EP1157337A1 - Systeme de gestion de messages personnels - Google Patents

Systeme de gestion de messages personnels

Info

Publication number
EP1157337A1
EP1157337A1 EP00976782A EP00976782A EP1157337A1 EP 1157337 A1 EP1157337 A1 EP 1157337A1 EP 00976782 A EP00976782 A EP 00976782A EP 00976782 A EP00976782 A EP 00976782A EP 1157337 A1 EP1157337 A1 EP 1157337A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
message
messages
mail
user
access
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP00976782A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Christopher Wood (Noah)
Michael D. Kowitz
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Messagehero Inc
Original Assignee
Messagehero Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US09/433,652 external-priority patent/US20020112007A1/en
Priority claimed from US09/510,586 external-priority patent/US20020111991A1/en
Priority claimed from US09/510,423 external-priority patent/US20020111990A1/en
Priority claimed from US09/510,424 external-priority patent/US20020091829A1/en
Application filed by Messagehero Inc filed Critical Messagehero Inc
Publication of EP1157337A1 publication Critical patent/EP1157337A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/10—Office automation; Time management
    • G06Q10/107—Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Definitions

  • This invention relates generally to computer assisted message management, and more particularly to the management and handling of personal messages actively retrieved from different sources by way of the Internet.
  • a user Take for example a user that has multiple e-mail accounts (e.g., a home e-mail account, a work e-mail account, and a general Internet e-mail account), a cellular phone voice-mail account, an office voice-mail account, and one or two home voice- mail systems, and a text pager.
  • this user is commonly required to spend time calling each account to listen to and answer selected messages.
  • the time spent in simply retrieving and managing messages can amount to a significant daily required use of ones time.
  • users can spend hours each day retrieving messages to determine whether or not such messages are important. The user is forced into spending this amount of time because the user does not know in advance which message is important until the user reads or listens to the messages.
  • unified messaging A known way of attempting to handle messages coming from different sources is to use a system referred to as "unified messaging."
  • a user having different message sources can actively forward all of the message sources to one number at the unified messaging provider (which can be an Intranet of a company or an outside provider) which stores the messages.
  • the user can then contact the unified messaging provider that provides access to the stored messages.
  • this alleviates the need to call up different sources (i.e., the voice-mail of an office phone, a home phone, a cell phone, etc.), the user is forced to forward all calls to the unified messaging provider.
  • telephone companies typically charge a fee to transfer calls to another number, and if all calls are transferred to the unified messaging provider, the monthly bill on transferred calls alone can amount to significant phone bill increases.
  • the present invention fills these needs by providing computer methods for managing and handling personal messages of different types that are actively and intelligently retrieved from different sources over the Internet. It should be appreciated that the present invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a process, an apparatus, a system, computer readable media, or a device. Several inventive embodiments of the present invention are described below.
  • a method for managing messages of remote message sources over the Internet is disclosed. The method includes establishing message sources for a user, such that each message source has associated access and management information provided by the user. The method then proceeds to store the access and management information for the message sources in a user database. Each of the message sources is accessed over the Internet at user defined times or on demand using the access and management information.
  • a message management system for handling personal messages from different message sources over the Internet.
  • the message management system includes a user database having access and management information set by a user.
  • the access information is configured to be used to gain access to each of the different message sources and the management information is configured to set access times to each of the different message sources.
  • a procedures database is also provided for holding access routines for the different message sources.
  • a phone server for establishing Internet phone connections to voice-mail-type message sources and an e-mail server for establishing Internet connections to e-mail-type message sources are also provided.
  • a message database for holding messages copied from selected ones of the different message sources is also included.
  • a manager server that is in contact with the user database and the procedures database is provided.
  • the manager server is configured to request that one or both of the phone server and the e-mail server establish Internet connections to the selected message sources.
  • the manager server is further configured to pass both access and management information from the user database and access routines from the procedures database to the phone server and e-mail server.
  • a computer readable media having program instructions for managing messages of remote message sources over the Internet.
  • the computer readable media includes: (a) program instructions for establishing message sources for a user, and each message source has associated access and management information provided by the user; (b) program instructions for storing the access and management information for the message sources in a user database; (c) program instructions for accessing each of the message sources over the Internet at user defined times using the access and management information; (d) program instructions for copying messages from the message sources; and (e) program instructions for saving the copied messages at a message database.
  • a method for managing messages of remote message sources over the Internet is provided.
  • the method includes: (a) establishing message sources for a user (e.g., adding an office phone account, adding an e-mail account, etc.), and each message source has access and management information provided by the user; (b) storing the access and management information for the message sources in a user database; (c) accessing each of the message sources over the Internet at user defined times or on demand using the access and management information, the accessing is performed over the Internet; (d) copying messages from the message sources at the user defined times; (e) saving the copied messages at a message database; and (f) accessing the message database over the Internet to access the copied messages.
