Filtering of data

• US 7,640,305 B1
• Filed: 05/05/2003
• Issued: 12/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Bellegarda, Jerome R, Christie, Greg, Forstall, Scott, Arthur, Bruce, Tiene, Kevin, Silverman, Kim E. A., Marcos, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne; Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): Todd; Gregory G
• Application Number:
  US10/430,694
• Time in Patent Office: 2,430 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/207, 709/204, 706/12, 715744-747, 715/752, 715762-763, 715/866, 707 5- 7
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99937 Sorting

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and signal-bearing medium that filter data based on a criteria. In an embodiment, the criteria may be related to filtering out unwanted or junk input data. In another embodiment, the criteria may be related to filtering based on desired data. In various embodiments, the data may be email, email attachments, faxes, popup windows, telephone messages, downloaded data or programs, image data, or other data. In a embodiment, a training mode and an automatic mode are provided. During the training mode, a user may be presented with data that may be junk, and feedback may be provided that is used to train a junk filter. During an automatic mode, junk data may be removed from view, transferred to a junk box, or highlighted.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of operating a training mode for a filter in a messaging system, the method comprising:

receiving during the training mode an incoming message without a known category determination;

determining a category for the incoming message using the filter during the training mode;

marking the incoming message in an inbox as belonging to the determined category, without moving the incoming message from the inbox to a folder associated with the determined category;

responsive to the user changing the category associated with the incoming message, automatically updating the filter;

determining a success rate of category determinations during the training mode, wherein the success rate is based upon a plurality of correct category determinations and a total number of category determinations; and

switching from the training mode to an automatic mode of applying the filter to the received incoming message in response to the success rate reaching a success criteria, wherein in the automatic mode the messaging system automatically moves a message to a folder associated with the determined category.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically updating the filter comprises:

responsive to a category indicated by the user for the incoming message, updating the filter to include the incoming message within the indicated category.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the category determined during the training mode is a junk category.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the user changing the category associated with the incoming message comprises the user forwarding the incoming message.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the user changing the category associated with the incoming message comprises the user moving the incoming message to a folder of the messaging system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the user changing the category associated with the incoming message comprises the user replying to the incoming message.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing an option in the messaging system for displaying a message of a selected category in a user selected color.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing an option in the messaging system that allows the user to reset the filter.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

switching automatically from the training mode to the automatic mode.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prompting a user for permission prior to switching from the training mode to the automatic mode.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the success rate further comprises:

determining a ratio of the correct category determinations to the total number of category determinations, wherein a determination is correct if the category determined by the filter has not been changed by a user.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

operating the messaging system in an automatic mode, comprising;

receiving a message;

determining a category for the message using the filter, wherein the determination includes a category rating;

responsive to the category rating being within a first range associated with an unambiguous determination, automatically placing the message in a folder associated with the determined category; and

responsive to the category rating being within a second range associated with an ambiguous determination, marking the message in the inbox as belonging to the determined category, without moving the message from the inbox to the folder associated with the determined category.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the category determined during the automatic mode is a junk category.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein automatically placing the message in a folder associated with the determined category comprises moving the message from the inbox to the folder associated with the determined category.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein automatically placing the message in a folder associated with the determined category comprises placing the message in the inbox, wherein the inbox is the folder associated with the determined category.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

responsive to the user changing the category determined for the message during the automatic mode, automatically updating the filter.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein automatically updating the filter comprises:

responsive to a category indicated by the user for the message, updating the filter to include the message within the indicated category.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the user changing the category determined for the message during the automatic mode comprises the user forwarding the message.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the user changing the category determined for the message during the automatic mode comprises the user moving the message to a folder of the messaging system.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the user changing the category determined for the message during the automatic mode comprises the user replying to the message.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

operating the messaging system in an automatic mode, comprising;

receiving a message;

determining a category for the message using the filter, wherein the determination includes a category rating;

responsive to the category rating being within a first range associated with an unambiguous determination, automatically placing the message in the inbox; and

responsive to the category rating being within a second range associated with an ambiguous determination, marking the message in the inbox as belonging to the determined category, without moving the message from the inbox to the folder associated with the determined category.

22. A computer implemented method of operating a messaging system, the method comprising:

operating the messaging system in a training mode comprising;

receiving an incoming message without a known category determination;

determining a category for the incoming message using the filter;

marking the incoming message in an inbox as belonging to the determined category, without moving the incoming message from an inbox to a folder associated with the determined category;

determining a success rate of category determinations, wherein the success rate is based upon a plurality of correct category determinations and a total number of category determinations; and

switching from the training mode to an automatic mode in response to the success rate reaching a success criteria;

operating the messaging system in the automatic mode, comprising;

receiving a message;

determining a category for the message using the filter, wherein the determination includes a category rating;

responsive to the category rating being within a first range associated with an unambiguous determination, automatically placing the message in a folder associated with the determined category; and

responsive to the category rating being within a second range associated with an ambiguous determination, marking the message in the inbox as belonging to the determined category, without moving the message to the folder associated with the determined category.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein switching from the training mode to an automatic mode in response to the success rate reaching a success criteria comprises:

automatically switching from the training mode to the automatic mode when the success rate reaches the success criteria.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein determining the success rate further comprises:

determining a ratio of the correct category determinations to the total number of category determinations, wherein a determination is correct if the category determined by the filter has not been changed by a user.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein switching from the training mode to an automatic mode in response to a predetermined event comprises:

receiving a user indication to switch from the training mode to the automatic mode.

26. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

providing an option in the messaging system for displaying a message of a selected category in a user selected color.

27. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

providing an option in the messaging system that allows the user to reset the filter.

28. The method of claim 22, wherein the category determined during the training mode is a junk category.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the category determined during the automatic mode is the junk category.

30. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

responsive to the user changing the category associated with the message during either the training mode or the automatic mode, automatically updating the filter.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the user changing the category associated with the message comprises the user forwarding the message.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the user changing the category associated with the message comprises the user moving the message to a folder of the messaging system.

33. The method of claim 30, wherein the user changing the category associated with the message comprises the user replying to the message.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein automatically updating the filter comprises:

responsive to a category indicated by the user for the message, updating the filter to include the message within the indicated category.

35. The method of claim 22, wherein automatically placing the message in a folder associated with the determined category comprises moving the message from the inbox to the folder associated with the determined category.

36. The method of claim 22, wherein automatically placing the message in a folder associated with the determined category comprises placing the message in the inbox, wherein inbox is the folder associated with the determined category.

37. The method of claim 22, wherein automatically placing the message in a folder associated with the determined category comprises moving the message from the inbox to the folder associated with the determined category.

38. The method of claim 22, wherein automatically placing the message in a folder associated with the determined category comprises placing the message in the inbox, wherein inbox is the folder associated with the determined category.

39. A computer implemented method of operating a messaging system, the method comprising:

providing a training mode in the messaging system in which the messaging system applies a filter to an incoming message for determining a category for the incoming message that does not have a known category determination, and automatically indicating the determined category for the incoming message without moving the incoming message from an inbox to a folder associated with the determined category, and in which the messaging system automatically updates the filter if the user disagrees with the determined category; and

providing an automatic mode in the messaging system in which the messaging system applies the trained filter to a message for determining a category for the message, and automatically places the message in a folder associated with the determined message, and in which the messaging system automatically updates the filter if the user disagrees with the determined category; and

switching from the training mode to the automatic mode in response to a success rate of category determinations in the training mode reaching a success criteria, wherein the success rate is based upon a plurality of correct category determinations and a total number of category determinations.

40. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

determining the success rate based on a ratio of the correct category determinations to the total number of category determinations, wherein a determination is correct if the category determined by the filter has not been changed by a user and a total number of category determinations.

41. The method of claim 39, wherein switching from the training mode to an automatic mode further comprises:

receiving a user indication to switch from the training mode to the automatic mode.

42. The method of claim 39, wherein the category determined during the training mode is a junk category.

43. The method of claim 39, wherein the category determined during the automatic mode is a junk category.

44. The method of claim 39, wherein the user disagrees with the determined category by changing the category associated with the message.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the user changing the category associated with the message comprises the user forwarding the message.

46. The method of claim 44, wherein the user changing the category associated with the message comprises the user moving the message to a folder of the messaging system.

47. The method of claim 44, wherein the user changing the category associated with the message comprises the user replying to the message.

48. The method of claim 44, wherein automatically updating the filter comprises:

responsive to a category indicated by the user for the message, updating the filter to include the message within the indicated category.

49. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

providing an option in the messaging system for displaying a message of a selected category in a user selected color.

50. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

providing an option in the messaging system that allows the user to reset the filter.

51. A computer program product, comprising:

computer executable instructions stored on a computer readable storage medium for controlling a processor to operate a training mode for a filter in a messaging system by performing the operations of;

receiving during the training mode an incoming message without a known category determination;

determining a category for the incoming message using the filter during the training mode;

marking the incoming message in an inbox as belonging to the determined category, without moving the incoming message from the inbox to a folder associated with the determined category;

responsive to the user changing the category associated with the message, automatically updating the filter;

determining a success rate of category determinations during the training mode, wherein the success rate is based upon a plurality of correct category determinations and a total number of category determinations; and

switching from the training mode to an automatic mode of applying the filter to the received incoming message in response to the success rate reaching a success criteria, wherein in the automatic mode the messaging system automatically moves a message to a folder associated with the determined category.

52. The computer program product of claim 51, wherein the category determined during the training mode is a junk category.

53. The computer program product of claim 51, further comprising instructions for:

switching automatically from the training mode to the automatic mode.

