Patent US20030195937A1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US20030195937A1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Intelligent message screening
Assignee: Kontact Software Inc
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Filing: 2002-04-16
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2022-04-16
Abstract
Abstract Electronic messages are processed based on criteria relating to the sender, the content, and the personalization of the message. The content of the messages, the recipient's address book, and parameters such as desired keywords and undesired keywords are employed in determining a numeric ranking for each message. Based upon the ranking, messages are assigned to a category indicating an expected response of the recipient, such as read, reply, and save, or simply read. Messages in the lowest category (spam) are marked for deletion. Fuzzy logic is preferably applied in determining the category to which a message is assigned based on its ranking. Content importance, sender importance, and degree of personalization are combined in a non-linear manner to rank a message. Based on the recipient's actual response to a message, the priority of subsequent similar messages is adjusted to more accurately assign the messages to a category.
Inventors
- 👤 Robert Kircher
- 👤 Surendra Bhatia
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 17:02
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L67/00; H04L67/2866; H04L67/30; H04L67/306; G; G06; G06Q; G06Q10/00; G06Q10/10; G06Q10/107; H04L51/00; H04L51/21; H04L51/212; H04L9/00; H04L9/40; H04L69/00; H04L69/30; H04L69/32; H04L69/322; H04L69/329
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 57
Claim 1
Independent Claim
119 words
1 . A method for processing an electronic message to determine an action likely to be carried out by a recipient in response to the electronic message, comprising the steps of: (a) parsing the electronic message to extract determinable attributes of the electronic message; (b) applying a plurality of rules and user defined parameters to the determinable attributes of the electronic message to obtain a numerical ranking for the electronic message; and (c) based on the numerical ranking of the electronic message, assigning one of a plurality of categories to the electronic message, each category in the plurality of categories corresponding to at least one user action a recipient can logically perform in response to receiving any electronic message.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
119 words
1 . A method for processing an electronic message to determine an action likely to be carried out by a recipient in response to the electronic message, comprising the steps of: (a) parsing the electronic message to extract determinable attributes of the electronic message; (b) applying a plurality of rules and user defined parameters to the determinable attributes of the electronic message to obtain a numerical ranking for the electronic message; and (c) based on the numerical ranking of the electronic message, assigning one of a plurality of categories to the electronic message, each category in the plurality of categories corresponding to at least one user action a recipient can logically perform in response to receiving any electronic message.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
42 words
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of categories comprises at least one of: (a) reading the electronic message; (b) replying to the electronic message; (c) saving the electronic message; and (d) deleting the electronic message.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
61 words
3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps applying steps (a) through (c) to each of a plurality of electronic messages; and displaying a list of the plurality of electronic messages to the recipient, wherein the plurality of electronic messages in the list are grouped by the category assigned to each of the plurality of electronic messages.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
64 words
4 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising the step of enabling the recipient to select a category, and to apply a function to each electronic message in the selected category, wherein the function comprises at least one of: (a) displaying the electronic messages in the category that was selected; and (b) deleting the electronic messages in the category that was selected.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
33 words
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of applying the plurality of rules and user defined parameters comprises the step of employing fuzzy logic to determine the numerical ranking.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
67 words
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of applying the plurality of rules and user defined parameters comprises the steps of: (a) evaluating a first criteria of the electronic message; (b) evaluating a second criteria of the electronic message; and (c) consolidating results of the evaluations to obtain a numerical result corresponding to the numerical ranking of the importance of the electronic message.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
32 words
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the step of evaluating a first criteria of the electronic message comprises the step of employing fuzzy logic to evaluate the first criteria.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
32 words
8 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the step of evaluating a second criteria of the electronic message comprises the step of employing fuzzy logic to evaluate the second criteria.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
37 words
9 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the step of consolidating the results of the evaluations to obtain the numerical result comprises the step of employing fuzzy logic to consolidate the results of the evaluations.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
68 words
10 . The method of claim 6 , wherein at least one of the steps of evaluating a first criteria of the electronic message and evaluating a second criteria of the electronic message comprises the step of employing fuzzy logic to evaluate that criteria, and the step of consolidating the results of the evaluations comprises the step of employing fuzzy logic to consolidate the results of the evaluations.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
35 words
