Priority of outbound messages communicated among end user communication devices

• US 9,684,887 B2
• Filed: 06/10/2011
• Issued: 06/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Loment Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Loment Incorporated
• Inventors: Majeti, Venkata C., Pennabadi, Saiprasad
• Primary Examiner(s): TOKUTA, SHEAN S
• Application Number:
  US13/134,591
• Publication Number:
  US 20120254322A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,202 Days
• Field of Search: 709206, 709207
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/226 Delivery according to priorities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication

Abstract

An exemplary method implemented by a first end-user communication device originates an electronic communication. User input is received to create information to be conveyed by the transmission of a digital packet having a header segment and a user data segment. The user data segment contains a user message and a priority value where the priority value conveys a corresponding message priority to a recipient device. The priority value and the user message are determined by the user of the first end-user communication device. Under the control of a first module of an enhanced services application program, a composition screen is displayed by which the user input including the user message is entered. Visual indicia indicative of a current message priority to be assigned to the user message is displayed on the composition. The first module causes insertion of the priority value corresponding to the current message priority in a priority field in the user data segment prior to transmission of the digital packet. The digital packet is transmitted with the user data segment that contains the user message and the priority value.

Claims

1. A method for originating an electronic communication by a first end-user communication device being a smart cellular telephone for communication in accordance with a standardized communication protocol used for cellular telephone communications to a destination end-user device, the method comprising:

receiving user input by an enhanced services application program stored in memory of the first end-user communication device to create information to be conveyed by the electronic communication via transmission of individual digital packets defined by a header segment and a second and final portion;

encapsulating within the second and final portion a user data segment where every byte of the user data segment is treated by the standardized communication protocol as carrying a user entered message from the first end-user communication device;

the enhanced services application program dividing the user data segment into three parts, a first part containing a first label that identifies the enhanced services application program that originated the user data segment, a second part following the first part and containing command data, and a third part following the second part and containing a message entered by a user of the first end-user communication device to be conveyed to the user of the second end-user communication device, the first label being a single character or a single group of consecutive characters where the first label always precedes all other information contained in the user data segment, the first label being the only parameter in the digital packet generated by the first end-user communication device that determines whether information contained in the user data segment is routed to a native program stored in memory of the destination end-user communication device or to an enhanced services application program stored in memory of the destination end-user communication device;

the second part of the user data segment containing a priority value where the priority value, as interpreted by the enhanced services application programs, conveys one of a predefined plurality of corresponding message priorities, only the priority value contained in the second part of the user data segment determines the priority of the user message;

displaying, under the control of a first module of the enhanced services application program, a composition screen by which the user input including the user message is entered;

displaying on the composition screen visual indicia indicative of a current message priority to be assigned to the user message;

inserting, by the first module of the enhanced services application program, the priority value corresponding to the current message priority in a priority field in the second part of the user data segment prior to transmission of the digital packet;

the user message in the user data segment being encrypted by an encryption algorithm;

the priority value, in addition to specifying the priority of the user message, identifying the encryption algorithm and a corresponding decryption key that is needed by the destination end-user device to decrypt the encrypted user message to produce clear text information;

transmitting the digital packet with the user data segment that contains the user message and the priority value.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the digital packet contains an address of the destination end-user device of an end user in accordance with the standardized communication protocol and the user data segment contains information disposed in a data format that is not known to any infrastructure nodes or servers through which the digital packet travels before reaching a corresponding enhanced services application program at the destination end-user communication device.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

the electronic communication being transmitted via one of a plurality of possible transport layer communication protocols consisting of short messaging service (SMS) text messaging, multimedia messaging service (MMS), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) messaging service and email protocols;

generating, under the control of the first module of the enhanced services application program, the same user data segment except for different first parts regardless of which one of the plurality of possible transport layer communication protocols is used to carry the electronic communication.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein;

the first module of an enhanced services application program comprises one of a plurality of modules in the enhanced services application program, and the first label is inserted into the user data segment to identify the first module;

said priority value being used to identify the same priority level by each of the plurality of modules in the enhanced services application program so that a certain priority value will cause the display of the same visual indicia in the composition screen regardless of which of the possible transport layer communication protocols was used to transport the electronic communication.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the second and third parts of the user data segment are encrypted by the enhanced services application program of the first end-user communication device, all encrypted information in the user data not subject to interpretation except by an enhanced services application program of the same type which originated the digital packet.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the standardized communication protocol by which the digital packet is conveyed is hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).

