Apparatus and method for intelligent delivery time determination for a multi-format and/or multi-protocol communication

• US 9,930,002 B2
• Filed: 12/31/2015
• Issued: 03/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Entefy Inc.
• Original Assignee: Entefy Inc.
• Inventors: Ghafourifar, Mehdi, Ghafourifar, Alston, Ghafourifar, Brienne
• Primary Examiner(s): Hussain, Tauqir
• Application Number:
  US14/985,756
• Publication Number:
  US 20160119274A1
• Time in Patent Office: 817 Days
• Field of Search: 709206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/226 Delivery according to priorities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]

Abstract

This disclosure relates generally to apparatus, methods, and computer readable media for composing communications for computing devices across multiple formats and multiple protocols. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, this disclosure relates to apparatus, methods, and computer readable media to permit computing devices, e.g., smartphones, tablets, laptops, and the like, to send communications in a number of pre-determined and/or ‘determined-on-the-fly’ communications formats and/or protocols at one or more determined delivery times via a single, seamless user interface. The determined delivery time of any message to any recipient may be intelligently determined individually for each recipient, e.g., by using one or more context factors to assess optimal delivery times for each recipient. The techniques disclosed herein allow communications systems to become ‘message-centric’ or ‘people-centric,’ as opposed to ‘protocol-centric,’ allowing the message protocol and delivery time to be abstracted from the sender of the communication, if the sender so desires.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer instructions stored thereon to cause one or more processing units to:

receive a first message in a digital format from a first user;

receive a selection of desired recipients for the first message, wherein the desired recipients of the first message comprise at least a first desired recipient and a second desired recipient;

analyze, upon receiving the selection, a content of the first message;

generate, upon receiving the selection, a context of the first message based, at least in part, on;

the analyzed content of the first message, the selection of the desired recipients for the first message, and the digital format of the first message;

apply the context to a predictive time-based data model, wherein applying the context to the predictive time-based data model comprises evaluating each of the following;

each desired recipient'"'"'s frequency of usage of each of one or more communication protocols;

a time of day of past communications between the first user and each desired recipient; and

historic rates of response of each desired recipient to the first user via each of the one or more communication protocols;

select, based, at least in part, on the application of the context, a first time and a first communication protocol from among the one or more communication protocols to use to send the first message to the first desired recipient, wherein the first communication protocol is operable to carry the digital format of the first message;

transmit, at the selected first time, the first message to the respective desired recipient;

convert the first message to a second digital format; and

transmit the first message to the second desired recipient using a second communication protocol that is operable to carry the second digital format.

2. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, further comprising instructions to generate, upon passage of a first amount of time, an updated context of the first message based, at least in part, on:

the content of the first message, the selection of the desired recipients, the digital format of the first message, and the passage of the first amount of time.

3. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions to apply the context further comprise instructions to evaluate:

a pattern of group communications including the respective desired recipient.

4. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions to:

select, based, at least in part, on the application of the context, a second time to send the first message to the second desired recipient.

5. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions to analyze the content of the first message further comprise instructions to convert an audio or video message to a text message.

6. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the first time comprises a determined optimal time for the respective desired recipient to receive the first message, based on the predictive time-based data model.

7. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 4, wherein the instructions to transmit the first message to the second desired recipient are further configured to transmit the first message to the second desired recipient at the second time.

8. A computer-implemented method for selecting optimal transmission of digital messages comprising:

receiving a first message in a digital format from a first user;

receiving a selection of desired recipients for the first message, wherein the desired recipients of the first message comprise at least a first desired recipient and a second desired recipient;

analyzing, upon receiving the selection, a content of the first message;

generating, upon receiving the selection, a context of the first message, at least in part, on;

the analyzed content of the first message, the selection of desired recipients for the first message, and the digital format;

applying the context to a predictive time-based data model, wherein applying the context to the predictive time-based data model comprises evaluating each of the following;

each desired recipient'"'"'s frequency of usage of each of one or more communication protocols;

a time of day of past communications between the first user and each desired recipient; and

historic rates of response of each desired recipient to the first user via each of the one or more communication protocols;

selecting, based, at least in part, on the application the context, a first time and a first communication protocol from among the one or more communication protocols to use to send the first message to the first desired recipient, wherein the first communication protocol is operable to carry the digital format of the first message;

transmitting, at the selected first time, the first message to the desired recipient;

converting the first message to a second digital format; and

transmitting the first message to the second desired recipient using a second communication protocol that is operable to carry the second digital format.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising generating, upon passage of a first amount of time, an updated context of the first message based, at least in part, on:

the content of the first message, the selection of the desired recipients, the digital format of the first message, and the passage of the first amount of time.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the applying the context further comprise evaluating:

a pattern of group communications including the respective desired recipient.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising:

selecting, based, at least in part, on the application of the context, a second time to send the first message to the second desired recipient.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein analyzing the content of the first message further comprises converting an audio or video message to a text message.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the first time comprises a determined optimal time for the respective desired recipient to receive the first message, based on the predictive time-based data model.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the transmitting the first message to a the second desired recipient further comprises transmitting the first message to the second desired recipient at the second time.

15. An apparatus comprising:

a memory;

one or more processing units, communicatively coupled to the memory wherein the memory stores instructions to configure the one or more processing units to;

receive a first message in a digital format from a first user;

receive a selection of desired recipients for the first message, wherein the desired recipients of the first message comprise at least a first desired recipient and a second desired recipient;

analyze, upon receiving the selection, a content of the first message;

generate, upon receiving the selection, a context of the first message based, at least in part, on;

the analyzed content of the first message, the selection of desired recipients for the first message, and the digital format of the first message;

apply the context to a predictive time-based data model, wherein applying the context to the predictive time-based data model comprises evaluating each of the following;

each desired recipient'"'"'s frequency of usage of each of one or more communication protocols;

a time of day of past communications between the first user and each desired recipient; and

historic rates of response of each desired recipient to the first user via each of the one or more communication protocols;

select, based, at least in part, on the application of the context, a first time and a first communication protocol from among the one or more communication protocols to use to send the first message to the first desired recipient, wherein the first communication protocol is operable to carry the digital format of the first message;

transmit, at the selected first time, the first message to the respective desired recipient;

convert the first message to a second digital format; and

transmit the first message to the second desired recipient using a second communication protocol that is operable to carry the second digital format.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising instructions to generate, upon passage of a first amount of time, an updated context of the first message based, at least in part, on:

the content of the first message, the selection of the desired recipients, the digital format of the first message, and the passage of the first amount of time.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the instructions to apply the context further comprise instructions to evaluate:

a pattern of group communications including the respective desired recipient.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions to:

select, based, at least in part, on the application of the context, a second time to send the first message to the second desired recipient.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the instructions to analyze the content of the first message further comprise instructions to convert an audio or video message to a text message.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first time comprises a determined optimal time for the respective desired recipient to receive the first message, based on the predictive time-based data model.

21. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the instructions to transmit the first message to a second desired recipient are further configured to transmit the first message to the second desired recipient at the second time.