Changing-urgency-dependent message or call delivery
First Claim
1. A method of communicating, comprising the steps of:
- storing a plurality of communication delivery instructions, each instruction corresponding to a different time interval of time prior to an expiration time of a communication;
associating a particular time as the expiration time with a particular communication; and
during each present said time interval prior to the particular time associated with the particular communication, attempting to deliver an undelivered said particular communication to a recipient of said particular communication according to the delivery instruction that corresponds to the present time interval.
15 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Communications (e.g., messages or calls) are treated with increasing urgency as their "expiration" time approaches. An expiration time is specified (FIG. 2 or 3) for a communication by its originator or some other entity and may be content-determined. Delivery of the communication to a recipient (e.g., an addressee or an agent of the addressee) is then attempted (FIG. 5) according to instructions (604-608) specified (FIG. 4) by the recipient (602). Each instruction corresponds to a different interval of time (612) prior to the expiration time of communications. During each present time interval prior to the expiration time that is associated with a communication, delivery of an undelivered said communication is attempted according to the delivery instruction that corresponds to the present time interval (FIG. 5). This technique can be combined with a priority-based delivery technique: each time interval prior to the expiration time may have a different priority (610) associated therewith, and the communication may also have an associated priority, whereupon the delivery is attempted either according to the instruction that corresponds to the priority that is associated with the present time interval prior to the expiration time or according to the instruction that corresponds to the higher one of the priority associated with the present time interval and with the communication.
-
Citations
9 Claims
-
1. A method of communicating, comprising the steps of:
-
storing a plurality of communication delivery instructions, each instruction corresponding to a different time interval of time prior to an expiration time of a communication; associating a particular time as the expiration time with a particular communication; and during each present said time interval prior to the particular time associated with the particular communication, attempting to deliver an undelivered said particular communication to a recipient of said particular communication according to the delivery instruction that corresponds to the present time interval. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
-
-
6. A communications apparatus comprising:
-
an arrangement for storing a plurality of communication delivery instructions, each instruction corresponding to a different time interval of time prior to an expiration time of a communication; and a delivery arrangement connected to the storing arrangement and responsive to a particular communication having a particular time associated therewith as the expiration time, during each present time interval prior to the particular time, by attempting to deliver an undelivered said particular communication to a recipient of said particular communication according to the delivery instruction that corresponds to the present time interval. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
-
Specification