System and method for automated received message handling and distribution

• US 6,631,399 B1
• Filed: 08/04/1999
• Issued: 10/07/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Net2Phone, Inc. (IDT Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Open Scan Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Wegner, Martin T., Nandyal, Omprasad S., Stanczak, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky, Moustafa M.
• Application Number:
  US09/366,712
• Time in Patent Office: 1,525 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200, 709/201, 709/203, 709/205, 709/207, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/206, 379/265, 379/266, 379/309, 379/219
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1859 adapted to provide push services, e.g. data channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/6215 Individual queue per QOS, rate or priority
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/90 Buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/959 Network
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99938 Concurrency, e.g. lock management in shared database

Abstract

An automated message distribution system routes digitally-encoded messages via public-switched telephone networks and wide area networks and local area networks to the most desired route. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, digitally encoded messages enter into a local area network, either directly or via a public-switched telephone network, and are sent to their destinations in a distributed manner. The paths or routes are calculating by using a set of customized rules. The customized rules are set to distribute messages evenly among the available paths.

Claims

1. An automatic message distribution system, comprising:

a computer;

a message distributor executing on said computer to control distribution of digitally-encoded messages that are input to the automatic message distribution system;

a resource load operatively connected to said message distributor containing resources that process said digitally-encoded messages;

a resource information maintenance and access process operatively connected to said message distributor for storing resource information pertaining to the status of said resources;

a distribution message queue operatively connected to said message distributor to store each of said digitally-encoded messages for distribution; and

a distribution rule maintenance and application process connected to said message distributor to store distribution rules for distributing said digitally-encoded messages to said resources from said distribution message queue in accordance with said resource information.

2. The automatic message distribution system of claim 1, wherein said message distributor further comprises:

an automatic message distribution daemon to control distribution of said digitally-encoded messages to said resources.

3. The automatic message distribution system of claim 2, further comprising a configuration file to store parameters that are used by said daemon to control distribution of said digitally-encoded messages.

4. The automatic distribution system of claim 3, wherein said resources are users of the automatic message distribution system.

5. The automatic message distribution system of claim 4, wherein said configuration file comprises a primary user list having at least one entry corresponding to a primary user of said distributed message queue.

6. The automatic message distribution system of claim 5, wherein said configuration file comprises a secondary user list having at least one entry corresponding to a secondary user of said distributed message queue.

7. The automatic message distribution system of claim 3, further comprising at least one additional distribution message queue.

8. The automatic message distribution system of claim 7, wherein said configuration file stores parameters corresponding to each distribution message queue in said automatic message distribution system.

9. The automatic message distribution system of claim 7, further comprising an additional configuration file corresponding to each said additional distribution queue.

10. The automatic distribution system of claim 7, further comprising an input message router to initially route the digitally-encoded messages to one of said distribution queues.

11. The automatic message system of claim 2, wherein said distribution message queue comprises:

a high-priority queue;

a low-priority queue; and

an age value indicating the age of any of said digitally-encoded messages, wherein said age is determined by subtracting the time that the fax entered the automatic message system from the current time.

12. The automatic message distribution system of claim 11, further comprising one or more additional priority levels and one or more additional priority queues corresponding to each of said one or more additional priority levels.

13. The automatic message distribution system of claim 1, wherein said resource information maintenance and access process comprises a resource information table to store said resource information.

14. The automatic message distribution system of claim 1, wherein said distribution rule maintenance and application process comprises a distribution rule table to store said distribution information.

15. A method for automatically distributing digitally-encoded messages that are input to an automatic message distribution system that includes a resource load containing a plurality of resources, comprising the steps of:

(a) storing each of said digitally-encoded messages in one or more distributed message queues;

(b) storing resource information concerning said resources in a resource information table that enables the automatic message distribution system to determine which of said resources is available to a digitally-encoded message stored in said one or more distributed message queues;

(c) storing a set of routing rules in a distribution routing table that control distribution of said digitally-encoded message to the resources; and

(d) automatically routing a digitally-encoded message stored in said one or more distributed message queues.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of creating a system configuration file corresponding to the automatic message distribution system to store parameters that control system performance.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising the steps of:

creating a primary user list of at least one primary user for each of said one or more distributed message queues; and

storing said primary list in said system configuration file.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the steps of

creating a secondary user list of at least one secondary user for each of said one or more distribute message queues;

and

storing said secondary user list in said system configuration file.

19. A The method claim 15, further comprising the steps of:

(e) analyzing each of said digitally-encoded messages to determine into which of said one or more distributed message queues said digitally-encoded messages should be stored; and

(f) storing each of said digitally-encoded messages in a distributed message queue that is determined in accordance with step (e).

20. The method of claim 19, wherein said analyzing step (e) comprises the steps of:

(i) analyzing a cover sheet associated with each digitally-encoded message to determine whether a box has been checked; and

(ii) providing the information derived in the analyzing step (i) to the storing step (f) so that each digitally-encoded message is stored in an appropriate one of said one or more distributed message queues.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein step (i) comprises the step of analyzing a cover sheet associated with each DEM to determine whether a box has been checked.

22. A message processing center, comprising:

a plurality of agents to process digitally-encoded messages input to the message processing center; and

an automatic message processing system, comprising;

a message distributor having a daemon executing thereon to optimally route said digitally-encoded messages to said agents;

one or more distributed message queues for storing each of said digitally-encoded messages;

a resource information table to determine the availability of said agents so that the automatic message processing system can determine an optimal routing of said digitally-encoded messages to said agents; and

a distribution rule table to store distribution rules that are used by said automatic message distribution system to optimally route said digitally-encoded messages from said one or more distributed message queues to said agents.

23. The message processing center of claim 22, wherein said automatic message distribution system further comprises an input message router to route each of said digitally-encoded messages to an appropriate one of the one or more distributed message queues.