Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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COMMUNICATIONS PRIORITIZER
INVENTORS
Michael Voticky
Joe Connor
SPECIFICATION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information technologies and communications
systems.
In one aspect, the present invention relates to systems and methods for
prioritizing
communications, including but not limited to the prioritization of e-mail,
voicemail, and facsimile
messages, based on pre-selected parameters.
Background of the Invention
Communication and information, technology systems and processes are attracting
significant attention and innovation. The many new developments and venues for
communication and information transfer, particularly in regard to electronic
communications
message systems, are fast becoming overwhelming due to the rapidly increasing
number of
exchanges that are occurring between communicators. Three of the most commonly
used
electronic communications message systems include electronic mail ("e-mail"),
telecommunication voice messages ("voicemail"), and facsimile transmissions
("facsimiles"), and
all three have become increasingly complex over time and are undoubtedly going
to become even
more complex and voluminous in the future. Consequently, e-mail, voicemail,
and facsimiles,
which were once expected to increase individual productivity, have begun to
erode productivity
because the effort required to manage the increasing volume of communications
has become too
challenging and time-consuming.
For example, in regard to e-mail, "spam" messages and other widely transmitted
and
broadcasted but unimportant and undesired informational communications are
becoming more
and more problematic because they increase the effort required by a typical e-
mail recipient to
personally prioritize the numerous messages of varying importance in order to
separate the
"wheat" of good messages from the "chaff' of undesired or unimportant
messages. In
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conventional systems, prioritizing, sorting, segregating, or otherwise acting
upon or in response
to (hereinafter referred to simply as "prioritizing") received e-mail messages
requires the
recipient to determine priority "on the fly" for each e-mail message, which in
turn requires that
each and every message be viewed or read to some extent -a highly inefficient
process. A
similar analysis also applies to voicemail messages and, to a lesser extent,
facsimile messages
which likewise accumulate and which must be separately prioritized through the
user's active
involvement.
While selected e-mail systems use "filters" to help alleviate the
aforementioned problem,
most if not all are very limited, inefficient, and largely ineffective. For
example, e-mail filters
maintained at the server computer act to prevent certain undesired e-mail
messages from ever
reaching the intended recipient. These filters are typically comprised of
special computer
instructions (software) that blindly identifies specific words and/or
characteristics of an incoming
message and systematically discards those specific messages so that they are
never downloaded
by nor are even accessible to the end-user recipient. These systems are
generally inflexible,
cannot be easily customized, and generally are limited to either accepting,
deleting, or redirecting
an incoming message. As for voicemail, facsimile, and other communications
applications, even
these simple, ineffective filters do not generally exist.
Given the increasing quantity of electronic communications, these conventional
filtering
mechanisms, and particularly those residing and maintained apart from the end-
user, are
problematic and ineffective at best and thus are not widely used.
Consequently, most recipients,
of these electronic messages have little choice but to actively review each
and every message
personally and prioritize or, for unwanted messages, discard altogether each
message
individually. Existing filtering systems do not adequately address these
problems because they
operate largely without regard to the preferences or appropriateness of such
filtering in regard to
specific recipients. For example, the intended recipient may in fact desire to
receive certain
messages that are in fact being discarded or otherwise prioritized in an
inappropriate manner
regarding that particular recipient user, or the intended recipient may
receive messages that the
recipient does not want to receive but which are not precluded by the
filtering system. Existing
filtering systems afford message recipient with little or no ability to change
or vary priorities and
associated discrimination characteristics, much less do so "on the fly" to
provide specific, unique,
and personalized prioritization.
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Summary of the Invention
The solution to communications overload provided in accordance with the
present
invention is to put more control into the hands of end-users and provide end-
users with powerful
tools to prioritize incoming communications. The present invention enables
message recipients
or a designee, such as the electronic communications service provider, to
automatically prioritize
incoming messages based on broad pre-selected parameters. This new and
innovative technology
has the potential to revolutionize communication services, including those
services involving
voicemail, e-mail, and facsimile. The present invention may also be readily
extended to other
forms of message communication, including but not limited to "hybrid
messaging" such as
facsimiles converted into e-mail messages which may or may not include an
attached graphics
file, voicemail messages converted into e-mail messages which may or may not
include an
attached digital sound file, e-mail messages converted into voicemail
messages, and e-mail
messages converted into facsimiles, as well as web-based e-mail messaging
applications, analog
and digital pager applications, analog and digital mobile (cellular) phone
applications, interactive
cable programming applications, laser transmissions, satellite communications,
and other
individualized communication services. For all of these reasons, and in light
of the plethora of
applications to modern and futuristic communications technologies, the
advantages presented by
the present invention are significant to both the technology and the art.
