MXPA01009052A - Unified directory for caller id and electronic mail addresses - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and system for message communications in different media. A first message is received via a first communications medium. First address information associated with the first communications medium is extracting from the first communications medium. Second address information associated with a second communications medium is determined automatically in response to the first address information. A reply for the first message is sent via the second communications medium using the second address information.

Description

UNIFIED DIRECTORY FOR CALLER IDENTIFICATION AND EMAIL ADDRESSES DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a communication device capable of communicating in more than one communication means, and in particular, to a communication device with interaction between the communications means. One of these means of communications is the telephone. Telephone instruments with caller ID capabilities have been used for some time. When such instruments receive a telephone call, they also receive the telephone number of the calling telephone and the name of the person who owns the calling telephone. The telephone number and / or name can be displayed when the phone call is received. The subscriber can then know the person who made the call, and prepare for the conversation or not answer the call. Caller ID capabilities are usually combined with response machine capabilities, a combination called voice mail. If the intended recipient is unable to receive a telephone call, the caller registers a message, which can then be retrieved by the subscriber. The caller ID information is associated with the registered message, and it is also stored. If the subscriber wishes to return the telephone call, the associated caller identification information is retrieved and allows the call to be automatically placed to the originating telephone number. Another of these means of communications is electronic mail (e-mail). Email communication devices have also been used for some time. Said devices are coupled to a communications network, and have the ability to receive e-mail messages from others also associated with that communication network. In its most basic form, email messages are textual by nature, and are usually written on an alphanumeric keyboard by the originator. The receiver can read the message on an alphanumeric screen. Extensions to the basic email system allow the inclusion of, for example, sound files, image files, or other data files that can be viewed online or processed as separate attachments. The message is packaged in an electronic envelope, which is sent, through the communications network, to the recipient. The envelope includes, among other things, the recipient's email address, the originator's email address, and the originator's email name. In general, e-mail messages for a subscriber are stored in a system coupled to the communication network called as a mailbox or mail server When the subscriber wishes, the mail is accessed from the e-mail device and the e-mail messages accumulated e-mails are advanced to the receiver and read The envelope information, including the e-mail address of origin and the e-mail name is retrieved together with the message If the recipient wishes to reply to the e-mail message, the e-mail address email of the recipient retrieved from the envelope allows the return email to be automatically addressed. Systems for accessing messages in various communication media in an integrated manner have also been described in the art. US Patent No. 4,612,416 issued September 16, 1986 to Emerson and others illustrates a PBX system including different f communication units for corresponding communications media (ie, voice mail, email, facsimile, etc.) When a subscriber inspects any message function, all can be verified, and the user switches transparently to each function that contains a message. message that will be recovered The US patent 4, 837,798, issued June 6, 1989 to Cohen et al., Illustrates a communications system including a centralized, unified repository for messages received in any communications medium, including voice mail, electronic mail and any other means such as facsimile. central location receives notification of each message received and then notifies the recipient of the receipt of the message. The centralized repository also performs the conversion of the message from one medium to another (for example, from email to voicemail through text generation). to voice) to the extent possible to allow the recipient to retrieve all messages in any desired medium US Patent 5,239,577 issued August 24, 1993 to Bates and others, illustrates a telephone system, where all telephone numbers (for example, from home, fax, business, business fax, mobile, etc.) for an individual are accessible through a publicly available directory, centrally located, of directories for that individual A call destined for one of the telephone numbers can be completed by specifying another telephone number (for example, the home telephone), and requesting the other desired number (for example, the business telephone number) The number desired telephone is found by consulting the centrally located directory directory, and then the directory containing that individual business telephone number. US Patent 5,557,659, issued September 17, 1996 to Hyde-Thomson, illustrates a system wherein the Email communications is used for both email and voice mail Voice mail messages are n Converted to sound files and appended to e-mail messages, which, in turn, are sent to the subscriber's e-mail device. U.S. Patent 5,647,002, issued July 8, 1997 to Brunson, illustrates a system wherein each different means of communication (ie, voicemail, e-mail, facsimile, etc.) has its own message reception center (e.g., mailbox), in the usual manner. Each message is duplicated when it is received, to the extent possible, and sent to reception centers for each of the other means of communication. Each reception center is coupled to a synchronizer, which keeps all mailboxes in sync. US Patent 5,671,269, issued September 23, 1997 to Egan et al. Illustrates a telephone system based on a personal computer, wherein a telephone number, derived in any number of different ways, is associated with each incoming telephone call, and if a return telephone call is desired, the associated telephone number is used to place the call back. U.S. Patent 5,692,038, issued November 25, 1997 to Kraus et al., Illustrates a centrally controlled communications system involving several communications media wherein a personal identification number is assigned to an individual, and each telephone number (or other identification such as an email address) associated with that individual is searched in an order set by the individual when that individual receives a message. In addition, the software products available at this time maintain a unified mailbox for messages from different communication media. For example, a Microsoft Outlook email client maintains an individual mailbox containing both email and facsimile messages.

