Systems and methods for remote access to a display-based bulletin board in a shared user environment

• US 6,968,362 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2001
• Issued: 11/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Koch, Robert A., Holt, Scott C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Edelman, Bradley
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHEA, PHILIP J
• Application Number:
  US10/029,149
• Publication Number:
  US 20050086305A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,425 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/204, 715/751, 715/753
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes

Abstract

An electronic bulletin board for use in a shared always-on environment wherein a user may manipulate messages from a remote location. The electronic bulletin board may be implemented via database and programming logic on an application server accessible from any network node, including wireless devices. The always-on environment may be set up on a computer or broadband internet appliance or other communications device. Remote users may perform operations such as updating an existing message, posting a new message, download messages, and the like. The bulletin board also supports shared messages designed for special purposes, for example, an electronic grocery list that is accessible from remote locations.

Claims

1. An electronic bulletin board display system comprising:

an application server configured to update a bulletin board display graphical user interface of a client computer that includes messages to different recipients by receiving and processing remote message manipulation instructions from one or more remote users, said instructions comprising a sender e-mail address, a recipient e-mail address pointing to the applications server, and a content for each message to be generated;

wherein said application server looks up the recipient e-mail address of each message in a customer database to find a bulletin board address of a client gateway associated with the recipient e-mail address where the client computer providing the bulletin board display graphical user interface resides behind the client gateway, and wherein said application server updates the bulletin board display graphical user interface of the client computer by generating messages based on the remote message manipulation instructions and sending the messages to the client gateway in communication with said communications center such that the client computer automatically and concurrently displays the content of a plurality of the generated messages in the bulletin board display graphical user interface.

2. The electronic bulletin board display system of claim 1, wherein the instruction further comprises a retrieval command and wherein, in response to the instruction, the application server instructs the communications center to send a copy of any data displayed thereon to the sender address.

3. The electronic bulletin board display system of claim 1, wherein the instruction further comprises a retrieval command and wherein, in response to the instruction, the application server instructs the communications center to send a subset of any data displayed thereon to the sender address.

4. The electronic bulletin board display system of claim 1, wherein the application server is further configured to store a copy of data displayed on the communications center.

5. The electronic bulletin board display system of claim 4, wherein the instruction further comprises a retrieval command and wherein, in response to the instruction, the application server sends the copy of data to the sender address.

6. The electronic bulletin board display system of claim 4, wherein the instruction further comprises a retrieval command and wherein, in response to the instruction, the application server sends a subset of the copy of data to the sender address.

7. The electronic bulletin board display system of claim 1, wherein the content of the instruction includes an audio clip.

8. The electronic bulletin board display system of claim 1, wherein the content of the instruction includes a video clip.

9. The electronic bulletin board display system of claim 1, wherein the content of the instruction includes an audio clip and a video clip.

10. The electronic bulletin board display system of claim 1, wherein bulletin board display on the communications center includes audio clips.

11. The electronic bulletin board display system of claim 1, wherein bulletin board display on the communications center includes video clips.

12. The electronic bulletin board display system of claim 1, wherein bulletin board display on the communications center includes audio clips and video clips.

13. A method of providing remote access to a shared always-on bulletin board system, said method comprising:

creating a customer database in communication with an application server on the application server side of a customer gateway containing at least an e-mail address of a recipient and a bulletin board address of the same recipient;

receiving a remote message manipulation instruction by the application server from a remote user, said instruction comprising a sender address, the recipient e-mail address and a content;

looking up the recipient e-mail address in the customer database;

mapping the recipient'"'"'s e-mail address to the recipient'"'"'s bulletin board address;

pushing automatically the remote message manipulation instruction to the customer'"'"'s gateway based on the recipient'"'"'s bulletin board address;

causing the shared always-on bulletin board system to display a message header and content according to the sender address, the recipient address and the content by sending an instruction to the customer'"'"'s gateway in communication with said bulletin board system, and wherein the bulletin board system concurrently displays additional message headers and contents including messages to different recipients.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the remote manipulation instruction further comprises a retrieval command.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising instructing the communications center to send data to the sender address.