Systems and Methods to Automatically Generate a Signature Block

• US 20110087969A1
• Filed: 10/14/2009
• Published: 04/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yahoo Assets LLC
• Original Assignee: Xobni Corp. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brezina, Matthew, Hein, Brian
• Granted Patent: US 9,087,323 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/752
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

Systems and methods for automated signature generation. In one aspect, a method implemented in a computer includes: storing information relating to a plurality of persons on a computer readable medium; and generating a signature block applied to a message composed in a user interface, based on one or more addresses in an address field of the user interface used to compose the message and the information relating to the plurality of persons.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method, comprising:

storing information, using a computer, relating to a plurality of persons on a computer readable medium; and

in response to an input in an address field of a user interface to compose a message, generating a signature block, using the computer, applied to the message in the user interface, based on one or more addresses in the address field and the information relating to the plurality of persons.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein if the address field has a single address, the generating of the signature block comprises identifying, in the address field, one of the plurality of persons that corresponds to the single address;

and at least some of the stored information relating to the one of the plurality of persons is included in the signature block.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving, using the computer, at least one customization to the signature block, via the user interface; and

saving, using the computer, the at least one customization to the signature block to the computer readable medium in association with the one of the plurality of persons, wherein when one or more messages having the single address in the address field are composed, the at least one customization is used in generating signature blocks for the one or more messages.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein if the address field has a plurality of addresses, the stored information includes information about a user of the user interface, and at least some of the information about the user of the user interface is included in the signature block.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving, using the computer, at least one customization to the signature block, via the user interface; and

saving, using the computer, the at least one customization to the signature block to the computer readable medium in association with the user of the user interface, wherein when one or more messages having the plurality of addresses in the address field are composed, the at least one customization is used in generating signature blocks for the one or more messages.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the signature block is a blank signature block.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the information relating to the plurality of persons is profile information, collected via:

scanning, by the computer, a set of messages of a user to identify a plurality of addresses;

identifying, by the computer, names of persons at the plurality of addresses to generate profiles for the persons at the plurality of addresses;

collecting, by the computer, profile information of the persons at the plurality of addresses; and

updating, by the computer, profiles of the persons with the profile information of the persons at the plurality of addresses.

8. A user terminal, comprising:

a storage device to store a set of messages for a user;

a profile builder to scan the set of messages to identify a plurality of addresses, to identify names of persons at the addresses to generate profiles for the persons; and

a profile presenter to generate signature blocks for messages composed using a message composer, based at least on one or more addresses in an address field of the message composer, profiles of the user of the user interface, and at least one person with whom the one or more addresses in the address field associate.

9. The user terminal of claim 8, wherein the profile builder and the profile presenter are implemented via at least one processor and a memory storing a set of instructions for the processor.

10. The user terminal of claim 8, wherein at least a portion of the profile builder and the profile presenter is implemented via an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

11. A tangible machine readable storage media storing a set of instructions, the instructions causing a computer to perform a method, the method comprising:

storing information, using the computer, relating to a plurality of persons on a computer readable medium; and

in response to an input in an address field of a user interface to compose a message, generating a signature block, using the computer, applied to the message in the user interface, based on one or more addresses in the address field and the information relating to the plurality of persons.

12. The tangible machine readable storage media of claim 11, wherein if the address field has a single address, the generating of the signature block comprises identifying, in the address field, one of the plurality of persons that corresponds to the single address;

and at least some of the stored information relating to the one of the plurality of persons is included in the signature block.

13. The tangible machine readable storage media of claim 12, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, using the computer, at least one customization to the signature block, via the user interface; and

saving, using the computer, the at least one customization to the signature block to the computer readable medium in association with the one of the plurality of persons, wherein when one or more messages having the single address in the address field are composed, the at least one customization is used in generating signature blocks for the one or more messages.

14. The tangible machine readable storage media of claim 11, wherein if the address field has a plurality of addresses, the stored information includes information about a user of the user interface, and at least some of the information about the user of the user interface is included in the signature block.

15. The tangible machine readable storage media of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, using the computer, at least one customization to the signature block, via the user interface; and

saving, using the computer, the at least one customization to the signature block to the computer readable medium in association with the user of the user interface, wherein when one or more messages having the plurality of addresses in the address field are composed, the at least one customization is used in generating signature blocks for the one or more messages.

16. The tangible machine readable storage media of claim 11, wherein the signature block is a blank signature block.

17. The tangible machine readable storage media of claim 11, wherein at least a portion of the information relating to the plurality of persons is profile information, collected via:

scanning, by the computer, a set of messages of a user to identify a plurality of addresses;

identifying, by the computer, names of persons at the plurality of addresses to generate profiles for the persons at the plurality of addresses;

collecting, by the computer, profile information of the persons at the plurality of addresses; and

updating, by the computer, profiles of the persons with the profile information of the persons at the plurality of addresses.