  • the copied messages are displayed for the user to handle, and each copied message is arranged in the display with the message source from which the copied message originated, and the accessing of the message database can be performed over a web browser.
  • the message management system of the present invention is a powerful solution for busy persons desiring control over their messaging sources.
  • the message management system is a non-invasive solution which does not require a user to change his or her normal routine. That is, the user is not required to forward calls to one number, and the user is able to access all message sources from any location in the world having an Internet connection.
  • the system provides an easy to use interface that organizes each message in relation to where the message was retrieved from.
  • Still another advantage of the message management system is that users are able to quickly browse through all messages from all sources in text format (whether the original message was voice or text) so that non-important messages are not accessed until the user desires.
  • the invention automatically standardizes the functionality of all voice-mail systems regardless of the manufacturer.
  • Figure 1 shows a general diagram of a message management system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 2 shows a model block diagram of the components that comprise the message management system provided by amessage.com, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 3 illustrates a flowchart that defines the sign-up process for a new user of amessage.com that implements the message management system, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 4 illustrates a flowchart diagram in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention detailing the method operations performed when retrieving voice-mail from the message management system.
  • Figure 5 illustrates a flowchart diagram defining the operations performed to retrieve e-mail messages in accordance with one embodiment of the message management system.
  • Figure 6A illustrates a flowchart diagram defining the method operations performed when a user obtains messages from the message management system by way of the Internet, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 6B illustrates a simplified graphical user interface (GUI) that illustrates preferred organization of messages for a user, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • GUI graphical user interface
  • FIGS. 6C and 6D illustrate exemplary GUI's for configuring the settings for each of the messages sources, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 6E illustrates is a graphical diagram of the method operations and user interfaces for responding to messages, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 7 illustrates a flowchart diagram defining the process for retrieving web-based e-mail, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 1 shows a general diagram of a message management system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • the message management system is configured to actively and intelligently communicate with the Internet to access and manage communication message sources.
  • the message management system retrieves e- mail messages from various e-mail servers (e.g., POP3, Web based, etc.) and voice-mail from various voice mail systems (e.g., PSTN, voice over IP, etc.), and web-based fax retrieval as well as other multimedia messages of the future.
  • Other multimedia sources may include video sources and other associated multimedia functionalities.
  • Such communication message sources may include, for example, work e-mail 10, personal e-mail 12, other e-mail 14, cellular phone 16, home phone 18, and office phone 20.
  • Other sources may also include e- mail messages obtained from a WebTVTM source, and other messaging devices that may be connected to the Internet by phone lines or wireless connections.
  • the message management system functions over the Internet and provides a user access to his or her messages from any Internet browser.
  • the owner of the present application provides a message accessing and managing portal, named "amessage.com,” for easy setup (i.e., the establishment of message sources during registration) and access by users desiring to minimize the time consuming task of checking messages with prior art technology.
  • the amessage.com portal can therefore be accessed by communicating with the Internet through any personal computer system 40, any television Internet connection 52, and any portable computer 50.
  • the communication links can therefore be by way of land lines, wireless connections, and any other suitable techniques.
  • the message management system provided by amessage.com is configured to allow a user to establish all of its e-mail accounts, voice-mail accounts, fax accounts, and other multimedia accounts.
  • the voice-mail accounts can include, by way of example, office voice- mail accounts, cell phone accounts, and other communication devices.
  • the message management system will utilize the Internet to automatically retrieve any messages that may be sitting at any one of the user's communication sources. As will be described below in greater detail, during the setup process, the user is prompted to provide information for accessing the different e-mail accounts, voice-mail accounts, etc.
  • This information will thus enable the message management system of amessage.com to intelligently go out to each one of these sources (at particular times or on demand) and make a copy of the messages for the user to view through the amessage.com portal at any time from any Internet connection throughout the world.
  • FIG. 2 shows a model block diagram 100 of the components that comprise the message management system provided by amessage.com, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • the user will first access the main interface web server 102 which provides the amessage.com portal for either logging on to check messages if the user was previously registered as a user, or for beginning the sign-up process if the user is new user. If the user is a new user, the message management system will send the user to a new user server 104 which is configured to control the initial sign-up process of a new user desiring the capabilities of the message management system.
  • the method may proceed by a communication link 142 to technical support 108.
