Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Computer conferencing – Demand based messaging
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-04
2004-11-16
Lim, Krisna (Department: 2153)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Computer conferencing
Demand based messaging
C709S207000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06820113
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to electronic mail systems and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for prioritized delivery of electronic mail messages.
B. Description of the Related Art
The past several years have seen a dramatic shift in methods of communicating information. In the past, the only way of communicating information was via standard mail delivery of handwritten or typed documents. With the advent of the telephone and telegraph, it became possible to convey voice signals and information electrically. Recently, electronic communication has become a rapidly increasing way of conveying information—especially because of widely available access to the Internet. People now exchange electronic mail (“email”) addresses concurrently with telephone numbers, and many major businesses provide access to information and services on the Internet via sites on the World Wide Web.
Because of the rapid pace of development in this field, however, the evolution has not been completely seamless. Although it is now possible to communicate audio/visual information electronically, it is certainly not easy to do so. Simply to send and receive email, a user initially must purchase a computer system, configure all of its component parts to interoperate, learn the operating system for the computer, contract with an Internet service provider, and learn how to use the application software for email. If a user wants to send audio-visual information such as a picture, video sequence or audio, the user is forced to purchase even more hardware and learn even more software.
A conventional computer system is shown in
FIG. 1. A
computer system
100
is used to compose and transmit email, generally by dial-up telephone connection, to an Internet service provider (ISP)
180
. ISP
180
contains a mail server
190
, which is responsible for receiving email and routing it to the appropriate destination address.
Computer system
100
consists of a computer
130
, to which are attached several accessories. Computer
130
may be any conventional home or business computer such as a personal computer (PC), a Macintosh, a network computer, or a Sun Workstation. The user interface to computer
130
includes a keyboard
140
, some type of pointing device such as a mouse
150
, and a display screen
120
. In addition to a user interface, computer system
100
may also contain an offline storage device
110
for storing messages to be sent and messages that have been received. Typical offline storage devices include a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, or a tape unit. A typical computer system
100
also contains a modem
160
which is employed to send or receive messages between computer system
100
and ISP
180
.
To send a email message, a user enters a message into computer
130
via keyboard
140
and/or mouse
150
. This email message may or may not then be stored on offline storage device
110
. The email message is then transmitted from computer
130
to ISP
180
via modem
160
. Upon receiving the message, mail server
190
, within ISP
180
, forwards the message to the appropriate destination. In this manner, a user of computer system
100
may transmit a email message to any user that is connected to ISP
180
, either directly or indirectly via the Internet.
A user desiring to transmit an email message containing audio-visual information must further employ an audio-video input interface
170
. To this interface
170
a user may attach an audio-visual source such as, for example, a video cassette recorder (VCR) or a camcorder. To transmit an audio-visual email message, audio-visual information is transferred from the audio-visual source to computer
130
via interface
170
, and converted to an appropriate format such as MPEG. This information may or may not be stored offline on storage device
110
. The information is then composed into an email message and is transmitted from computer
130
to ISP
180
via modem
160
. Mail server
190
of ISP
180
forwards it to the appropriate destination.
As the preceding explanation demonstrates, composing and transmitting an email message on a conventional computer system requires numerous hardware components and significant user sophistication. This complexity creates a barrier to entry that prevents many individuals from participating in the information age.
Recent developments have sought to address the problem noted above. Companies now provide a service that allows an individual to purchase a relatively inexpensive “set-top box,” which is connected to a television receiver to access the Internet. As a result, individuals now have somewhat easier access to the Internet and a simpler way of sending and receiving email.
A representative example of such a set-top system is shown in
FIG. 2
, and is commercially available from WebTV. Such a system consists of a set-top box
220
which is connected to a conventional television receiver
200
. Also attached to television receiver
200
may be a video signal source
210
such as, for example, a VCR or a camcorder.
A user of such a system may compose a email message by using remote control
230
in conjunction with set-top box
220
. This may be accomplished by using a wireless keyboard (not shown). Alternatively, set-top box
220
may generate a display of the alphabet, which is shown on television receiver
200
. By employing remote control
230
, the user selects individual letters of the displayed alphabet to compose words, phrases, or sentences. During this composition, the email message being created is stored in a memory of set-top box
220
. Once the message has been fully created, it is transmitted from set-top box
220
to a WebTV system
240
. This transmission is performed using a conventional modem and dial-up telephone lines. Once the message reaches WebTV system
240
, a WebTV mail server
250
forwards the message to the appropriate destination.
Problems remain, however, despite the availability of such set-top systems. Neither a set-top system nor a computer system contains a robust email management system designed with home users in mind. For example, although these systems provide a way to send and receive text information, they do not allow the user to manipulate audio-visual information. Moreover, neither the computer system nor the set-top system provides users with the ability to specify a priority or a delivery time frame for transmitted email messages. For example, a user cannot specify that a message must be delivered within one hour.
There exists, therefore, a need for a versatile but simple form of electronic communication that is readily accessible to the general public. To provide versatility, the system should accommodate text, audio, video, and a robust email system; it should also employ an open architecture so that individuals may use whatever Internet service provider they prefer. To provide simplicity, the system should be integrated, rather than having multiple components that its user needs to purchase separately and then assemble together; it should also employ familiar hardware that requires simple commands.
The present invention helps to satisfy this need and solve the problem of providing a simple but versatile form of electronic communication. It provides methods and apparatus that allow its users to manipulate, send, and receive audio/visual information easily by using familiar devices such as an interactive receiver and a remote control device. In particular, the present invention is directed to methods and apparatus for prioritized delivery of electronic mail messages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Consistent with the invention, one method for providing prioritized delivery of an email message comprises receiving an indication of a delivery time frame for the email message. Based on the indicated delivery time frame, the method also includes determining a time frame for delivery of the email message and selecting procedures sufficient for delivering the email message within the determined time frame.
Cons
Hsu P. Robert
Wang David Shan-Ming
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
Lim Krisna
Sony Corporation
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