Recipient address masking in computer communications

• US 8,838,698 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2001
• Issued: 09/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ally, Afshan, Roy-Diclemente, Michael S., Tjong, Anthony L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Survillo, Oleg
• Assistant Examiner(s): AILES, BENJAMIN A
• Application Number:
  US10/011,649
• Publication Number:
  US 20030105823A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,670 Days
• Field of Search: 709200-206, 709219-225, 709229-332
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32416 Storage of instructions or retrieval of prestored instructions

Abstract

A messaging system for masking addresses from sending processes. The messaging system maintains a message service profile and a service-address profile. The messaging system accesses recipient data. Sending processes are able to send messages to the messaging system in a form such that each message has an message type and list of recipients. The messaging system is able to determine which of a set of sending services is to be used to send the message, based on the message-service profile. The service-address profile stores information about where in the structure of recipient data the appropriate address for the selected service is located. The addresses corresponding to the named recipients, for the services determined by the messaging system, can be retrieved by from recipient data. The message system can then provide the recipient address to the appropriate sending services to send the message.

Claims

1. A method for delivering a message from a sending process to defined recipients using one or more of a set of specified sending services, the method comprising the steps of:

a) obtaining the message, and a set of recipient identifiers corresponding to the defined recipient, from the sending process, recipient addresses for the message masked from said sender process;

b) specifying one or more of a set of sending services to be used to send the message in a message service profile, the message service profile defining particular methods of delivery corresponding to obtained messages and associated recipient identifiers, wherein the particular methods of delivery include at least one of a fax service and an e-mail service;

c) determining based on the information provided about each sending service as which sending services is most appropriate for a recipient;

d) retrieving from a set of recipient data, a recipient address for each recipient identifier, specified sending service pair, the message service profile being inaccessible to the sending process;

e) passing the message, recipient identifier and corresponding retrieved recipient address to each of the specified sending services for delivery; and

f) adding one or more new sending services to the set of sending services, the new sending services providing additional methods of delivery for the sending process without reconfiguring the sender process.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the step of specifying comprises performing a message-service profile look-up based on a defined message type, the message-service profile being defined to associate message types with sending services.

3. The method of claim 1 in which the step of retrieving from a set of recipient data a recipient address comprises performing a service-address profile look-up for each specified sending service, the service-address profile being defined to link each sending service to a subset of address data in the set of recipient data.

4. A system for use in association with a set of sending services, the sending services including a plurality of methods of delivery, wherein the plurality of methods of delivery includes at least one of a fax service and an e-mail service, the system comprising:

a memory;

a processor coupled to said memory configured to execute;

a sender process generating a message and associated set of recipient identifiers, recipient addresses and method of delivery for the message masked from said sender process;

a messaging system accepting the message and associated set of recipient identifiers from the sender process through a communication path and delivering the message to a recipient;

the messaging system including a message-service profile;

the message service profile having a list of available sending services and associated information and preferences about each sending service so that the messaging system can determine which sending service is appropriate to be used for the recipient;

the preferences including message urgency and methods of delivery corresponding to the accepted message and the associated set of recipient identifiers;

the messaging system including a computer retrieving from a set of recipient identifiers and recipient addresses, those recipient addresses corresponding to the set of recipient identifiers and corresponding to the specified sending services; and

wherein the messaging system passes the message to the specified sending services for delivery to the retrieved recipient addresses, wherein the message service profile in the messaging system is not accessible to the sender process, and one or more new sending services are added to the set of sending services, the new sending services providing additional methods of delivery for the sending process without reconfiguring the sender process.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the messaging system further comprises a service-address profile for linking a given sending service to a corresponding subset of recipient addresses in the set of recipient identifiers and recipient addresses.

6. The system of claim 5 in which the set of recipient identifiers and recipient addresses is maintained in a relational data base table and in which the service-address profile defines in which field in the table recipient addresses corresponding to each of the set of sending services are located.

7. The system of claim 4 in which the message has an associated message type and in which the message-service profile specifies the sending services based on the message type.

8. The system of claim 7 further comprising an administrator to create and maintain the message-service profile, the administrator enabling a recipient, but not the sender process, to create new sending services.

9. The messaging system of claim 8 wherein the administrator is accessible to the recipient but not to the sender process, the administrator being controllable by the recipient to modify the message service profile.

10. The system of claim 4, wherein the messaging system further includes a computer retrieving a plurality recipient addresses from a single recipient identifier.

11. The system of claim 4, wherein the messaging system includes a service address profile for determining the recipient address.

