Method and System for Providing Visual Notification in a Unified Messaging System

• US 20060200532A1
• Filed: 05/15/2006
• Published: 09/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: RPX Clearinghouse LLC (RPX Corporation)
• Original Assignee: RPX Clearinghouse LLC (RPX Corporation)
• Inventors: Ng, Alexander Siu-Kay, Skladman, Julia, Chatterley, Bruce A., Peterson, Bruce L., Thornberry, Robert J. Jr.
• Application Number:
  US11/383,388
• Publication Number:
  US 20060200532A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4509 Unified messaging with single point of access to voicemail and other mail or messaging systems unified messaging in packet switching networks H04L51/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53 Centralised arrangements for recording incoming messages , i.e. mailbox systems

Abstract

A method and system for interfacing a legacy e-mail, voice mail and facsimile system into a unified messaging system. The system includes visual message notification for notifying a user of incoming messages. Visual notification may include a flashing light emitting diode and/or text messages. The text messages may include various characteristics of the waiting messages, such as identification of the sender, subject header, message type, time and date received and a like.

Claims

1-13. -13. (canceled)

14. A service for notifying a user of messages from a plurality of disparate message sources, comprising:

enabling an adjunct display system of said user to access a unified messaging server, operable for storing messaging data, to determine the presence of stored messaging data originating from an enterprise communication system coupled to said unified messaging server; and

enabling said adjunct display system to provide a visually detectable indication of said presence responsive to detecting the presence of said stored messaging data.

15. The service of claim 14, wherein said adjunct display system includes an interface to said unified messaging server for polling said unified messaging server and providing an indication of said messages

16. The service as recited in claim 14, wherein said interface includes a modem.

17. The service as recited in claim 14, wherein said adjunct display system includes a microprocessor, a memory and a display, and a control system for retrieving message information from said unified messaging server and processing any retrieved message information and displaying retrieved messages on said display.

18. The service as recited in claim 14, wherein enabling said adjunct display system to provide said indication includes activating a light emitting diode.

19. The service as recited in claim 14, wherein enabling said adjunct display system to provide said indication includes providing said indication to a human readable display describing one or more characteristics of each message retrieved from said unified messaging server.

20. The service as recited in claim 19, wherein said one or more characteristics include the identification of the sender.

21. The service as recited in claim 19, wherein said one or more characteristics include subject header.

22. The service as recited in claim 19, wherein said one or more characteristics include message type.

23. The service as recited in claim 19, wherein said one or more characteristics include time and date of message.

24. Computer executable code, stored on a computer readable medium, for providing to a user a visually detectable message indicator, comprising:

computer code for storing, in storage of a unified messaging server, a first message received from a first message source and a second message received from an enterprise communication system coupled to said unified messaging server; and

computer code for causing an adjunct display system of said user to generate a visually detectable message indicator responsive to said storing of said first and second messages.

25. The computer code of claim 24, wherein said computer code for causing said adjunct display system to provide a visually detectable indication includes computer code for detecting a polling request from said adjunct display system and computer code for responding to said polling request by sending at least one message notice to said adjunct display system.

26. The computer code of claim 24, wherein said first and second messages are email messages and wherein said a protocol of said first message is a standard protocol selected from the group consisting of POP3 and IMAP4 and wherein a protocol of said second message is a nonstandard protocol and wherein receiving said second message include converting said protocol of said second message from said nonstandard protocol to a standard protocol.

27. The computer code of claim 24, wherein said computer code for causing include computer code for detecting a polling event from said adjunct display system and, responsive thereto, sending at least one message notice to said adjunct display system.

28. The computer code of claim 24, wherein said computer code for detecting a polling event includes computer code for detecting a caller ID signal from the adjunct display system wherein the caller ID signal includes an alphanumeric identification (ANI) associated with the adjunct display system.

29. A unified messaging system, comprising:

a unified messaging server operable to receive a first message from a first source and a second message from a legacy messaging system; and

a notification server operable to respond to (a) said unified messaging server receiving said first and second messages and (b) receiving a polling event from an adjunct display system of a user by transmitting at least one message notice to said adjunct display system.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein said first and second messages are email messages and wherein said a protocol of said first message is a standard protocol selected from the group consisting of POP3 and IMAP4 and wherein a protocol of said second message is a nonstandard protocol and wherein receiving said second message include converting said protocol of said second message from said nonstandard protocol to a standard protocol.

31. The system of claim 29, wherein receiving the polling event comprises receiving a caller ID signal including an alphanumeric identification (ANI) associated with the user.

32. The system of claim 29, wherein said computer code for detecting a polling event includes computer code for detecting a caller ID signal from the adjunct display system wherein the caller ID signal includes an alphanumeric identification (ANI) associated with the adjunct display system.