Message routing

• US 6,981,023 B1
• Filed: 03/08/2000
• Issued: 12/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Michael Hamilton
• Original Assignee: Michael Hamilton
• Inventors: Hamilton, Michael, Ricart, Glenn, Boland, Walter E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Burgess, Glenton B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): FLYNN, KIMBERLY D
• Application Number:
  US09/521,152
• Time in Patent Office: 2,120 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/205, 709/206, 709/207, 709/217, 709/228, 709/218, 379/201.01, 379/93.24, 379/93.34, 379/93.25, 379/93.08, 379/93.15, 379/93.01
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/604 Address structures or formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/65 Telephone numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/24 Key scheduling, i.e. generating round keys or sub-keys for block encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/106 across networks, e.g. mapping telephone numbers to data network addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/061 for key exchange, e.g. in peer-to-peer networks cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key agreement H04L9/0838
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0861 using biometrical features, e.g. fingerprint, retina-scan cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using biological data H04L9/3231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/30 Public key, i.e. encryption algorithm being computationally infeasible to invert or user's encryption keys not requiring secrecy
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0054 where the data service is an electronic mail service

Abstract

Methods, devices, signals, and systems are provided in a message routing architecture which provides improved capabilities for integrating “digital” communication through email messages with “analog” communication through voice and/or fax or pager messages. Email can be addressed using nothing more than a standard telephone or fax number. If the registered owner of the telephone or fax number has a corresponding email address, then the invention converts the telephone or fax number to the email address for delivery and uses standard email delivery systems to deliver the message. If no conventional delivery email address is known, or if the message sender or recipient specify multiple delivery modes, then the email message content is transformed into voice, pager and/or fax content and delivered to the recipient using the telephone or fax number which was specified as the email address. Familiar telecommunications services such as call forwarding and selective call blocking can also be used with messages that originate as email. The invention also supports use of telecommunications numbers as indexes into databases which contain public key certificates, to make it unnecessary for a proposed message recipient to provide its public key expressly in advance to each particular proposed message originator.

Claims

1. A method for routing a message, comprising the steps of:

receiving an email message which includes at least a destination address and may include message content, the destination address including a telecommunications number in place of at least a conventional domain name, wherein the destination address domain name is free of periods;

attempting to obtain a delivery addressing index which corresponds to the telecommunications number in the destination address;

selecting at least one delivery mode; and

if message content is present and a delivery addressing index is obtained, advancing the email message content for delivery using at least one selected delivery mode and the delivery addressing index,

wherein the telecommunications number is subject to call forwarding to a second telecommunications number, and the advancing step comprises delivering the email message content to a recipient at the second telecommunications number.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the addressing index includes an email address.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the addressing index includes a web site address.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting a delivery mode is performed at the direction of a message sender.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting a delivery mode is performed at the direction of a message recipient.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the telecommunications number used as the destination address is a publicly listed number.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the publicly listed number is obtained through directory assistance.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the telecommunications number used as the destination address is an unlisted number.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the telecommunications number used as the destination address includes a toll-free number.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the telecommunications number used as the destination address includes a 900 toll number.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step receives an email message containing an origin address, the origin address including an origin telecommunications number.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of responding to the email message using the origin address as the new destination address whose domain name is free of periods.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the origin telecommunications number is used in place of a conventional alphanumeric origin address domain name.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step receives an email message whose destination address contains no alphabetic domain name.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step receives an email message whose destination address contains the telecommunications number as the domain name.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step receives an email message whose destination telecommunications number is a pre-existing voice line number identifying a telephone number which can also be used for live voice communications.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step receives an email message whose destination telecommunications number is a pre-existing voice line number identifying a telephone number which can also be used for voicemail communications.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step receives an email message whose destination telecommunications number is a pre-existing fax line number identifying a fax number which can also be used for fax-to-fax communications.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step receives an email message whose destination telecommunications number is a pre-existing internet connection line number identifying a internet connection number which can also be used for internet access.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step receives an email message whose message content is located at least in part in text in a subject field.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step receives an email message whose message content is located at least in part in text in a message field.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step receives an email message whose message content is located at least in part in text in an attached file.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step receives an email message whose message content is formatted according to Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions format.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the attempting step attempts to obtain a delivery email address that includes an alphanumeric user name and an alphanumeric domain name.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the attempting step attempts to obtain a delivery email address that includes attribute-value pairs.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein the attempting step attempts to obtain a delivery addressing index using a database maintained on a client machine on which the email message was composed.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the attempting step uses the telecommunications number as an index into a database of public keys to obtain a public key corresponding to the telecommunications number.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein the attempting step attempts to obtain a delivery addressing index using a database maintained on an email server machine.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the email server machine utilizes Simple Mail Transfer Protocol.