  • technical support 108 the user can contact a representative of amessage.com by telephone or via the web or other medium for technical support and assistance during the initial sign up process. This technical support is most helpful in assisting users to identify the user's correct phone system, the type of e-mail accounts, and to properly identify the log-on sequences, and passwords for accessing voice- mail and/or fax or multimedia store and forward devices.
  • the technical support is most helpful in assisting users to identify the user's correct phone system, the type of e-mail accounts, and to properly identify the log-on sequences, and passwords for accessing voice- mail and/or fax or multimedia store and forward devices.
  • the technical support is most helpful in assisting users to identify the user's correct phone system, the type of e-mail accounts, and to properly identify the log-on sequences, and passwords for accessing voice- mail and/or fax or multimedia store and forward devices.
  • the technical support is most helpful
  • the 108 can be in the form of a comprehensive computer program, which intelligently provides the new user advice or suggestions. While the user is providing the sign up information, this information can, in one embodiment, be tested on a private network 110. If the case where the user wants to access technical support by phone, and the lines are busy, the system is preferably configured to automatically call back the user at a later time. In addition, to prevent message source redundancy, in another embodiment, it is preferred that all message source identifying information (e.g., phone numbers and emails) be stored in a separate database. This database can then be checked to prevent such redundancy.
  • message source identifying information e.g., phone numbers and emails
  • the private network 1 10 is a preliminary network that is controlled by technical support 108 to assist the user in initially testing whether or not the information provided to access voice-mail, e-mail, and the like, is correct and functioning (i.e., before the account goes live).
  • the technical support 108 (whether assisted by a human or by a computer assisted program) together with the private network 110 will therefore ensure that new users are correctly registered and subsequently able to utilize the full functionalities of the message management system of the present invention.
  • the technical support 108 were not provided and testing was not performed by way of the private network 110, the user may accidentally provide the wrong information for either logging on to a voice- mail system, or the wrong information for accessing e-mail accounts.
  • the technical support 108 and the testing provided at the private network 110 will ensure that the data is accurate and provides the new user with full functionality to the desired services provided by amessage.com.
  • the information provided by the user that is configured to identify billing particulars is passed to a data verification and billing module 112.
  • the data verification and billing module 112 will thus verify that the credit card information or other billing information provided by the user is acceptable by amessage.com and is accurate for billing services rendered.
  • the billing information is provided by way of a secure shell 152 to a credit card database 114.
  • the credit card database 114 is therefore secure such that the highest level of security is provided for users that provide sensitive credit card information over the Internet.
  • the private network 110 will then allow the information associated with the new user to be communicated to a user database 116 by way of communication link 140.
  • the information provided to the user database will include information such as user passwords for accessing the different message sources and the like.
  • a manager server 118 is provided with a secure shell 144 to the user database 116 which holds the passwords and related accessing information.
  • the manager server 118 is also coupled to a voice/e-mail database 120 by way of a secure shell 146.
  • the voice/e-mail database 120 will thus hold, in the case of voice-mail, menus of numbers to enter for each type of phone system that may be supported by the message management system.
  • the voice/e-mail database 120 is a procedures database that can be implemented to generically gain access to common systems, without regard to particular user members.
  • the voice/e-mail database 120 can preferably include all of the relevant menu structures and log-on procedures for the different types of phone systems that are commercially available. Of course, the database 120 can also be updated from time to time with information for new phone systems that may become available in the future.
  • the manager server 118 is configured to communicate with the user database 116 and process through all users to determine which users would like messages to be accessed at particular times (e.g., using timed processes). For example, if a particular user had selected during the set-up process that it desires to have all of its voice-mail messages called up at 6:00 a.m. in the morning, the manager server 118 would then wake up from a sleep process at 6:00 a.m. and go out to the user database 116, retrieve that information over the secure shell 144, and then communicate that information to the phone server 122. The phone server 122 will then have information regarding the user's passwords, the voice-mail systems from the user database 116, and the voice-mail/e-mail database 120, respectively.
  • the phone server 122 can then communicate over the Internet by link 136 to retrieve voice-mail messages from each of the voice-mail sources. For example, the phone server 122 will send out information over link 136 to the Internet so calls can be automatically placed over the Internet to each of the user's voice-mail accounts.
  • An example is using a voice over IP gateway for the long distance portion of a call and the PSTN for the last mile to the voice-mail system. If a gateway is not available, the PSTN is used for the entire long distance and local aspects of the call.
  • Each voice-mail account will then be accessed to record a copy of the messages without erasing the message from the voice-mail source if the user desires, and then pass each of the voice-mail messages to a message database 128.
  • the phone server 122 retrieves a copy of the entire voice-mail message, the voice-mail messages are stored on a local hard drive 154 (compressed or uncompressed). The phone server 122 can convert an initial portion of the voice-mail into text and provide that text portion to the message database 128.
  • the messages are retrieved initially from the message database 128 and only the headers of the voicemails and the headers of the emails in text format are provided for viewing.
  • the phone server 122 can provide the entire voice-mail message to the message database 128 so that the user can listen to the entire voice-mail message at that time.