An embodiment of the present invention is a method for an electronic
communication
prioritization system to prioritize a received information message, including
but not limited to e-
mail messages, voicemail messages, facsimile messages, and any combinations or
permutations
thereof, by determining the originating source (the "sender") of the message
that is by some
means identified by a personalized identifier accompanying or embodied in the
message. The
method includes the elements of determining a personalized identifier for a
received message,
comparing the personalized identifier from the message against an
informational database,
assigning a priority code to the message based on the priority corresponding
to the personalized
identifier as indicated in the database, and prioritizing the message based on
the assigned priority
code.
Another embodiment of the invention is a system for prioritizing a received
information
message where the originating source (the "sender") of the message is
indicated by a personalized
identifier corresponding to the message. The system includes a database
maintaining known
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personalized identifiers and the desired priority codes corresponding to these
known identifiers,
as well as one or more priority codes corresponding to unknown personalized
identifiers and/or
non-personalized messages. The system further includes a system for
determining a personalized
identifier for that message, a system for matching the personalized identifier
to a database to
derive the appropriate priority code, a system for assigning the priority code
to the message based
on the priority corresponding to the personalized identifier, and a system for
prioritizing the
message based on the priority code.
Another embodiment of the invention is a computer-readable medium of data
and/or
instructions. The computer-readable medium of data and/or instructions
includes a message, a
personalized identifier associated with the message or a means by which the
personalized
identifier can be determined from the message, computer instructions for
receiving the message
and the personalized identifier, a database containing known identifiers and
desired priority codes
corresponding to the known identifiers, computer instructions for cross-
referencing the database
with the personalized identifier to determine a desired priority code,
computer instructions to
assign the priority code to the message based on the priority corresponding to
the personalized
identifier, and computer instructions to prioritize the message based on the
priority code.
In all of the possible embodiments of the present invention, including the
foregoing
embodiments, the term "prioritization" expressly includes all possible
subsequent actions that
could be taken in response to the receipt of the message, such as
prioritizing, sorting, segregating,
forwarding, deleting, modifying, replying, or otherwise acting upon or in
response to the
personalized identifiers and the resulting priority code. For example, an
embodiment of the
present invention could, as part of the prioritization of the message,
automatically reply with a
specific response message to the specific known sender of the received message
before, during,
or after said receipt. In the context of e-mail, and by way of example only,
this response-
prioritization might be an auto-response message to a specific known sender to
let the sender
know that the user is out of town. In the context of voicemail, and by way of
example only, the
prioritization response might be a customized recorded greeting for the known
sender that is
played before the sender leaves the voicemail message. A myriad of other
actions and reactions
are also possible and are expressly included as elements of "prioritization"
as that term is used
herein.
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Likewise, in all of the possible embodiments of the present invention,
including the
foregoing embodiments, numerous and varied potential personalized identifiers
could be used.
For example, possible personalized identifiers for e-mail messages include
without limitation the
sender's "return address" (e.g., sender@domain.com); a personalized
identification in the
"subject" line or other location within the message that is known and held in
confidence by both
the sender and the recipient such as a personal identification number (PIN)
or, as later defined
herein, a PAC; a "trusted" third-party verification of identity in some form
or manner such as
used in certain electronic commercial transactions; an identification file in
some format that is
included, embodied, or otherwise attached to (collectively, "associated with")
the message; the
personalized elements inherent to the format of the incoming message itself
(its "inherent
characteristics"); the machine number for the sender server; the path origin
information
specifying the geographic or physical path over which the message was
transmitted; or
identification by any other authentication means known by those with skill in
the art. Similarly
for voicemail messages and facsimile messages, examples of possible
personalized identifiers
include without limitation the sender's "Caller-ID" (the identifying phone
number of the
originating source), messaging or billing data associated with a particular
call, or a personalized
identification code known held in confidence by both the sender and the
recipient such as a PIN
or PAC and keyed-in or spoken by the sender. Furthermore, personalized
identifiers may also be
unilaterally derived from the inherently personalized elements of certain
kinds of messages,
including but not limited to using voice recognition technology (specifically,
a "voiceprint") to
identify the sender of voicemail messages-which, in this case, does not
require the knowledge
nor special participation by the sender in the prioritization process-or the
sending station
identification that is part of a facsimile message transmission. In a similar
manner, the present
invention also included embodiments based on other personalized means of
identification and
verification, commonly known as "biometric signature technologies," that, with
appropriate
technological means, could also be incorporated as personalized identifiers,
such means including
without limitation the following: voice recognition; voiceprints; optical
scans and/or iris-prints;
DNA scans including without limitation those using blood, hair, skin cells,
and so forth; face
recognition; typing patterns at, for example, a keyboard or numeric entry pad;
hand geometry;
palm-print(s); fingerprint(s) (including thumbprint(s)); and all elements of
signature geometry,
which comprise not just the physical appearance of the signature, but also
elements related to pen
pressure, signature speed, acceleration and deceleration patterns, looping,
edging, and so forth.
