System and method for voice-mail and e-mail synchronization

• US 7,286,650 B2
• Filed: 07/21/2004
• Issued: 10/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Advanced Logic Industries, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Advanced Logic Industries, Inc.
• Inventors: Connelly, Kevin, Pantana, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier; Gerald
• Application Number:
  US10/895,310
• Publication Number:
  US 20060018444A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,189 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.13, 379/88.17, 379/88.25, 379/93.24, 379/220.01, 370/466, 700/94, 709/206
• US Class Current: 379/88.13
• 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 51/234 for tracking messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/22 Synchronisation circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/253 where a visual mode is used instead of a voice mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4509 Unified messaging with single point of access to voicemail and other mail or messaging systems unified messaging in packet switching networks H04L51/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4536 Voicemail combined with text-based messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53 Centralised arrangements for recording incoming messages , i.e. mailbox systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0051 where the data service is a multimedia messaging service

Abstract

Disclosed is a unified messaging system and method for combining a voice-mail system with an e-mail system. The present invention is a hybrid event driven system that polls a universal e-mail box for receipts, with the voice-mail system being fully event driven. The present invention maintains two persistent log-ins to the universal e-mail box, one to deliver messages and one to read message receipts. Thus, the system and method does not need to log-in and -out or read the entire list of messages. The present invention uses a file system instead of a state database. The system and method acts in real time such that messages in the unified messaging systems are synchronized within a pre-determined real-time. The system and method uses a “fail-safing” technique in which, after copies of messages are made and stored by each messaging component, allows one system to work if another is down.

Claims

1. A unified messaging system for copying voice-mails and synchronizing status between a voice-mail system and an e-mail system, said unified messaging system comprising:

identifier means for identifying a corresponding user'"'"'s e-mail box of an e-mail system with a voice mail-box of a voice-mail system;

a connector component configured as an event handler and includes a universal e-mail box that for at least one message event for the voice-mail box, said connector component uses the identifier means to identify the corresponding user'"'"'s e-mail box and causes at least one message transaction sent by the universal e-mail box to the corresponding user'"'"'s e-mail box such that said corresponding user'"'"'s e-mail box has at least one message transaction having as a counterpart a voice-mail message in the voice-mail box;

receiver means including a master in-box of the e-mail system for receiving at least one transaction receipt for a message transaction sent from the user'"'"'s e-mail box, said message transaction referencing the counterpart voice-mail message in the voice-mail box, said receiver means determines a status of the message transaction from the at least one transaction receipt; and

a poller component configured to poll the master in-box of the e-mail system for the at least one transaction receipt generated by the e-mail system for the at least one transaction receipt generated from operating the user'"'"'s e-mail box, to use the identifier means to identify the counterpart voice-mail message in the voice-mail box that is referenced by the at least one transaction receipt generated from the user'"'"'s e-mail box, and to cause at least one action in the voice-mail box so as to synchronize a status of the counterpart voice-mail message in the voice-mail box with a status indicated in the at least one transaction receipt generated from operating the user'"'"'s e-mail box,

wherein said unified message system comprises a hybrid system in which on one side, the e-mail system is poll-driven to poll the master in-box for the at least one transaction receipt, whereas on the other side, the voice-mail system is fully event driven to deliver messages via said connector component through the universal e-mail box.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the identifier means is selected from the group consisting of a cross-reference table and a hash table.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the connector component is persistently logged into the universal e-mail box.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one transaction receipt is selected from the group consisting of a read receipt and a delete receipt.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the at least one transaction receipt is selected from the group consisting of (1) a read receipt and (2) a delete receipt; and

the at least one action is respectively selected from the group consisting of;

i. the status of the counterpart voice-mail message is set to read in the corresponding voice-mail box if the (1) read receipt has been selected; and

ii. the counterpart voice-mail message is deleted from the corresponding voice-mail box if the (2) delete receipt has been selected.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the at least one message event is a type selected from the group consisting of a;

(1) new voice-mail message, (2) read voice-mail message, and (3) delete voice-mail message; and

the at least one message transaction is respectively selected from the group consisting of;

i. if the (1) new voice-mail message has been selected above, then a new e-mail message is created from a new voice-mail message and sent to the corresponding e-mail box, the new e-mail message having a status and at least one designated type of transaction receipt such that the new e-mail message and the new voice-mail message are counterparts,

ii. if the (2) read voice-mail message has been selected above, then the e-mail message transaction having the counterpart voice-mail message previously identified by the identifier means is located and the status of the e-mail message transaction is set to read in the corresponding e-mail box, and

iii. if the (3) delete voice-mail message has been selected above, then the e-mail message transaction having the counterpart voice-mail message previously identified by the identifier means is located and the e-mail message transaction is deleted from the corresponding e-mail box.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein:

each new voice-mail message is assigned a unique identifier;

the unique identifier is included in the counterpart new e-mail message to identify the new-voice-mail message and new e-mail message as counterparts;

the unique identifier of a read voice-mail message is used to locate its counterpart e-mail message in the corresponding e-mail box; and

the unique identifier of a delete voice-mail message is used to locate its counterpart e-mail message in the corresponding e-mail box.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the unique identifier is included in a subject line of the counterpart new e-mail message.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the at least one transaction receipt is selected from the group consisting of a;

(1) read receipt and a (2) delete receipt; and

the at least one action is respectively selected from the group consisting of;

i. the counterpart voice-mail message is located and the status is set to read in the corresponding voice-mail box if the (1) read receipt has been selected; and

ii. the counterpart voice-mail message is located and deleted from the corresponding voice-mail box if the (2) delete receipt has been selected.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the unique identifier is obtained from a subject line of the new e-mail message that corresponds to the transaction receipt.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the unique identifier is date-time stamped concatenated with voice-mail box name.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein:

the unique identifier of the counterpart voice-mail message included in a subject of a read e-mail receipt is used by the poller component to log onto the voice-mail system and to locate the counterpart voice-mail message in the corresponding voice-mail box; and

the unique identifier of the counterpart voice-mail message included in a subject of a delete e-mail receipt is used by the poller component to log onto the voice-mail system and to locate the counterpart voice-mail message in the corresponding voice-mail box.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the connector component is further configured to:

in the voice-mail system for the at least one message event, create a file having a file name including a create date and time stamp of an occurrence of the message event and the type of message event; and

when the at least one message transaction is effected in the e-mail system, deleting the file in the voice-mail system.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the connector component is further configured to determine if the date and time of the file in the voice-mail system indicates that a date and time of the file is older than a predetermined value of date and time, the connector component is further configured to cause at least one message transaction respectively selected, corresponding to whether the type of message event is a:

(1)new voice-mail message, (2) read voice-mail message and (3) delete voice-mail message, from the group consisting of;

if the (1) new voice-mail message has been selected above, then a new e-mail message is created from a new voice-mail message and sent to the corresponding e-mail box, the new e-mail message having a status and at least one designated type of transaction receipt such that the new e-mail message and the new voice-mail message are counterparts;

ii. if the (2) read voice-mail message has been selected above, then the counterpart e-mail message is located and the status is set to read in the corresponding e-mail box; and

iii. if the (3) delete voice-mail message has been selected above, then the counterpart e-mail message is located and deleted from the corresponding e-mail box.

15. The system of claim 1, further comprising a system management component including:

a monitor component that periodically starts the connector and poller components if they have not already started; and

a startup and shutdown component that periodically determines;

i. when a current system time is before a shutdown and after a restart and starts the connector and poller components if they have not already started, and

ii. when a current system time is before shutdown and before a restart and shuts down the connector and poller components if they have not started.