  • the amessage.com portal communicates to the Internet via communication line 130 so that the user can log into a message server 106, the message server 106 communicates to the Internet by way of a communication line 132.
  • the message server 106 will then communicate by way of a secure connection to a message database server 126.
  • the message database server 126 which is part of the message management system will then allow the user (who logged on using a proper user name and password) to communicate to the message database 128.
  • the communication to the message database 128 is preferably by way of a secure connection 148.
  • the amessage.com portal will provide a graphical user interface which itemizes the different messages that may have been retrieved by the message management system from the different sources that were programmed by the user (e.g., see Figure 6B).
  • the manager server 118 runs timed (e.g., sleep processes) processes to determine when the next retrieval will occur, the manager server 118 will access an e-mail server 124 and provide the e-mail server 124 information for signing on to particular e-mail accounts. This information will come from the voice/e-mail database 120 and the user database 116. The e-mail server 124 will then access the Internet by communication line 134 where each of the accessed e-mail messages is copied from the source and then transferred to the message database 128.
  • timed e.g., sleep processes
  • the e-mail messages can either be erased or saved after being accessed.
  • the user when the user desires to log in to the amessage.com portal, the user will be able to graphically view each of his or her voice-mail messages, and e-mail messages in one easy to view graphical screen.
  • the graphical screen will preferably itemize each of the messages to identify the source from which each message was retrieved from. Because the user is able to quickly glance at the different messages that may be present in the message database 128, the user can quickly determine which e-mail messages, voice messages, or other multimedia messages are of high importance and postpone listening to any such voicemails or emails until a future date.
  • the message that was accessed by the message management system over the Internet can be saved at the source (i.e., without erasing the source message). In this manner, if the user desires to listen to the message at a later time from the source, the message will still be present. Of course, the user can in its settings, determine if it desires to have the original source message erased.
  • communication 160 can be made between the message server 106 and the manager server 118 to enable the user to immediately check any or all messages.
  • the new user server 104 can update 180 the user database 116 with simple modifications (e.g., save or delete messages from source, or change time to check messages).
  • FIG 3 illustrates a flowchart 200 that defines the sign-up process for a new user of amessage.com that implements the message management system, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • the method begins at an operation 202 where a main web server is provided for amessage.com to interface with Internet users.
  • a new user server is provided to interface for users desiring to become a member of amessage.com such that the user can take advantage of the services provided by the message management system.
  • the user is linked to the new user server 104 of Figure 2, the user is prompted to provide particular information for accessing their desired e-mail accounts, voice-mail accounts, and the like.
  • the user may be asked to provide the name that it wants to call the particular mailbox.
  • the name Once the name has been provided for a particular mailbox, for example, office voice-mail, the user is prompted to provide information with regard to the voice-mail system. After the user has provided the information for the voice-mail system, (e.g., a Nortel
  • the user is prompted to provide the telephone number to dial for accessing the particular voice-mail system.
  • the user will also be asked to provide the password for accessing voice-mail on that system.
  • the user may be asked to re-type the password of the voice-mail system to ensure that the proper password has indeed been provided.
  • the user will be asked several questions regarding the frequency of when the message management system is to access the particular voice-mail account.
  • the method will move to operation 208 of Figure 3.
  • the functionality of amessage.com for the new user is tested using the new user's sign-up information.
  • the signup information will thus be provided to a private network for testing before the user's account is activated.
  • the testing is performed to ensure that the message management system will indeed be able to access the desired voice-mail systems before the user is allowed to complete the new user sign-up procedures.
  • the user may be assisted by technical support to provide the relevant information for accessing different types of voice-mail accounts, providing the password information, and relevant data for accessing the different types of voice-mail systems.
  • the technical support will thus interface with the private network 110 of Figure 2 to enable testing of the information provided by the user.
  • This testing will include generating test requests for messages from desired voice-mail systems to ensure that the user's message management properties have been properly set and are in condition for use.
  • the method proceeds to an operation 210 where credit card information received from the user is verified to ensure that the account can be billed for services provided by amessage.com. Once the credit card information has been processed and verified, the credit card information is added to a secure credit card database for the particular user and will be accessed to bill the user at appropriate times.
  • the user database is, by way of example, user database 1 16 of Figure 2 and is in communication with the manager server 1 18.
  • the user database will therefore enable the manager server to use the information provided by the user and stored in the user database for accessing and determining when to access messages at the different sources identified by the user.
  • the message management system implements the Internet to access the different message sources (i.e., office voice-mail, home voice-mail, e-mail accounts, and the like), such that the user will not be required to forward calls from the message sources as is done in the prior art.
  • the user will be allowed to determine whether or not the voice-mail messages are to be saved or deleted once they are copied from the voice-mail sources to the message database 128 or the hard drive 154 of the message management system of Figure 2.
