Method for disambiguating email recipient fields in an electronic device

• US 8,307,039 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2007
• Issued: 11/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Vander Veen, Raymond Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Najjar, Saleh
• Assistant Examiner(s): NASH, LASHANYA RENEE
• Application Number:
  US11/877,745
• Publication Number:
  US 20090112994A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,840 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/207, 709/203, 715/744, 715/745, 715/747, 715/748, 715/739
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails

Abstract

An electronic device and a method implemented within the electronic device for disambiguating email recipient fields by extracting sufficient information from the domain portion of an intended recipient'"'"'s email address to disambiguate between a personal and a business email address. An exemplary method includes parsing at least one of said multiple addresses in a recipient field of the email to extract information capable of distinguishing the at least one of said multiple addresses from at least another of the multiple addresses, and displaying the information in the recipient field of the email.

Claims

1. A method implemented in a portable electronic device of disambiguating multiple addresses of an intended email recipient, comprising:

parsing at least one of said multiple addresses in a recipient field of said email using a processor of said portable electronic device to extract information capable of distinguishing said at least one of said multiple addresses from at least another of said multiple addresses, wherein said parsing further includes;

determining that the domain name of said at least one of said multiple addresses contains multiple labels;

extracting, based on the determining, information from the domain name of said at least one of said multiple addresses, and wherein said information comprises said first label of said domain name and omits a second label of the domain name of said at least one of said multiple addresses;

determining that extracted information, based on the extracting, is sufficient to disambiguate the intended email recipient'"'"'s at least one email address from said multiple addresses; and

,

when the first label is not sufficient to disambiguate the intended recipient'"'"'s at least one email address from said multiple addresses, then iteratively extracting a next highest level label information from said domain name and omitting at least a local part of said at least one of said multiple addresses;

displaying, based on the determining, said extracted information adjacent a name of said intended recipient on a display of said portable electronic device in the recipient field of said email, wherein said name is associated with said at least one of said multiple addresses and independent of said at least one of said multiple addresses.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising prompting selection of said at least one of said multiple addresses prior to said parsing and responsive to entry of said name for said intended recipient in the recipient field of said email.

3. A portable electronic device comprising a memory having recorded thereon statements and instructions for execution by said processor to carry out the method of claim 2.

4. A portable electronic device comprising a memory having recorded thereon statements and instructions for execution by said processor to carry out the method of claim 1.

5. A method implemented in a portable electronic device of disambiguating multiple addresses of an intended email recipient, comprising:

parsing at least one of said multiple addresses in a recipient field of said email using a processor of said portable electronic device to extract information capable of distinguishing said at least one of said multiple addresses from at least another of said multiple addresses, wherein said parsing further includes;

determining that the domain name of said at least one of said multiple addresses contains multiple labels;

extracting, based on the determining, information from the domain name of said at least one of said multiple addresses, wherein said information comprises said first label of said domain name of said at least one of said multiple addresses and omits a second label of the domain name of said at least one of said multiple addresses and said at least a portion of said domain name of said at least one of said multiple addresses differs from at least portion of the domain name of said at least another one of said multiple addresses;

determining that extracted information, based on the extracting, is sufficient to disambiguate the intended email recipient'"'"'s at least one email address from said multiple addresses; and

,

when the first label is not sufficient to disambiguate the intended recipient'"'"'s at least one email address from said multiple addresses, then iteratively extracting a next highest level label information from said domain name and omitting at least a local part of said at least one of said multiple addresses; and

displaying, based on the determining, only said extracted information adjacent a name of said intended recipient on a display of said portable electronic device in the recipient field of said email, wherein said name is associated with said at least one of said multiple addresses and independent of said at least one of said multiple addresses.

6. A portable electronic device comprising a memory having recorded thereon statements and instructions for execution by said processor to carry out the method of claim 5.