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of applying the plurality of rules and user defined parameters comprises the step of evaluating the importance of the sender of the electronic message.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
66 words
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the step of evaluating the importance of the sender of the electronic message comprises the step of using at least one of: (a) addressing attributes of the electronic message; (b) subject line attributes of the electronic message; (c) context text attributes of the electronic message; (d) a user defined address book; and (e) a user defined profile.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
92 words
13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the step of evaluating the importance of the sender of the electronic message comprises the step of determining at least one of: (a) whether the address of the sender of electronic message is in the user's address book; (b) whether the sender of the electronic message is a person; (c) whether the electronic message is a newsletter; (d) whether the electronic message includes at least one of a nickname, a telephone number, and a company name that is in the user's address book.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
44 words
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the step of determining whether the sender of the electronic message is a person comprises the step of determining whether the electronic message includes at least one indication that the electronic message was automatically transmitted.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
80 words
15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the step of determining whether the electronic message is a newsletter comprises the step of determining at least one of: (a) whether the electronic message includes at least one clue that is indicative of an automatically transmitted electronic message; (b) whether the electronic message is free from undesired keywords; (c) whether the electronic message is free from spam clues; and (d) whether the sender of the electronic message is a person.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
74 words
16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of applying the plurality of rules and user defined parameters comprises the step of evaluating a degree of personalization of the electronic message with respect to the recipient by using the determinable attributes that comprise at least one of: (a) context text attributes of the electronic message; (b) an address book of the recipient; and (c) a user defined profile for the recipient.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
101 words
17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the step of evaluating the degree of personalization of the electronic message with respect to the recipient comprises the step of determining at least one of: (a) whether the electronic message is addressed only to the recipient; (b) whether the electronic message has been copied to any other recipient; (c) whether the sender of the electronic message is a person; (d) whether the electronic message includes a personalized greeting matching a nickname of the recipient; and (e) whether the electronic message includes a personalized signature for a sender of the electronic message.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
77 words
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the step of determining if the sender of the electronic message is a person comprises the step of determining at least one of: (a) whether the sender has a valid address for receiving electronic messages; (b) whether the sender has a nickname; and (c) whether an address for receiving electronic messaging sent to the sender of the electronic message is included in the address book of the recipient.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
82 words
19 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of applying the plurality of rules and user defined parameters comprises the step of evaluating the importance of a content of the electronic message by using the determinable attributes and user defined parameters, which comprise at least one of: (a) subject line attributes of the electronic message; (b) context text attributes of the electronic message; (c) an address book of the recipient; and (d) a user defined profile for the recipient.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
120 words
20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the step of evaluating the importance of the content of the electronic message comprises the step of determining at least one of: (a) whether the electronic message includes spam clues; (b) whether the electronic message includes newsletter clues; (c) whether the electronic message exceeds a specified number of words; (d) whether the electronic message includes a personalized greeting for the recipient; (e) whether there is a personalized signature of a sender of the electronic message; (f) whether the electronic message includes predefined desired keywords; and (g) whether the electronic message includes at least one of a nickname, a telephone number, and a company name that is in the user's address book.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
63 words
21 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of applying a plurality of rules and user defined parameters comprises the steps of: (a) evaluating an importance of a sender of the electronic message; (b) evaluating a degree of personalization of the electronic message with respect to the recipient; and (c) evaluating an importance of a content of the electronic message.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
85 words
22 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of determining an action of the recipient performed in response to receiving the electronic message; and if that action does not correspond to the category assigned to the electronic message, updating the plurality of rules based on the determinable attributes of the electronic message and user defined parameters, so that a category corresponding to the action of the recipient is assigned to future electronic messages that are substantially similar to the electronic message.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
39 words
23 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of forwarding the electronic message to a portable device for action by the recipient, if the category assigned to the electronic message was chosen by the recipient.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
41 words