However, it may be desirable for a received voicemail message to be replicated with an email message, or vice versa. For example, a telephone request for a document is best answered with an e-mail message where the desired document is attached. Similarly, an email message containing a document for which an approval is sought can be best answered with a telephone call giving that approval. However, none of the above systems extract information associated with a message received in a communications medium and use that information to allow a user to answer that message using a different means of communication. WO 98/23058 describes a system for the integrated management of messages and communications over the Internet. The document describes a system that allows a user to respond to a communication in one medium with another. However, the document requires or assumes that the address information required to answer in a different medium has already been entered by the user. further, the document does not describe what happens when the response address has not been entered by the user. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, a method and system for message communications in different media are described. A message is received through a first communication means. A first address information associated with the first communication means is The second address information associated with a second communication means is automatically determined in response to the first address information. A response for the first message is sent through the second means of communication, using the second address information. Also according to the principles of the present invention, a method for automatically providing a destination address for a reply in a first communication means to a message received from a source address and a source name in a second communication means. includes the following step entities A correspondent database contains a plurality of entries, each entry representing a correspondent and containing an address field and a name field for messages in the first communications medium, and an address field and a name field for messages in the second communications medium This database is searched for a first entry containing the origin address in the address field for messages in the second communications medium If the first entry contains an address in the address field for messages in the second communication medium. the first communication means, that address is provided as the destination address If the first entry does not contain an address in the address field in the message in the first communication means the correspondent database is searched for a second entry having a name in the name field for messages in the first communications medium corresponding to the name d e origin If a second entry is found, the contents of! address field for messages in the first communications medium in the second entry are provided as the destination address and the first and second entries arise If a second entry is not found, a user's address is requested The first entry is updated by storing the address provided by the user in the address field for messages in the first communications medium and the origin name is stored in the name field for messages in the first communication means. The address supplied by the user is provided as the address of the user. A communication device according to the present invention allows a user to easily answer an incoming message in any communication means through a response message in any communication means that is more convenient, without considering which means of communications was used to send the input message In the drawings The Figure 1 is a block diagram of a communication device according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a table describing the structure and contents of a database used in the communications device illustrated in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating the method for inserting information into the database illustrated in Figure 2, and Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating the method for providing a response address in a communications medium to a message received in the other communication means Figure 1 is a block diagram of a communication device 10 according to the present invention. In Figure 1, a subscriber telephone line is coupled to a bidirectional terminal 5. The terminal 5 can be, for example, an easily connected RJ11-type connector. The terminal 5 is bidirectionally coupled to a processor 110 through a serial connection of a C online interface gateway 102, a multiplexer (MUX) 104, an encoder / decoder (codec) 106 and a digital signal processor (DSP) 108 An output terminal of the multiplexer 104 is coupled to an input terminal of a loudspeaker 112 and an output terminal of a microphone 114 is coupled to an input terminal of the multiplexer 104. An output terminal of a keyboard 116 is coupled to an input terminal of the processor 110, and an output terminal of the processor 110 is coupled to an input terminal of a device. 