Systems and methods for storing, delivering, and managing messages
DCFirst Claim
1. A method of receiving a document in a first format and for making the document available over a network operating on an Internet protocol wherein the first format is a non-Internet protocol, comprising:
- receiving a first communication;
receiving a document contained as part of the first communication wherein the document is in the first format;
associating the document with at least one user;
storing the document in a database in accordance with the user associated with the document;
receiving a second communication over the network in the Internet protocol, the second communication being a request for at least part of the document;
making at least part of the document available in the Internet protocol; and
sending at least part of the document over the second network in the Internet protocol in response to the request.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A Message Storage and Deliver System (MSDS) is connected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and receives incoming calls with these calls being facsimile, voice, or data transmissions. The MSDS detects the type of call and stores the message signal in a database. The MSDS is also connected to the Internet and has a hyper-text transfer protocol deamon (HTTPD) for receiving requests from users. The HTTPD forwards requests for certain files or messages to a network server which transmits at least part of the message to the HTTPD and then to the user. In addition to requests for certain documents, the HTTPD may also receive a request in the form of a search query. The search query is forwarded from the HTTPD to an application program for conducting the search of the database. The results of the search are forwarded through the HTTPD to the user. The user may then select one or more files or messages from the search results and may save the search for later reference.
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Citations
87 Claims
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1. A method of receiving a document in a first format and for making the document available over a network operating on an Internet protocol wherein the first format is a non-Internet protocol, comprising:
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receiving a first communication;
receiving a document contained as part of the first communication wherein the document is in the first format;
associating the document with at least one user;
storing the document in a database in accordance with the user associated with the document;
receiving a second communication over the network in the Internet protocol, the second communication being a request for at least part of the document;
making at least part of the document available in the Internet protocol; and
sending at least part of the document over the second network in the Internet protocol in response to the request. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of storing documents on behalf of a plurality of users and for providing the users access to the documents over a network operating on an Internet protocol, comprising:
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receiving the documents from the users, wherein the documents are of multiple types;
associating the documents with their corresponding users;
storing the documents for the plurality of users, the documents being stored based on associations with their corresponding users;
assigning access control to the documents whereby individuals are defined to have certain access rights to the documents;
creating in-boxes for individuals, an in-box for use in showing documents that an individual has been assigned certain rights;
making in-boxes available to the individuals over the network operating on the Internet protocol, wherein individuals can use a browser to see their documents;
receiving requests directed to the documents, the requests being sent through the network operating on the Internet protocol;
checking the access control for the individuals to make sure that the individuals have the proper rights for the requests; and
sending at least part of the documents associated with the requests to the individuals over the network in the Internet protocol;
wherein individuals are able to access a plurality of documents of different types over the network in the Internet protocol using the browser. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method of providing an electronic file delivery and storage service operating in an electronic computer data network including the Internet network, for sending the electronic file to a recipient, comprising:
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providing a server for uploading the electronic file from a sending computer and for downloading the electronic file to a receiving computer;
providing a computer storage and database associated with the server;
the server accepting a connection with the sending computer using an electronic data transmission protocol;
the server receiving first recipient identifying information via the connection with the sending computer;
the server uploading the electronic file via the connection with the sending computer, the electronic file transmitted over the connection using the electronic data transmission protocol;
the server determining file identifying information for the electronic file;
the server storing the electronic file in the computer storage, and associating in the database the electronic file with the file identifying information and the first recipient identifying information;
the server generating a delivery notification for the recipient containing delivery notification information based on the file identifying information, and sending the delivery notification to the recipient using an address associated with the recipient based on the first recipient identifying information;
the server accepting a connection with the receiving computer, initiated by the recipient in response to the delivery notification, using the Internet protocol;
the server receiving second recipient identifying information via the connection with the receiving computer, using the Internet protocol;
the server using the second recipient identifying information from the receiving computer to grant access to information associated with the recipient, the server transmitting to the receiving computer, via the connection with the receiving computer, the information associated with the recipient, using the Internet protocol;
the server accepting a request from the receiving computer, via the connection with the receiving computer, initiated by the recipient in response to the transmitted information associated with the recipient, using the Internet protocol;
the server accessing the electronic file from the computer storage in response to the request; and
the server downloading at least a portion of the electronic file to the receiving computer via the connection with the receiving computer, using the Internet protocol. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
further comprising the server using the second recipient identifying information from the receiving computer to retrieve from the database the list of electronic files associated with the recipient; and
wherein the request is initiated by the recipient in response to the transmitted list of electronic files.
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45. The method of claim 44, wherein the transmitted list of electronic files is formatted in a mixed media page layout language.
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46. The method of claim 45, wherein the transmitted list of electronic files is formatted in the HTML language.
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47. The method of claim 45, wherein the transmitted list of electronic files comprises a textual description of each electronic file and an associated reference to each electronic file.
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48. The method of claim 47, wherein the reference comprises a command for accessing the associated electronic file, the command includes command information based on the file identifying information for the associated electronic file, the request is initiated by the recipient selecting the reference, the request includes the command, and the server executes the command in response to the request, using the command information to access the electronic file.