6. A computer program product being a computer usable non-transitory tangible media having a computer readable program code stored therein, said computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method for generating an electronic communication by a first end-user communication device being a smart cellular telephone for communication in accordance with a standardized communication protocol used for cellular communications to a destination end-user device, the method comprising:

receiving user input by an enhanced services application program stored in memory of the first end-user communication device to create information to be conveyed by the electronic communication via transmission of individual digital packets defined by a header segment and a second and final portion;

encapsulating within the second and final portion a user data segment where every byte of the user data segment is treated by the standardized communication protocol as carrying a user entered message from the first end-user communication device;

the enhanced services application program dividing the user data segment into three parts, a first part containing a first label that identifies the enhanced services application program that originated the user data segment, a second part following the first part and containing command data, and a third part following the second part and containing a message entered by a user of the first end-user communication device to be conveyed to the user of the second end-user communication device, the first label being a single character or a single group of consecutive characters where the first label always precedes all other information contained in the user data segment, the first label being the only parameter in the digital packet generated by the first end-user communication device that determines whether information contained in the user data segment is routed to a native program stored in memory of the destination end-user communication device or to an enhanced services application program stored in memory of the destination end-user communication device;

the second part of containing a user data segment containing a priority value where the priority value as interpreted by an enhanced services application program in the destination end-user device conveys one of a predefined plurality of corresponding message priorities to the destination end-user device, only the message priority value contained in the second part of the user data segment determines the priority of the user message;

displaying, under the control of a first module of the enhanced services application program, a composition screen by which the user input including the user message is entered;

displaying on the composition screen visual indicia indicative of a current message priority to be assigned to the user message;

inserting, by the first module of the enhanced services application program, the priority value corresponding to the current message priority in a priority field in the second part of the user data segment prior to transmission of the digital packet frame;

the user message in the user data segment being encrypted by an encryption algorithm,

the priority value, in addition to specifying the priority of the user message, identifying the encryption algorithm and a corresponding decryption key that is needed by the destination end-user device to decrypt the encrypted user message to produce clear text information;

transmitting the digital packet with the user data segment that contains the user message and the priority value.

7. The computer program product of claim 6 wherein the digital packet contains an address of the destination end-user device of an end user in accordance with the standardized communication protocol and the user data segment contains information disposed in a data format that is not known to any infrastructure nodes or servers through which the digital packet travels before reaching a corresponding enhanced services application program at the destination end-user communication device.

8. The computer program product of claim 6 further comprising:

the electronic communication being transmitted via one of a plurality of possible transport layer communication protocols consists of short messaging service (SMS) text messaging, multimedia messaging service (MMS), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) messaging service and email protocols;

generating, under the control of the first module of the enhanced services application program, the same user data segment except for different first parts regardless of which one of the plurality of possible transport layer communication protocols is used to carry the electronic communication.

9. The computer program product of claim 8 further comprising:

the first module of an enhanced services application program comprises one of a plurality of modules in the enhanced services application program, and the first label is inserted into the user data segment to identify the first module;

said priority value being used to identify the same priority level by each of the plurality of modules in the enhanced services application program so that a certain priority value will cause the display of the same visual indicia in the composition screen regardless of which of the possible transport layer communication protocols was used to transport the electronic communication.

10. The computer program product of claim 6 wherein;

all of the user data segment being encrypted before transmission except for a first label at the beginning of the user data segment that identifies the enhanced services application program to be used to interpret the information contained in the encrypted portion of the user data segment;

transmitting the encrypted user message as part of said packet.

11. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein the second and third parts of the user data segment are encrypted by the enhanced services application program of the first end-user communication device, all encrypted information in the user data segment is of a protocol not subject to interpretation except by an enhanced services application program of the same type which originated the digital packet.

