Automated message handling system

• US 20060013367A1
• Filed: 05/17/2005
• Published: 01/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: MCI Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: King, Ronnie D. Jr., Raffaele, Herbert T., Srinivasan, Gopinath, Sawyer, David B., LaCourse, Richard L., Brusseau, Jon P., Bice, Richard S.
• Granted Patent: US 8,700,781 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/88.10
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding

Abstract

A method for processing an incoming message in substantially real-time is provided. The method may include receiving the incoming message in response to a condition associated with a client device. The incoming message may be processed using a message handler and an approved rule. The approved rule may be operatively associated with an approved message structure that is compatible with a backend system. The processed message may be provided to the backend system in the approved message structure. The method may also include sending a reply message to a destination.

Claims

1. A system for handling messages, the system comprising:

a schema module configured to;

provide a first message handling rule based on a first schema and a second message handling rule based on a second schema, the first message handling rule facilitating translation of an incoming message including incoming information and the second message handling rule facilitating making a backend message available to a backend device; and

a message handler including a processor configured to;

receive the incoming message,

translate the incoming message using the first message handling rule to extract the incoming information, and

publish the incoming information using the second message handling rule.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the incoming message comprises:

an externally generated service request associated with a sender.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive a message from the backend device when the service request has been processed, and

notify the sender that the service request has been processed.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first message handling rule uses a first extensible markup language (XML) compliant document type definition (DTD) and the second message handling rule uses a second XML compliant DTD.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the first XML compliant DTD and the second XML compliant DTD are substantially the same.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first schema is externally defined and the second schema is internally defined.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

validate the incoming message using the first message handling rule prior to publishing the incoming information.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the incoming message is received from a client device via a persistent connection.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the backend device is part of a backend system including an application server.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the backend message is made available to the backend device via a software agent operating in association with the backend device.

11. A method for processing an incoming message in substantially real-time, the method comprising:

receiving the incoming message in response to a condition associated with a client device;

processing the incoming message using a message handler and an approved rule, the approved rule being associated with an approved message structure compatible with a backend system;

providing the processed message to the backend system in the approved message structure; and

sending a reply message to a destination.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the processing further comprises:

translating the incoming message using the approved rule to produce a translated message;

extracting information from the translated message to produce extracted information; and

associating the extracted information with the approved message structure.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving a response from the backend system when the backend system has performed an action in response to operating on the extracted information; and

using information in the response to produce the reply message, the reply message informing the destination about the action.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the processing further comprises:

operating on the incoming message using a client-defined rule;

extracting client information from the incoming message using the client-defined rule;

transforming the client information into approved client information using the approved rule; and

including the approved client information in the processed message.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the destination comprises at least one of the client device, a third party, a help desk, a service ticket manager, a customer, or an application server.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the destination operates on an external network with a third party device to facilitate a business transaction.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the condition comprises at least one of a hardware problem, a software problem, an upgrade request, a maintenance request, a new service request, an account inquiry, a help desk inquiry, a status inquiry, or a request for information.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the approved rule is extensible markup language (XML) compatible.

19. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

validating the incoming message prior to the processing.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the validating includes at least one of determining if the client device is authorized to send the incoming message, determining if information included in the incoming message is valid, determining if a format of the incoming message is valid, determining if the message handler is authorized to process the incoming message, determining if the client device is associated with a valid account, determining if a message structure is valid, or determining if the backend system is authorized to receive the processed message.

21. A message handler for automatically processing an incoming message including client information and client data received from a sender over a network, the message handler comprising:

a network interface configured to;

accept the incoming message,

generate a reply message, and

forward a backend message;

a validator configured to;

validate the incoming message to determine if the sender is authorized, and

determine if the client information and the client data are valid;

a translator configured to;

translate the incoming message using a client schema, the client schema being used to parse the incoming message to facilitate extraction of the client information and the client data; and

a publisher configured to;

provide the backend message to the network interface in a format compliant with a backend schema, the backend message including valid client information and valid client data.

22. The message handler of claim 21, wherein the client schema is operatively associated with a schema database.

23. The message handler of claim 21, wherein the publisher is further configured to:

send the backend message to a database accessible to a backend device associated with operating on the valid client data.

24. The message handler of claim 21, wherein the translator includes a first translator portion residing on the message handler and a second translator portion residing on a backend device operatively coupled to the backend network.

25. The message handler of claim 24, wherein the second translator portion is implemented as an agent operatively coupled to the backend device.

26. The message handler of claim 21, wherein the translator is further configured to:

translate the reply message into a format compatible with the sender.

27. The message handler of claim 21, wherein the sender is a client device associated with a user that has a business relationship with a backend device operating on a backend network.

28. The message handler of claim 21, wherein the incoming message and the reply message comply with a markup language syntax.

29. A system for processing an incoming message having an incoming format and received over an external network, the system comprising:

means for receiving the incoming message via a network interface;

means for accessing a schema associated with the incoming format;

means for parsing the incoming format to extract incoming information from the incoming message;

means for translating the incoming format into an outgoing format for use with a backend device using the schema, the means for translating converting the incoming information into the outgoing format; and

means for publishing an outgoing message including the incoming information in the outgoing format, the means for publishing making the outgoing message available to the backend device for processing.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the incoming format and the outgoing format are compatible with a markup language syntax.