  • the user may be suggested to instruct the message management system to save all messages once they have been copied to the message management system so that a copy is maintained at the source in case the user is unable to access the Internet, or the user wants to access the message from the source at a future time.
  • the phone server 122 of Figure 2 may have connected thereto a hard drive 154, and a backup system which is capable of periodically generating archival media copies for users.
  • the phone server also has connected thereto (or by way of the Internet at a remote location) a number of drives (e.g., CDR drives, disk drives, zip drives, tape drives, etc.), for creating the archival copies from the hard drive 154 or the message database 128.
  • the media can then be sent to the user for storage.
  • the hard drive 154 or the message database will not indefinitely hold voice-mail messages.
  • the user may instruct the message management system to erase all or selected messages after a predetermined amount of time from the hard drive 154 and/or message database.
  • the user may be provided a user interface (UI) (i.e., at the amessage.com portal) to access his or her voice-mail systems.
  • UI user interface
  • UI is used during the set up process (as opposed to using the above described set up process) to gather voice-mail accessing information. For instance, the user may be asked by way of the UI to access his or her voice-mail systems through Internet at the amessagc.com portal. As the user accesses his or her voice-mail systems, the message management system will track the information being input by the user to memorize the process of accessing the systems. This also verifies to the use that he can actually access his message sources and the message management system will also be able to do the same in the future once the system is active.
  • Figure 4 illustrates a flowchart diagram 250 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention detailing the method operations performed when retrieving voice-mail from the message management system.
  • the method begins at an operation 252 where the time of day is monitored by the manager server 118 of Figure 2. For each user in the user database, different times have been set for the manager server 118 to go out and actively retrieve voice-mail and/or e-mail over the Internet.
  • a user number code is retrieved at a particular time of day.
  • the user number code for additional security purposes, is initially randomly generated.
  • the method will proceed to an operation 256 where the retrieved user number code is mapped to identify a user, identify a phone number, identify a password, and identify a voice-mail type.
  • the method proceeds to an operation 258 where procedures for accessing and controlling the particular voice-mail type is retrieved from a voice/e-mail database.
  • each voice-mail type may have different procedures for accessing voice-mail, and such procedures will be stored in the voice-mail/e-mail database 120 of Figure 2.
  • the voice-mail procedures for a limited number of voice-mail systems will be stored in the voice-mail/e-mail database 120 and will not have to be repeated over and over again for each user in the user database 116 that may have the same voice-mail system.
  • the method proceeds to an operation 260 where the voice-mail type procedures, the identified phone number, and the identified password to a phone server are passed to enable navigation through voice-mail options until message information for the user is reached.
  • a human user picks up the phone when the message management system calls on a scheduled time, the system is configured to recognize that a human has picked up.
  • the message management system will provide the human user with option so that voice-mail can be accessed at a later time. For example, the system can ask the user to specify when to call back (e.g., within 1 hour) or to cancel the call back.
  • the message management system may hang up when it detects a human answering the phone. The system will then call back lager after set time has passed.
  • the system will ask the human to indicate the same by pressing a selection.
  • the message information may be the actual voice message left by a person trying to reach the user at a particular voice-mail account.
  • the method proceeds to an operation 262 where the message information audio (e.g., the speech of the voice-mail system) is observed (by the message management system) to ascertain the number of new messages using voice recognition.
  • voice recognition may include matching waveforms using probability, or other suitable techniques known in the voice recognition art.
  • the method proceeds to a decision operation 264 where it is determined if there are any messages at the particular voice-mail source. If there are no messages, the method will be done for the particular retrieval of a message. Alternatively, if there are messages based on what the message management system listened to, the method will proceed to an operation 266 where a message is recorded until voice recognition finds the end of the message using in one instance existing keywords in the voice-mail system. Now that the message has been recorded in operation 266, the method proceeds to an operation 268 where the message can be saved or deleted in accordance with the user's preferences. The method then proceeds to an operation 270 where speech-to-text conversion is performed for a segment of the message if desired (e.g., Figure 6D).
  • the speech-to-text conversion is performed to enable a text header to be stored in the message database 128 while maintaining the remainder of the message at a hard drive of the phone server 122 or other server. Alternatively, the entire message can be converted to text and stored in the message database 128.
  • the method now proceeds to an operation 272 where the message is compressed into a compressed audio voice-mail message. Now that the message has been compressed, the method moves to an operation 274 where the compressed audio voice-mail message is stored (on the hard drive or the message database 128) and the text portion of the voice-mail message is sent to the message database 128. At this point, it is determined whether there are more messages in decision operation 276 by iteration of the parsed voice recognition given at the beginning of the voice-mail prompt. If there are more messages, the method will then proceed back up to operation 266. The method will therefore continue to run through operations 266 through 274 until all messages have been recorded and it is determined that no more messages remain and the operation of retrieving voice-mail will be done.
  • the message management system has access to a "back door" of a phone system, it is not necessary to navigate through the voice recognition as described above (i.e., or normal user procedures).