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49. A method of providing an electronic file delivery and storage service operating in an electronic computer data network including the Internet network, for sending the electronic file to a recipient, comprising:
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providing a server for uploading the electronic file from a sending computer and for downloading the electronic file to a receiving computer;
providing a computer storage and database associated with the server;
the server accepting a connection with the sending computer using an electronic data transmission protocol;
the server receiving first recipient identifying information via the connection with the sending computer;
the server uploading the electronic file via the connection with the sending computer, the electronic file transmitted over the connection using the electronic data transmission protocol;
the server determining file identifying information for the electronic file;
the server storing the electronic file in the computer storage, and associating in the database the electronic file with the file identifying information and the first recipient identifying information;
the server generating a delivery notification for the recipient containing delivery notification information based on the file identifying information, and sending the delivery notification to the recipient using an address associated with the recipient based on the first recipient identifying information;
the server accepting a connection with the receiving computer, initiated by the recipient in response to the delivery notification, using the Internet protocol;
the server receiving second recipient identifying information and document identifying information via the connection with the receiving computer, using the Internet protocol;
the server accessing the electronic file from the computer storage based on the second recipient identifying information and document identifying information; and
the server downloading at least a portion of the electronic file to the receiving computer via the connection with the receiving computer, using the Internet protocol. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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61. An electronic file delivery and storage service system operating in an electronic computer data network including the Internet network, adapted for sending an electronic file to a recipient, comprising:
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a server adapted for uploading the electronic file from a sending computer and adapted for downloading the electronic file to a receiving computer;
a computer storage and database associated with the server;
the server adapted for accepting a connection with the sending computer using an electronic data transmission protocol;
the server adapted for receiving first recipient identifying information via the connection with the sending computer;
the server adapted for uploading the electronic file via the connection with the sending computer, the electronic file transmitted over the connection using the electronic data transmission protocol;
the server adapted for determining file identifying information for the electronic file;
the server adapted for storing the electronic file in the computer storage, and adapted for associating in the database the electronic file with the file identifying information and the first recipient identifying information;
the server adapted for generating a delivery notification for the recipient containing delivery notification information based on the file identifying information, and adapted for sending the delivery notification to the recipient using an address associated with the recipient based on the first recipient identifying information;
the server adapted for accepting a connection with the receiving computer, initiated by the recipient in response to the delivery notification, using an Internet protocol;
the server adapted for receiving second recipient identifying information via the connection with the receiving computer, using the Internet protocol;
the server adapted for using the second recipient identifying information from the receiving computer to grant access to information associated with the recipient, the server adapted for transmitting to the receiving computer, via the connection with the receiving computer, the information associated with the recipient, using the Internet protocol;
the server adapted for accepting a request from the receiving computer, via the connection with the receiving computer, initiated by the recipient in response to the transmitted information associated with the recipient, using the Internet protocol;
the server adapted for accessing the electronic file from the computer storage in response to the request; and
the server adapted for downloading at least a portion of the electronic file to the receiving computer via the connection with the receiving computer, using the Internet protocol. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75)
further comprising the server adapted for using the second recipient identifying information from the receiving computer to retrieve from the database the list of electronic files associated with the recipient; and
wherein the request is initiated by the recipient in response to the transmitted list of electronic files.
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72. The system of claim 71, wherein the transmitted list of electronic files is formatted in a mixed media page layout language.
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73. The system of claim 72, wherein the transmitted list of electronic files is formatted in the HTML language.
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74. The system of claim 72, wherein the transmitted list of electronic files comprises a textual description of each electronic file and an associated reference to each electronic file.
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75. The system of claim 74, wherein the reference comprises a command for accessing the associated electronic file, the command includes command information based on the file identifying information for the associated electronic file, the request is initiated by the recipient selecting the reference, the request includes the command, and the server is adapted for executing the command in response to the request, using the command information to access the electronic file.
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76. An electronic file delivery and storage service system operating in an electronic computer data network including the Internet network, adapted for sending an electronic file to a recipient, comprising:
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a server adapted for uploading the electronic file from a sending computer and adapted for downloading the electronic file to a receiving computer;
a computer storage and database associated with the server;
the server adapted for accepting a connection with the sending computer using an electronic data transmission protocol;
the server adapted for receiving first recipient identifying information via the connection with the sending computer;
the server adapted for uploading the electronic file via the connection with the sending computer, the electronic file transmitted over the connection using the electronic data transmission protocol;
the server adapted for determining file identifying information for the electronic file;
the server adapted for storing the electronic file in the computer storage, and adapted for associating in the database the electronic file with the file identifying information and the first recipient identifying information;
the server adapted for generating a delivery notification for the recipient containing delivery notification information based on the file identifying information, and adapted for sending the delivery notification to the recipient using an address associated with the recipient based on the first recipient identifying information;
the server adapted for accepting a connection with the receiving computer, initiated by the recipient in response to the delivery notification, using an Internet protocol;
the server adapted for receiving second recipient identifying information and document identifying information via the connection with the receiving computer, using the Internet protocol;
the server adapted for accessing the electronic file from the computer storage based on the second recipient identifying information and document identifying information; and
the server adapted for downloading at least a portion of the electronic file to the receiving computer via the connection with the receiving computer, using the Internet protocol. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87)
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Specification