118 A bidirectional terminal of a processor 110 is coupled to a serial port 120, and an output terminal of the processor 110 is coupled to an output port 122, to which a printer can be connected An output terminal of a memory read-only non-volatile (ROM) 124 is coupled to a processor input terminal 110 and a bidirectional terminal of a read / write random access memory (RAM) 126 a coupled to a corresponding terminal of the processor 110 During operation, the processor 110 controls the operation of the communication device 10 the processor reads and executes the program code stored in the ROM memory 124, accesses constants in the ROM memory 124 and reads and writes In addition, the processor exchanges data with the input / output (I / O) ports, the serial port 120, the printer port 122, the keyboard 116, the presentation device 118, and the telephone line port coupled to the digital signal processor, DSP 108, all in a known manner The images are displayed on the display device 118 to provide information to the user, and the oppression of the keys on the keyboard 116 is detected to accept the user information At least some of the keys on the keyboard 116 are physically adjacent to the presentation device 118 The image presented in the presentation device can provide the markings at least for some of the buttons on the keyboard, thus providing dynamic operation for those buttons, all in a known manner. The communication device illustrated in Figure 1 operates both as a caller ID of the caller as a reply machine, and an email terminal The subscriber line is used to connect the device 10 to the public telephone system The public telephone system is used in a normal way in an operation telephone mode, and connects to the device 10 to an email server or mailbox in an email operation mode In the telephone mode, an incoming telephone call from the subscriber's line causes the device 10 to sound, either through a separate sound ( not shown) or using a high-voice telephone 112 At that time, the identification information of! The calling party, including the telephone number of the originating telephone and the name associated with the originating telephone, is extracted from the incoming telephone call by the processor 110 through the encoder / decoder 106 and the digital signal processor 108, and presented in the display device 118, all in a known manner. The caller's identification information is further inserted into a correspondent information database 130, held in a portion 130 of the RAM 126 in a form that will be described below. If the user does not answer the call after a certain number of predetermined sounds (eg, 4), the processor 110 retrieves from the ROM memory 124 or from the RAM 126 a digitized version of a message for the originator of the incoming telephone call. , for example, asking the viewer if he wants to leave a message The combination of the decoder / decoder 106 and the digital signal processor ital, DSP, 108 converts the digitized message to an audio message and supplies it to the originating telephone through the multiplexer 104 The opter, in turn, may select to dictate a message to the user. That message is received by the device 10, and digitized through the combination of the encoder / decoder 106 and the digital signal device 108. The processor then stores the digitized message in a portion 128 of the RAM 126 distributed to host such messages The caller identification information associated with this message is also stored with the message Other information regarding the incoming message, ta! as the date and time it was received, it is also stored with the message in the message portion 128 of the RAM 126 In the e-mail mode, the processor 110 accesses the e-mail server by dialing the telephone number of that server, in a known manner E-mail messages for the user are retrieved, and stored in the RAM 126, also the message portion 128 Each e-mail message includes identifying information, including the e-mail address and the name E-mail address of the message originator Other e-mail information regarding that message may also be included, such as the date and time the message was sent, the site from which it was sent, the address information, etc. E-mail identification information is also stored with the message in the message portion 128 of the RAM 12 6 The email information is also inserted into the correspondent information database 130, held in a potion 130 of the RAM 126 in a form that will be described in detail later. When a message is received, the information of the identification in relation to that message (eg, originating telephone number and name for telephone messages and origin email address and mail name for email messages, and possibly other related information) is stored in a common database , as previously referred to In this form, the content of the database is maintained. Figure 2 is a table describing the structure and contents of a database used to contain correspondent information in the communications device illustrated in the Figure 1 The structure of the correspondent base is represented in Figure 2 as a table. Each row of the table represents an entry in the correspondent database and represents a correspondent Each entry contains a plurality of fields capable of maintaining information in relation to the correspondent represented by that entry The fields are divided into a group of fields capable of containing identification information of the caller including the telephone number, the caller's identification name and other attributes (represented through an ellipsis) related to the telephone for that correspondent, a group of fields capable of containing email identification information including the address of the email, name of the email, and other attributes (represented by an ellipsis) related to that email of that correspondent, and a group of fields capable of containing extensions for the correspondent information, including, for example, the telephone number Facsimile, postal address and other information (represented by an ellipsis) When a telephone call is received, the calling number of the caller and the name are extracted from the originating message in a known manner, as described above. The originating telephone number is compared to the telephone numbers stored in the caller ID number field of all entries in the database If an equalization is found, then the Caller ID name field of that entry