Mechanism for associating emails with filter labels

• US 9,619,783 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2012
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tamiras Per Pte Ltd LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Tamiras Per Pte Ltd LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Madnani, Rajkumar R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nano, Sargon
• Application Number:
  US13/604,382
• Publication Number:
  US 20120330981A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,679 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

A mechanism is disclosed for generating a composite email for an email conversation. The composite email includes content automatically extracted from a plurality of the emails in the email conversation, and may be generated in response to a user accessing just one of the emails in the email conversation. A mechanism is also disclosed for discovering and recovering lost emails in an email conversation. A mechanism is further disclosed for automatically moving emails from one container to another after an email has been read. These and other advantageous email generating, manipulation, and organization mechanisms are disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

after storing electronic messages in a logical container, applying a filtering criterion to the electronic messages of the logical container;

wherein applying the filtering criterion to the electronic messages of the logical container is to occur at a first time that is no later than a second time of originally displaying the electronic messages of the logical container and said applying further comprises determining whether the electronic messages include a predefined string, wherein the predefined string comprises at least one of domain name string of sender email address or address string of the sender email address;

responsive to determining that an electronic message of the electronic messages of the logical container satisfies the filtering criterion, associating the electronic message that satisfies the filtering criterion with a label;

causing the label to be displayed no later than the second time; and

responsive to a user selection of the label, causing an electronic message listing to be displayed, wherein the electronic message listing includes the electronic message that satisfies the filtering criterion.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the label is not a logical container, and wherein associating the electronic message that satisfies the filtering criterion with the label comprises:

associating a reference to the electronic message that satisfies the filtering criterion with the label.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic message that satisfies the filtering criterion remains stored in the logical container at a time of the displaying of the electronic message listing.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein causing the electronic message listing to be displayed comprises:

accessing the electronic message that satisfies the filtering criterion from the logical container using the reference.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein more than one of the electronic messages satisfy the filtering criterion, and a first one of the more than one electronic messages is located in a different logical container than a second one of the more than one electronic messages, and wherein the method further comprises:

associating a reference to the first one of the more than one electronic messages with the label;

associating a reference to the second one of the more than one electronic messages with the label; and

accessing the more than one electronic messages from the different logical containers using the references.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the filtering criterion comprises at least one of determining whether a particular address is located in a sender address field, whether a particular date is located in a sent date field, whether an attachment is present, or whether a particular keyword is present.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

causing a user interface component to be displayed concurrently with the label, wherein the user interface component indicates whether the electronic message listing includes an unread electronic message; and

responsive to a user selection of the user interface component, causing a different electronic message listing to be displayed, wherein the different electronic message listing includes the unread electronic message.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the unread electronic message has not been user-accessed.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the unread electronic message has not been user-acknowledged as having been read.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the unread electronic message has been user-accessed but has not been user-acknowledged as having been read.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said logical container comprises at least one of a first inbox folder, a second folder that is different than the first inbox folder, a subfolder of the first inbox folder, or a subfolder of the second folder.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic messages are delivered electronic messages, and wherein the method further comprises applying the filtering criterion to the delivered electronic messages of the logical container.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the filtering criterion comprises a first filtering criterion, and the method further comprises applying a second filtering criterion that is different than the first filtering criterion to the electronic messages prior to storing the electronic messages in the logical container.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second filtering criterion is associated with junk messages filtration of received electronic messages and the first filtering criterion is associated with categorization of non-junk ones of the received electronic messages.

15. A memory device having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations comprising:

after storing electronic messages in a logical container, applying, at a first time that is no later than a second time of originally displaying the electronic messages of the logical container, a filtering criterion to the electronic messages of the logical container;

responsive to determining that an electronic message of the electronic messages of the logical container satisfies the filtering criterion, associating the electronic message that satisfies the filtering criterion with a label;

causing the label to be displayed no later than the second time; and

responsive to a user selection of the label, causing an electronic message listing to be displayed, wherein the electronic message listing includes the electronic message that satisfies the filtering criterion.