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The "personalized" element of any of the
aforementioned personalized identifiers is not limited or
confined to individual persons, but can be personalized as
to broad categories of individuals, or personalized as to
specific instances for a specific individual, thereby
spanning the entire range of prioritization. In regard to
the former instance of broad categories ("categories"), and
by way of an unlimited example only, e-mail messages may be
identified solely based on the domain of the sender or group
of senders, for example, all e-mails received from persons
using a HotMail address (users@hotmail.com). In regard to
the latter instance of very narrow categories, and again by
way of an unlimited example only, a specific individual (the
sender) may be invited to send a voicemail message-which,
for example, may be in response to an inquiry sent by the
user to that party-in which the sender of the message is
directed to use a one-time numeric identification number,
such as one entered by a touch-tone phone, to be inserted at
the beginning of the message and which, once used, is
automatically precluded from being re-used by the sender
again thereafter. As denoted by these examples, the present
invention is intended to include and claim all possible
ranges of specificity in the degree of uniqueness from the
broadest application or "categorization" to the narrowest
"instance" without any limitations whatsoever.
According to one aspect of the present invention,
there is provided a method for an electronic communications
message system to prioritize an information message,
comprising: determining a personalized identifier
corresponding to a message; locating the personalized
identifier in a database; assigning from the database a
priority code corresponding to the personalized identifier;
and depositing the message into at least two of a plurality
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of defined virtual mailboxes wherein the message is
prioritized within each of the at least two virtual
mailboxes.
According to another aspect of the present
invention, there is provided a computer-implemented
electronic communications message prioritization system,
comprising: a plurality of virtual mailboxes; and a memory
having computer readable code embodied therein, for
execution by a processor, said code comprising: code means
for locating a personalized identifier in a database; code
means for assigning from the database a priority code
corresponding to the personalized identifier; and code means
for depositing a message having a corresponding personalized
identifier into at least two of the plurality of virtual
mailboxes wherein the message is prioritized within each of
the at least two virtual mailboxes, using different priority
criteria in each mailbox.
According to still another aspect of the present
invention, there is provided a computer programming product,
comprising: a computer readable memory having computer
executable instructions stored thereon for execution by one
or more computing devices to carry out a method comprising:
locating a personalized identifier in a database; assigning
from the database a priority code corresponding to the
personalized identifier; and depositing a message having a
corresponding personalized identifier into at least two of a
plurality of virtual mailboxes wherein the message is
prioritized within each of the at least two virtual
mailboxes, using different priority criteria in each
mailbox.
Finally, nothing in this description of the
invention is intended to convey any limitation on the
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applicability of the present invention in regard to any
division or separation between traditionally separate
messaging means. In this regard, multi-message-systems such
as systems that consolidate messages from varying message
sources-e.g., consolidating e-mail, voicemail, facsimile,
and other messages-into a single system of a single message
type or multiple message types, can implement the present
invention without regard to the originating message type or,
alternately, may use the message type as an additional
dimensional parameter in the prioritization scheme
implemented by the present invention.
Brief Description of the Drawings
FIG. 1 illustrates a communication system for a
message across a communications medium, wherein said
communications system includes a sender, the communications
medium, and a user who is the recipient of the message.
FIG. 2A illustrates a structural representation of
the prioritization system in accordance with one embodiment
of the present invention.
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FIG. 2B illustrates a flowchart representation of the operation of the
automated message
prioritization system in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary screen image, as presented on the message
recipient's
computer system, of prioritized messages residing in a single virtual mailbox
in sorted order.
FIG. 3B illustrates three additional incoming messages received at the times
indicated and
with the associated priorities determined by the prioritization system.
FIG. 3C illustrates the sorting and placement of the three messages into the
virtual
mailbox of FIG. 3A in accordance with the priorities of the new messages
relative to the priorities
of the existing messages.
FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary screen image as presented on the message
recipient's
(the user's 8) computer system of prioritized messages categorized in a
plurality of virtual
mailboxes and therein residing in sorted order.
FIG. 4B illustrates three additional incoming messages received at the times
indicated and
with the associated priorities determined by the prioritization system.
FIG. 4C illustrates the categorization and sorting of the three messages into
the virtual
mailbox of FIG. 4A in accordance with the categorization priorities of the new
messages relative
to the categories and priorities of the existing messages.
FIG. 4X illustrates the exemplary screen image as presented on the message
recipient's
(the-user's 8) computer system of prioritized messages categorized in a
plurality of virtual
mailboxes and therein residing in sorted order of FIG. 4A with an alternative
arrangement of the
four categorical virtual mailboxes comprising the plurality of categorized
virtual mailboxes.
FIG. 4Y illustrates the three additional incoming messages received at the
times indicated
and with the associated priorities determined by the prioritization system.
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FIG. 4Z illustrates the categorization and sorting of the three messages into
the virtual
mailbox of FIG. 4X in accordance with the categorization priorities of the new
messages relative
to the categories and priorities of the existing messages.
