MESSAGE NOTIFICATION SYSTEM

• US 20130024779A1
• Filed: 07/18/2011
• Published: 01/24/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Bechtel, Kay Lynn, Weinstein, Robert Mark
• Granted Patent: US 9,285,966 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/752
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages

Abstract

A method and system may for notifying a user of an incoming message may include a message server configured to apply a filter to a message header of a received message. A message program may be configured to filter the message based on at least one filter, the filter being established via a filter interface and including a plurality of filter options. The message program may be configured to display at least one message indicator in a message interface in response to applying the filter options of the filter to the message.

Claims

1. A notification system comprising:

a message server configured to receive messages, each of the messages having a message header;

a message program configured to apply a filter to the message header of at least one of the message based on at least one filter, the filter being established via a filter interface executable via a web browser window and including a plurality of filter options; and

the message program further configured to display at least one message indicator in a message interface in response to applying the filter options of the filter to the message.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a database configured to store the at least one filter established via the filter interface.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein each filter option includes a filter parameter corresponding to at least a portion of the message header.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the message program filters the at least one message based on the filter parameters, the message program receiving the message from an email server.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the message indicator is updated via the message program in the message interface in response to the message header of one of the messages including at least a portion of the filter parameters established by the filter.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the message interface includes a toolbar presented in the browser window.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the message indicator is defined by the filter and updated via the message program in response to applying the filter options to the message.

8. A method comprising:

receiving a message from a computing device having a processor and a medium;

determining if a filter has been established for filtering the received message;

applying, via a message program on a computing device, the filter to the message by evaluating a message header of the message; and

updating an interface in response to the message header including at least one filter parameter established by the applied filter, the interface including a web browser window.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the interface is updated based on display parameters included in the filter.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining if a second filter has been established for filtering the received message;

applying, via the message program, the second filter to the message by evaluating the message header; and

updating the interface in response to the message header including at least one second filter parameter established by the second filter.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the interface is a toolbar of a browser window.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising updating the toolbar to include at least one display parameter defined by at least one of the filters.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the display parameter defines an icon associated with and specific to each of the filters.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising updating the toolbar to include at least one icon defined by the display parameter of each of the filters.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the icon for the filter is distinct from the icon for the second filter.

16. The method of claim 8, wherein the message is received at the message program from an email server.

17. A computer-readable medium tangibly embodying computer-executable instructions comprising:

receiving a message from a computing device having a processor and a medium;

determining if a first filter has been established for filtering the received message;

applying, via a message program, the first filter to the message by evaluating a message header of the message;

determining if a second filter has been established for filtering the received message;

applying, via the message program, the second filter to the message by evaluating the message header; and

updating a toolbar of a browser window in response to the message header including at least one filter parameter established by at least one of the first and second filters.

18. The medium of claim 17, wherein the message program is an application program interface (API) and the toolbar is updated by the application program interface (API) based on display parameters included in each of the first and second filters.

19. The medium of claim 18, wherein each of the filter parameters for the first and second filters define a message indicator.

20. The medium of claim 19, wherein the message indicator defined by the first filter is distinct from the message indicator defined by the second filter.