is updated with the identification name of the flame of origin, in case the name for that phone number has changed If this happens, one of the caller's identification attributes, a status attribute, is changed to "new" For example, if the caller's identification information for the originating telephone call is the number 555-4321 and the name is "John Ray", then this search finds the entry 1 The database field containing the caller's name is replaced with the name "John Ray "If no entry containing the source message telephone number is found in the caller ID number field, then the originator caller's identification name is compared to the names in the email name field of all callers. the entries in the database In one modality, an exact match of the source name is sought In another modality, the recognition that the names of electronic mail and of identification The telephone caller may not be exactly the same, so a closer matching is sought. This search can be done by analyzing both the name of the originating message and extracting the surnames and the first initial name and then comparing them. Or a search can be made in names of similar sounds using the known Soundex system If an equalization is not found then a new entry is created, and the caller ID number and name fields of that entry are filled in with the number and name of the caller ID respectively. the originating telephone call For example, if a telephone call is received with a number 555-6789 and a name of "Dave May", there is no match for the caller's identification number or the email name for that person. create a new entry (for example, entry 7) and the caller ID number, 555-6789, is in seized in the caller ID field of entry 7 and the caller ID name, Dave May, is inserted in the Caller ID name field of entry 7 If no entry containing the number is found For the identification of the originating message caller in the Caller ID number field, but there is an entry that contains the date that corresponds to the Caller ID name of the originating message in the email name field, then it will be check the caller ID number and name fields for that entry If there are entries in those fields, then this entry represents a different correspondent, but with a similar email name. In this case, a new entry is also created, and the number and caller ID name of the originating telephone call are inserted, as described above e For example, if a telephone call is received with a number 555-6789 and a name of "Bill Bey Jr", the search of the database finds the entry 2, but this represents a different correspondent. A new entry is created ( for example, entry 7) and the caller ID number, 555-6789, is inserted into the Caller ID number field of entry 7, and the Caller ID name, Bill Bey Jr, is inserted into the caller ID field of entry 7 However, if the caller ID number and name fields of that entry are empty, then assume that this entry represents the same correspondent as that of the originating telephone message in a modality , the caller ID number and name of the originating telephone message are inserted into the caller ID number and name fields, respectively, of the entry However, this assumption may not be correct In a preferred embodiment, the data of this entry is presented in the presentation device 118, and the user can indicate if this entry represents the same correspondent through the keyboard 116 If not, then a new entry is made, as described above In another preferred embodiment, a list of entries that have nearby e-mail names the caller identification name of the originating message is presented in the display device 118, and the user selects one of the listed entries, or none, using the keyboard. If an entry is selected, it is updated with the identification information of the user. caller, otherwise, a new entry is created For example, if a phone call is received with a number 555-9786 and the name of Charlie Treí, there is no match for the caller ID number of origin message in any caller identifier number field of any entry in the database. However, there is an equalization for the caller ID name of the originating message in the e-mail name field of entry 6. In this case, the number and caller ID name fields are empty. The data related to this entry (and possibly other similar entries) are presented in the presentation device 118. If the user accepts this entry as the caller's representation, then the caller's identification number, 555-9786, is inserted in the caller ID field of entry 6, and the caller ID name, Charlie Trei, is inserted in the Caller ID name field of entry 6. Yes the user does not accept this entry as representing the caller , then a new entry is created (for example, entry 7), as described above. In a similar way, when the communication device 10 receives an email message it analyzes the email address and the email name from the message. The source email address is compared to the email address fields of all the entries in the database. If an entry with a matching email address is found, the name of the email is updated with the email name of the originating message. If no entry is found with a matching email address in the database, the source email name is compared to the Caller ID name fields in all entries in the database. Matching entry and the e-mail address and e-mail address fields of that entry are empty, the user can indicate whether the originating e-mail message comes from the same person as represented by that entry, as described above with more Detail If so, the email address and the email name are inserted into the email name and email address fields, respectively, of the entry. Otherwise, a new entry is created with the address e-mail address and the e-mail name of the source message, as described