Electronic massage management system

• US 6,415,290 B1
• Filed: 07/20/2000
• Issued: 07/02/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Convergys Customer Management Delaware LLC (Concentrix CVG Customer Management Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Convergys Corporation
• Inventors: Wilson, David A., Musson, Karen L., Botts, Jennifer M., Weber, Douglas C., Stites, Elizabeth M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mizrahi, Diane D.
• Application Number:
  US09/620,094
• Time in Patent Office: 712 Days
• Field of Search: 707/4, 707/10, 707/104.1, 705/26, 705/70, 709/205, 709/226, 706/45
• US Class Current: 707/709
• 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 51/234 for tracking messages
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/922 Communications
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99938 Concurrency, e.g. lock management in shared database
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

An electronic message, or e-mail, management system having a digital computer for accepting e-mail messages; a program interface for automatically transferring received electronic messages to a database; a structured database for storing the received electronic messages in a predetermined format; and an interface for allowing a customer service representative, at a remote computer, to access, and respond to, the electronic messages stored at the database.

Claims

1. A system for managing e-mail messages comprising:

a first computer capable of receiving said e-mail messages;

a storage interfaced to said first computer, wherein said e-mail messages are forwarded to said storage from said first computer; and

wherein said e-mail messages are stored in said storage by predetermined attributes of said e-mail messages, and where said stored e-mail messages may be electronically accessed by use of at least one of said predetermined attributes.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said storage is a database.

3. A method for third party managing of electronic messages received from a public or private network, comprising the steps of:

receiving electronic messages at a computer associated with said second party,

forwarding said electronic messages to a database;

structuring storage in said database of each one of said electronic messages by predetermined messages attributes; and

providing an interface for allowing said third party to have access to said database access from a computer located apart from said database.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising the step of:

accepting a database access request from said third party.

5. A method according to claim 3, further comprising the step of:

transmitting said requested data from said database to a computer of said third party; and

displaying, on said third party computer, said requested data.

6. A system for managing electronic messages received from a public or private network, comprising:

a first programmed computer, said first programmed computer programmed to accept electronic messages, said first programmed computer programmed with mail server software;

a database for storing said electronic messages according to predetermined message attributes;

a second programmed computer in electrical communication with said first programmed computer, wherein said second programmed computer is configured with Web server software;

a third programmed computer in electrical communication with said first programmed computer, configured with web browser software;

wherein said received electronic messages are forwarded by said first programmed digital computer to said database; and

wherein a customer service representative (CSR) may retrieve at least one of said stored electronic messages based on at least one of said predetermined message attributes, said customer service representative located at said third programmed digital computer.

7. A system for managing email messages from a plurality of customers, comprising:

a network computer adapted to direct email messages from said plurality of customers to a mail server;

a database adapted to store said email messages; and

an interface between said mail server and said database, said interface adapted to retrieve said email messages from said mail server and to structure said email messages for storage in said database in accordance with predetermined attributes; and

a customer service representative computer for accessing said email messages in said database.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein said predetermined attributes are selected from the group consisting of time received, status, message number, sender, and message subject.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein said predetermined attributes further comprise a response number and response information.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein said customer service representative computer is adapted to access email messages from said database in accordance with a group.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein said group comprises email messages to which a customer service representative may respond.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein said group comprises email messages that a customer service representative may review.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein said group comprises email messages with the same email address.

14. The system of claim 7 wherein said customer service representative computer is adapted to access email messages from said database in accordance with a browser.

15. The system of claim 7 wherein said interface is a program extension to said database.

16. The system of claim 7 wherein said interface comprises an Internet database connector file and an open database connectivity interface.

17. The system of claim 7 wherein said database is adapted to store customer inquiries from Web forms.

18. A method for managing email messages from a plurality of customers, comprising the steps of:

receiving said email messages from said plurality of customers;

transmitting said email messages from said plurality of customers to a mail server;

retrieving said email messages from said mail server; and

storing said email messages in a database in accordance with predetermined attributes; and

accessing said email messages in said database using a customer service representative computer.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein said predetermined attributes are selected from the group consisting of time received, status, message number, sender, and message subject.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein said predetermined attributes further comprise a response number and response information.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein the step of accessing said email messages in said database comprises the step of accessing said email messages in accordance with a group.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising the step of responding to said email messages in said group.

23. The method of claim 21 further comprising the step of reviewing said email messages in said group.

24. The method of claim 21 wherein the step of accessing said email messages in accordance with a group comprises the step of accessing email messages with the same address.

25. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of accessing said email messages in said database using a browser.

26. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of storing in said database customer inquiries from Web forms.