Web based communication of information with reconfigurable format

• US 8,352,352 B2
• Filed: 07/14/2002
• Issued: 01/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Harris Technology LLC
• Original Assignee: Harris Technology LLC
• Inventors: Harris, Scott C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Maguire, Lindsay M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fu, Hao
• Application Number:
  US10/064,439
• Publication Number:
  US 20090099938A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,831 Days
• Field of Search: 705/35, 705/37
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/102 applying security measure for e-commerce
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0442 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply asymmetric encryption, i.e. different keys for encryption and decryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for public-key encryption H04L9/30

Abstract

A system of using an interactive device such as an e-mail pager to obtain information from a publicly available source, such as the Internet. The e-mail pager may send information in its native format to a service that acts as an intermediary. That service takes the information and uses it to assemble a request to the actual information source, such as a Web page being accessed. If a web page is being accessed, the request is in HTML, and may include personal logon information. The response from the web page is also in HTML, and this information is received by the service, and salient information is taken from the HTML file. The information is reformatted, e.g. according to a template, into the e-mail pager″s native format, and sent to the pager. Another embodiment describes opening multiple pages, and assembling their content into a single web page.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a web server, including a computer processor, producing a web page which is available on the Internet, wherein said web server interacts with remote users over the Internet; and

an information determining part associated with said web server which receives an email and obtains information from said e-mail, said information being in a form which can interact with said web page being produced by said web server;

wherein said information determining part recognizing at least one word in said emails, to determine automatically a desired action of said email, wherein said server hosts auctions of items for sale and maintains auction bids for items for sale and wherein said information determining part also sends e-mails that include information about items in said auctions for sale over the Internet, wherein said information determining part produces and sends messages which include a session identification indicator that identifies auction information, and that where said session identification indicator is a unique value that unambiguously represents an item in said auction information,

and wherein said information determining part also stores probabilities of what users are likely to be requesting by said email, based on previous actions, and wherein said information determining part uses said probabilities, and uses said at least one word that was recognized, to determine an action to take based on said email.

2. The system as in claim 1, wherein said e-mails include information in plain text form.

3. The system as in claim 1, further comprising an e-mail pager, producing said emails.

4. The system as in claim 1, further comprising a cellular telephone, producing said emails.

5. The system as in claim 1, wherein said information determining part receives and translates a user ID and password as part of said emails.

6. The system as in claim 1, wherein said e-mails include information about items in said auctions for sale over the Internet, on which items a user has been outbid.

7. The system as in claim 6, wherein said information determining part automatically recognizes phrases that include the word “

bid”

in said email as one of said words and where said action is a bid on one said items for sale over the Internet.

8. The system as in claim 6, wherein said information determining part also sends e-mail messages indicative of information about said auctions.

9. The system as in claim 6, wherein said information determining part automatically detects a new bid amount as part of a sent message.

10. The system as in claim 6, wherein said information determining part detects a reply to a plain text message which reply including said session identification indicator, and takes action on a specified auction based on said session identification indicator.

11. The system as in claim 1, wherein said information determining part stores probabilities related to a specific user and uses said probabilities to determine said action.

12. The system as in claim 1, wherein said information determining part stores said probabilities related to a combination of actions taken by all of the number of users, and uses said probabilities to determine said action.

13. The system as in claim 1, wherein said information determining part also sends emails indicative of actions occurring on said web page.

14. A system comprising:

a web server, including a computer processor producing a web page which is available on the Internet, wherein said web server is a server that hosts auctions of items for sale and maintains auction bids for items for sale over the Internet; and

an information determining part associated with said web server which receives e-mail messages and obtains information from said e-mail messages, said information being in a form which can interact with said web page being produced by said web server;

wherein said information determining part having a keyword recognition system which recognizes at least one word in at least one of the email messages to determine automatically a desired action of said email messages,

and wherein said information determining part also sends e-mail messages that include information about items in said auctions for sale over the Internet, on which items a user has been outbid, wherein said information determining part also sends e-mail messages indicative of actions occurring on said web page, wherein said e-mail messages include a session ID indicative of said actions where said session ID is a unique value, that unambiguously represents an item in said auction,

and wherein said information determining part also stores probabilities of what users are likely to be requesting by said email messages, based on previous actions, and wherein said information determining part uses said probabilities, and uses said at least one word that was recognized, to determine an action to take based on said email messages.