above. it can be seen, in Figure 3, generally when a message is received (301) in any communications medium, the message address (ie, the caller's identification number for telephone messages and the email address for messages). of email) is extracted from the message (302) The message address field is compared with the address field for the message communication medium (ie, for telephone messages, the caller's identifier number is compared to the field of identification number of! caller, and for e-mail messages, the e-mail address is compared to the e-mail address field) for all entries in the database (304) If a matching entry is found (306), then the name field for the message communications medium is updated with the message name (i.e., the caller ID name for telephone messages, e-mail name for e-mail messages) The update of the message base data is then completed (310) If an equalization (306) is not found, the message name field is compared to the name field in the other communications means (i.e., e-mail name for telephone messages, and name) Caller ID for email messages) for all entries in the database (312) If a matching entry is found (314), then the address and name fields for the message medium (ie the Caller ID number and name for telephone messages, and email address and name for email messages) are verified to determine if they are empty (320) If not, then a new entry is created with the message address and message name in the address fields and message medium name in the new entry (316) The update of the database then 318 is completed. If the message medium name and address fields are empty, then the address and name of messages are inserted in the address and message medium name fields, respectively (322), possibly with the approval of the user, and possibly with the user selecting one of a number of possible equalization entries, all as described above. The database update is then completed (318) Referring again to Figure 1, and the general operation of the communication device 10, the presentation screen 118 presents general information, such as the actual date and time, the number of received messages, etc. The presentation screen it also presents an integrated list of all the messages that have been received, both telephone messages and emails in a list window. Each entry in the message list shows the name of the browser, for example, the caller's identification name for telephone messages and the e-mail name for e-mail messages When using the keypad 116, the user is able to illuminate entries in the message list A detail window provides additional information regarding the illuminated entry, such as if it is a telephone or e-mail message, caller's name and number for telephone messages or e-mail address and e-mail name for e-mail messages, the date and time associated with the message, etc. When using the keypad 116 , the user can perform several functions for each message. For example, the message can be er recovered For telephone messages, the digitized voice message is retrieved from the message portion 128 of the RAM 126, converted to audio and reproduced through the speaker 112 by the encoder / decoder 106 and the digital signal processor 118 under the control of the processor 110. For e-mail messages the textual body of the message is retrieved from the message portion 128 of the RAM 126, and displayed in the display device 108. For another example, the user may wish to respond to the message. The user can respond to any message in any means of communications. That is, the answer to any message can be either through a telephone message or an email message. When the message indicates this, through the keyboard 116, which wishes to respond to the message, a question is presented on the presentation device 118 asking what means of communications are desired for the response. The user provides the answer to the question through the keyboard 116. The user can specify that the response was sent in the same means of communications as that of the received message, in that case, the destination address of the response is the address in the origin message. That is, for a telephone medium message, the destination address is the caller ID number of the telephone message, and for a mail medium message, the destination address is the originating email address in the message. of e-mail. More specifically, in order to respond to a telephone message by placing a telephone call, the communication device 10 dials the number that sent the message using the stored caller's identification number To answer an e-mail message, an e-mail envelope is prepared of response using the email address in the received email However, the user can also specify that the response was sent in the other means of communications If a user wishes, for example, to answer a telephone message by sending an email message , the entry in the database containing the telephone number of identification of the caller of origin of the telephone message in the caller's identification number field is found. Next, the email address field of that entry is verified. If an address exists of email in that field of that entry, an email message initiator is automatically composed using that email address, and an email composition screen is displayed on the presentation screen 118 The user can then type, in the body of the message e-mail, using the keyboard 116, and send the e-mail message when it is performed For example, referring to Figure 2, if the user wishes to reply via e-mail to a telephone message of the caller ID number 555 -1234, the entry containing that telephone number in the caller's identifier number field is found (entry 2) The email address field of entry 2 is then verified In entry 2, the email address field it is not