Application program interface for message routing and management system

• US 7,353,256 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2004
• Issued: 04/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Varolii Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Sarabura, Martin, Lash, John Andrew, Mathews, Robert, Kirtley, William H., Warden, Gregory, Kuszewski, Robert, Delaney, Jeffrey, Page, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Najjar; Saleh
• Assistant Examiner(s): WANG, LIANG CHE A
• Application Number:
  US10/976,347
• Publication Number:
  US 20050198356A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,251 Days
• Field of Search: 379/67, 379/70, 379/76, 379/79, 379/80, 379/84, 379/88, 455412-415, 709/206, 709/238
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/085 specially adapted for interworking of IP-based networks with other networks

Abstract

Transmission of messages composed on one or more input devices to a single or multiple recipients by means of one or plural communication modes is facilitated. Such communication modes may include conventional or wireless telephone, facsimile transmission, pager, e-mail, postal mail or courier. An application program interface (API) mediates between remote applications requesting messaging functions and a message server that actually implements these functions. The API is capable of processing high-volume requests for message routing, status information, and various other functions on an automated basis, enabling businesses to make routine use of these functions.

Claims

1. Apparatus comprising:

a messaging application program interface (API) comprising a message and designation receive mechanism to receive, from remote enterprise applications via a network connection, messages and corresponding designations, individual ones of the corresponding designations comprising destination information identifying (i) a set of multiple human recipients and (ii) different modalities for transmitting the messages to respective ones of the multiple human recipients;

the message and designation receive mechanism being configured to receive the messages and the corresponding designations from plural sender computers, wherein each of the plural sender computers comprises a message compose mechanism to compose at least one of the messages and compose at least one of the corresponding designations;

the API further comprising a messaging facility direction mechanism to direct a messaging facility to effect transmission of each of the messages to their corresponding destinations in accordance with their corresponding designations.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the messages include a given message that comprises all content of a message to be delivered.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, futher comprising a network interface configured to compile the remote enterprise applications to the messaging facility via the Internet.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the API comprises an API portion of a messaging facility processing platform.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the messaging facility processing platform comprises a server.

6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the network connection comprises an Internet connection.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the Internet connection is part of the network interface forming part of the messaging facility processing platform.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the messaging facility processing platform comprises a server.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the different modalities comprise, for each individual recipient of the set of multiple recipients, a set of corresponding modalities for transmitting the message to the individual recipient.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the different modalities comprise at least two of email, fax, voice telephone and pager.