24 . The method of claim 23 , wherein the portable device comprises at least one of a wireless phone, a pager, and a personal digital assistant that is useful for displaying electronic messages in the category selected by the recipient.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
31 words
25 . The method of claim 23 , wherein the category associated with the electronic message that is selected by the recipient is associated with the reading of the electronic message.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
139 words
26 . An article of manufacture adapted for use with a computing device, comprising: (a) a memory medium; and (b) a plurality of machine instructions comprising a computer program, which are stored on the memory medium, said plurality of machine instructions when executed by a computer, causing the computing device to: (i) parse the electronic message to extract determinable attributes of the electronic message; (ii) apply a plurality of rules and user defined parameters to the determinable attributes of the electronic message to obtain a numerical ranking for the electronic message; and (iii) based on the numerical ranking of the electronic message, assign one of a plurality of categories to the electronic message, each category in the plurality of categories corresponding to at least one user action a recipient can logically perform in response to receiving any electronic message.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
139 words
26 . An article of manufacture adapted for use with a computing device, comprising: (a) a memory medium; and (b) a plurality of machine instructions comprising a computer program, which are stored on the memory medium, said plurality of machine instructions when executed by a computer, causing the computing device to: (i) parse the electronic message to extract determinable attributes of the electronic message; (ii) apply a plurality of rules and user defined parameters to the determinable attributes of the electronic message to obtain a numerical ranking for the electronic message; and (iii) based on the numerical ranking of the electronic message, assign one of a plurality of categories to the electronic message, each category in the plurality of categories corresponding to at least one user action a recipient can logically perform in response to receiving any electronic message.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
40 words
27 . The article of manufacture of claim 26 , wherein the plurality of machine instructions, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to employ fuzzy logic to obtain the numerical ranking of the importance of the electronic message.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
171 words
28 . A system for ranking the importance of electronic messages to determine a likely response by a recipient of the electronic messages, comprising: (a) a memory in which a plurality of rules and user defined parameters, and a plurality of machine instructions are stored; (b) a display; and (c) a processor that is coupled to the memory to access the machine instructions and to the display, said processor executing said machine instructions and thereby implementing a plurality of functions, including: (i) parsing the electronic messages to extract determinable attributes of the electronic messages; (ii) applying a plurality of rules and user defined parameters to the determinable attributes of the electronic messages to obtain a numerical ranking for the electronic messages; and (iii) based on the numerical ranking of the electronic messages, assigning one of a plurality of categories to each of the electronic messages, each category in the plurality of categories corresponding to at least one user action a recipient can logically perform in response to receiving any electronic message.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
171 words
28 . A system for ranking the importance of electronic messages to determine a likely response by a recipient of the electronic messages, comprising: (a) a memory in which a plurality of rules and user defined parameters, and a plurality of machine instructions are stored; (b) a display; and (c) a processor that is coupled to the memory to access the machine instructions and to the display, said processor executing said machine instructions and thereby implementing a plurality of functions, including: (i) parsing the electronic messages to extract determinable attributes of the electronic messages; (ii) applying a plurality of rules and user defined parameters to the determinable attributes of the electronic messages to obtain a numerical ranking for the electronic messages; and (iii) based on the numerical ranking of the electronic messages, assigning one of a plurality of categories to each of the electronic messages, each category in the plurality of categories corresponding to at least one user action a recipient can logically perform in response to receiving any electronic message.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
30 words
29 . The system of claim 28 , wherein the plurality of functions further include using fuzzy logic to obtain the numerical ranking of the importance of the electronic messages.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
77 words
30 . A method for processing an electronic message using fuzzy logic, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a plurality of rules based on determinable attributes of an electronic message and user defined parameters; (b) parsing the electronic message to produce the determinable attributes of the electronic message; and (c) applying the plurality of rules and the user defined parameters using fuzzy logic, to obtain a numerical ranking of the importance of the electronic message.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
77 words
30 . A method for processing an electronic message using fuzzy logic, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a plurality of rules based on determinable attributes of an electronic message and user defined parameters; (b) parsing the electronic message to produce the determinable attributes of the electronic message; and (c) applying the plurality of rules and the user defined parameters using fuzzy logic, to obtain a numerical ranking of the importance of the electronic message.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
76 words
31 . The method of claim 30 , further comprising the steps of: (a) providing a plurality of categories, each category corresponding to at least one user action a recipient can logically perform in response to receiving any electronic message; and (b) based on the numerical ranking of the electronic message, assigning one of the plurality of categories to the electronic message to indicate an expected action of the recipient in responding to the electronic message.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
