System and method of using e-mail centered internet interaction

• US 6,938,033 B1
• Filed: 10/01/1999
• Issued: 08/30/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Citibank (South Dakota) NA (Citigroup Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Citibank (South Dakota) NA (Citigroup Incorporated)
• Inventors: Schutzer, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Shahid
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAM, HUNG Q
• Application Number:
  US09/409,748
• Time in Patent Office: 2,160 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/10, 707/100, 345/752, 709/203
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• 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 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

Abstract

The present invention allows an e-mail server to process requests for Web pages and forward copies of the requested Web pages as attachments to e-mail messages. In addition to providing copies of a first set of Web pages themselves, the present invention also copies additional Web pages referenced by the links contained in the first set of Web pages into the e-mail messages so that the user may read the copies of the additional Web pages using the features and capabilities of a Web browser. The requests are generated by using a search engine or by requesting a specific Web page from a previously copied and linked Web page. The user may thus request Web pages and then go off-line and wait for the results to be returned to him/her as attachment(s) to e-mail message(s).

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of attaching at least one Web page to an e-mail message comprising:

receiving at least one search term via e-mail;

issuing a search request to a processor-based search engine using the at least one search term;

receiving a hit list from the search engine;

retrieving at least one Web page from the hit list;

bundling a copy of the at least one Web page into an e-mail message;

forwarding the e-mail message to an end-user'"'"'s terminal wherein the copy of the at least one Web page reviewable by the end-user;

receiving a number representative of a depth in which the depth is the number of successive links to another Web page as accessed through the at least one Web page; and

bundling a copy of each of the successive links between the other Web page and the at least one Web page into the e-mail message.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the copy of the at least one Web page bundled in the e-mail message reviewable by the end-user when the end-user'"'"'s terminal is not connected to the Web.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the bundled at least one Web page includes a link to a non-retrieved Web page, wherein the non-retrieved Web page can be retrieved directly via connection to the Internet.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the non-retrieved Web page can be retrieved upon receiving another search term and issuing another search request to the search engine using the another term.

5. A computer readable medium on which is encoded program code, the program code comprising:

program code for receiving at least one search term via e-mail;

program code for issuing the at least one search term as a search request to a search engine;

program code for receiving links to a plurality of Web pages that are associated with the at least one search term;

issuing a request for at least one of the plurality of Web pages;

receiving the at least one Web page;

program code for automatically copying the at least one Web page into at least one e-mail message;

program code for automatically forwarding the at least one e-mail message to a remote terminal;

program code for receiving a number representative of a depth in which the depth is the number of successive links to another Web page as accessed through the at least one Web page; and

bundling a copy of each of the successive links between the other Web page and the at least one Web page into the at least one e-mail message.