15. The system as in claim 14, wherein said session ID is included as part of a return address in the e-mail message.

16. The system as in claim 14, wherein said email messages include multiple different session IDs.

17. The system as in claim 14, wherein said action includes placing a new bid.

18. A bid accepting system, comprising:

a computer processor running a web page that is connected to the Internet, wherein said web page and said server hosts Internet based auctions; and

said web page accepting bids on items on the Internet based auction; and

said server checking at predetermined intervals, for a specific item, whether there are new bids on said specific item, and said server not checking for new bids at times between said predetermined intervals and said server automatically reporting to a specific user when there are new bids on said specific item,

said computer processor receiving a first e-mail message, which e-mail has instructions to interact with said web page;

said computer processor, using a keyword recognition system to automatically recognize at least one word in the first email message, to determine automatically a desired action of said first email message and to determine said action based on said at least one word, wherein said at least one word comprises a word that instructs said bids, wherein said first e-mail message includes a session ID indicative of an individual auction on said web page, where said session ID is a unique value, that unambiguously represents one of said individual auctions;

and wherein said computer processor stores probabilities of what users are likely to be requesting via said first email message, based on previous actions, and wherein said computer processor uses said probabilities, and uses said at least one word that was recognized, to determine an action to take based on said first email message.

19. A system as in claim 18, wherein said intervals are set by a user and can be changed by the user.

20. A system as in claim 19, wherein said intervals are set by the user based on an e-mail command, and said server reports via e-mail if there are new bids on said item.

21. A system as in claim 18, wherein said keyword recognition system automatically recognizes phrases that include the word “

bid”

in said email as one of said words.

22. A system as in claim 21, further comprising replying to said first e-mail message with instructions to increase a bid.

23. A system as in claim 18, wherein said first e-mail message includes session ID information that represents an individual auction on which said user has been previously outbid, where said session ID is a unique value, that unambiguously represents one of said individual auctions.

24. A system as in claim 23, wherein said server receives a reply to said e-mail message with said session ID information, and modifies a bid on said web page responsive to said reply.

25. A system as in claim 24, wherein said session ID is part of a return address for said e-mail.

26. A system as in claim 24, wherein said reply specifies an amount of a bid to be placed.

27. A system as in claim 20, wherein an e-mail message includes a session ID indicative of an individual item on said web page, and where said session ID is a unique value, that unambiguously represents said individual item.

28. A system as in claim 18, wherein said server receives a second e-mail that has instructions on a specific interaction with said web page.

29. A system, comprising:

a computer processor running a web server, producing a web page which is available on the Internet, wherein said web server produces a web page that hosts auctions of items for sale and maintains auction bids for items for sale over the Internet; and

an information determining part associated with said web server which receives e-mail messages and automatically determines information from said e-mail messages in a form which can interact with said auctions on said web page being produced by said web server;

wherein said information determining part having a keyword recognition system which recognizes at least phrases that include the word “

bid”

in an email message to determine automatically that a bid action is being requested by said email, and automatically provides information about said bid action to said web server, wherein said web server also accepts a bid based on said information about said bid action, wherein said information determining part and sends messages which include a session identification indicator that identifies auction information, and that where said session identification indicator is a unique value, that unambiguously represents an item in said auction information, and wherein said information determining part also stores probabilities of what users are likely to be requesting by said email messages, based on previous actions, and wherein said information determining part uses said probabilities, and uses said at least one word that was recognized, to determine an action to take based on said email messages.

30. The system as in claim 29, wherein said session identification indicator is included as part of a return address in the e-mail message.

31. The system as in claim 29, wherein said session identification indicator is included as indicators that include both alphabetic and numeric information in the email.