12. A computer program product for messaging, the computer program product comprising a tangible and non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable code embodied in said medium, and comprising computer readable program code for implementing a system for use in association with a set of sending services, the system comprising;

a sender process for generating a message and associated set of recipient identifiers, recipient addresses for the message masked from said sender process, and said message not including a method of delivery;

a messaging system for accepting the message and associated set of recipient identifiers from the sender process through a communication path and delivering the message to a recipient;

the messaging system including a message-service profile comprising a computer means for specifying one or more of the set of sending services defining particular methods of delivery corresponding to the accepted message and the associated set of recipient identifiers, wherein the methods of delivery include at least one of a fax service and an e-mail service;

the message-service profile having a list of available sending services and associated information about each sending service so that the messaging system can determine which sending service is appropriate to be used for the recipient;

the information including message urgency;

the messaging system including a computer means for retrieving from a set of recipient identifiers and recipient addresses, those recipient addresses corresponding to the set of recipient identifiers and corresponding to the specified sending services; and

wherein the messaging system passes the message to the specified sending services for delivery to the retrieved recipient addresses, wherein the message service profile in the messaging system is not accessible to the sender process, and one or more new sending services are added to the set of sending services, the new sending services providing additional methods of delivery for the sending process without reconfiguring the sender process; and

a computer means for enabling a recipient to modify the message-service profile without modifying the sender process.

13. The program product of claim 12 wherein said storage medium is a tangible recordable data storage medium.

14. A computer program product comprising a tangible and non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable code embodied in said medium, the computer readable program code carrying out a method for delivering a message from a sending process to defined recipients using one or more of a set of specified sending services, the method comprising the steps of:

obtaining the message, and a set of recipient identifiers corresponding to the defined recipient, from the sending process, recipient addresses for the message masked from said sender process;

specifying one or more of a set of sending services to be used to send the message in a message service profile, the message service profile defining particular methods of delivery corresponding to obtained messages and associated recipient identifiers, wherein the particular methods of delivery include at least one of a fax service and an e-mail service;

determining based on the information provided about each sending service as which sending services is most appropriate for a recipient;

retrieving from a set of recipient data, a recipient address for each recipient identifier, specified sending service pair, the message service profile being inaccessible to the sending process;

passing the message, recipient identifier and corresponding retrieved recipient address to each of the specified sending services for delivery; and

adding one or more new sending services to the set of sending services, the new sending services providing additional methods of delivery for the sending process without reconfiguring the sender process.

15. A system for use in association with a set of sending services, the system comprising:

a memory;

a processor coupled to said memory configured to execute;

a sender process generating a message and associated set of recipient identifiers, recipient addresses for the message masked from said sender process;

a messaging system accepting a message having an associated message type and an associated set of recipient identifiers from the sender process and delivering the message to a recipient;

the messaging system including a message-service profile specifying one or more of the set of sending services defining particular methods of delivery based on the accepted message and the associated set of recipient identifiers, wherein the particular methods of delivery include at least one of a fax service and an e-mail service;

the messaging system including a service-address profile for linking a given sending service to a corresponding subset of recipient addresses in the set of recipient identifiers and recipient addresses;

the messaging system including a computer retrieving, from a set of recipient identifiers and recipient addresses, those recipient addresses corresponding to the set of recipient identifiers and corresponding to the specified sending services, the set of recipient identifiers and recipient addresses being maintained in a relational database table and the service-address profile defining in which field in the table recipient addresses corresponding to each of the set of sending services are located;

wherein the messaging system passes the message to the message-service determining an appropriate sending service to be used for a recipient based on information about sending services available specified by sending services for delivery to the retrieved recipient addresses, wherein the message-service profile and the service-address profile are not accessible to the sender process, and one or more new sending services are added to the set of sending services, the new sending services providing additional methods of delivery for the sending process without reconfiguring the sender process; and

a computer enabling a recipient to modify the message service profile.

16. A system for masking recipient addresses from a sender, the system comprising:

a memory;

a processor coupled to said memory configured to execute;

a messaging system accepting a message and associated recipient identifiers from the sender and delivering the message to a recipient, the message not containing information relating to the method for delivering the message, wherein the method or delivering the message includes at least one of a fax service and an e-mail service;

the messaging system including a recipient profile containing sending services and recipient addresses for use in delivering the message;

wherein the recipient profile and type of message is used by the messaging system to determine a message system delivery system;

a computer forwarding the message to the sending service for delivery to the recipient address; and

a computer masking the recipient profile and addresses so that they are inaccessible to the sender;

wherein one or more new sending services are added, the new sending services providing additional methods of delivery for the computer means for forwarding the message without reconfiguring the computer means for forwarding the message.