  • An example might be Internet access to a voice mail system.
  • Figure 5 illustrates a flowchart diagram 300 defining the operations performed to retrieve e-mail messages in accordance with one embodiment of the message management system.
  • the method begins at an operation 302 where the time of day is monitored by the manager server 118 of Figure 2.
  • the method then proceeds to an operation 304 where a user number code is retrieved at a particular time of day.
  • the user number code was retrieved due to a setting by the user indicating that the message management system should retrieve a particular e-mail message.
  • the method now proceeds to an operation 306 where the retrieved user number is mapped to identify a user, identify an e-mail address, identify a user log-in name, identify an e-mail password, and identify an e-mail type.
  • the method will proceed to an operation 308 where the manager server 118 will retrieve procedures for the e-mail type from the voice-mail/e-mail database 120 of Figure 2.
  • the method will proceed to an operation 310 where the e-mail address, user log-in name, and e-mail password to access and make copies of any e-mail messages is passed to the e-mail server 124 of Figure 2.
  • the e-mail server 124 will then log in to the desired e-mail address and make the copy of the e-mail message or messages.
  • the message management system will preferably leave the original message at the e-mail address to allow the user to have future access to that message, if desired.
  • the method now proceeds to an operation 312 where the copied e-mail message is saved into a message database for future access through the amessage.com portal.
  • the message database in this example, may be the message database 128 of Figure 2 which can be accessed by a user desiring to check up on current c- mail messages from a particular e-mail account or all of its particular e-mail accounts. When logged in, the user will also be able to access any desired voicemails.
  • Figure 6A illustrates a flowchart diagram 350 defining the method operations performed when a user obtains messages from the message management system by way of amessage.com portal as described with reference to Figure 2.
  • the method begins at an operation 352 where a message server is provided to enable a user to log into the amessage.com portal.
  • a cookie is saved onto the user's hard drive so that when the user access the amessage.com portal, the user will be informed of how many messages are waiting to be accessed. Thus, the user need not log in at all if no messages are present.
  • the name of the portal is not of any importance, and the name is only used herein for illustrative purposes.
  • the method now proceeds to an operation 354 where the user can log in to the message server using log-in information as described with reference to Figure 2.
  • the message server issues a request to a message database server for accessing messages for the user.
  • the message server will obtain header segments of each of the messages.
  • the messages for each message source are identified and listed showing a header of each message (e.g., shown herein as "message 1", “message 2", etc.).
  • the times for the appropriate time zones are indicated for each gathered message.
  • the header of each message may be, for example, the first few sentences of a voice-mail message, or the regarding information of an e-mail message.
  • the method at operation 360 displays the messages in a format that distinguishes the source of each message.
  • a message source may be, a home voice-mail system, an office voice-mail system, a home e-mail account, a work e-mail account, a personal Internet e-mail account, answering machine and the like.
  • the method now proceeds to a decision operation 362 where it is determined whether the user wants to access a particular message. If the user wants to access the particular message, the method will piocccd to an operation 364 where the e-mail text is displayed loi the user or the message is played as an audio ie for the accessed voice-mail message
  • the message management system will play the message by way oi a computer's audio output
  • the displaying of e-mail text or the playing of voice-mail messages can be repeated for any of the messages that are provided to the user by way of the amessage com portal.
  • FIG. 6B illustrates a simplified graphical user interface (GUI) 400 that illustrates prefe ⁇ ed organization of messages on amessage.com portal for a user Bob 402, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention
  • GUI 400 is preferably rendered by a web browser, which is capable of processing standard web-based software code.
  • user Bob has registered work e-mail, home e-mail, other e-mail, office voice- mail, home voice-mail, work cell phone voice-mail, and a personal cell phone voice-mail.
  • Bob logs on Bob is presented with all of its messages that have been ret ⁇ eved by the message management system.
  • the message management system can perform an on- demand ret ⁇ eval of messages while the user waits. Because the message management system may take several seconds or even a couple of minutes to ret ⁇ eve messages, it is generally more beneficial to rely on the messages that have previously been ret ⁇ eved per the user's set schedule.
  • settings links 404a for e-mail sources and settings links 404b for voice-mail accounts are also illustrated.
  • Figures 6C and 6D are GUI's for configu ⁇ ng the settings for each of the message sources.
  • settings 404a illustrate settings for the home e-mail source.
  • the message management system was set by the user to check e-mail 410a at several times du ⁇ ng the day. In one embodiment, the system can also be set to check e-mail messages every hour, every 5 minutes, or at any other interval desired by the user.
  • This option can be set if the user wants a frequency 412a to be other than every day For instance, when the user sets particular times to check for e-mail, the user will want to select daily, weekly, etc., as opposed to an interval schedule
  • the user can set the action on the e-mail 414a to save or delete emails at the source
  • Java' M is used to play one compressed format through a web browser.
  • the user can control voice-mail settings in a similar manner as settings 404a are controlled.
  • the user can set the message management system to check voice-mail 410b at different times during a day.
  • the frequency 412b can also be custom set by the user.
  • the action on the voice-mail 414b can be set to either delete or save the accessed voice-mail.
  • the user can convert 416b all or a portion of the voice-mail into text. If a portion is converted, the converted portion is preferably the first part of the voice-mail.
  • the converted voice-mail is then used as a header in Figure 6B for "message 1," for example.