empty, but it contains an email address (Bbey (a) ?? l com) In response, an in E-mail message containing the destination address of Bbey @ ?? l com is automatically prepared, the user types the message, then sends the e-mail message If there is no e-mail address in the e-mail address field of that entry, then the identification name of the originating caller is compared to the names in the e-mail name fields in all the entries in the database. As described above, you can search for an exact match, an equalization for last name and name, or an equalization of similar sound names The user can also accept or reject the matching entry or select one of a number of closely matched entries or none if an equalization entry is accepted, or one is selected by the user, then the address and name of the e-mail of the matching entry is taken with the number and Caller ID name in the entry of the originating message to form a single entry Next, an email message initiator is automatically composed, and a message composed and sent by the user, as described above For example, if the user you wish to answer via e-mail a telephone message from the caller ID number 555-4321, the entry containing that number is found (entry 1). The email address field for entry 1 is empty. In this way, the caller ID name (John Ray) is compared to the names in the email name field of the other entries. In this case, there is an entry with a corresponding name, John Ray (entry 3). The data in entry 3 are extracted with the data in entry 1 to form an individual entry with the combined information. That is, a single entry is formed having a caller ID number field containing 555-4321, a Mamador identification name field containing John Ray, an email address field containing JRay@ab.com and a field of email name containing John Ray. This entry can be either entry 1 (deletion entry 3), entry 3 (deletion entry 1), or a new entry, for example, entry 7 (eliminating both 1 and 3 entries). An email initiator containing the destination address of JRay@ab.com is then automatically prepared, the user writes the message, then sends the email message. If no equalization or matching entry is found, or none is selected by the user, then a message is displayed on the display screen 118 asking the user for the destination e-mail address for the telephone message response. The user enters the destination e-mail address using the keypad 116. The destination e-mail address entered by the user is inserted in the e-mail address field of the entry containing the Mamador identification information for the e-mail message. origin, and the caller ID name is inserted in the email name field of that entry. An email message initiator is then automatically composed, and a message entered and sent by the user as described above. For example, if the user wishes to reply via e-mail to a telephone message of the caller ID number 555-1324, the entry containing that number is found (entry 5). The email address for entry 5 is empty, and there is no other entry having data in the email name field that the user finds matches with the caller ID name Hank Day. In this case, an email address for Hank Day is requested from the user, which the user provides through! keyboard 116. The email address, for example, Hday@cba.com is inserted in the email address field of entry 5, and the identification name of! caller, Han Day, is inserted in the email name field of entry 5. An email initiator containing the destination address of Hdat @ cba com is then automatically prepared, the user types the message, then sends the message Likewise, if a user wishes to respond to an email by placing a telephone call, the entry in the database containing the email address of origin of the email message is found. The caller of that entry is then verified If there is a telephone number in that field of that entry, then the telephone number is automatically dialed by the processor 110 through the DSP / 08 and the encoder / decoder 106 however, if there is no number telephone in the Mamador's identification number field in that entry, then the mail name The originator's electronic language is compared to the Caller ID name fields in all database entries. As described above, this search can be for an exact match, a name and name match, or a name match with Similar sound In addition, the user can be given the opportunity to accept or reject the matching or matching entry, or select one of a number of closest matching entries, or none If a matching entry is found, or one is selected by the user, then the telephone number in the Mamador identification number field of the matching entry is automatically marked by the processor 110 through the digital signal processor 108 and the encoder / decoder 106 In addition, the number and caller ID name of the matching entry are output with the number and the e-mail name in the origin message entry to form a single entry If no matching entry is found, or none is selected by the user, then the user can insert the Breast identification information by entering a destination telephone number. The destination telephone number entered by the user is inserted in the caller identification number field of the entry containing the source email message information, and the name of the email or electronic is inserted in the Caller ID name field of that entry The telephone number entered by the user is then automatically marked, as described above As can be seen in Figure 4, in general when a message is received in a means and will be applied in another means of communications (401), the entry in the database section 130, of the RAM 126 containing the address of origin of the message in the fields in relation to the communications medium of the received message is found (402) The address