Enhancing messaging services using translation gateways

• US 8,600,014 B2
• Filed: 05/03/2012
• Issued: 12/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: j2 Cloud Services, LLC (Consensus Cloud Solutions, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: J2 Global, Inc.
• Inventors: D'Angelo, Leo A., Izadpanah, Kamran, Bell, John J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Anwah, Olisa
• Application Number:
  US13/463,153
• Publication Number:
  US 20120213348A1
• Time in Patent Office: 579 Days
• Field of Search: 379/67.1, 379/88.12, 379/88.13, 379/88.14, 379/88.17, 379/100.01, 379/100.08, 379/100.09, 379/100.13, 379/93.06, 709/206, 370/352
• US Class Current: 379/88.14
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/253 where a visual mode is used instead of a voice mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems

Abstract

In one embodiment, a translation gateway is for use between a network of a messaging service provider and a hostile data network. The gateway is to forward messages using a secure connection through the hostile network, to a customer'"'"'s network. Different types of inbound messages (e.g., voice; fax) can be delivered to a single client process running on a customer machine on the customer network. In addition, the translation gateway may be used to securely forward different types of outbound messages originating from the client process to the service provider'"'"'s network (where the messages are retransmitted as voice calls or facsimiles into a telephone network). Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

Claims

1. A system for supporting a messaging service, comprising:

a computer server coupled with a circuit switched network to receive an inbound message from the circuit switched network, to apply a translation function to the inbound message, and to transmit the translated inbound message to a message storage server;

the message storage server to receive and store the translated inbound message; and

a messaging application server to obtain a location of where the translated inbound message is stored, to transmit a resource locator link over a hostile packet switched network to a customer computer, and to establish a virtual private network (VPN) tunnel between the messaging application server and the customer computer over the hostile packet switched network, in response to the customer computer invoking the resource locator link so that the customer computer can securely receive the translated inbound message through the VPN tunnel.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the resource locator link includes the location of where the translated inbound message is stored so that the customer computer can securely retrieve the translated inbound message through the VPN tunnel.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the resource locator link is a universal resource locator (URL).

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the hostile packet switched network is the Internet.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the inbound message is a facsimile message.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the inbound message is a voice message.

12. The system of claim 2 wherein the hostile packet switched network is the Internet and the inbound message is a facsimile message.

13. The system of claim 3 wherein the hostile packet switched network is the Internet and the inbound message is a facsimile message.

14. The system of claim 2 wherein the hostile packet switched network is the Internet and the inbound message is a voice message.

15. The system of claim 3 wherein the hostile packet switched network is the Internet and the inbound message is a voice message.

7. A method for providing a secure messaging service, comprising:

assigning a separate set of one or more circuit switched network addresses to each of a plurality of corporate customers of the messaging service;

associating the set of circuit switched network addresses for each customer with an internet domain of the customer;

receiving an inbound message that is addressed to one of the set of circuit switched network addresses of a given customer;

applying a translation function to the inbound message;

storing the translated inbound message;

transmitting a resource locator link, including a location of where the translated inbound message is stored, over a hostile packet switched network to an internet domain of the given customer;

establishing a virtual private network (VPN) tunnel with the given customer in response to an invocation of the resource locator link by the given customer; and

transmitting the translated inbound message over the hostile packet switched network through the established VPN tunnel.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the resource locator link is a universal resource locator (URL).

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the hostile packet switched network is the Internet.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the inbound message is a facsimile message.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the inbound message is a voice message.

16. The method of claim 8 wherein the hostile packet switched network is the Internet and the inbound message is a voice message.

17. The method of claim 8 wherein the hostile packet switched network is the Internet and the inbound message is a facsimile message.