  • the user can also request that an archival copy 418b be generated. The generation of an archival copy can be made in any number of formats.
  • the format can be in the form of a CD-R media, which can be generated at different intervals.
  • the user can specify where the archival copy should be sent.
  • the archival copy is made from the messages stored in the hard drive connected to the phone server and/or the message database.
  • the archival copy can be generated on site where the message management system is maintained or at a remote location. The remote location can be connected by way of a network, and even over the Internet.
  • Figure 6E illustrates a graphical diagram of the method operations and user interfaces for responding to messages, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • a user wants to respond to a voice mail 420a through the amessage.com portal, the user will be presented with a response screen 422. Once at the response screen 422, the user can select a mode to respond to the voice-mail. In one embodiment, the user can select to make a call 424, send an e-mail 426, or record a message 428.
  • the message management system will employ a contact assistant 430, which is provided to facilitate responding to messages.
  • the message management system will be configured to perform caller ID operations to attempt to detect who the voice-mail was from. If the call is identified 432, the contact assistant 430 may identify the caller as "Joe Smith.” At that point, the user can make an Internet phone call by clicking on "Joe Smith.” If the user wants lo enter an alternate number 434, the user needs only to enter the phone number in the field and press return or the like. In yet another embodiment, the user who is working from its base computer, or has access to its base computer, the user's default contact list 438 may be accessed. The data is then provided in 436 to facilitate selection and calling. If the user adds a new contact, that update is also preferably sent back to the user's default contact list. This ensures that the user's contact list is continually updated.
  • the user wants to send an e-mail in response to either an e-mail 420b or a voice-mail 420a.
  • the user selects "send e-mail" 426, the user is provided an e-mail response shell 440, which fills in the FROM information for the user Bob and the TO information (either manually, from the contact list, or from the original message).
  • the FROM e-mail address will co ⁇ espond with that of the "source.” That is, if the source had been work e-mail, then the FROM e-mail address would be appropriately filled in so that the recipient will think that the user Bob is actually responding from the e-mail address that received the e-mail message.
  • the message management system is transparent to people who are communicating with the user of amessage.com. Still further, the system can be configured to respond to e-mail messages anonymously.
  • the user would be provided with a record response screen 442.
  • the user Bob may want to convert 444 the recorded message to text. If this is desired, the user is provided with that option before the user sends the message. If the message is not converted to text, the message can be sent as an e-mail voice file 446 attachment.
  • Figure 7 illustrates a flowchart diagram 370 illustrating the process performed when retrieving web-based e-mail, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • the phone server 122 of Figure 2 When the phone server 122 of Figure 2 is in the process of retrieving web-based e-mail, the method begins at an operation 372. In operation 372, an HTTP port 80 web access is performed to an e-mail web page. At this point, the method proceeds to an operation 374 where the user name and password are filled into the sign-in fields of the e-mail web page. The filling-in is preferably performed by a script. Once the information has been provided in operation 374, the method proceeds to an operation 376 where the e-mail message text is identified and copied from the HTML source code or other language source code.
  • the method then proceeds to an operation 378 where the e-mail message text is saved to the message database 128 of Figure 2.
  • the method for retrieving the web-based e-mail of flowchart 370 will be done.
  • Other e-mail messages are accessed and retrieved by accessing POP3 servers, or any other e-mail formats.
  • the message management system of the present invention is a powerful solution for busy persons desiring control over his or her messaging sources.
  • the message management system is a non-invasive solution which does not require a user to change his or her normal routine. That is, the user is not required to forward any or all calls to one number, and the user is able to access all message sources from any location in the world having an Internet connection.
  • the system provides an easy to use interface that organizes each message in relation to where the message was retrieved.
  • Still another advantage of the message management system is that users are able to quickly browse through all messages from all sources in text format (whether the original message was voice or text) so that non-important messages are not accessed until a later time or when desired.
  • the message management system is a secure system that guards user information at each possible point. Therefore, users can rest assured that confidential messages are not accessed by unauthorized persons.
  • the invention may employ various computer-implemented operations involving data stored in computer systems. These operations are those requiring physical manipulation of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. Further, the manipulations performed are often referred to in terms, such as producing, identifying, determining, or comparing.
  • the invention also relates to a device or an apparatus for performing these operations.
  • the apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may be a general purpose computer selectively activated or configured by a computer program stored in the computer.
  • various general purpose machines may be used with computer programs written in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may be more convenient to construct a more specialized apparatus lo perform the required operations.
  • the invention can also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable medium.
  • the computer readable medium is any data storage device that can store data which can be thereafter be read by a computer system. Examples of the computer readable medium include read-only memory, random-access memory, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, magnetic tapes, and other optical data storage devices.
  • the computer readable medium can also be distributed over a network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

