Initiating instant messaging (IM) chat sessions from email messages

• US 9,185,060 B1
• Filed: 06/04/2013
• Issued: 11/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Malik, Dale W., Daniell, W. Todd
• Primary Examiner(s): Chang, Jungwon
• Application Number:
  US13/909,864
• Time in Patent Office: 889 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/219, 455/412, 370/352
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1831 Tracking arrangements for later retrieval, e.g. recording contents, participants activities or behavior, network status
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/043 using or handling presence information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion

Abstract

Systems and methods for integrating instant messaging (IM) services and email services are described. In one embodiment, email messages and IM chat session transcripts are threaded to each other so that an email thread history may be traced back to an IM chat session transcript and, conversely, an IM thread history may be traced back to an email message.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a memory that stores instructions;

a processor that executes the instructions to perform operations, the operations comprising;

determining an internet presence for a first contact in response to displaying content of an email message in an email read window of a second contact, wherein the email message is sent by the first contact;

inserting presence information of the first contact in the email message sent by the first contact, wherein the presence information is displayed in the email message based on the internet presence determined for the first contact;

initiating an instant messaging chat session with the first contact from the email message; and

reformatting an instant message received from the first contact by concatenating the content of the instant message from the first contact with an instant messaging address of the first contact prior to transmitting the instant message from the first contact to the second contact.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise receiving a different instant message from the second contact.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting the instant message to the second contact.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise reformatting the instant message received from the first contact by removing an instant messaging address of a user from the instant message from the first contact, wherein the instant messaging address of the user is removed prior to concatenating the content of the instant message from the first contact with the instant messaging address of the first contact.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the operations further comprise determining the instant messaging address of the first contact based on removing the instant messaging address of the user.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise extracting the content of the instant message.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise reformatting the instant message into a protocol associated with an instant messaging client of the second contact.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise determining a number of characters in the instant messaging address of a user receiving the instant message.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise inserting a number of delete characters adjacent to the instant messaging address of the user.

10. A method comprising:

determining an internet presence for a first contact in response to displaying content of an email message in an email read window of a second contact, wherein the email message is sent by the first contact;

inserting presence information of the first contact in the email message sent by the first contact, wherein the presence information is displayed in the email message based on the internet presence determined for the first contact;

initiating an instant messaging chat session with the first contact from the email message; and

reformatting, by utilizing instructions from a memory that are executed by a processor, an instant message received from the first contact by concatenating the content of the instant message from the first contact with an instant messaging address of the first contact prior to transmitting the instant message from the first contact to the second contact.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising transmitting the instant message to the second contact.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising reformatting the instant message received from the first contact by removing an instant messaging address of a user from the instant message from the first contact, wherein the instant messaging address of the user is removed prior to concatenating the content of the instant message from the first contact with the instant messaging address of the first contact.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising determining the instant messaging address of the first contact based on removing the instant messaging address of the user.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising extracting the content of the instant message.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising reformatting the instant message into a protocol associated with an instant messaging client of the second contact.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising causing the email message from the first contact to be displayed.

17. A computer-readable device comprising computer instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

determining an internet presence for a first contact in response to displaying content of an email message in an email read window of a second contact, wherein the email message is sent by the first contact;

inserting presence information of the first contact in the email message sent by the first contact, wherein the presence information is displayed in the email message based on the internet presence determined for the first contact;

initiating an instant messaging chat session with the first contact from the email message; and

reformatting an instant message received from the first contact by concatenating the content of the instant message from the first contact with an instant messaging address of the first contact prior to transmitting the instant message from the first contact to the second contact.

18. The computer-readable device of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise reformatting the instant message received from the first contact by removing an instant messaging address of a user from the instant message from the first contact, wherein the instant messaging address of the user is removed prior to concatenating the content of the instant message from the first contact with the instant messaging address of the first contact.

19. The computer-readable device of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise determining the instant messaging address of the first contact based on removing the instant messaging address of the user.

20. The computer-readable device of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise determining a number of characters in the instant messaging address of the second contact.