FIG. 5A illustrates the set of personalized identifiers available from using a
single
character priority alpha-numeric code (PAC).
FIG. 5B illustrates the set of personalized identifiers available from using a
two-character
priority alpha-numeric code (PAC)
Detailed Description
FIG. 1 illustrates a communication system 2 for a message across a
communications
medium 6 wherein said communications system 2 includes a sender 4, a
communications medium
6, and a user 8 who is the recipient of the message. Without limitation, the
communications
medium 6 may be an electronic communications network, such as a
telecommunications network
(e.g., the Internet), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a
wireless network
(e.g., cellular, pager, etc.), a switchboard, or any other type of
communications medium,
including the associated interconnection, switching, routing, and other
communications elements
of a conventional communications network structure. The sender 4 and the user
8 are both
connected to the communications medium 6, or they may be connected directly
together, or both.
The communications system 2 operates in a conventional manner. Communications
between the
sender 4 and the user 8 (the recipient) travel across the communication medium
6.
The prioritization system of the present invention may be located with the
user 8 and
might not be part of the communications medium 6. The prioritization system
comprises
software or hardware for prioritizing messages received by the user 8. In one
embodiment, a
central processing unit 10 (CPU) processes incoming messages in accordance
with information
maintained in the priority instructions 16 and the database 14, both of which
are maintained in
memory 10 that are part of the user 8.
FIG. 2A illustrates a structural representation of the prioritization system
in accordance
with one embodiment of the present invention: In this embodiment, a message,
sent by a sender
4, may be first received or, alternately, retrieved from the communications
medium 6 by the user
8 via a receiver 24, comprising hardware and/or software, and the message may
be temporarily
maintained in a processing buffer 26. The CPU 10 accesses the priority
instructions 16 and,
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based on the information therein, parses the message to derive the sender's 4
personalized
identifier from the message received. Once the sender's 4 personalized
identifier is derived-or,
if no personalized identifier can be derived, then once a standard identifier
is alternately assigned
and thereafter treated as a personalized identifier-the CPU 10 then accesses
the database 14 to
determine the appropriate priority code based on the derived personalized
identifier. Once the
priority code is determined, this code may then be associated with the message
by the CPU 10
and the message may then be removed from the processing buffer 26 and
prioritized in the
appropriate virtual message box 28 position in accordance with its assigned
priority.
FIG. 2B represents a flowchart representation of the operation of the
automated message
prioritization system in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention. In the method
42, a user 8 develops the priority database 14 in FIG. 1 by designating
personalized identifiers
and associated priority codes for the software and hardware of the present
invention (instance 44).
The database 14 developed in instance 44 may be any conventional database that
allows for
custom prioritization among database elements or interaction between the
database and additional
customized software that performs such prioritization of elements of the
database 14. The data
entered into the database 14 itself includes personalized identifiers for
known or expected senders
of messages that the user 8 expects to receive from potential senders via the
communications
medium 6. For example, in the specific case of e-mail messages to be received
by a user 8, the
data entered in the database 14 may be e-mail address identifiers in the
typical e-mail address
format of "username@domain.com" or a category of senders using a common domain
in any
manifestation incorporating the format of "@domain.com", "@domain.org", etc.
Of course,
typical e-mail addresses and domains have some variation, and the data entered
in the database 14
might correspond with each of those variations, or combinations or
permutations thereof,
according to those sources from which e-mail messages are expected to be
received by the user 8.
The personalized identifier data entered in the database 14 need not include a
personalized identifier for every sender 4 from which a message may be
received by the user 8,
but can include a personalized identifier for a group or category of
individual senders 4. For
example, the method 42 can provide for prioritization based on a common
characteristic of the
expected incoming messages. For instance, using method 42 as an example of an
e-mail system,
the common characteristic could be common e-mail address information such as
common domain
name information or other similar characteristics comprising a category.
Likewise, for
unexpected messages from unknown or unexpected senders, prioritization can be
provided by the
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method 42 in accordance with the desires of the user 8-for instance, a
standard priority code that
can act as a surrogate personalized priority code. Therefore, even though the
database may not
include data corresponding to an unexpected e-mail message, that message may
still be
prioritized according to the dictates of the user 8.
In instance 46, a message may be received by the user 8 of the present
invention. The
message may be received in the conventional manner for that type of message
from the
communications medium 6. In instance 48, the system of the present invention,
using the CPU
10 of FIG. 1, determines, in accordance with the priority instructions 16 of
FIG. 1, the
personalized identifier corresponding to the received message or, if there is
no personalized
identifier, utilizes a standard personalized identifier reserved for messages
from unknown senders
(i.e., as a surrogate personalized identifier). For e-mail messages, this
instance 48 may involve
processing the sender's 4 e-mail address or, alternately, processing a
personal identification
number of some sort embedded in the message. In a voicemail context, and
without limitation,
this instance may involve processing a personal identification number keyed-in
before, during, or
after the message or, alternately and with appropriate technology, conducting
a voiceprint
analysis, using voice recognition technology, or merely analyzing the Caller-
ID information of
the sender 4 leaving the message, among many other possibilities.
