EP0785661A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Message retrieval via alternative access
Assignee: AT&T Inc
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Filing: 1997-01-07
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2017-01-07
Abstract
Abstract A multi-media messaging system (106) provides multi-media message access capability to non-subscriber message recipients (126) who lack multi-media message-reception capability. When a message originator (100) who is a subscriber requests a message to be sent to a recipient's address, the messaging system determines whether the recipient is able to receive at this address all of the media in which the message is expressed. If not, the messaging system saves the message for the recipient, assigns an identifier/password to the message, and creates a substitute message containing any components of the original message that are expressed in media which the recipient is able to receive at the address, along with the password and instructions on how to log into the sending messaging system. The messaging system then sends this substitute message to the recipient's address. When the recipient follows the instructions and logs into the sending messaging system with the password, the messaging system allows the recipient to access only the original message. Following this access, or if the access is not made within a predetermined time period, the messaging system deletes the original message.
Inventors
- 👤 Gordon Richards Brunson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 16:14
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L51/00; H04L51/06; H04L51/063; H04L65/00; H04L65/1066; H04L65/1101; H04L65/1108; H04L67/00; H04L67/50; H04L67/56; H04L67/568; H04L9/00; H04L9/40; H04M; H04M3/00; H04M3/42; H04M3/50; H04M3/53; H04M3/5307; H04L51/21; H04L51/224
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
173 words
A messaging system (106) comprising a memory (109) for storing a message, and means (108:112) responsive to a request from a message sender to send the message to a message recipient, for sending the message, CHARACTERISED BY means (108:200-202) responsive to the request from the message sender to send the message to the message recipient, for determining whether the message recipient is able to receive the message; means (108:204) responsive to a determination that the message recipient is able to receive the message, for sending the message from the messaging system to the recipient; means (108:206-226) responsive to a determination that the message recipient is not able to receive the message, for sending to the recipient a notification of the message along with an identifier of the message in the messaging system; and means (108:300-310) responsive to the message recipient accessing the messaging system and providing the identifier to the messaging system, for providing the message recipient with access to the message that is stored in the memory and identified by the identifier.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
41 words
The messaging system of claim 1 wherein: the means for providing the message recipient with access respond (300) to the message recipient logging into the messaging system with the identifier, by providing (302) the message recipient with access to the message.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
109 words
The messaging system of claim 1 wherein: the messaging system is a multi-media messaging system; the message comprises one or more message components each expressed in a different medium; the means for determining comprise means (108:211-212) for determining whether the message recipient is able to receive all of the message components of the message; and the means for sending to the recipient a notification comprise means (108:212-226) responsive to a determination that the message recipient is not able to receive all of the message components of the message, for sending to the message recipient those message components that the message recipient is able to receive along with the identifier.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
130 words
The messaging system of claim 1 wherein: the messaging system is a multi-media messaging system; the message comprises one or more message components each expressed in a different medium; the means for determining comprise means (108:211-212) responsive to a request from the message sender to send the message to an address of the message recipient, for determining whether the message recipient is able to receive all of the message components of the message at the address; and the means for sending to the recipient a notification comprise means (108:214-226) responsive to a lack of determination that the message recipient is able to receive all of the message components of the message at the address, for sending to the address at least a portion of the message along with the identifier.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
140 words
A multi-media messaging system (106) comprising a memory (109) for storing a message comprising one or more message components each expressed in a different medium, and means (108:112) responsive to a request from a message sender to send the message to a message recipient, for sending the message, CHARACTERISED BY means (108:200-226) responsive to the request from the message sender to send the message to an address of the message recipient, for sending instead to the address a notification of the message along with an identifier of the message in the multi-media messaging system; and means (108:300-302) responsive to the message recipient logging into the multi-media messaging system with the identifier, for providing the message recipient with access in the multi-media messaging system to all of the message components of only the stored message that is identified by the identifier.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
115 words
The messaging system of claim 5 wherein: the means for sending comprise means (108:202, 211-212) responsive to the request, for determining which media can be received at the address; means (108:214-226) responsive to a failure to determine that all media in which the message components are expressed can be received at the address, for sending to the address a copy of at least those message components that are expressed in media which can be received at the address along with the identifier; and means (108:204) responsive to a determination that all media in which the message components are expressed can be received at the address, for sending the message to the address without the identifier.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
115 words
The messaging system of claim 5 wherein: the means for sending comprise means (108:206) responsive to the request, for creating a mailbox for the recipient, means (108:210) for storing the message in the mailbox created for the recipient, and means (108:211-226) for sending to the address the notification along with instructions for logging into the mailbox created for the recipient; and the messaging system further comprises means (108:304-310) responsive to the message recipient either not logging into the mailbox created for the recipient within a predetermined period of time or logging into the mailbox created for the recipient and then logging off, for deleting the mailbox created for the message recipient from the messaging system.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
46 words
The messaging system of claim 5 wherein: the message sender is, and the message recipient is not, a subscriber of the multi-media messaging system (106); and the address is an address of another messaging system (114, 116, 118), of which the message recipient is a subscriber.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
191 words
A method of providing access to a message by a recipient of the message, comprising the step of in response to a message sender requesting a messaging system (106) in which a message is stored to send the message to a message recipient, sending the message to the message recipient, CHARACTERISED BY the steps of: in response to the message sender requesting the messaging system in which the message is stored to send the message to the message recipient, determining (200-202) whether the message recipient is able to receive the message; in response to determining that the message recipient is able to receive the message, sending (204) the message from the messaging system to the recipient; in response to determining that the message recipient is not able to receive the message, sending (206-226) to the recipient a notification of the message along with an identifier of the message in the messaging system; and in response to the message recipient accessing the messaging system and providing the identifier to the messaging system, providing (108:300-310) the message recipient with access in the messaging system to the message that is identified by the identifier.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
48 words
The method of claim 9 wherein: the step of providing the message recipient with access comprises the step of in response to the message recipient logging (300) into the messaging system with the identifier, providing (302) the message recipient with access to the message in the messaging system.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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