition by sender, recipient organization mailbox receiving mail, comparison of header and content against pre-defined templates by processing engine, expansion of distribution list according to the template and sending mails to the respective people in the distribution list by the distribution engine. Mail client at the originating organization composes a mail and addresses it to recipient organization by process 301. Mail is received by recipient organization mailbox by process 302. The processing engine is invoked which compares the header and content of the mail against pre-defined templates stored in directory server by process 303. A check is performed to see if the mail header or content value matches with any of the pre-defined templates stored in directory server by process 304. If the header value or content value does not match with any of the templates, the mail is manually sent to the appropriate recipient by process 305. If the header value or content value matches with any of the templates, distribution engine is invoked which fetches the distribution list from the template and performs expansion of distribution list by process 306. The mail server then sends mails to the respective people in the distribution list by process 307.
The present invention relates to a method of performing efficient mail distribution in an organizational mailing system. In one embodiment, the method comprising: receiving at least one mail at the recipient organization from at least one sender organization, checking for an identifier on the received mail at the recipient organization, wherein the identifier including at least one header and at least one content value, matching the header and content values from the pre-stored templates available at the recipient organization. The step of matching including comparing the header and content values of the received mail against pre-defined templates stored in a directory server. Further step includes, invoking distribution engine to perform mail list expansion if the mail header or content value matches with the existing templates and distributing mails to the end recipient mail box based on the matched mail header or content values of the mail. The step of sending at least one mail from the originating organization includes a header value and a content value. The mail operator of the recipient organization mailbox sends mail manually to the appropriate recipient if there is no match of the header and the content values within the existing or pre-stored templates.
The mail distribution templates comprising of header templates and content templates, are both entered in a directory server during the setup of the mailing system at the recipient organization and the sender organization. The step of distributing mail happens by fetching the distribution list from the matched template to perform expansion of the same. The header templates are represented by values and content templates are represented by keywords.
In another embodiment, the system for performing efficient mail distribution in mailing systems, the system comprising: at least one originating organization and at least one recipient organization, the originating organization and the recipient organization are connected by a network via at least one router, the recipient organization having a processing engine and a distribution engine, wherein the processing engine is built to check the header and content of the mail against pre-defined templates and wherein the distribution engine is to retrieve mailing list from the pre-defined template and expansion of mailing list is done and directs mail to the members of the mailing list. The processing engine is invoked only when the mail is not addressed to a group. The combination of the processing engine and distribution engine helps in smart identification and efficient distribution of mails based on the mail header and content values.
Figure 4 shows a flowchart illustrating the sending of group mail between originating and recipient organization according to one embodiment of the present invention.
The figure shows a flowchart illustrating the sending of group mail between originating and recipient organization. Further, the figure briefly explains the group mail composition by sender, recipient organization mailbox receiving it as a single mail, expansion of distribution list by distribution engine, sending mail to all recipients of distribution list. Mail client of the originating organization composes a group mail by process 401. The mail is addressed to the recipient organization instead of group. An additional header is placed in the mail client called the group header. The name of the group is mentioned in this header. Since the mail is addressed to the recipient organization, it is sent as a single mail by user agent to the recipient organization mailbox by process 402. Hence Mail list expansion is not performed at the originating organization. Mail is received by the recipient organization mailbox by process 403. Distribution engine is invoked which checks the group header of the mail. Since this header contains the group name, the distribution engine expands the mailing list by process 404. Mail server sends mail to recipients of mailing list by process 405. The single mail from originating organization to recipient organization circumvents the need of sending multiple copies of the mail thereby efficiently utilizing available bandwidth.
Figure 5 shows a flowchart illustrating the working of the processing engine and distribution engine according to one embodiment of the present invention.
The figure shows a flowchart illustrating the working of the processing engine and distribution engine for checking header and content of the mail against templates and sending mail to the distribution list mentioned in the template. The processing engine checks for header and content of the mail against pre-defined templates. The distribution engine expands the distribution list mentioned in the template according to one embodiment of the present invention. Mail is received at the recipient organization mailbox by process 501. The processing engine is invoked by process 502. Mail distribution templates based on Header and content values will be entered in directory server during the setup of the mailing system. Header templates will contain some mail headers with some expected values. Content templates will contain some keywords. Processing engine checks if mail headers of the received mail have the values which match with any of the header templates by process 503. If the values do not match with any of the header templates, the content of the mail is checked with keywords in the content templates by process 505. If the content of the mail does not match with any keywords mentioned in the content template, the mail is manually sent to the appropriate recipient by process 508. If the header of the received mail matches with the values specified in the header template or if the content of the received mail matches with the keywords specified in the content template, the distribution engine is invoked. The distribution engine retrieves the distribution list mentioned in the template and expands it by process 506. The mail server then sends the mail to all recipients in the mailing list by process 507.
Figures are merely representational and are not drawn to scale. Certain portions thereof may be exaggerated, while others may be minimized. Figures illustrate various embodiments of the invention that can be understood and appropriately carried out by those of ordinary skill in the art.
In the foregoing detailed description of embodiments of the invention, various features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments of the invention require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description of embodiments of the invention, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.
It is understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. It is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein,” respectively.