In instance 50, a lookup operation may be performed by the system of the
present
invention utilizing software or hardware of said system to cross-reference the
sender's 4
personalized identifier determined in instance 48 with the database 14 from
FIG. 1. In regard to
e-mail messages, the e-mail address of the received e-mail message from the
instance 46 might be
compared to data indicative of e-mail addresses which are maintained in the
database 14. If the
e-mail address is found in the database 14, then the priority code found in
the database 14
corresponding to that particular e-mail address may be the priority to be
given to the received e-
mail message. Similarly, if the e-mail address is not found in the addresses
which are maintained
in the database 14 of the user 8, then the priority code found in the database
14 corresponding to
an unlisted e-mail address (i.e., the surrogate personalized priority code)
may be the priority to be
given to the received e-mail message. Therefore, based on the hardware and
software
prioritization mechanisms maintained at the user 8, the received e-mail
message may then be
prioritized according to the code corresponding to the e-mail address, or lack
thereof, in
accordance with the information entered by the user 8 into the database 14 in
instance 44. The
assignment of the priority code to a received message occurs in instance 52.
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In instance 54, the message received by the user 8 may be deposited in an
attendant
virtual "messagebox" or "mailbox" 28 which, as these terms are used
throughout, apply to
collection and maintenance of any form of messages for use by the user 8,
including but not
limited to e-mail, voicemail, facsimile, and combinations and variations
thereof, as well as
conversions from one form to another, and these terms are fully equivalent as
used herein and are
therefor used interchangeably without limitation. In the case of an e-mail
system, this virtual
mailbox 28 may be maintained at the user 8. The virtual mailbox 28 for any
kind of message
may be software and/or hardware of the user's 8 system that provides standard,
conventional
mailbox functions along with additional functionality necessary to prioritize
the received message
according to the assigned code derived from instance 52.
In instance 56, the software or hardware on the system provides for normal,
conventional
functions which, in an e-mail context, include but are not limited to "reply,"
"forward," "copy,"
"delete," and other myriad functions.
At any point in the method 42, the user 8 may receive additional e-mail
messages in
instance 46, and a user 8 of the system may also change the priority
instructions 12 and/or the
data in the database 14 in the instance 44. These changes may include but are
not limited to such
changes necessary to (a) add "expected" or "known" sender e-mail addresses to
the data, (b)
change corresponding priority codes, or (c) vary the prioritization then
implemented on the
prioritization system via the software and/or hardware thereof.
Several schemes of prioritizing are possible via the virtual mailbox, as those
skilled in the
art will understand and appreciate. For example, the received messages may be
merely
prioritized in a most-important-to-least-important descending order according
to the particular
assigned priority code, and perhaps further sorted within each priority code
designation in
accordance with the order each message is received with earlier messages
receiving a higher
"sorting priority." In this manner, all incoming messages are grouped together
in a common
mailbox, but the order of the messages might be first determined by the
priority code and then
further sorted according to the date and time each message is received. By way
of example only,
FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary screen image, as presented on the message
recipient's computer
system, of a prioritized messages residing in a single virtual mailbox in
sorted order; FIG. 3B
illustrates three additional incoming messages received at the times indicated
and with the
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associated priorities determined by the prioritization system; and FIG. 3C
illustrates the sorting
and placement of the three messages into the virtual mailbox of FIG. 3A in
accordance with the
priorities of the new messages relative to the priorities of the existing
messages. In one
embodiment, the prioritization scheme of the present system may be based on
four levels of
priority as follows:
Priority "A" -- High Priority
Priority "B" -- Intermediate Priority
Priority "C" -- Low Priority
Priority "X" -- No Priority (Junk Mail, unknown-origin messages, etc.)
For purposes of this example only, a message from a known source that may be
considered by the
user 8 to be important may be granted the highest priority "A", whereas a
message from a known
source that may be considered by the user 8 to be of lesser importance may be
granted the
intermediate priority of "B". Similarly, a message from a known source that
may be considered
unimportant to the user 8 may be granted a low priority of "C", whereas a
message from an
unknown source or from an undesirable known source, such as a known "junk-
mailer" or "spam-
mailer", might be given the lowest priority of "X".
Referring to FIGS 3A, 3B, and 3C collectively, the structure of the virtual
mailbox
display 310 may be based on columns corresponding to the determined priority
312, the
originating sender 314 corresponding to and identifying the sender, the
subject line of the
message 316, and the date 318 and time 320 the message was received or sent.