16. The memory device of claim 15, wherein the label is not a logical container, and wherein associating the electronic message that satisfies the filtering criterion with the label comprises:

associating a reference to the electronic message that satisfies the filtering criterion with the label.

17. The memory device of claim 16, wherein causing the electronic message listing to be displayed comprises:

accessing the electronic message that satisfies the filtering criterion from the logical container using the reference.

18. The memory device of claim 15, wherein the electronic message that satisfies the filtering criterion remains stored in the logical container at a time of the displaying of the electronic message listing.

19. The memory device of claim 15, wherein more than one of the electronic messages satisfy the filtering criterion, and a first one of the more than one electronic messages is located in a different logical container than a second one of the more than one electronic messages, and wherein the operations further comprise:

associating a reference to the first one of the more than one electronic messages with the label;

associating a reference to the second one of the more than one electronic messages with the label; and

accessing the more than one electronic messages from the different logical containers using the references.

20. The memory device of claim 15, wherein the filtering criterion comprises at least one of determining whether a particular address is located in a sender address field, whether a particular date is located in a sent date field, whether an attachment is present, or whether a particular keyword is present.

21. The memory device of claim 15, wherein the instructions cause the one or more processors to further perform operations including:

causing a user interface component to be displayed concurrently with the label, wherein the user interface component indicates whether the electronic message listing includes an unread electronic message; and

responsive to a user selection of the user interface component, causing a different electronic message listing to be displayed, wherein the different electronic message listing includes the unread electronic message.

22. The memory device of claim 21, wherein the unread electronic message has not been accessed.

23. The memory device of claim 21, wherein the unread electronic message has not been user-acknowledged as having been read.

24. The memory device of claim 21, wherein the unread electronic message has been accessed but has not been user-acknowledged as having been read.

25. The memory device of claim 15, wherein said logical container comprises at least one of a first inbox folder, a second folder that is different than the first inbox folder, a subfolder of the first inbox folder, or a subfolder of the second folder.

26. The memory device of claim 15, wherein applying the filtering criterion to the electronic messages of the logical container further comprises determining whether predefined fields of the electronic messages include a predefined string.

27. The memory device of claim 26, wherein the predefined fields comprise subject line fields.

28. The memory device of claim 15, wherein applying the filtering criterion to the electronic messages of the logical container further comprises determining whether the electronic messages include attachments.

29. An apparatus, comprising:

means for storing electronic messages in a logical container;

means for applying a filtering criterion to the electronic messages of the logical container at a first time that is no later than a second time of originally displaying the electronic messages of the logical container;

means for associating an electronic message that is of the electronic messages of the logical container and that satisfies the filtering criterion with a label;

means for causing the label to be displayed at the second time; and

means for causing an electronic message listing to be displayed responsive to a user selection of the label, wherein the electronic message listing includes the electronic message that satisfies the filtering criterion.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the electronic message that satisfies the filtering criterion remains stored in the logical container at a time of the displaying of the electronic message listing.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, further comprising means accessing the electronic message that satisfies the filtering criterion from the logical container using a reference stored in the label.

32. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the filtering criterion includes at least one of determining whether a particular address is located in a sender address field, whether a particular date is located in a sent date field, whether an attachment is present, or whether a particular keyword is present.

33. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising:

means causing a user interface component to be displayed concurrently with the label, wherein the user interface component indicates whether the electronic message listing includes an unread electronic message; and

means for causing a different electronic message listing to be displayed responsive to a user selection of the user interface component, wherein the different electronic message listing includes the unread electronic message.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the unread electronic message has not been user-acknowledged as having been read.

35. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the unread electronic message has been accessed but has not been user-acknowledged as having been read.

36. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein said logical container comprises at least one of a first inbox folder, a second folder that is different than the first inbox folder, a subfolder of the first inbox folder, or a subfolder of the second folder.