12. An end-user wireless communication device being a smart cellular telephone that generates an electronic communication in accordance with a standardized communication protocol for cellular communications to a destination end-user device, the device comprising:

a microprocessor controlled apparatus receives user input for an enhanced services application program stored in memory to create information to be conveyed by the electronic communication;

a transmitter that transmits the electronic communication being individual digital packets defined by a first portion having a header segment and a second and final portion and encapsulating within the second and final portion a user data segment where every byte of the user data segment is treated by the standardized communication protocol as carrying a user entered message from the wireless end-user communication device;

microprocessor controlled apparatus as controlled by the enhanced services application program dividing the user data segment into three parts, a first part containing a first label that identifies the enhanced services application program that originated the user data segment, a second part following the first part and containing command data, and a third part following the second part and containing a message entered by the user of the wireless end-user communication device to be conveyed to a user of the destination end-user communication device, the first label being a single character or a single group of consecutive characters where the first label always precedes all other information contained in the user data segment, the first label being the only parameter in the digital packet generated by the wireless end-user communication device that determines whether information contained in the user data segment is routed to a native program stored in memory of the destination end-user communication device or to an enhanced services application program stored in memory of the destination end-user communication device;

the second part of the user data containing a priority value where the priority value as interpreted by an enhanced services application program in the destination end-user device conveys one of a predefined plurality of corresponding message priorities to the destination end-user device, only the message priority value contained in the second part of the user data segment determines the priority of the user message;

the microprocessor controlled apparatus causing the display, under the control of a first module of the enhanced services application program, of a composition screen by which the user input including the user message is entered;

the microprocessor controlled apparatus causing the display, under the control of the first module of the enhanced services application program, on the composition screen of visual indicia indicative of a current message priority to be assigned to the user message;

the microprocessor controlled apparatus inserting, under the control of the first module of the enhanced services application program, the priority value corresponding to the current message priority in a priority field in the second part of the user data segment prior to transmission of the digital packet;

the microprocessor controlled apparatus encrypting the user message in the user data segment using an encryption algorithm, the priority value, in addition to specifying the priority of the user message, identifying the encryption algorithm and a corresponding decryption key that is needed by the destination end-user device to decrypt the encrypted user message to produce clear text information;

the transmitter transmitting the digital packet with the user data segment that contains the user message and the priority value.

13. An end-user wireless communication device of claim 12 wherein the digital packet contains an address of the destination end-user device of an end user in accordance with the standardized communication protocol and the user data segment contains information disposed in a data format that is not known to any infrastructure nodes or servers through which the digital packet travels before reaching a corresponding enhanced services application program at the destination end-user communication device.

14. An end-user wireless communication device of claim 12 further comprising:

the transmitter transmitting the electronic communication via one of a plurality of possible transport layer communication protocols consisting of short messaging service (SMS) text messaging, multimedia messaging service (MMS), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) messaging service and email protocols;

the microprocessor controlled apparatus generating, under the control of the first module of the enhanced services application program, the same user data segment except for different first parts regardless of which one of the plurality of possible transport layer communication protocols is used to carry the electronic communication.

15. An end-user wireless communication device of claim 14 further comprising:

the first module of an enhanced services application program comprising one of a plurality of modules in the enhanced services application program;

the microprocessor controlled apparatus inserting the first label into the first part of the user data segment to identify the first module;

the microprocessor controlled apparatus using said priority value to identify the same priority level for each of the modules in the enhanced services application program so that a certain priority value will cause the display of the same visual indicia in the composition screen regardless of which of the possible transport layer communication protocols was used to transport the electronic communication.

16. An end-user wireless communication device of claim 12 wherein:

the microprocessor controlled apparatus encrypting all of the user data segment before transmission except for a first label at the first part of the user data segment that identifies the enhanced services application program to be used to interpret the information contained in the encrypted portion of the user data segment;

the transmitter transmitting the encrypted user message as part of said packet.

17. An end-user wireless communication device of claim 16 comprising:

the second and third parts of the user data segment are encrypted by the enhanced services application program of the first end-user communication device, all encrypted information in the user data segment is of a unique protocol not subject to interpretation except by an enhanced services application program of the same type which originated the digital packet.

19. The end-user wireless communication device of claim 12 wherein the standardized communication protocol by which the digital packet is conveyed is hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).