The old messages
322 already resident in the virtual mailbox are grouped and sorted in
accordance with their
priority codes 324, 326, 328, and 330-which also correspond to the natural
categorization
groups for each of the four categories-and are further sorted within each of
these groupings
based on date 318 and time 320 each message was received or sent. Based on the
temporal
starting point illustrated at FIG. 3A, the first new message 352 of FIG. 3B
may be received at
10:01 P.M. on September 10, 1998, may be determined to have a priority of "B"
because it may
be from a known sender of intermediate priority, and may therefore be placed
in the virtual
mailbox at position 372 of FIG. 3C (i.e., the bottom of natural group "B")
based on its relative
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priority 312 and the date 318 and time 320 the message 352 is received
compared to the
previously received messages. The second new message 354 of FIG. 3B may be
received at
11:42 P.M. on September 10, 1998, may be determined to have a priority of "X"
because it may
be from an unknown sender or a known spam-mailer, and may therefore be placed
in the virtual
mailbox at position 374 of FIG. 3C, i.e., the bottom of natural group "X"
which may be also the
bottom of the mailbox, based on its relative priority 312 and the date 318 and
time 320 the
message 354 is received compared to the previously received messages. The
third new message
356 of FIG. 3B may be received at 2:41 A.M. on September 11, 1998, may be
determined to have
a priority of "A" because it may be from a known sender 4 of high priority,
and may therefore be
placed in the virtual mailbox at position 376 of FIG. 3C, i.e., the bottom of
natural group "A",
based on its relative priority 312 and the date 318 and time 320 the message
356 is received
compared to the previously received messages.
Alternatively, the received messages may be categorized in more important or
less
important virtual mailboxes that may be established by the user's 8
prioritization system, which
may be the user 8 for e-mail systems of method 42. In this regard, the
software and/or the
hardware of the user's 8 system allows the user 8 of that system or the user's
8 designee to
determine the prioritization and thereby dictate to which particular virtual
mailbox incoming
messages received by the system should be placed or located. Multiple groups
and multiple
sorting methods may be combined to produce varied results. Prioritization need
not be limited to
one dimension as in the previous examples-e.g., most important to least
important but may be
multi-dimensional-e.g., four distinct categories of messages such as, office,
family, friends, and
others-with additional prioritization within each category that may be
unrelated to relative
prioritization in the other categories. By way of example only, FIG. 4A
illustrates an exemplary
screen image as presented on the message recipient's (the user's 8) computer
system of
prioritized messages categorized in a plurality of virtual mailboxes and
therein residing in sorted
order; FIG. 4B illustrates three additional incoming messages received at the
times indicated and
with the associated priorities determined by the prioritization system; and
FIG. 4C illustrates the
categorization and sorting of the three messages into the virtual mailbox of
FIG. 4A in
accordance with the categorization priorities of the new messages relative to
the categories and
priorities of the existing messages. Similar to the embodiment of the
invention described in
FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C, the prioritization scheme of the present system may be
based on four
levels of priority categorization as follows:
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Priority "J" -- Work Priority
Priority "K" -- Family and Friends (F&F) Priority
Priority "L" -- Non- Work and Non-F&F Priority
Priority "Z" -- No Priority (Junk Mail, unknown-origin messages, etc.)
For purposes of this example only, a message associated with the user's 8
"work" may be granted
the categorization priority of "J" while a message from "family and friends"
may be granted the
corresponding categorization priority of "K". Similarly, a message from a
known source that
does not qualify for categorization in "J" or "K" may be granted a
categorization priority of "L"
while a message from an unknown source or from an undesirable known source,
such as a known
"junk-mailer" or "spam-mailer", might be categorically prioritized into "Z".
Referring to FIGS 4A, 4B, and 4C collectively, the structure of each of the
four
categorical virtual mailboxes 404, 406, 408, and 410 comprising the plurality
of categorized
virtual mailboxes 402 may be based on columns corresponding to the originating
sender 414
corresponding to and identifying the sender, the subject line of the message
416, and the date 418
and time 420 the message was received or sent. The old messages 422 already
resident in the
virtual mailbox are grouped and sorted in accordance with the four priority
codes 424, 426, 428,
and 430 corresponding to the four categorical virtual mailboxes 404, 406, 408,
and 410, with the
messages therein further sorted within each of these categorical virtual
mailboxes 404, 406, 408,
and 410 based on date 418 and time 420 each message was received. Based on the
temporal
starting point of FIG. 4A, the first new message 452. of FIG. 4B maybe
received at 10:0 1 P.M. on
September 10, 1998, may be determined to have a priority of "K" because it may
be from a
family member or friend (F&F), and may therefore be placed in the
corresponding categorized
virtual mailbox 406 at position 472 of FIG. 4C-i.e., the bottom of categorized
virtual mailbox
"K" 406-based on its relative categorization priority 412 and the date 418 and
time 420 the
message 452 may be received compared to the same elements of previously
received and
categorized messages. The second new message 454 of FIG. 4B may be received at
11:42 P.M.