80 words
32 . The method of claim 31 , further comprising the steps of processing a plurality of electronic messages by applying steps (a) through (c) to each of the plurality of electronic messages; and displaying to the recipient electronic messages to which at least one category has been assigned, from a list of the plurality of electronic messages, wherein the electronic messages in the list are grouped by the categories assigned to the plurality of electronic messages in the list.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
76 words
33 . The method of claim 32 , further comprising the step of enabling the recipient to select a category from among the plurality of categories, and to apply a function to each electronic message to which the selected category has been assigned, wherein the function comprises at least one of: (a) displaying the electronic messages to which the category selected was assigned; and (b) deleting the electronic messages to which the category selected was assigned.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
44 words
34 . The method of claim 31 , wherein each of the plurality of categories is associated with at least one of: (a) reading the electronic message; (b) replying to the electronic message; (c) saving the electronic message; and (d) deleting the electronic message.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
83 words
35 . The method of claim 30 , wherein the step of providing a plurality of rules based on determinable attributes of the electronic message and user defined parameters comprises the steps of: (a) providing rules used to evaluate the importance of a sender of the electronic message; (b) providing rules used to evaluate a degree of personalization of the electronic message with respect to the recipient; and (c) providing rules used to evaluate the importance of the content of the electronic message.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
73 words
36 . The method of claim 35 , wherein the step of applying the plurality of rules and the user defined parameters using fuzzy logic comprises the steps of using fuzzy logic to determine at least one of: (a) the importance of the sender of the electronic message; (b) the degree of personalization of the electronic message with respect to the recipient; and (c) the importance of the content of the electronic message.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
86 words
37 . The method of claim 35 , wherein the step of applying the plurality of rules and the user defined parameters using fuzzy logic comprises the step of using fuzzy logic after the importance of the sender of the electronic message has been determined, the degree of personalization of the electronic message with respect to the recipient has been determined, and the importance of the content of the electronic message has been determined, to obtain the numerical ranking of the importance of the electronic message.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
99 words
38 . The method of claim 35 , wherein the step of providing a plurality of rules and user defined parameters used to evaluate the importance of the sender of the electronic message comprises the step of providing rules and user defined parameters that evaluate the importance of the sender of the electronic message by using at least one of: (a) addressing attributes of the electronic message; (b) subject line attributes of the electronic message; (c) context text attributes of the electronic message; (d) an address book for the recipient; and (e) a user defined profile for the recipient.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
98 words
39 . The method of claim 38 , wherein the step of providing rules and user defined parameters to evaluate the importance of the sender comprises the steps of providing rules used to determine at least one of: (a) whether an address of the sender of electronic message is in the address book; (b) whether the sender of the electronic message is a person; (c) whether the electronic message is a newsletter; and (d) whether the electronic message includes at least one of a nickname, a telephone number, and a company name that is in the address book.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
52 words
40 . The method of claim 39 , wherein the step of providing rules and user defined parameters used to determine whether the sender of the electronic message is a person comprises the step of determining whether the electronic message includes at least one indication that the electronic message was automatically sent.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
91 words
41 . The method of claim 39 , wherein the step of providing rules and user defined parameters used to determine whether the electronic message is a newsletter comprises the steps of providing rules used to determine at least one of: (a) whether the electronic message includes at least one indication that the electronic message was automatically sent; (b) whether the electronic message is free from predefined undesired keywords; (c) whether the electronic message is free from spam clues; and (d) whether the sender of the electronic message is a person.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
59 words
42 . The method of claim 35 , wherein the plurality of rules used to evaluate the degree of personalization of the electronic message with respect to the recipient by using at least one of: (a) context text attributes of the electronic message; (b) an address book of the recipient; and (c) a user defined profile for the recipient.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
95 words
43 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the step of providing rules that evaluate the degree of personalization of the electronic message with respect to the recipient employ the rules to determine at least one of: (a) whether the electronic message is addressed only to the recipient; (b) whether the electronic message has been copied to any other recipient; (c) whether the sender of the electronic message is a person; (d) whether the electronic message includes a personalized greeting for the recipient; and (e) whether there is a personalized signature for the sender.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
66 words