field in relation to the other means of communications is verified (404) If that field is not empty (406), then a message in the other means of communications is composed and sent using the address in the field of address in relation to the other means of communications (408). The response process then ends (410). If that field is empty (406), then the name contained in the source message is compared to the name field related to the other communication means in all the entries in the database (412). If an entry (414) is found, then a single entry is formed in the database by extracting the information contained in the entry regarding the communication medium of the original message with the information contained in the matching entry in relation to the other means of communication. communications (416). Then a message in the other communication means is composed and sent using the address in the address field relative to the other communications means of the found entry (418). If that entry is not found, then a new record is created (422). The user is prompted for the destination address for the message in the other communications medium. The destination address is inserted in the address field for the other communication means, and the name field for the message communication means is inserted in the name field for the other communication means (422). Then, a message in the other communications means is composed and sent using the address in the address field relative to the other communications means of the found entry (424). The response process then ends (426). A communications device that operates in accordance with the present invention allows automatic responses in any communications medium for any received message.

Claims (8)

1 - . 1 - A method for communicating messages, comprising the steps of receiving a first message through a first communication means (301), extracting from the first message, first address information associated with the first communication means (302) , determining in response to the first address information a second address information associated with a second means of communications (322), wherein the step of determining further is characterized in that it comprises searching a database comprising a plurality of entries, each one of the entries having a respective address field and name field associated with, respectively, the first communication means, and also with the second communication means, the search step searches the database entries for a matching entry having a matching address in the address field associated with the first medium (304, 306), and providing the second address information associated with the second communication means of the matching entry found (322) 2 - The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of if no matching entry is found, also searching for another entry having a matching name in the name field associated with the second communication means (306, 312); providing the second address field associated with the second communication means of the other entry, if the other entry is of the second search (322).

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of automatically creating a new entry in the database comprising the first address information and a name associated with the first communications, if the search step does not find the matching entry.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the step of automatically creating a new entry in the database comprising the first address information and a name associated with the first communications, if the second search step does not find the other entrance (316).

5. - The method according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the first means of communications is a telephone.

6. The method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the second means of communications is an electronic mail.

7 '.- The method according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the first address information is a call identification information.

8 -. 8 - The method according to any of claims 1-7, wherein the second address information is an e-mail address. 9 - A method for communicating messages, comprising the steps of receiving a first message through a first communication means (301), extracting from the first message a first address information associated with the first communication means (302) , determining in response to the first address information, a second address information associated with a second communication (322), wherein the step of further determining comprises searching a database comprising a plurality of entries, each of the entries having a respective address field and name field associated with, respectively, the first communication means, and also with the second communication means, the search step searches the database entries for a matching entry having a matching name in the name field associated with the first medium (312, 314, 320), and provide the second address information The method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of automatically creating a new entry in the database comprising the first address information and a second one. name associated with the first communications, if the search step does not find the matching entry 11 - The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the first communication means is a telephone 12 - The method according to any of claims 9-11, in where the second means of communications is email 13 - The method according to claim 1 or 9, wherein if the search step does not find an exact match, a closer matching is found 14 - The method according to the claim 4 or claim 10, which further comprises the step of asking a user confirmation, before creating the new entry