Electronic message sorting and notification system

• US 6,396,513 B1
• Filed: 05/14/1996
• Issued: 05/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Helfman, Jonathan Isaac, Isbell, Charles Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rossi, Jeffrey A.
• Application Number:
  US08/645,740
• Time in Patent Office: 2,205 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.34,200.37 345/347,340,356,752 379/88 709/206,207
• US Class Current: 715/752
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

The invention concerns an improved electronic mail system, wherein incoming mail is automatically sorted into mailboxes, based on criteria defined by the user. In addition, the user can rank the mailboxes in order of importance, and the mailboxes are presented to the user in the order of rank. The user can also establish thresholds for any measurable characteristic of a mailbox. For example, one measurable characteristic may be the total number of unread messages. The user may choose to be informed when the total number of unread messages exceeds a threshold. If the threshold is set to ten, for example, then, when the eleventh message is received, the system triggers an alarm, notifying the user. The system also includes an interface which displays multiple windows to the user simultaneously, showing not only the contents of mail messages, but also other information about the user'"'"'s mail, such as the ranking of the mailboxes and the criteria for triggering alarms.

Claims

1. A system for processing e-mail messages, comprising:

a) means for receiving messages from an e-mail server;

b) means for sorting messages addressed to a single user into different mailboxes;

c) means for defining a state for at least one mailbox, based on user input;

d) means for

i) displaying indicators of mailboxes currently in the state;

ii) displaying indicators of mailboxes currently outside the state; and

iii) changing the displayed indicators, as a user causes mailboxes to enter, and leave, the state,

wherein display of e-mail messages stored in a mailbox causes the mailbox to leave the state.

2. A method for processing e-mail messages, comprising:

a) receiving messages from an e-mail server;

b) sorting messages addressed to a single user into different mailboxes;

c) defining an alarm state for at least one mailbox, based on user input;

d) displaying indicators of mailboxes currently in the alarm state;

e) displaying indicators of mailboxes currently outside the alarm state; and

f) changing the displayed indicators, as a user causes mailboxes to enter, and leave, the alarm state,

wherein the user causes the mailboxes to enter and leave the alarm state by displaying e-mail messages stored in the mailboxes.

3. An electronic mail system, comprising:

a) means for sorting incoming e-mail messages for a single user into a plurality of mailboxes;

b) display means for

i) displaying mailboxes having a first characteristic in a first group,

ii) displaying mailboxes having a second characteristic in a second group;

iii) displaying the mailboxes in the first group in a first order, based on a first set of priority criteria;

iv) displaying the mailboxes in the second group in a second order, based on a second set of priority criteria;

c) means for establishing the first and second sets of priority criteria, based on user input.

4. System according to claim 3, wherein the first characteristic is that a mailbox contain at least one unread message.

5. System according to claim 3, wherein the first characteristic is that a mailbox contain at least one message.

6. System according to claim 3, wherein the first characteristic is that a mailbox contains no messages.

7. An electronic mail system, comprising:

a) means for receiving e-mail messages from an e-mail server;

b) means for

i) associating a search criterion with each of several mailboxes;

ii) examining each e-mail message for search criteria, and

iii) sorting e-mail messages meeting a criterion into the mailbox assiciated with that criterion;

c) display means for

i) displaying mailboxes containing unread messages in a first group;

ii) displaying mailboxes containing messages in a second group;

iii) displaying mailboxes containing no messages in a third group,

iv) displaying the mailboxes in the first group in a first order, based on a first set of priority criteria;

v) displaying the mailboxes in the second group in a second order, based on a second set of priority criteria;

c) means for establishing the first and second sets of priority criteria, based on user input.