30. The method of claim 1, wherein the attempting step attempts to obtain a delivery addressing index using a database maintained on an email gateway which separates a network from the Internet, and the email message was composed on a machine in the network.

31. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting step selects voice delivery as a delivery mode.

32. The method of claim 1, wherein the advancing step uses a wireless communications link.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein the attempting step succeeds in obtaining a delivery email address as the addressing index and the selecting step selects email text delivery as a delivery mode.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the selecting step also selects voice delivery as a delivery mode and the advancing step comprises synthesizing speech from text in the email message content and then delivering the synthesized speech to a recipient at the telecommunications number.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the delivering step delivers the synthesized speech to a voicemail box recipient.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein the delivering step delivers the synthesized speech to a live recipient.

37. The method of claim 33, wherein the selecting step also selects fax delivery as a delivery mode and the advancing step comprises generating a fax containing the email message content and then delivering the fax to a fax machine at the telecommunications number.

38. The method of claim 1, wherein the attempting step fails to obtain an email address, the selecting step selects voice delivery as a delivery mode, and the advancing step comprises synthesizing speech from text in the email message content and then delivering the synthesized speech to a recipient at the telecommunications number.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the delivering step delivers the synthesized speech to a voicemail box recipient.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein the delivering step delivers the synthesized speech to a live recipient.

41. The method of claim 1, wherein the attempting step fails to obtain a delivery email address, the selecting step selects fax delivery as a delivery mode, and the advancing step comprises generating a fax containing the email message content and then delivering the fax to a fax machine recipient at the telecommunications number.

42. The method of claim 1, wherein the telecommunications number identifies a pager, and the advancing step comprises delivering the email message content to the pager.

43. A method for routing a message, comprising the steps of:

receiving an email message which includes at least a destination address and may include message content, the destination address including a telecommunications number in place of at least a conventional domain name, wherein the destination address domain name is free of periods;

attempting to obtain a delivery addressing index which corresponds to the telecommunications number in the destination address;

selecting at least one delivery mode; and

if message content is present and a delivery addressing index is obtained advancing the email message content for delivery using at least one selected delivery mode and the delivery addressing index,

wherein the telecommunications number is subject to call forwarding to a second telecommunications number, the attempting step attempts to obtain a delivery email address using a database which is accessed using the second telecommunications number and which uses the telecommunications number as a pointer to the delivery email address within the database, and the advancing step comprises delivering the email message content to a recipient reached using the email address.

44. A system for routing messages comprising:

an email receiver which receives an email message that includes at least a destination address and message content, the destination address including a telecommunications number in place of at least a domain name, wherein the destination address domain name is free of periods;

an address matcher which attempts to obtain a delivery email address that corresponds to the telecommunications number in the destination address;

a mode selector that selects at least one delivery mode; and

a deliverer that advances the email message content for delivery using at least one selected delivery mode,

wherein more than one entity has a delivery email address that corresponds to the telecommunications number in the destination address and the address matcher attempts to obtain a delivery email address for an entity that is geographically nearest an originator of the email message.