Techniques for unified messaging

• US 8,886,234 B2
• Filed: 04/06/2011
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kafka, Steven D., Moore, Jason F., Vaithilingam, Gandhimathi, John, Aby
• Primary Examiner(s): Gonzalez, Amancio
• Application Number:
  US13/080,911
• Publication Number:
  US 20120258742A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,315 Days
• Field of Search: 455/466, 709/206, 709/217
• US Class Current: 455/466
• 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: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits

Abstract

Techniques involving unified messaging and other functionality are described. In one or more implementations, the techniques describe receiving a message at a web service from a messaging client and identifying a communication device that includes telephone functionality and is configured to format the message as a short messaging service (SMS) message. The SMS message may be identified by a phone number associated with the communication device. The message may then be sent to the communication device for automatic transmission of the SMS message by the communication device over a phone network.

Claims

1. A method implemented by one or more computing devices of a web service, the method comprising:

receiving a message at the web service from a messaging client;

identifying a client communication device that includes telephone functionality and is associated with a same user that sent the message via the messaging client, the client communication device being further configured to format the message as a short message service (SMS) message and assign a phone number associated with the client communication device to the SMS message; and

sending the message to the client communication device for automatic transmission of the SMS message via the client communication device and over a phone network such that the user that sent the message via the messaging client is identifiable by the phone number associated with the client communication device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the messaging client comprises a messaging client other than a phone and the message is not sent to the client communication device by the web service as an SMS message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the client communication device is configured to transmit the SMS message automatically and without intervention.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising causing the client communication device to, automatically and without intervention, format the message as the SMS message and transmit the SMS message.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the messaging client comprises at least one of an instant messaging client, a web client, or an email client.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the SMS message is configured to retain an identity of a user that originated the message.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the phone number of the client communication device is usable to identify the user that originated the message at the messaging client.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the client communication device and a client device executing the messaging client are both associated with a same user.

9. A method, comprising:

receiving a first message over a network at a client communication device associated with a user, the first message being received from a first messaging client associated with the user that created the first message;

receiving a second message over the network at the client communication device, the second message being received from a second messaging client that is associated with the user and which comprises a device that is different than a device of the first messaging client, the second message created by the user at the second messaging client;

configuring, at the client communication device, the first message as a first short messaging service (SMS) message and the second message as a second SMS message;

assigning, at the client communication device, a same phone number associated with the client communication device to the first SMS message and to the second SMS message to identify the user that sent the first and second messages via the first and second messaging clients by the phone number associated with the client communication device; and

transmitting said first and second SMS messages over a phone network for receipt by a client communication device associated with a different user.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the acts of configuring, assigning, and transmitting are performed automatically and without intervention by the client communication device and the received message is not configured as an SMS message.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the client communication device includes telephone functionality.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one of the first messaging client or the second messaging client comprises at least one of an instant messaging client, a web client, or an email client.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one of the first message or the second message was composed via SMS functionality at the first messaging client or the second messaging client, respectively.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one of the first message or the second message is received from a web service.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising generating a confirmation that at least one of the first SMS message or the second SMS message was transmitted.

16. The method of claim 9, further comprising displaying on a display screen a notification that at least one of first SMS message or the second SMS message was transmitted.

17. A client communication device comprising:

a memory configured to store instructions as a messaging module; and

one or more processors to implement the messaging module, the messaging module being configured to;

receive multiple messages over a network from multiple different messaging clients each associated with a same user that is associated with the client communication device, each message identifying the same user by using an identifier associated with a respective messaging client; and

subsequent to the multiple messages being received from the multiple different messaging clients, automatically and without user intervention;

format the multiple messages as short messaging service (SMS) messages;

attach a phone number associated with the client communication device to each of the SMS messages to identify the user that sent the multiple messages from the multiple different messaging clients by the phone number associated with the client communication device; and

transmit the SMS messages over a phone network for receipt by another client communication device associated with a different user.

18. A client communication device as recited in claim 17, wherein at least one of the multiple messaging clients includes at least one of an instant messaging client, a web client, or an email client.

19. A client communication device as recited in claim 17, wherein the client communication device is further configured to generate a confirmation that at least one of the SMS messages was transmitted.

20. A client communication device as recited in claim 17, wherein at least one of the multiple messages is received from a web service.