Prohibiting mobile forwarding

• US 20100285843A1
• Filed: 05/11/2010
• Published: 11/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Appelman, Barry
• Granted Patent: US 9,049,569 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/566
• 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 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/16 Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/184 Messaging devices, e.g. message centre

Abstract

An incoming message and an indication of a sender-specified destination for the incoming message are received. In addition, a determination is made as to whether a mobile telephone number is known by the sender to be associated with the sender-specified destination. If a mobile telephone number is known by the sender to be associated with the sender-specified destination, a first message that is based on the incoming message is sent to the mobile telephone number. Furthermore, a second message is sent to the mobile telephone number that indicates that the first message was sent to the mobile telephone number based on a determination that the mobile telephone number is known by the sender to be associated with the sender-specified destination.

Claims

1-55. -55. (canceled)

56. A method being implemented by a computer device comprising:

receiving an incoming message and an indication of a sender-specified destination for the incoming message;

determining whether a mobile telephone number is associated with the sender-specified destination; and

sending a text message to a mobile telephone when a mobile telephone number is determined to be associated with the sender-specified destination, wherein the text message indicates that a message is available for a user associated with the mobile telephone.

57. The method of claim 56, wherein the incoming message includes a instant message.

58. The method of claim 56, wherein the indication of the sender-specified destination includes an instant message identity.

59. The method of claim 56, wherein the message available for the user associated with the mobile telephone is an instant message associated with the incoming message.

60. The method of claim 56, further comprising:

determining if the sender-specified destination is available to receive an electronic message using a communication mechanism other than the mobile telephone; and

sending a message to the mobile telephone when the sender-specified destination is determined to be not available to receive the electronic message.

61. The method of claim 56, wherein the sender-specified destination includes an instant message identity that is not signed on to an instant message service when the incoming message is received, and wherein the sender-specified destination is determined to be not available to receive an electronic message when the instant message identity is not signed on.

62. The method of claim 56, wherein the sender-specified destination includes an instant message identity that is signed in to an instant message service and is in an idle state when the incoming message is received, and wherein the sender-specified destination is determined to be not available to receive an electronic message when the instant message identity is in the idle state.

63. The method of claim 56, wherein the text message is based on the incoming message.

64. The method of claim 56, further comprising:

receiving, in response to the text message, an instruction from the mobile telephone, the instruction prohibiting forwarding a future incoming message to the mobile telephone.

65. The method of claim 64, wherein the instruction includes identification information of a sender to prohibit forwarding of a future incoming message sent from the identified sender.

66. The method of claim 56, further comprising:

receiving an additional incoming message sent from a sender of the incoming message;

determining whether an instruction to prohibit forwarding of incoming messages from the sender has been received; and

preventing sending an additional text message to the mobile telephone when the instruction to prohibit forwarding is determined to be received.

67. A computer readable storage device storing a programmable instructions, which when executed on a processor causes the processor to perform a method comprising:

receiving an incoming message and an indication of a sender-specified destination for the incoming message;

determining whether a mobile telephone number is associated with the sender-specified destination; and

sending a text message to a mobile telephone when a mobile telephone number is determined to be associated with the sender-specified destination, wherein the text message indicates that al message is available for a user associated with the mobile telephone.

68. The computer readable storage device of claim 67, wherein the incoming message includes a instant message.

69. The method of claim 67, wherein the indication of the sender-specified destination includes an instant message identity.

70. The computer readable storage device of claim 67, wherein the method further comprises:

determining if the sender-specified destination is available to receive an electronic message using a communication mechanism other than the mobile telephone; and

sending the additional message to the mobile telephone when the sender-specified destination is determined to be not available to receive the electronic message.

71. The computer readable storage device of claim 67, wherein the sender-specified destination includes an instant message identity that is not signed on to an instant message service when the incoming message is received, and the sender-specified destination is determined to be not available to receive an electronic message when the instant message identity is not signed on.

72. The computer readable storage device of claim 67, wherein the sender-specified destination includes an instant message identity that is signed in to an instant message service and is in an idle state when the incoming message is received, and the sender-specified destination is determined to be not available to receive an electronic message when the instant message identity is in the idle state.

73. The computer readable storage device of claim 67, further comprising programmable instructions that cause the processor to perform the following step:

receiving, in response to the text message, an instruction from the mobile telephone, the instruction prohibiting forwarding a future incoming message to the mobile telephone and including identification information of a sender to prohibit forwarding of a future incoming message sent from the identified sender.

74. The computer readable storage device of claim 67, further comprising programmable instructions that cause the processor to perform the following steps:

receiving an additional incoming message sent from a sender of the incoming message;

determining whether an instruction to prohibit forwarding of incoming messages from the sender has been received; and

preventing sending an additional text message to the mobile telephone when the instruction to prohibit forwarding is determined to be received.

75. A system for sending a notification to a mobile device comprising:

a processor; and

a computer readable storage device storing instructions, which when executed on a processor, causes the processor to;

receive an incoming message and an indication of a sender-specified destination for the incoming message;

determine whether a mobile telephone number is associated with the sender-specified destination; and

send a text message to a mobile telephone when a mobile telephone number is determined to be associated with the sender-specified destination,

wherein the text message indicates that a message is available for a user associated with the mobile telephone.