54. The computer program product of claim 51, further comprising instructions for:

prompting a user for permission prior to switching from the training mode to the automatic mode.

55. The computer program product of claim 51, further comprising instructions for:

operating the messaging system in an automatic mode, comprising;

receiving a message;

determining a category for the message using the filter, wherein the determination includes a category rating;

responsive to the category rating being within a first range associated with an unambiguous determination, automatically placing the message in a folder associated with the determined category; and

responsive to the category rating being within a second range associated with an ambiguous determination, marking the message in the inbox as belonging to the determined category, without moving the message from the inbox to the folder associated with the determined category.

56. The computer program product of claim 55, wherein the category determined during the automatic mode is a junk category.

57. The computer program product of claim 56, wherein switching from the training mode to an automatic mode comprises:

automatically switching from the training mode to the automatic mode when the success rate reaches a success criteria.

58. The computer program product of claim 51, further comprising instructions for:

operating the messaging system in an automatic mode, comprising;

receiving a message;

determining a category for the message using the filter, wherein the determination includes a category rating;

responsive to the category rating being within a first range associated with an unambiguous determination, automatically placing the message in the inbox; and

responsive to the category rating being within a second range associated with an ambiguous determination, marking the message in the inbox as belonging to the determined category, without moving the message from the inbox to the folder associated with the determined category.

59. A computer program product, comprising:

computer executable instructions stored on a computer readable storage medium for controlling a processor to perform the operations of;

operating the messaging system in a training mode by;

receiving an incoming message without a known category determination;

determining a category for the incoming message using the filter;

marking the incoming message in an inbox as belonging to the determined category, without moving the incoming message from an inbox to a folder associated with the determined category;

determining a success rate of category determinations, wherein the success rate is based upon a plurality of correct category determinations and a total number of category determinations; and

switching from the training mode to an automatic mode in response to the success rate reaching a success criteria;

operating the messaging system in the automatic mode, by;

receiving a message;

determining a category for the message using the filter, wherein the determination includes a category rating;

responsive to the category rating being within a first range associated with an unambiguous determination, automatically placing the message in a folder associated with the determined category; and

responsive to the category rating being within a second range associated with an ambiguous determination, marking the message in the inbox as belonging to the determined category, without moving the message to the folder associated with the determined category.

60. The computer program product of claim 59, wherein the category determined during the training mode is a junk category.

61. The computer program product of claim 60, wherein the category determined during the automatic mode is the junk category.

62. A messaging system, comprising:

a computer-readable storage medium configured to store computer executable instructions for applying a filter to messages; and

a computer processor configured to execute the computer executable instructions to cause the filter to operate in a plurality of modes, the modes comprising;

a training mode in which the messaging system applies the filter to an incoming message for determining a category for the incoming message that does not have a known category determination, and automatically indicating the determined category for the incoming message without moving the incoming message from an inbox to a folder associated with the determined category, and in which the messaging system automatically updates the filter if the user disagrees with the determined category; and

an automatic mode in which the messaging system applies the trained filter to a message for determining a category for the message, and automatically places the message in a folder associated with the determined message, and in which the messaging system automatically updates the filter if the user disagrees with the determined category;

wherein the messaging system switches from the training mode to the automatic mode in response to a success rate of category determinations in the training mode reaching a success criteria, wherein the success rate is based upon a plurality of correct category determinations and a total number of category determinations.

63. The messaging system of claim 62, wherein the messaging system determines the success rate by determining a ratio of the plurality of correct category determinations to the total number of category determinations, wherein a determination is correct if the category determined by the filter has not been changed by a user.

64. The messaging system of claim 62, wherein the category determined during the training mode is a junk category.

65. The messaging system of claim 62, wherein the category determined during the automatic mode is a junk category.

66. The messaging system of claim 62, further comprising:

a user selectable user interface option for displaying a message of a selected category in a user selected color.

67. The messaging system of claim 62, further comprising:

a user selectable user interface that allows the user to reset the filter.

68. The messaging system of claim 62, wherein the messaging system automatically places the message in a folder associated with the determined category by moving the message from the inbox to the folder associated with the determined category.

69. An electronic messaging system, comprising:

a computer-readable storage medium configured to store computer executable instructions; and

a computer processor configured to execute the computer executable instructions, the instructions when executed provide;

a filter that determines one of a plurality of categories for categorizing an incoming message that does not have a known category determination during a training mode;

a means for visually marking the incoming message in an inbox as belonging to the determined category, without moving the incoming message from an inbox to a folder associated with the determined category, in response to the messaging system operating in the training mode;

a means for automatically placing the incoming message in a folder associated with the determined category in response to the messaging system operating in an automatic mode;

a means for automatically updating the filter in response to the user indicating a disagreement with a determined category for the message; and

a means for switching from the training mode to an automatic mode in response to a success rate of category determinations in the training mode reaching a success criteria, wherein the success rate is based upon a plurality of correct category determinations and a total number of category determinations.