on September 10, 1998, may be determined to have a priority of "M" because it
may be from an
unknown user or a known spam-mailer, and may therefore be placed in the
categorized virtual
mailbox 410 at position 474 of FIG. 4C-i.e., the bottom of categorized virtual
mailbox 410
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which may be also the bottom of the mailbox "M" 410-based on its relative
categorization
priority 412 and the date 418 and time 420 the message 454 is received
compared to the
previously received and categorized messages. The third new message 456 of
FIG. 4B may be
received at 2:41 A.M. on September 11, 1998, may be determined to have a
priority of "J"
because it may be from the user's 8 "work" and therefore may be placed in the
virtual mailbox at
position 476 of FIG. 4C-i.e., the bottom of categorized virtual mailbox "J"-
based on its
relative categorization priority 412 and the date 418 and time 420 the message
456 is received
compared to the previously received and categorized messages. Unlike the
natural categorization
groups of the virtual mailboxes in FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C, the virtual mailboxes
404, 406, 408,
and 410 of this embodiment may have overlapping priority among the categorized
groups such
that this second new message 454 may or may not be more important than the
first new message
452 or any other message in the first virtual mailbox 404.
Referring to FIGS. 4X, 4Y, and 4Z collectively, the embodiment of FIGS. 4A,
4B, and
4C is here shown with an alternative arrangement of the four categorical
virtual mailboxes 404,
406, 408, and 410 comprising the plurality of categorized virtual mailboxes
402. The description
of FIGS. 4X, 4Y, and 4Z is otherwise identical to the description of FIGS. 4A,
4B, and 4C.
Numerous alternatives and variations are possible in the embodiments described
herein.
For example, in an e-mail context, the user 8, by using the invention's
prioritization schemes,
may distinguish certain received communications for designated treatment
and/or action. One
possibility may be that the user 8 can act on particular communications by
forwarding or sending
a copy of the communications to another designated destination, such as
another e-mail address, a
voice-synthesized version to a telephone number, a "visual" version to a
facsimile machine, or an
actual hard copy version by mail to a post office address or equivalent.
Alternatively, the user 8
could perform operations on or with the communication, for example, if the
communication is
data information for use in calculative processes. The user 8, furthermore,
can have variable and
multiple numbers of boxes or categories in which communications are
maintained, and separate
mailboxes or categories may be treated in a variety of different manners by
the user 8. And
another possibility may be that the sort, categorization, or prioritization
functions may be
performed based on alternative personalized identifiers other than an IP
address, such as Internet
domain name or other ascertainable characteristic of a received messages. This
e-mail example is
readily extendible to the other forms of messages as understood and
appreciated by those skilled
in the art.
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As will be appreciated, an embodiment of the invention may utilize, in order
to achieve
the desired prioritization or categorization for each situation, a "priority
alphanumeric code"
(PAC) to achieve prioritization. As used herein, a PAC may be an alphanumeric
field which can
be any size and can range from a single character to an infinite number of
characters and, in many
ways, may be similar to a PIN as earlier defined herein except that it need
not be "personal" in
nature, but can instead be situational or temporal in nature. The size of the
PAC field may be
determined by the extent of security and sorting desired in light of the
relative ease of use. FIG.
5A illustrates the set of personalized identifiers available from using a
single character priority
alpha-numeric code (PAC). FIG. 5B illustrates the set of personalized
identifiers available from
using a two-character priority alpha-numeric code (PAC). A single character
field PAC 502 may
be limited to only 36 different possibilities 504-10 numeric and 26
alphabetic, and thus
equivalent to a base-36 counting system but this single-character PAC would be
very easy for
the user 8 to use and manage. However, by expanding the field to just two
characters, the
possible dual character field PACs 552 available increase exponentially to 36
raised to the 2nd
power 554, thereby providing 1,296 possible combinations. Likewise, by
expanding the field to
four characters the possible PACs available increase to 36 raised to the 4th
power-which is
more than 1.6 million possible combinations (not shown)-and a six character
field yields 36
raised to the 6th power of possible combinations or just over 2 billion
possible PACs (not shown).
Thus the greater the size allowed for the PAC field, the greater security
afforded because, for one
reason, most of these PACs would not be used, and a hacker would have a more
difficult time
determining a valid PAC and the greater flexibility in variation of possible
sort characteristics or
categories, because of the number of priority levels available, albeit at the
price of higher
complexity in the PAC itself.
Priority sorting using a 5-character PAC, where each PAC also corresponds to
its relative
level of priority, provides a very detailed level of sorting. In one example,
the following PAC
priority sorting scheme provides superior prioritization and categorization of
messages:
I. PAC # (using a base-36 numbering system)
00000 to A1OZZ - (dead space)
A1100 to A1194 - mail from executives
A1195 to Al1ZZ - (dead space)
A1200 to A1294 - mail from customer services
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A1295 to A12ZZ - (dead space)
A1300 to A1394 - mail from warehouse, etc:... .
