Patent Grant
9785618
The present disclosure relates to the field of computers, and specifically to the use of computers used in electronic mail (e-mail). Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to managing received e-mails.
Electronic mail (e-mail) is a system of sending messages from a sender to a recipient, thus allowing persons to communicate electronically over a network such as the Internet. E-mail provides an advantage over other forms of communication in that the sender does not have to be at his/her computer when the e-mail is sent. Rather, e-mail messages are stored on e-mail servers, and then delivered to an “inbox” of an e-mail program being used by the addressee/recipient of the e-mail.
E-mails are sent to a specific address of the intended recipient, typically in the format of “Recipient Name @ domain name”. However, e-mail addresses are often shared, wittingly or unwittingly, with very large numbers of e-mail users. This often results in a user's e-mail “inbox” being filled with an unmanageable number of e-mails, including important e-mails that are often overlooked by the recipient.
A method, system, and/or computer program product manages electronic mail (e-mail). An e-mail Graphical User Interface (GUI) depicting photos of e-mail users is generated, such that the photos in the e-mail GUI depict e-mail users, and wherein the e-mail GUI is displayed to a system user. A visual cue is appended to at least one photo in the e-mail GUI, wherein the visual cue describes how many e-mails between a photo-depicted e-mail user and the system are unread.
The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computer program product. The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.
The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire.
Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device.
Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.
Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions.
These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
With reference now to the figures, and in particular to
Exemplary computer 102 includes a processor 104 that is coupled to a system bus 106. Processor 104 may utilize one or more processors, each of which has one or more processor cores. A video adapter 108, which drives/supports a display 110, is also coupled to system bus 106. System bus 106 is coupled via a bus bridge 112 to an input/output (I/O) bus 114. An I/O interface 116 is coupled to I/O bus 114. I/O interface 116 affords communication with various I/O devices, including a keyboard 118, a mouse 120, a media tray 122 (which may include storage devices such as CD-ROM drives, multi-media interfaces, etc.), a printer 124, and external USB port(s) 126. While the format of the ports connected to I/O interface 116 may be any known to those skilled in the art of computer architecture, in one embodiment some or all of these ports are universal serial bus (USB) ports.
As depicted, computer 102 is able to communicate with a software deploying server 150, using a network interface 130. Network interface 130 is a hardware network interface, such as a network interface card (NIC), etc. Network 128 may be an external network such as the Internet, or an internal network such as an Ethernet or a virtual private network (VPN).
A hard drive interface 132 is also coupled to system bus 106. Hard drive interface 132 interfaces with a hard drive 134. In one embodiment, hard drive 134 populates a system memory 136, which is also coupled to system bus 106. System memory is defined as a lowest level of volatile memory in computer 102. This volatile memory includes additional higher levels of volatile memory (not shown), including, but not limited to, cache memory, registers and buffers. Data that populates system memory 136 includes computer 102's operating system (OS) 138 and application programs 144.
OS 138 includes a shell 140, for providing transparent user access to resources such as application programs 144. Generally, shell 140 is a program that provides an interpreter and an interface between the user and the operating system. More specifically, shell 140 executes commands that are entered into a command line user interface or from a file. Thus, shell 140, also called a command processor, is generally the highest level of the operating system software hierarchy and serves as a command interpreter. The shell provides a system prompt, interprets commands entered by keyboard, mouse, or other user input media, and sends the interpreted command(s) to the appropriate lower levels of the operating system (e.g., a kernel 142) for processing. Note that while shell 140 is a text-based, line-oriented user interface, the present invention will equally well support other user interface modes, such as graphical, voice, gestural, etc.
As depicted, OS 138 also includes kernel 142, which includes lower levels of functionality for OS 138, including providing essential services required by other parts of OS 138 and application programs 144, including memory management, process and task management, disk management, and mouse and keyboard management.
Application programs 144 include a renderer, shown in exemplary manner as a browser 146. Browser 146 includes program modules and instructions enabling a world wide web (WWW) client (i.e., computer 102) to send and receive network messages to the Internet using hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) messaging, thus enabling communication with software deploying server 150 and other computer systems.
