Updating unread email messages

• US 7,483,948 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2005
• Issued: 01/27/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Auhagen, Gero
• Primary Examiner(s): Avellino; Joseph E
• Assistant Examiner(s): Taha; Shaq
• Application Number:
  US11/089,341
• Publication Number:
  US 20060230114A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,405 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/224, 707/104.1
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A method for a system to reply to a user email message includes receiving a user email message from a user email address that comprises particularized subject matter. The system creates a first response message that is responsive to the particularized subject matter and creates a second response message that is associated with the first response message and that causes an indication to be received by the system after the second response message is accessed. The system sends the second response message to the user email address. After the second response message is accessed from the user email address, the system receives the indication and makes a determination to send either the first response message or to re-create the first response message and send the re-created response message. Based on the determination, the system sends either the first response message or the re-created response message to the user email address.

Claims

1. In a system that processes incoming user electronic mail (email) messages and sends response messages, a computer program product tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium, the computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed, perform a method for replying to a user email message sent from a user email address, the method comprising:

receiving, in a system, a user email message from a user email address, the user email message comprising particularized subject matter;

creating a first response message that is responsive to the particularized subject matter of the user email message, and storing the first response message;

creating a second response message that is associated with the first response message and that causes an indication to be received by the system after the second response message is accessed from the user email address;

sending the second response message to the user email address;

receiving the indication after the second response message is accessed from the user email address;

after receiving the indication, making a determination to send either the stored first response message or to re-create the first response message and send the re-created response message, wherein the re-created response message is different than the stored first response message; and

based on the determination, sending either the stored first response message or the re-created response message to the user email address.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises processing the user email message to extract the particularized subject matter.

3. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein processing the user email message to extract the particularized subject matter comprises natural language processing.

4. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein determining whether to deliver the re-created response message comprises determining based on the particularized subject matter.

5. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein creating the first response message comprises searching a response component database and selecting a component therein to include in the first response message.

6. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein determining whether to deliver the re-created response message comprises determining based on the component that is selected.

7. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein the method further comprises periodically updating one or more components in the response component database.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the method further comprises adding a new component to the response component database.

10. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein determining whether to deliver the re-created response message comprises determining based on status of a flag.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the flag is set based on at least one of:

a) input received from a supervisor device; and

b) input received from an agent device.

12. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein determining whether to deliver the re-created response message comprises determining based on the user email address.

13. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the indication is received as a result of hypertext markup language (HTML) content included in the second response message.

9. In a system that processes incoming user electronic mail (email) messages and sends response messages, a computer program product tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium, the computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed, perform a method for replying to a user email message sent from a user email address, the method comprising:

receiving, in a system, a user email message from a user email address, the user email message comprising particularized subject matter;

creating a first response message that is responsive to the particularized subject matter of the user email message, wherein creating the first response message comprises searching a response component database and selecting a component therein to include in the first response message, and wherein one or more components are periodically updated in the response component database;

creating a second response message that is associated with the first response message and that causes an indication to be received by the system after the second response message is accessed from the user email address;

sending the second response message to the user email address;

receiving the indication after the second response message is accessed from the user email address;

making a determination to send either the first response message or to re-create the first response message and send the re-created response message, wherein determining whether to deliver the re-created response message comprises determining based on whether a frequency with which the one or more components are updated exceeds a threshold frequency; and

based on the determination, sending either the first response message or the re-created response message to the user email address.

14. In a system that processes incoming user electronic mail (email) messages and sends response messages, a method for replying to a user email message sent from a user email address, the method comprising:

receiving, in a system, a user email message from a user email address, the user email message comprising particularized subject matter;

creating a first response message that is responsive to the particularized subject matter of the user email message, and storing the first response message;

creating a second response message that is associated with the first response message and that causes an indication to be received by the system after the second response message is accessed from the user email address;

sending the second response message to the user email address;

receiving the indication after the second response message is accessed from the user email address;

after receiving the indication, making a determination to send either the stored first response message or to re-create the first response message and send the re-created response message, wherein the re-created response message is different than the stored first response message; and

based on the determination, sending either the stored first response message or the re-created response message to the user email address.

15. A system for processing incoming user electronic mail (email) messages and sending response messages, the system being programmed to:

receive, in a system, a user email message from a user email address, the user email message comprising particularized subject matter;

create a first response message that is responsive to the particularized subject matter of the user email message, and store the first response message;

create a second response message that is associated with the first response message and that causes an indication to be received by the system after the second response message is accessed from the user email address;

send the second response message to the user email address;

receive the indication after the second response message is accessed from the user email address;

make a determination, after receiving the indication, to send either the stored first response message, or to re-create the first response message and send the re-created response message, wherein the re-created response message is different than the stored first response message; and

based on the determination, send either the stored first response message or the re-created response message to the user email address.