Instant messagings

• US 8,528,050 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2008
• Issued: 09/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Snap, Inc.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kashima, Hiroaki, Tada, Masami, Tomoda, Daisuke, Takeuchi, Shigeki, Uenohara, Hayato, Yamauchi, Yuhko
• Primary Examiner(s): Chea, Philip
• Assistant Examiner(s): Traore, Fatoumata
• Application Number:
  US12/192,288
• Publication Number:
  US 20090044252A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,845 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 726/3
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding

Abstract

A method for delivering an instant message in a server connected to two or more computers via a network is provided. The two or more computers include groupware clients in which a user can perform login at the same time, using the same user ID, and for which status that may be different from each other can be set. Embodiments of the method includes authenticating a user of a groupware client who attempts to perform login using a user ID, recording the user ID and status information in association with an instant messaging user ID, receiving an instant message addressed to the user ID, and determining, on the basis of the status information, which of two or more client computers the instant message is sent to.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining, in a server connected to a plurality of client computers via a network, which one of at least two destination client computers that a message is to be sent to on the basis of status information of the at least two destination client computers; and

while a message is being converted in a manner that depends on the determined one of the at least two destination client computers,

determining whether the message includes a first set of one or more characters that indicate that a command is to be sent instead of the message and that specifies possible responses to be returned;

in response to determining that the message includes the first set of one or more characters,

appending a second set of one or more characters to the command;

sending the command instead of the message to the determined one of the at least two destination client computers; and

receiving a response that is one of the possible responses; and

in response to determining that the message does not include the first set of one or more characters, sending the message.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least two destination client computers include at least one personal computer and at least one mobile communication device.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the determining further comprises determining, on the basis of device types of the at least two destination client computers, which of the at least two destination client computers the message is sent to.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the at least one mobile communication device includes at least on of the following types of devices:

mobile phones and PDAs.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the at least two destination client computers are mobile phones, and the method further comprising:

converting the message addressed to the determined one of the at least two destination client computers to a format suitable for the mobile phones.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the status information includes “

available” and

“

unavailable”

.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the determining is performed when related status information is “

available”

.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least two destination client computers each include a GPS unit, and the method further comprising:

generating a candidate for a physical location on the basis of coordinates detected by the GPS unit.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein, when the sent message includes the first set of one or more characters, the at least two destination client computers each perform a predetermined process corresponding to the first set of one or more characters instead of displaying the message.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined process includes a process of changing a mouse cursor in each of the client computers.

11. A system comprising:

a CPU;

a storage medium coupled to the CPU, wherein the storage medium stores program code, and wherein the program code is configured to perform;

determining which one of at least two destination client computers that a message is to be sent on the basis of status information of the at least two destination client computers; and

while a message is being converted in a manner that depends on the determined one of the at least two destination client computers,

determining whether the message includes a first set of one or more characters that indicate that a command is to be sent instead of the message and that specifies possible responses to be returned;

in response to determining that the message includes the first set of one or more characters,

appending a second set of one or more characters to the command;

sending the command instead of the message to the determined one of the at least two destination client computers; and

receiving a response that is one of the possible responses; and

in response to determining that the message does not include the first set of one or more characters, sending the message.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the at least two destination client computers include at least one personal computer and at least one mobile communication device.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the mobile communication device includes at least one of a mobile phone and a PDA.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the program code is configured to perform, when the at least two destination client computers are mobile phones, converting the message addressed to the at least two destination client computers to a format suitable for the mobile phones.

15. The system according to claim 11, wherein the status information includes “

available” and

“

unavailable”

.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein determination on the at least two destination client computers is performed when related status information is “

available”

.

17. The system according to claim 11, wherein the at least two destination client computers each include a GPS unit, and wherein the program code is configured to perform generating a candidate for a place on the basis of coordinates detected by the GPS unit.

18. The system according to claim 11, wherein the at least two client computers each include program code that is configured to perform a predetermined process corresponding to the first set of one or more characters instead of displaying the message, when the sent message includes the first set of one or more characters.

19. The system according to claim 18, wherein the predetermined process includes a process of changing a mouse cursor in each of the at least two client computers.

20. A computer program product for sending an instant message, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory storage medium storing computer usable program code, wherein the computer usable program code, when executed by a CPU, is configured to;

determine which one of at least two destination client computers the message is to be sent on the basis of status information of the at least two destination client computers; and

while a message is being converted in a manner that depends on the determined one of the at least two destination client computers,

determine whether the message includes a first set of one or more characters that indicate that a command is to be sent instead of the message and that specifies possible responses to be returned;

in response to determining that the message includes the first set of one or more characters,

append a second set of one or more characters to the command;

send the command instead of the message to the determined one of the at least two destination client computers; and

receive a response that is one of the possible responses; and

in response to determining that the message does not include the first set of one or more characters, send the message.

21. A method comprising:

authenticating a user of a groupware client who attempts to perform login using a user ID;

recording the user ID and status information in association with an instant messaging user ID;

receiving an instant message addressed to the user ID;

determining, on the basis of the status information, which one of two or more client computers the instant message is sent to; and

while a message is being converted in a manner that depends on the determined one of the two or more client computers,

determining whether the message includes a first set of one or more characters that indicate that a command is to be sent instead of the message and that specifies possible responses to be returned;

in response to determining that the message includes the first set of one or more characters,

appending a second set of one or more characters to the command;

sending the command instead of the message to the determined one of the two or more client computers; and

receiving a response that is one of the possible responses; and

in response to determining that the message does not include the first set of one or more characters, sending the message.