Application programs 144 in computer 102's system memory (as well as software deploying server 150's system memory) also include a Photo Based E-mail Management Logic (PBEML) 148. PBEML 148 includes code for implementing the processes described below, including those described in
Note that the hardware elements depicted in computer 102 are not intended to be exhaustive, but rather are representative to highlight essential components required by the present invention. For instance, computer 102 may include alternate memory storage devices such as magnetic cassettes, digital versatile disks (DVDs), Bernoulli cartridges, and the like. These and other variations are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Note also that computer 102 and/or other computer(s) 152 also include an e-mail program (not depicted), which enables computer 102 and other computer(s) 152 to exchange e-mail messages. In one embodiment, a system user (i.e., a person who is using an e-mail GUI such as that depicted in
With reference now to
E-mail GUI 300 includes one or more areas (i.e., panes), such as the depicted configured area 302 and the unconfigured area 304. In both the configured area 302 and the unconfigured area 304 are multiple photos of e-mail users. However, in the configured area 302, the photos are arranged according to the role/relationship of the persons depicted in the photos. As illustrated in exemplary manner, some of the persons in the photos are executives of an enterprise that employs a person (i.e., the “system user”) to whom the e-mail GUI 300 is being presented, while other persons in the photos are the managers of that person, and other persons in the photos are members of that person's community (e.g., social network). Within the unconfigured area 304 are photos of persons whose role/relationship to the system user are undefined, at least on the e-mail GUI 300.
Returning to
The “high importance” e-mails are those that have been predefined/predetermined to be of “high importance”. In one embodiment, such “high importance” e-mails are indicated as such by a flag, color coding, etc. that indicates to the user that the e-mail has been designated, by the sender and/or an e-mail system, as having been classified as possessing a level of significance/importance that exceeds some predefined threshold. A normal “To” e-mail is an e-mail that 1) has not been flagged as “high importance”, but 2) has been sent via the “To” field (i.e., in the field reserved for primary addressees of the e-mail) of an e-mail program. A normal “CC” (or “BCC”) e-mail is an e-mail that 1) has not been flagged as “high importance”, but 2) has been sent via the “CC” field or “BCC” field (i.e., in the field reserved for recipients who are not primary addressees of the e-mail) of an e-mail program.
Thus, in one embodiment of the present invention a first visual cue (e.g., visual cue 330 shown in
Again, note that in one embodiment, the unread e-mails have been sent from the person depicted in the photo to a system user who is using/viewing the e-mail GUI 300. In one embodiment, the unread e-mails have been sent from a system user who is using/viewing the e-mail GUI 300 to the person depicted in the photo. In one embodiment, the unread e-mails are a combination of unread e-mails that have been sent from the person depicted in the photo to a system user who is using/viewing the e-mail GUI 300 plus unread e-mails have been sent from the system user who is using/viewing the e-mail GUI 300 to the person depicted in the photo.
Note further in
As depicted by pop-up window 316 in
Returning now to
In
Similarly, there is a history of moderate e-mail traffic (e.g., 3 e-mails per day) between system user 402 and the person depicted in photo 308. Thus, line 406 is longer than line 404, indicating that the system user 402 has fewer e-mails per unit of time with the person in photo 308 than with the person in photo 306. Likewise, there is a history of light e-mail traffic (e.g., less than 2 e-mails per week) between system user 402 and the person depicted in photo 310. Thus, line 408 is longer than line 406, indicating that the system user 402 has even fewer e-mails with the person in photo 310 than with the person in photo 308, and thus there is an even more distant relationship between the system user 402 and the person depicted in photo 310. Note that in one embodiment, the sizes of the photos 308 and 310 are also adjusted (e.g., made proportionally smaller) according to the frequency of e-mails with system user 402.
The graphical representation of e-mail exchange frequency with different parties shown in
Returning again to
While the photos shown in
In one embodiment, the resized photos (501, 503, 505, 507, 509) depicted in
Returning now to
For example, consider now
Similarly, a second timeline 604 depicts photos of persons who sent e-mails (via a “To” field) to the system user (i.e., the person who is viewing the timeline 604 and/or the e-mail GUI 300 in
Similarly, a third timeline 606 depicts photos of persons who sent e-mails (via a “CC” field) to the system user (i.e., the person who is viewing the timeline 604 and/or the e-mail GUI 300 in
Note that in
Returning to
Note that any methods described in the present disclosure may be implemented through the use of a VHDL (VHSIC Hardware Description Language) program and a VHDL chip. VHDL is an exemplary design-entry language for Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), and other similar electronic devices. Thus, any software-implemented method described herein may be emulated by a hardware-based VHDL program, which is then applied to a VHDL chip, such as a FPGA.
Having thus described embodiments of the present invention of the present application in detail and by reference to illustrative embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention defined in the appended claims.
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