Generating and providing alert messages in a communications network

• US 6,871,214 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2000
• Issued: 03/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Parsons, Eric W., Armstrong, Steven M., Huppe, Sylvain S., Trudeau, Denis T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrell, Robert B.
• Application Number:
  US09/753,124
• Publication Number:
  US 20020087643A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,544 Days
• Field of Search: 340/7.1, 340/7.2, 340/7.5, 340/7.51, 340/7.52, 340/7.58, 340/7.59, 340/7.6, 340/7.61, 340/7.62, 340/825.36, 709/200, 709/206, 709/207
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5322 for recording text messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53333 Message receiving aspects

Abstract

A notification system is coupled to a plurality of message services including a voice mail server, an email server and an information server in an office. Messages left for a user (e.g. voice mail, email, CRM event, etc.) are deposited in folders maintained by the messaging services. The notification system detects additions to the user'"'"'s folders and when a new message arrives, the notification system sends an alert to a Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) enabled device (e.g. cell phone) configured for the user. The alert includes the total number of messages of each type received for the user, along with an indication of the most recently received message. The notification system may further monitor an information source for new information that may be of interest to the user (e.g. stock or product price quotes), and provide these in the alert notification if certain conditions are met (e.g. stock price exceeds a threshold).

Claims

1. A method for managing message events associated with a plurality of message feeds provided to a user in a communication system, the method comprising the steps of:

collecting information regarding message events associated with each of the message feeds, including actively collecting information from at least one of the message feeds by searching an identified data source;

updating a list of messages for the user based an the collected information;

preparing an alert based on the updated list of messages; and

pushing the alert to a wireless device associated with the user.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

comparing the collected information with user preferences for receiving notifications about message events; and

controlling performance of the updating, preparing, and pushing steps in accordance with a result of the comparing step.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the comparing step includes determining if the message events are associated with certain selected ones of the message feeds.

4. A method according to claim 2, wherein the comparing step includes determining if the message events are associated with certain message content.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the message feeds comprise two or more of voice mail, fax mail, email, and an information source.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the message events include one or more of a newly received voice mail, a deleted voice mail a read voice mail, a newly received email, a deleted email, a read email, a newly received fax, a deleted fax, a newly received information message, a deleted information message, a read information message, and a missed phone call.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the preparing step includes the step of preparing an indication of a most recent one of the message events.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the preparing step includes the step of preparing an identification of a caller associated with the most recent message event.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the pushing step includes the step of pushing the alert using the WAP push protocol.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the preparing step includes the step of preparing a respective total of messages associated with each of the message feeds.

11. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

determining if an appropriate time interval has elapsed for receiving notifications about message events; and

controlling performance of the preparing and updating steps in accordance with a result of the determining step.

12. An apparatus for managing message events associated with a plurality of message feeds provided to a user in a communication system, the apparatus comprising:

means for collecting information regarding message events associated with each of the message feeds, including means for actively collecting information from at least one of the message feeds by searching an identified data source;

means for updating a list of messages for the user based on the collected information;

means for preparing an alert based on the updated list of messages; and

means for pushing the alert to a wireless device associated with the user.

13. An apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising:

means for comparing the collected information with user preferences for receiving notifications about message events; and

means for controlling operation of the updating, preparing, and pushing means in accordance with a result of the comparing means.

14. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the comparing means includes means for determining if the message events are associated with certain selected ones of the message feeds.

15. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the comparing means includes means for determining if the message events are associated with certain message content.

16. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the message feeds comprise two or more of voice mail, fax mail, email, and an information source.

17. An apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the message events include one or more of a newly received voice mail, a deleted voice mail a read voice mail, a newly received email, a deleted email, a read email, a newly received fax, a deleted fax, a newly received information message, a deleted information message, a read information message, and a missed phone call.

18. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the preparing means includes means for preparing an indication of a most recent one of the message events.

19. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the preparing means includes means for preparing an identification of a caller associated with the most recent message event.

20. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the pushing means includes means for pushing the alert using the WAP push protocol.

21. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the preparing means includes means for preparing a respective total of messages associated with each of the message feeds.

22. An apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising:

means for determining if an appropriate time interval has elapsed for receiving notifications about message events; and

means for controlling performance of the preparing and updating means in accordance with a result of the determining means.

23. An apparatus for providing notifications about messages in a communication system including a first messaging server adapted to store messages from a first message feed for a plurality of users and a second messaging server adapted to store messages from a second message feed for the plurality of users, the first message feed and the second message feed being associated with different types of messages, the apparatus comprising:

a notification server adapted to be coupled to both of the first and second messaging servers, the notification server collecting information about the messages stored for certain of the plurality of users, the notification server being adapted to push alerts based on the collected information to wireless devices associated with the certain users, the notification server being further operative to actively collect information from at least one message feed by searching an identified data source.

24. An apparatus according to claim 23, further comprising:

a user information store for storing paths to messages stored by the first and second messaging servers for the certain users; and

an interface coupled to the user information store for receiving message events associated with the messages stored by the first and second messaging servers for the certain users based on the stored paths, the collected information being based on the received message events.

25. An apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the user information store is further adapted to store preferences for receiving the alerts for the certain users, the notification server being coupled to the user information score to receive the preferences, the notification server being further adapted to push alerts to the certain users based on the received preferences.

26. An apparatus according to claim 24, further comprising a message information store for storing lists of certain of the messages stored by the first and second message servers for each of the certain users, the notification server being coupled to the message information store and being adapted to update the stored lists based on the collected information, the pushed alert being based on the stored lists.

27. An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the first message feed comprises one of a voice mail, fax mail, email, and an information source, and the second message feed comprises a different one of the voice mail, fax mail, email, and the information source.

28. An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the communication system further includes a PBX coupled to a plurality of office phones associated with the certain users, one of the first and second message feeds being voice mail associated with the office phones.