System and method for providing enhanced persistent communications

• US 7,188,140 B1
• Filed: 03/13/2002
• Issued: 03/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TAO Technologies LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Greenspan, Steven L., Nardi, Bonnie A., Whittaker, Stephen
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, THU HA T
• Application Number:
  US10/096,978
• Time in Patent Office: 1,819 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/203, 709204-207, 345/753, 714/15, 707/1, 707/3, 707/9, 715/733, 715758-759
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/02 using automatic reactions or user delegation, e.g. automatic replies or chatbot-generated messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A system and method for providing persistent communications between users is disclosed whereby users can communicate in a real time fashion and/or in an offline or asynchronous manner within a persistent communications session without having to initiate a new session each time a user logs off or onto the communications session.

Claims

1. A method for providing persistent communications, the method comprising:

via a session manager, the session manager comprising a repository, the repository containing therein instant messaging aliases and user IP addresses;

providing a persistent communication session for one or more online communications originating from at least one message sender and destined for at least one message recipient, the persistent communication session not comprising any voice communication, the persistent communication session not comprising text to speech applications; and

providing access to the persistent communication session on a persistent basis, the session manager adapted to allow the at least one message sender and the at least one message recipient to independently access the persistent communication session without the persistent communication session restarting, the session manager adapted to maintain the persistent communication session in a static condition when no communications are received, the session manager adapted to update the persistent communication session on a real-time basis when communications are received and the at least one message sender and the at least one message recipient are online, the session manager adapted to continue the persistent communication session without restarting when no sender and no recipient are online, the session manager adapted to provide the at least one message sender and the at least one message recipient with a representation of past activity of the persistent communication session upon access to the persistent communication session, wherein the persistent communication session comprises a plurality of frames, the plurality of frames comprising a message frame, an attachment frame, and a doodling frame.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein an alert is provided to the at least one message recipient when a message is received from the at least one message sender.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving one or more communications from the at least one message sender.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving one or more replies from the at least one message recipient.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of frames are adjoining.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the doodling frame is adapted to receive scribbling.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein communications are received in a first format and then stored in a second format.

8. A method comprising:

via a session manager, the session manager comprising a repository, the repository containing therein instant messaging aliases and user IP addresses;

providing an always active communication session receptive to both online and offline communications, the always active communication session not comprising any voice communication, the always active communication session not comprising text to speech applications; and

administering the always active communication session by updating communications within the always active communication session regardless of an online or offline status of one or more communication participants, the session manager adapted to maintain the always active communication session in an always active configuration regardless of the online or offline status of the communication participants, the session manager adapted to continue the always active communication session without restarting when none of the communication participants are online, the session manager adapted to provide the communication participants with a representation of past activity of the always active communication session upon access to the always active communication session, the session manager adapted to provide the always active communication session via a plurality of frames, the plurality of frames comprising a message frame, an attachment frame, and a doodling frame.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving communications from one or more communication participants.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the communication session is provided within a plurality of communication frames.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein at least one of the frames contains message attachments.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein at least one of the frames contains a representation of a prior history of communications.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein communications for offline participants are posted to the session as if an offline participant was online.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the communications session is provided via a persistent socket connection.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein communication session is associated with a persistent URL.