A1395 to ZZZZZ - (dead space)
In effect, by assigning a PAC between Al 100 to Al 194 (e.g., executives) to a
received
message, that message would have a higher priority than a message with a PAC
of A1200 to
A1294 (e.g., customer service) or A1300 to A1394, and thereby could be sorted
to the top of the
list. A PAC of Al 111 would have a higher priority than a message with a PAC
of Al 112 and
would thereby be prioritized (e.g., sorted) higher up in the list. "Dead
space" numbers that do not
correspond to one of these three categories might be classified as "hacker"
and deleted or as
"unidentified" and treated accordingly. The user 8 might automatically assign
a corresponding
PAC or range of PACs to each of several virtual mailboxes, thereby
categorizing each subset of
PACs separately and establishing a limited two-dimensional sorting and
categorization system.
The user 8 might also designate a range of one-time PACs for individual,
specific-instance uses.
For example, the user 8 might use the series of numbers between BB001 and
BBZZZ as one-time
PACs (temp-PACs) that, once given out and used (i.e., replied to), would no
longer be valid. If
the sender 4 tried to use the same one-time PAC again, that message would
automatically be
rejected or assigned a lesser priority other than the one-time priority.
While PACs may have relative priorities as individualized as their unique
numbers, as in
the previous examples, these PACs might, in addition or instead, have
categorized priorities. In
the previous example, all of the "executive" PACs might have a priority of
"A", all of the
customer service PACs might have a priority of "B", and so forth. Thus, while
the PACs may
have individual PACs that would support absolute relative prioritization even
among near PAC
numbers, this is by no means necessary to the invention as categorized
prioritization (a.k.a. group
prioritization) may also be possible and may in fact be preferred.
In many regards, PACs can be viewed as an inverse form of the more commonly
used
personal identification number or PIN-such as those used for automatic teller
machines
(ATMs), debit cards, and for other purposes-the primary difference being that
PINs are
generally used to confirm authority to take, use, or receive something-such as
cash at an
ATM-whereas PACs, would be employed to achieve priority and an audience for an
accompanying message. In this regard, a PAC may therefore be a mechanism to
employ "alpha-
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numerics" in order to provide for millions of possible combinations that also
concurrently allow
for sequencing or other specially-designated treatment.
In accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, the sender 4
of the
received message need not necessarily become aware that their message is being
prioritized since
the priority can be determined at the recipient's computer and be based on
origin of the sender 4
(e.g., e-mail address or Caller-ID number) which may then be matched to the
recipient
computer's database and directed to the proper mailbox. Likewise, there are
several ways that a
PAC can be assigned to an anticipated sender of messages to appropriately
prioritize a message
when received by the user 8 without that sender's conscious knowledge of the
prioritization if
messaging software used by both parties is specifically developed to
incorporate this
functionality. This additional functionality will be readily appreciated and
understood by those
skilled in the art.
By way of example only, and in the context of e-mail messaging using specially
designed
software, a user 8 may solicit a response from a would-be sender 4 by first
sending that party an
e-mail message (from the user 8 to the would-be sender 4) incorporating a PAC
as a "hidden"
element of the message, said PAC then becoming automatically incorporated in
any response to
said user's 8 message., To accomplish this end, the user's 8 message can
contain a space or field
to designate a PAC, in which intended recipient's-here, the would-be sender 4-
specific "Reply
PAC" can be inserted either manually or automatically by cross-referencing the
user's 8 database
14 with the intended recipient's (sender's 4) e-mail address.
Although the foregoing description primarily refers to a user's 8 computer as
performing
the prioritization or categorization of incoming messages via the PAC scheme,
it should be
understood that any computer in a network can perform the described functions
in a myriad of
alternative methodologies readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Any
means and method that
could adopt the "PAC" methodology of scrutinizing or prioritizing in
accordance with the
foregoing descriptions or similar procedures are thereby included as part and
parcel of the present
invention. Likewise, to the extent that any of the functionality described
herein can occur on the
server computer, or be distributed across any number of computers, but still
attain the same or
similar result, those elements are also included in and anticipated by the
present invention.
Furthermore, as the foregoing analysis can also apply to other message types,
this analysis is
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likewise applicable to the present invention for these other types as readily
appreciated by those
skilled in the art.
It is to be understood that multiple variations, changes and modifications are
possible in
the aforementioned embodiments of the invention. Although illustrative
embodiments of the
invention have been shown and described, a wide variety of modification,
change and substitution
is contemplated in the foregoing disclosure and, in some instances, some
features of the present
invention may be employed without a corresponding use of the other features.
Accordingly, it is
appropriate that the foregoing description be construed broadly and understood
as being given by
way of illustration and example only, the spirit and scope of the invention
being limited only by
the appended claims.
