System for integrated electronic communications
First Claim
1. A method for communicating comprising:
- storing, at a first access service, outbound message rules that are defined by a sending subscriber of the first access service, the outbound message rules comprising a first outbound message rule that defines a first preferred communications medium for the sending subscriber and a second outbound message rule that controls whether messages are transferred from one access service to another access service;
receiving, at the first access service, a message that is sent by the sending subscriber;
applying at least one of the outbound message rules to the message received at the first access service;
transferring the message from the first access service to a second access service in accordance with at least one of the outbound message rules;
reformatting the message at the second access service based on at least one of the outbound message rules;
storing the reformatted message at the second access service;
storing, at the second access service, inbound message rules that are defined by a receiving subscriber, the inbound message rules comprising a first inbound message rule that defines a second preferred communications medium for the receiving subscriber; and
applying at least one of the inbound message rules to provide the reformatted message to the receiving subscriber.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system is disclosed for integrating electronic mail, voice mail, and fax mail in a universal mailbox. Message receivers may access their messages with a telephone or a computer regardless of the communication medium used by the message sender. Using a telephone, message receivers may playback voice mail, redirect fax mail, and “listen” to e-mail through a text-to-speech conversion process. Using a computer and modem, message receivers may playback voice mail, view fax mail, and read e-mail by accessing the universal mailbox via connection software. Message senders and receivers may choose from a variety of filter and forward options that allow them to manage their communications via the universal mailbox. Forwarding and conversion of messages is performed automatically. The options are used to define a set of rules to be applied to inbound and outbound messages so that messages are sent and received in accordance with the preferences of the senders and receivers.
52 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method for communicating comprising:
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storing, at a first access service, outbound message rules that are defined by a sending subscriber of the first access service, the outbound message rules comprising a first outbound message rule that defines a first preferred communications medium for the sending subscriber and a second outbound message rule that controls whether messages are transferred from one access service to another access service; receiving, at the first access service, a message that is sent by the sending subscriber; applying at least one of the outbound message rules to the message received at the first access service; transferring the message from the first access service to a second access service in accordance with at least one of the outbound message rules; reformatting the message at the second access service based on at least one of the outbound message rules; storing the reformatted message at the second access service; storing, at the second access service, inbound message rules that are defined by a receiving subscriber, the inbound message rules comprising a first inbound message rule that defines a second preferred communications medium for the receiving subscriber; and applying at least one of the inbound message rules to provide the reformatted message to the receiving subscriber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A communication system comprising:
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a first server configured to; store outbound message rules that are defined by a sending subscriber of the first access service, the outbound message rules comprising a first outbound message rule that defines a first preferred communications medium for the sending subscriber and a second outbound message rule that controls whether messages are transferred from one access service to another access service; receive a message that is sent by the sending subscriber; apply at least one of the outbound message rules to the received message; transfer the message to a separate server in accordance with at least one of the outbound message rules; a second server configured to; reformat the message based on at least one of the outbound message rules; store the reformatted message; store inbound message rules that are defined by a receiving subscriber, the inbound message rules comprising a first inbound message rule that defines a second preferred communications medium for the receiving subscriber; and apply at least one of the inbound message rules to provide the reformatted message to the receiving subscriber. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification