Patent Application
20100262921
The present invention relates to telecommunications in general, and, more particularly, to messaging systems.
In many communications systems (e.g., email systems, voice mail systems, etc.) the originator of a message (e.g., an email message, a Short Message Service (SMS) message, a voice mail message, etc.) can specify characteristics of the message such as a message subject, a message priority, one or more destinations for the message (e.g., an email address, a telephone number of a cell phone or smartphone, an Internet Protocol address, etc.), and so forth.
The present invention provides a mechanism by which the originator of a message can establish one or more mandatory characteristics for a response to the message. In particular, in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the originator of a message can specify a priority for responses to the message, and all responses to the message will automatically be forced to have that priority, without the ability of the responding user to change or override that priority. For example, a user might send a message that itself has no priority, but might also specify that any response to the message must have a high priority, and the mechanism of the illustrative embodiment will enforce this requirement when any recipient of the message composes a response. Similarly, a user might send a message that has a low priority and specify that any response to the message must have a high priority.
In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, the priority requirement is enforced by automatically setting the appropriate priority level in a graphical user interface (GUI) by which the recipient responds to the message, and making this portion of the GUI inactive so that the priority cannot be changed by the responding user. The illustrative embodiment of the present invention also enables the originator of a message to specify other mandatory characteristics for responses, including what telecommunications terminal(s) the response will be directed to (e.g., the originator's cell phone, the originator's personal computer, the originator's Blackberry®, etc.), and via what method(s) the response will be sent (e.g., via email, via a short message service [SMS] text message, via instant messaging [IM], etc.).
The illustrative embodiment comprises: receiving (i) a message that has no priority, and (ii) a priority P; and forcing any response to said message to have said priority P.
At task 110, user U1 composes a message M that has no priority, and specifies one or more of: a priority P, one or more terminals of user U1 (e.g., user U1's cell phone, user U1's personal computer, user U1's Blackberry®, etc.), and one or more methods of delivery (e.g., email, short message service [SMS] text message, instant messaging [IM], etc.), in well-known fashion.
At task 120, message M, along with the information specified at task 110, are transmitted to user U2, in well-known fashion.
At task 130, message M and the information specified at task 110 are received, in well-known fashion.
At task 140, user U2 initiates the process of composing a response to message M (e.g., clicking on a “reply” button in a graphical user interface [GUI], etc.), in well-known fashion.
At task 150, the response is forced to have priority P (if priority P was specified), to be directed to the specified terminal(s) of user U1 (if so specified), and to be designated for delivery in accordance with the specified method(s) (if so specified). As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, there are a variety of ways in which this forcing might be accomplished. In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, the appropriate priority level, destination terminal(s), and delivery method(s) are automatically set in a graphical user interface (GUI) by which the recipient responds to the message, and the pertinent portions of the GUI are rendered inactive so that the user cannot change any of this information. This particular approach is described below and with respect to
At task 160, the response is transmitted to the specified terminal(s) of user U1 in accordance with the specified delivery method(s), in well-known fashion.
At task 310, user U1 composes a message M that has priority P1, and specifies one or more of: a priority P2, one or more terminals of user U1 (e.g., user U1's cell phone, user U1's personal computer, user U1's Blackberry®, etc.), and one or more methods of delivery (e.g., email, short message service [SMS] text message, instant messaging [IM], etc.), in well-known fashion.
At task 320, message M, along with the information specified at task 310, are transmitted to user U2, in well-known fashion.
At task 330, message M and the information specified at task 310 are received, in well-known fashion.
At task 340, user U2 initiates the process of composing a response to message M (e.g., clicking on a “reply” button in a graphical user interface [GUI], etc.), in well-known fashion.
At task 350, the response is forced to have priority P2 (if priority P2 was specified), to be directed to the specified terminal(s) of user U1 (if so specified), and to be designated for delivery in accordance with the specified method(s) (if so specified). In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, this forcing is accomplished via the graphical user interface (GUI) mechanism described above and with respect to
At task 360, the response is transmitted to the specified terminal(s) of user U1 in accordance with the specified delivery method(s), in well-known fashion.
It is to be understood that the disclosure teaches just one example of the illustrative embodiment and that many variations of the invention can easily be devised by those skilled in the art after reading this disclosure and that the scope of the present invention is to be determined by the following claims.