Abstract

L'invention concerne un procédé informatique de gestion de messages issus de sources distantes, sur Internet, qui consiste à établir les sources de messages pour un utilisateur de sorte que chaque source donne lieu à une information d'accès et de gestion fournie par l'utilisateur. Ensuite, on enregistre dans une base de données d'utilisateur (116) ladite information, correspondant aux différentes sources de messages. Il est possible d'accéder à chaque source sur Internet, à des moments définis par l'utilisateur, en utilisant l'information susmentionnée. Ensuite, les messages sont copiés depuis les sources respectives et enregistrés dans une base de données de messages (128). Une fois cette opération effectuée, l'utilisateur peut se connecter à Internet pour visualiser les messages de ladite base de données (128), afin d'accéder aux messages et d'y répondre.
EP00976782A 1999-11-01 2000-10-31 Systeme de gestion de messages personnels Withdrawn EP1157337A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (11)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US433652 1989-11-07
US16293199P 1999-11-01 1999-11-01
US162931P 1999-11-01
US09/433,652 US20020112007A1 (en) 1999-11-03 1999-11-03 Personal message management system
US09/510,586 US20020111991A1 (en) 1999-11-01 2000-02-22 Message management system for handling personal messages from e-mail and voice-mail sources over the internet
US09/510,423 US20020111990A1 (en) 1999-11-01 2000-02-22 Internet based message management system
US510586 2000-02-22
US09/510,424 US20020091829A1 (en) 2000-02-22 2000-02-22 Internet message management portal
US510424 2000-02-22
US510423 2000-02-22
PCT/US2000/030085 WO2001033370A1 (fr) 1999-11-01 2000-10-31 Systeme de gestion de messages personnels

Publications (1)

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EP1157337A1 true EP1157337A1 (fr) 2001-11-28

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EP00976782A Withdrawn EP1157337A1 (fr) 1999-11-01 2000-10-31 Systeme de gestion de messages personnels

Country Status (3)

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EP (1) EP1157337A1 (fr)
AU (1) AU1451401A (fr)
WO (1) WO2001033370A1 (fr)

Family Cites Families (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CA2139081C (fr) * 1994-12-23 1999-02-02 Alastair Gordon Systeme et methode de messagerie unifies
US6023700A (en) * 1997-06-17 2000-02-08 Cranberry Properties, Llc Electronic mail distribution system for integrated electronic communication

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See references of WO0133370A1 *

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AU1451401A (en) 2001-05-14

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