Managing messaging sessions among multiple participants

• US 10,075,408 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2014
• Issued: 09/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blix Inc.
• Original Assignee: Pecan Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Volach, Ben
• Primary Examiner(s): Naji, Younes
• Application Number:
  US15/022,605
• Publication Number:
  US 20160212091A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,456 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/026 using e-messaging for transporting management information, e.g. email, instant messaging or chat
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

A method of managing a multi participant messaging session among session participants. The method comprises detecting electronic mails and instant messaging (IM) messages exchanged among session participants participating during a multi participant messaging session, accessing a repository that manages for each of the session participants a user preference profile defining a preferred messaging protocol selected from an email protocol and an IM protocol, identifying, using the repository, first and second groups of the session participants, each member of the first group has an email protocol as the preferred messaging protocol and each member of the second group has an IM protocol as the preferred messaging protocol, formatting the electronic mails such that email content thereof is sent according to the email protocol to each member of the first group, and forwarding the email content for distribution according to the IM protocol for each member of the second group.

Claims

1. A method of managing a multi participant messaging session among a plurality of session participants, comprising:

detecting a plurality of electronic mails exchanged among said plurality of session participants participating during said multi participant messaging session;

accessing a repository that manages for each of said plurality of session participants a user preference profile defining a preferred messaging protocol selected from an email protocol, an IM protocol, and a cellular messaging protocol;

identifying, using said repository, a first group in said plurality of session participants, each member of said first group is defined in said repository as having an email protocol as said preferred messaging protocol;

identifying, using said repository, a second group in said plurality of session participants, each member of said second group is defined in said repository as having an IM protocol or a cellular messaging protocol as said preferred messaging protocol;

formatting said plurality of electronic mails, having email content, according to said email protocol and sending said formatted plurality of electronic mails to each member of said first group; and

sending said email content for distribution according to said IM protocol or said cellular messaging protocol to each member of said second group;

wherein said formatting comprises formatting a plurality of RCPT TO fields in each one of said plurality of emails to include at least one member of said first group and not to include any member of said second group while at least one TO field in respective said email includes all members of said first group and of said second group of said multi participant messaging session.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said email content is not sent according to said email protocol to said second group.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said formatting is performed by at least one of a plurality of client terminals used for generating said email content and at least one email server receiving said plurality of emails.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting a plurality of instant messaging (IM) messages or a plurality of cellular messages exchanged among said plurality of session participants participating during said multi participant messaging session.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising sending an IM content of said plurality of IM messages in an email according to said email protocol to each member of said first group and sending said IM content of said plurality of IM messages as a message sent according to said IM protocol or said cellular messaging protocol for each member of said second group.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising identifying a message typing by one of said plurality of session participants and presenting a notification indicative of said message typing on an email client module of each member of said first group.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising analyzing said email content and based on said analysis, filtering at least some of said plurality of electronic mails from being sent for distribution according to said IM protocol or said cellular messaging protocol for each member of said second group.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said formatting is performed at a first simple mail transport protocol (SMTP) server before said first SMTP server relays at least one of said plurality of electronic mails as in incoming message at a second SMTP server.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein each member of said first group receives at least some of said email content via an email client module and each member of said second group receives at least some of said email content via an IM client module.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said user preference profile defines said preferred messaging protocol according to a user defined rule.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said user defined rule is a condition on at least one of time of the day, time of the week, a hierarchy of preferred communication protocols, and a current location of a respective said plurality of session participant.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said user preference profile defines said preferred messaging protocol according to an event detected on a client terminal used for presenting said email content.

13. The method of claim 4, further comprising updating at least one of said plurality of session participants about IM content from said plurality of instant IM messages.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said updating is performed by sending an update message that is based on IM content from said plurality of IM messages to said at least one session participant.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising adapting a time tag of said update message to indicate a transmission or reception time that precedes an email of said plurality of electronic mails which has been sent before said update message is created.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein said formatting comprises formatting in each one of said plurality of emails a plurality of email addresses of said plurality of session participants and sending said plurality of emails to a proxy unit.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein said formatting comprises adding a marker to each one of said plurality of electronic mails, said marker being read by a plurality of recipient clients encoding data from said plurality of electronic mails accordingly.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising acquiring message sending credentials from at least one of said plurality of session participants and using said message sending credentials for sending an invitation to install a client module for participating in said multi participant messaging session to a new session participant.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising acquiring message sending credentials from each of said plurality of session participants and using said message sending credentials for distributing said email content.

20. The method of claim 4, further comprising concentrating said IM content from said plurality of IM messages in a summary message and sending said summary message to each member of said first group.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein said concentrating is performed periodically in a plurality of iterations.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring an availability status of each one of said plurality of session participants and presenting availability status to each other of said plurality of session participants.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring a currently preferred messaging protocol of each one of said plurality of session participants and presenting said currently preferred messaging protocol to each other of said plurality of session participants.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising adding, in real time, at least one of at least one new email recipient and at least one new IM recipient to said multi participant messaging session.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising analyzing each of said plurality of electronic mails to identify when an indicator is included in a content of each of said plurality of electronic mails and conducting said accessing, said identifying, said formatting and said sending according to said identified indicator.

26. A method of managing a multi participant messaging session among a plurality of session participants, comprising:

detecting, at a sender side, an electronic mail (email) having media content inputted using an email client module, said email designating said plurality of session participants;

accessing a repository that manages for each of said plurality of session participants a user preference profile defining a preferred messaging protocol selected from an email protocol, an instant messaging (IM) protocol, and a cellular messaging protocol;

identifying, using said repository, a first group in said plurality of session participants, each member of said first group is defined in said repository as having an email protocol as said preferred messaging protocol;

identifying, using said repository, a second group in said plurality of session participants, each member of said second group is defined in said repository as having an IM protocol or a cellular messaging protocol as said preferred messaging protocol;

formatting said email, containing said media content, at said sender side, according to said email protocol and sending said formatted email to each member of said first group; and

sending said media content for distribution according to said IM protocol or said cellular messaging protocol for each member of said second group;

wherein said formatting comprises formatting a plurality of RCPT TO fields in said email to include at least one member of said first group and not to include any member of said second group while at least one TO field in respective said email includes all members of said first group and of said second group of said multi participant messaging session.

27. A system of managing a multi participant messaging session among a plurality of session participants, comprising:

a plurality of processors, installed in a plurality of client terminals, executing code for detecting a plurality of electronic mails and a plurality of instant messaging (IM) messages or a plurality of cellular messages exchanged among said plurality of session participants participating during said multi participant messaging session; and

a repository that manages for each of said plurality of session participants a user preference profile defining a preferred messaging protocol selected from an email protocol, an IM protocol, and a cellular messaging protocol;

wherein said code comprising code instructions for;

identifying, using said repository, a first group in said plurality of session participants, each member of said first group is defined in said repository as having an email protocol as said preferred messaging protocol; and

identifying, using said repository, a second group in said plurality of session participants, each member of said second group is identified in said repository as having an IM protocol or a cellular messaging protocol as said preferred messaging protocol;

wherein at least one of said plurality of processors and at least one email server executes code instructions for formatting said plurality of electronic mails, having email content, according to said email protocol and sending said formatted plurality of electronic mails to each member of said first group;

wherein said formatting comprises formatting a plurality of RCPT TO fields in each one of said plurality of emails to include at least one member of said first group and not to include any member of said second group while at least one TO field in respective said email includes all members of said first group and of said second group of said multi participant messaging session;

wherein at least one of said plurality of processors and said at least one email server executes code instructions for forwarding said email content for distribution according to said IM protocol or said cellular messaging protocol to each member of said second group.