We Claim:

1. A method of performing efficient mail distribution in an organizational mailing system, the method comprising:
receiving at least one mail at the recipient organization from at least one sender organization;
checking for an identifier on the received mail at the recipient organization, wherein the identifier including at least one header and at least one content value;
matching the header and content values from the pre-stored templates available at the recipient organization;
performing mail list expansion, if the mail header or content value matches with the existing templates; and
distributing mails to the end recipient mail box based on the matched mail header and content values of the mail.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of matching including comparing the header and content values of the received mail against pre-defined templates stored in a directory server to smartly identify the purpose of the mail and to whom it should be sent to.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
manually sending the mail to the appropriate recipient if there is no match of the header and the content values within the existing or pre-stored templates.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of distributing mail comprises of fetching the distribution list from the matched template to perform expansion of the same.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of sending at least one mail from the originating organization including a header value and a content value.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, further including mail distribution templates comprising of header templates and content templates, both of which are entered in a directory server during the setup of the mailing system at the recipient organization and the sender organization.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the header templates are represented by values and content templates are represented by keywords.
8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the originating organization need not know the exact recipient to whom the mail has to be addressed, the origination organization can send it to the recipient organization, wherein the distribution engine and processing engine can identify and send the mail to the intended person.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the combination of the processing engine and distribution engine helps in smart identification and efficient distribution of mails based on the mail header and content.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing engine is invoked only when the mail is not addressed to a group.

11. A system for performing group mail distribution in mailing systems, the system comprising: at least one originating organization and at least one recipient organization, the originating organization and the recipient organization are connected by a network via at least one router, the recipient organization having a distribution engine, wherein the distribution engine is built to retrieve mailing list and perform expansion of mailing list and direct mail to the members of the mailing list.

12. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the group mail is sent from the originating organization as a single mail to the recipient organization by user agent of the mail client without performing mail list expansion.

13. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein a new header is added to the mail client to mention the group name

14. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein sending the group mail as a single mail from originating organization to recipient organization circumvents the need of sending multiple copies of the mail thereby efficiently utilizing available bandwidth.

Date: 16/02/2017 S AFSAR
Place: Bangalore IN/PA-1073
Agent for the applicant

ABSTRACT
A method and system for performing efficient mail distribution in an organizational mailing system
The present invention relates to a method of performing efficient mail distribution in an organizational mailing system. In one embodiment, the method comprising: receiving at least one mail at the recipient organization from at least one sender organization, checking for an identifier on the received mail at the recipient organization, wherein the identifier including at least one header and at least one content value, matching the header and content values from the pre-stored templates available at the recipient organization performing mail list expansion if the mail header or content value matches with the existing templates and distributing mails to the end recipient mail box based on the matched mail header and content values of the mail. In another embodiment of the current invention, the method comprising of functionalities for sending group mail to recipient organization, invoking the user agent of mail client to send group mail as a single mail to recipient organization, receiving the group mail by the recipient organization mailbox, invoking the distribution engine to retrieve distribution list and perform mail list expansion; sending mail to all recipients of the distribution list.
Figure 3 (for publication)