44 . The method of claim 43 , wherein the rules used to determine if the sender of the electronic message is a person determine at least one of: (a) whether the sender has a valid address for receiving electronic messages; (b) whether the sender has a nickname; and (c) whether an address of the sender for receiving electronic messages is included in the address book.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
61 words
45 . The method of claim 35 , wherein the rules used to evaluate the importance of the content of the electronic message by using at least one of: (a) subject line attributes of the electronic message; (b) context text attributes of the electronic message; (c) an address book of the recipient; and (d) a user defined profile for the recipient.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
122 words
46 . The method of claim 45 , wherein the rules used to evaluate the importance of the content of the electronic message determine at least one of: (a) whether the electronic message includes spam clues; (b) whether the electronic message includes newsletter clues; (c) whether the electronic message exceeds a specified number of words; (d) whether the electronic message includes a personalized greeting matching a nickname of the recipient; (e) whether there is a personalized signature that includes a nickname of the sender; (f) whether the electronic message includes predefined desired keywords; and (g) whether the electronic message includes at least one of a nickname, a telephone number, and a company name that is in the address book of the recipient.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
78 words
47 . The method of claim 31 , further comprising the step of determining a action of the recipient in response to receiving the electronic message; and if that response does not correspond to an expected action corresponding to the category assigned to the electronic message, updating the plurality of rules based on the determinable attributes of an electronic message and user defined parameters, so that a category is more accurately assigned to substantially similar future electronic messages.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
115 words
48 . An article of manufacture adapted for use with a computing device, comprising: (a) a memory medium; and (b) a plurality of machine instructions comprising a computer program, which are stored on the memory medium, said plurality of machine instructions when executed by a computing device, causing the computing device to: (i) access a plurality of rules based on determinable attributes of an electronic message and user defined parameters; (ii) parse the electronic message to identify the determinable attributes of the electronic message; and (iii) apply the plurality of rules and the user defined parameters to the determinable attributes, using fuzzy logic, to obtain a numerical ranking of the importance of the electronic message.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
115 words
48 . An article of manufacture adapted for use with a computing device, comprising: (a) a memory medium; and (b) a plurality of machine instructions comprising a computer program, which are stored on the memory medium, said plurality of machine instructions when executed by a computing device, causing the computing device to: (i) access a plurality of rules based on determinable attributes of an electronic message and user defined parameters; (ii) parse the electronic message to identify the determinable attributes of the electronic message; and (iii) apply the plurality of rules and the user defined parameters to the determinable attributes, using fuzzy logic, to obtain a numerical ranking of the importance of the electronic message.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
69 words
49 . The article of manufacture of claim 48 , wherein the plurality of machine instructions when executed by a computer further cause the computer to assign the electronic message to one of a plurality of different categories based on the numerical ranking of the electronic message, wherein each category is associated with at least one expected action a recipient might perform in response to receiving the electronic message.
Claim 55
Dependent Claim
150 words
50 . A system for ranking the importance of electronic messages before the electronic messages are reviewed by the recipient; the system comprising: (a) a memory in which a plurality of rules based on determinable attributes of electronic messages and user defined parameters, and a plurality of machine instructions are stored; (b) a display; and (c) a processor that is coupled to the memory to access the machine instructions and to the display, said processor executing said machine instructions, which cause the processor to execute a plurality of functions, including: (i) identifying determinable attributes of the electronic messages; (ii) analyzing the electronic messages using the plurality of rules, based on the determinable attributes of the electronic message, and by applying the user defined parameters; and (ii) applying fuzzy logic to results of the step of analyzing, to obtain a numerical ranking of the importance of each of the electronic messages.
Claim 56
Dependent Claim
150 words
50 . A system for ranking the importance of electronic messages before the electronic messages are reviewed by the recipient; the system comprising: (a) a memory in which a plurality of rules based on determinable attributes of electronic messages and user defined parameters, and a plurality of machine instructions are stored; (b) a display; and (c) a processor that is coupled to the memory to access the machine instructions and to the display, said processor executing said machine instructions, which cause the processor to execute a plurality of functions, including: (i) identifying determinable attributes of the electronic messages; (ii) analyzing the electronic messages using the plurality of rules, based on the determinable attributes of the electronic message, and by applying the user defined parameters; and (ii) applying fuzzy logic to results of the step of analyzing, to obtain a numerical ranking of the importance of each of the electronic messages.
Claim 57
Dependent Claim
58 words
51 . The system of claim 50 , wherein the plurality of functions further include assigning each of the electronic messages to one of a plurality of different categories based on the ranking of the electronic message, wherein each different category corresponds to a different expected action a recipient might perform in response to receiving an electronic message.
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