Message routing system for enterprise wide electronic collaboration

• US 20020019797A1
• Filed: 02/16/2001
• Published: 02/14/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: BEA Systems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: BEA Systems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Hyndman, Michael, Takacsi-Nagy, Pal, Metsaportti, Timo, Stewart, Rocky
• Application Number:
  US09/785,687
• Publication Number:
  US 20020019797A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding

Abstract

An enterprise wide electronic commerce system allows trading partners to act as participants in a complex trading process. Participants communicate with one another by joining conversations that are hosted in a collaboration space and managed by a collaboration hub. In this manner, the enterprise workflow may have an effect on, or be affected by, local workflows. The invention provides a message routing system for enterprise wide electronic collaboration. An embodiment of the invention includes a message routing mechanism for a collaboration system, comprising a collaboration hub hosting a collaboration space capable of receiving and sending messages between participants, and a messaging protocol that allows the collaboration hub to determine the status of a conversation and its participants.

Claims

1. A message routing mechanism for a collaboration system, comprising:

a collaboration hub hosting a collaboration space capable of receiving and sending messages between participants; and

, a messaging protocol that allows the collaboration hub to determine the status of a conversation and its participants.

2. The message routing mechanism of claim 1 wherein routing criteria for a message are specified by the message protocol.

3. The message routing mechanism of claim 2 wherein the routing criteria is specified in a message overhead.

4. The message routing mechanism of claim 3 wherein the collaboration hub includes a repository of participant and conversation information which can be matched against a message overhead to determine the routing for a message.

5. The message routing mechanism of claim 4 further comprising a message router for routing a message depending on the content of the message overhead and the content of the repository.

6. The message routing mechanism of claim 4 further comprising a message filter for filtering a message depending on the content of the message overhead and the content of the repository.

7. The message routing mechanism of claim 1 further comprising a messaging bridge for transferring messages from a first collaboration space to a second collaboration space.

8. The message routing mechanism of claim 1 further comprising a messaging gateway for transferring messages from a collaboration space to a business messaging system.

9. The message routing mechanism of claim 8 wherein the business messaging system is any of an XML, CSML, Ariba NET or equivalent messaging system.

10. The message routing mechanism of claim 1 further comprising a messaging proxy for transferring messages to a messaging device.

21. The message routing mechanism of claim 1 including a message router that routes a message and a message filter that filters a message.

11. A method for routing messages between participants in a collaboration system, comprising the steps of:

hosting a collaboration space at a collaboration hub, capable of receiving and sending messages between participants; and

,

sending messages within the collaboration space using a messaging protocol that allows the collaboration hub to determine the status of a conversation and its participants.

12. The method of claim 11 including specifying the routing criteria for a message by the message protocol.

13. The method of claim 12 including specifying the routing criteria in the message overhead.

14. The method of claim 13 including storing a repository of participant and conversation information which can be matched against a message overhead to determine routing for a message.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

routing a message depending on the content of the message overhead and the content of the repository.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

filtering a message depending on the contact of the message overhead and the content of the repository.

17. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

sending a message via a messaging bridge from a first collaboration space to a second collaboration space.

18. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

sending a message via a messaging gateway from a collaboration space to a business messaging system.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the business messaging system is any of an XML, CSML, Ariba NET or equivalent messaging system.

20. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

sending a message via a messaging proxy from a collaboration space to a messaging device.

22. The method of claim 11 including the steps of routing and filtering a message.