Automatic notification of receipt of electronic mail (e-mail) via telephone system without requiring log-on to e-mail server

• US 5,944,786 A
• Filed: 12/04/1996
• Issued: 08/31/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Message Notification Technologies LLC (Empire IP LLC)
• Original Assignee: Ken Quinn
• Inventors: Quinn, Ken
• Primary Examiner(s): Barry, Lance Leonard
• Application Number:
  US08/767,130
• Time in Patent Office: 1,000 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.36, 395/680, 358/402, 379/89, 379/88.12, 379/88.13, 379/88.15, 379/93.24
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4536 Voicemail combined with text-based messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/537 Arrangements for indicating the presence of a recorded message , whereby the presence information might include a preview or summary of the message

Abstract

The automatic e-mail notification system provides for the automatic notification of an e-mail recipient of the presence of e-mail in the recipient'"'"'s e-mail box on a remote e-mail server. The automatic e-mail notification system comprises an e-mail server connected through a computer network to one or more computer systems for receiving e-mail from the computer systems. The e-mail server is also connected through the computer network to a mail notification server and a notification device at a recipient'"'"'s location. The notification device is activated and deactivated by a signal from the mail notification server. The e-mail server generates and sends a data signal containing a message received signal or a message retrieved signal to the mail notification server. The mail notification server in turn generates a notification signal which is sent using the subscriber'"'"'s phone number to the subscriber'"'"'s telephone node thereby activating or deactivating the notification device in response to a respective one of the message received or message retrieved signals. The mail notification server may be included as part of a telephone system voice messaging system. In this case the mail notification server controls the voice messaging system which generates and sends the notification signal.

Claims

1. An automatic electronic mail (e-mail) notification system for use with a computer based communications system and a telephone system, the commnunications system comprising:

a plurality of computers each having means for sending and receiving e-mail;

a network connecting the computers, the network including;

an e-mail server having means for receiving from the network e-mail messages addressed to selected recipients, and

means for storing each of the e-mail messages in an addressable mail box having a recipient identifier associated therewith;

the telephone system comprising;

a plurality of telephone nodes, each node having a respective subscriber identifier;

a voice messaging system having

a voice mail notification signal generator for generating a voice mail notification signal in response to the receipt of a voice mail message, and

signal transmitting means for sending the voice mail notification signal to the telephone node corresponding to a subscriber identifier associated with the voice mail message;

the e-mail notification system comprising;

a recipient--subscriber correlator for correlating the recipient identifier of an e-mail message with a respective subscriber identifier;

an e-mail notification signal generator responsive to the receipt of an e-mail message by the e-mail server for actuating the voice mail system to send an e-mail notification signal the telephone node corresponding to the respective subscriber identifier; and

notification means connected to each of the telephone nodes for notifying the recipient of the receipt of the e-mail by the e-mail server in response to receipt of the e-mail notification signal.

2. An automatic electronic mail notification system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the e-mail notification signal generator comprises an e-mail received signal generator for generating an e-mail received data signal in response to receipt of an e-mail message by the e-mail server and an e-mail retrieved data signal in response to retrieval of an e-mail message from the e-mail server.

3. An automatic electronic mail notification system in accordance with claim 2 wherein the e-mail received data signal includes the recipient identifier.

4. An automatic electronic mail notification system in accordance with claim 3 wherein the telephone messaging system includes the recipient--subscriber correlator.

5. An automatic electronic mail notification system in accordance with claim 2 wherein the e-mail server includes the recipient--subscriber correlator.

6. An automatic electronic mail notification system in accordance with claim 5 wherein each of the e-mail received data signal and the e-mail retrieved data signal includes the subscriber identifier.

7. An automatic electronic mail notification system in accordance with claim 2 wherein;

the voice messaging system generates a notification means activation signal in response to receipt of an e-mail received signal; and

the voice messaging system generates a notification means deactivation signal in response to receipt of an e-mail retrieved signal.

8. An automatic electronic mail notification system in accordance with claim 1 wherein each subscriber identifier comprises a respective subscriber telephone number.

9. An automatic electronic mail notification system in accordance with claim 1 including an e-mail message communicator for communicating the e-mail message with the e-mail notification signal to the notification means.

10. An automatic electronic mail notification system in accordance with claim 9 wherein the notification means include display means for displaying the e-mail message.