SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SERVICE SPECIFIC NOTIFICATION

• US 20130332852A1
• Filed: 08/16/2013
• Published: 12/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EnvoyWorldWide, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Varolii Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Castanho, Rick, Delaney, Jeffrey, Kirtley, William Harry, Kuszewski, Robert, Matthews, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 9,426,191 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]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

A flexible, programmable messaging system and method for associating specific happenings with particular services and users associated with those services is disclosed. The contact means for the users are held in a single database with retrievable historical information regarding the user and/or the service. Users and administrators are defined where the user may exercise a group of predetermine privileges. Users may subscribe and un-subscribe to one or more services. The administrator may exercise more privileges or all the privileges, and the additional privileges will include creating messages related to specific happenings, editing of the billing for the service, editing subscription forms, managing the members of a service and tracking the delivery of message. The presentation pages and the messaging format are arranged using templates with predetermined information and formats that may be programmable. The system is arranged in a client/server arrangement where standard servers can be used. The users administrators, and messaging systems include virtually all forms of communications.

Claims

1. Apparatus comprising:

a communication interface configured to communicate with a message delivery system and adapted to cause, via the message delivery system, a given event-specific message to be sent to a corresponding list of recipients;

a trigger interface configured to receive an indication that a given event has occurred and to trigger sending of the given event-specific message;

storage device encoded subscriber-originated recipient list data representing the corresponding list of recipients, where the corresponding list of recipients originated from inputs by event subscribers; and

a display including a user interface configured to display and receive input from, via a computer screen display, plural sets of screen-displayed destination setting selection indicators for individually configuring sets of destination settings for corresponding event types, each set of destination settings corresponding to a corresponding one of plural selectable event types selectable for causing corresponding triggered messages to be sent including sending the given event-specific message to the corresponding list of recipients, where individual ones of the selectable event types for a given user have corresponding differently configurable sets of destination settings, whereby the given user'"'"'s selected destination settings for one selected event type cause one event-specific message to be sent to one device of the given user and the given user'"'"'s selected destination settings for another selected event type cause another event-specific message to be sent to another device of the given user that is different than the one device.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the message includes a notification message.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the trigger interface includes a machine-embodied application program interface configured to receive an automated indication that the given event has occurred.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the trigger interface includes an administrator trigger happening input configured to receive an indication of the given event occurrence via a computer screen interface.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the computer-readable media encoded subscriber-originated recipient list data includes an XML document submitted to the delivery system by the communication interface via an HTTP protocol.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the XML document represents a list of targeted deliveries, based on all the subscribers to the event and based on references to the subscribers'"'"' schedules to determine how and when each subscriber is to be contacted.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising computer-readable media encoded provider-originated recipient list data representing a provider-originated list of recipients.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user interface includes a subscriber interface for subscribers to configure event notification settings.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the trigger interface includes a provider event notification creation interface configured to receive, via computer screen input, information to create a given event notification corresponding to a given type.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the provider event notification creation interface includes a wizard user interface sequence generator.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the event notification creation provider interface includes an event selection interface.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the event selection interface comprises a computer screen interface.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user interface includes a graphical user interface.

14. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user interface includes a standard web browser.