E-mail client with programmable address attributes

• US 7,035,905 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2004
• Issued: 04/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Inventors: Kikinis, Dan
• Primary Examiner(s): DAVIS, DAVID DONALD
• Application Number:
  US10/930,242
• Publication Number:
  US 20050033851A1
• Time in Patent Office: 603 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/207, 707/1, 707/10
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

An e-mail processing application executable on a computer station having a video display unit (VDU) searches a received e-mail for one or more words, phrases, and addresses for comparison with stored words, phrases and addresses in a stored table, and upon finding a match in the stored table, inserts one or more of words, phrases, or addresses associated in the stored table with the words, phrases or addresses from the received e-mail in any reply to the received e-mail. In a preferred embodiment a “send to” address in a received e-mail triggers automatically one or both of a particular “from” and “reply to” address in any response to the received e-mail. In an alternative embodiment, a “send to” address in a received e-mail, as a result of a table look-up, automatically prepares and sends a new e-mail identical to the received e-mail except for a new “send to” address retrieved from the stored table. In alternative embodiments the application simply provides variable fields in a reply window for a user to enter variable “from” and “reply to” addresses.

Claims

1. In a service center representing a plurality of enterprises, each enterprise having a first specific email address different from every other enterprise represented, wherein emails addressed to two or more different enterprises may be distributed to a single agent for reply, an email client for preparing and sending replies, comprising:

a table accessible to the email client associating the specific email addresses of the plurality of enterprises each with a second address; and

a function for selecting, when a reply is prepared and sent by the agent, the associated second address, and inserting the second address as the address in the reply from whom the reply has originated.

2. The email client of claim 1 wherein the table further associates specific words or phrases with the second address, and the function reviews a message body of the received e-mail message for the specific words or phrases and inserts the associated second address in the reply.

3. The email client of claim 2 wherein the table further associates complete reply messages with one or more of words, phrases, or addresses, and wherein the function prepares and sends replies with the complete reply messages and addresses in response to received e-mails containing the selected words, phrases, or addresses.

4. The email client of claim 1 wherein the table further associates a plurality of second addresses with individual ones of the specific enterprise first email addresses, and sends copies of the reply generated to each of the second addresses.

5. The email client of claim 1 wherein the second address retrieved from the table is presented to the agent for approval before use.

6. In a service center representing a plurality of enterprises, each enterprise having a first specific email address different from every other enterprise represented, wherein emails addressed to two or more different enterprises may be distributed to a single agent for reply, a method for preparing replies comprising the steps of:

(a) accessing a stored table associating the first specific email addresses of the plurality of enterprises each with a second address; and

(b) inserting the second address as the address in the reply from whom the reply has originated.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the table further associates specific words or phrases with the second address, and in step (b) the message body is reviewed and for the specific words or phrases and the associated second address is inserted in the reply.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the table further associates complete reply messages with one or more of words, phrases, or addresses, and wherein the complete reply messages is inserted in the reply.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein a plurality of second addresses are associated with individual ones of the specific enterprise first email addresses, and copies of the reply generated are sent to each of the second addresses.

10. The method of claim 6 wherein the second address retrieved from the table is presented to the agent for approval before use.