Unified and best messaging systems for communication devices

• US 8,391,450 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2010
• Issued: 03/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovation Company Limited Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Great Elm Capital Corp. (f/k/a Unwired Planet, Inc.) (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Inventors: Rukman, Jason, Heitzeberg, Joseph Edward, Hoover, Thomas Jay, Lowry, Ethan, Franklin, Patrick Greer
• Primary Examiner(s): ISLAM, MOHAMMAD K
• Application Number:
  US12/722,343
• Publication Number:
  US 20100169417A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,090 Days
• Field of Search: 379/67.1, 379 8813- 8818, 379/355, 379/88.11, 704/270, 455/466
• US Class Current: 379/88.13
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

A unified messaging system which can provide messaging services for a plurality of different “message types” is disclosed. The unified messaging system can serve as a single interface to a number of messaging services provided by various messaging components which use different message types (e.g., mail server). A unified message type is implemented and presented to a user as an abstract message. In addition, the unified messaging system can automatically determine, based on a first selected feature, if one or more message types should be used. A particular message type can also be automatically selected as a “best message type” based on one or more selected options.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving from a first mobile device a selection that identifies one or more features associated with at least one of a plurality of unified messages;

using a computer-based communication device to interpret the selection and therefrom identify one of the plurality of unified messages that can represent a plurality of message types; and

based on the selection and said identified one or more features, transforming and communicating the identified one of the unified messages into at least one of said plurality of message types for use by an intended recipient.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one of the plurality of unified messages includes a representation of a generic message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one of the plurality of unified messages includes a generic message and is accompanied with a set of user-directed selectable features including one or more of:

send, compose, and read.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one of the plurality of unified messages includes a generic message and is accompanied with a set of user-directed states including one or more of:

at least one composition state, and at least one formatting state.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said at least one composition state is from the set of an attachment state, and a slides state.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one of the plurality of unified messages includes a representation of a generic message and a representation of at least one feature useful for facilitating selection of at least one of:

a message format, and the intended recipient.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer-based communication device performs at least partially the step of receiving the selection and the step of transforming and communicating.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer-based communication device performs the step of receiving the selection and the step of transforming and communicating.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the computer-based communication device both interprets the selection and identifies said one of the plurality of unified messages that can represent the plurality of message types.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer-based communication device communicates with a separately-operating computer-based communication server.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer-based communication device is a computer-based server, and wherein said at least one of the plurality of unified messages includes a representation of a generic message that is provided by the computer-based server.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer-based communication device is a computer-based server, and wherein said at least one of the plurality of unified messages includes a representation of a generic message that is provided by the computer-based server, and wherein the computer-based server also interprets the selection and identifies said one of the plurality of unified messages that can represent the plurality of message types, and performs the step of receiving from the first mobile device the selection that identifies the one or more features associated with the at least one of the plurality of unified messages, and the step of transforming and communicating the identified one of the unified messages into the at least one of said plurality of message types for use by the intended recipient.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer-based communication device communicates with a separately-operating computer-based communication server, and wherein said at least one of the plurality of unified messages includes a representation of a generic message that is provided by the computer-based communication device, and wherein the computer-based communication device also interprets the selection and identifies said one of the plurality of unified messages that can represent the plurality of message types, and performs the step of receiving from the first mobile device the selection that identifies the one or more features associated with the at least one of the plurality of unified messages, and the step of transforming and communicating the identified one of the unified messages into the at least one of said plurality of message types for use by the intended recipient.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer-based communication device is configured and arranged to provide message options based on at least one of bandwidth criteria relating to a communication path between the computer-based communication device and the intended recipient.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer-based communication device is configured and arranged to provide message options based on a history of a user'"'"'s previous selection communications via the computer-based communication device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the history is used by the computer-based communication device to eliminate at least one message type upon determining that the at least one message type should not be used for the unified message.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising using the computer-based communication device to provide one or more states and one or more features associated with the unified message.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising using the computer-based communication device to provide one or more states and one or more features associated with the unified message, wherein at least one of the one or more states is provided for each one of the one or more features.

19. An apparatus, comprising:

a computer-based communication device programmed and configured to

receive from a first mobile device a selection that identifies one or more features associated with at least one of a plurality of unified messages;

interpret the selection and therefrom identify one of the plurality of unified messages that can represent a plurality of message types; and

based on the selection and said identified one or more features, transforming and communicating the identified one of the unified messages into at least one of said plurality of message types for use by an intended recipient.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the computer-based communication device is one of a computer-based communication server, and a user-operable computer-based communication device that is further programmed and configured to communicate with a computer-based communication server.