US6999565B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Multi-mode message routing and management
Assignee: PRIZMA Inc
•
Filing: 2000-02-01
•
Granted: 2006-02-14
•
Expires: 2020-02-01
Abstract
Abstract Transmission of messages composed on one or more input devices to a single or multiple recipients by means of one or plural communication modes is facilitated. Such communication modes may include conventional or wireless telephone, facsimile transmission, pager, e-mail, postal mail or courier. Thus, a message may be directed to a single recipient via multiple modes, such as e-mail and fax, in order to ensure the earliest possible receipt of the message; or may be directed to multiple recipients by a single mode or by different modes. In the case of multiple-mode delivery, “escalation” rules may specify conditions under which different delivery modes may be sequentially employed. Automatic follow-up to determine whether a message has been received, as well as automatic sender notification upon confirmation of receipt, may be employed. The system is capable of sending messages having embedded questions, and facilitating multi-question surveys.
Inventors
- 👤 Jeffrey Delaney
- 👤 William H. Kirtley
- 👤 Robert Kuszewski
- 👤 Robert Mathews
- 👤 David Page
- 👤 Martin Sarabura
- 👤 Gregory Warden
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 22:09
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; H04L51/214; H04L51/56; H04L67/50; H04L67/60; H04L67/63; H04L9/00; H04L9/40; H04M; H04M3/00; H04M3/42; H04M3/50; H04M3/53; H04M3/533; H04L51/06; H04L51/066; H04L51/23; H04L69/00; H04L69/30; H04L69/32; H04L69/322; H04L69/329; H04M2203/00; H04M2203/20; H04M2203/2083; H04M2203/45; H04M2203/4536; H04M3/5322
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
64 words
A message notification system comprising: a sender interface comprising an audio message compose mechanism to receive from the sender a composed audio message; and a telephony message delivery management mechanism to manage delivery of the audio message via telephone calls to persons answering telephones and to answering machines, the delivery management mechanism comprising a transaction server, a database, a scheduler, and a message queue.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
64 words
A message notification system comprising: a sender interface comprising an audio message compose mechanism to receive from the sender a composed audio message; and a telephony message delivery management mechanism to manage delivery of the audio message via telephone calls to persons answering telephones and to answering machines, the delivery management mechanism comprising a transaction server, a database, a scheduler, and a message queue.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
36 words
The message notification system according to claim 1 , wherein the sender interface comprises an audio message selection mechanism to select delivery of an audio message to a plural set of recipients via a telephony route.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
The message notification system according to claim 2 , wherein the audio message selection mechanism comprises a voice message selection mechanism to select delivery of a voice message.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
33 words
The system according to claim 1 , wherein the sender interface comprises an audio message selection mechanism to select delivery of an audio message to at least one recipient via a telephony route.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system according to claim 1 , wherein the composed audio message comprises an audio segment of a composite message intended for telephony delivery, the composite message further comprising one or more non-audio segments intended for another mode of delivery.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
71 words
The system according to claim 1 , wherein the message compose mechanism comprises an audio header portion and an audio trailer portion, the audio header portion comprising an audio header message to be provided to a recipient telling the recipient he or she is about to receive a message from the sender, the audio trailer portion comprising an audio trailer message to facilitate a response to the message by the recipient.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
30 words
The system according to claim 1 , wherein the sender interface interaction mechanism comprises a transaction server to instruct questions to be asked of the sender via the sender interface.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
21 words
The system according to claim 1 , wherein the message queue comprises a job queue to implement and schedule message jobs.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
203 words
A message notification system comprising: a sender interface, the sender interface comprising an audio message selection mechanism to select delivery of an audio message to a plural set of recipients via a telephony route, the sender interface further comprising an audio message compose mechanism to receive from the sender a composed audio message; and a telephony message delivery management mechanism to manage delivery of the audio message via telephone calls to persons answering telephones and to answering machines, the delivery management mechanism comprising a transaction server, a database, a scheduler, and a message queue wherein the transaction server accesses the database, the scheduler, and the message queue, the delivery management mechanism further comprising an answer detection mechanism to detect when a call for delivery of the audio message is answered by a person answering a telephone and when the call is answered by an answering machine, the delivery management mechanism further comprising a personal delivery mechanism and further comprising an answering machine delivery mechanism; the personal delivery mechanism delivering one message when the call is detected to be answered by a person, and the answering machine delivery mechanism delivering another message when the call is detected to be answered by an answering machine.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
203 words
A message notification system comprising: a sender interface, the sender interface comprising an audio message selection mechanism to select delivery of an audio message to a plural set of recipients via a telephony route, the sender interface further comprising an audio message compose mechanism to receive from the sender a composed audio message; and a telephony message delivery management mechanism to manage delivery of the audio message via telephone calls to persons answering telephones and to answering machines, the delivery management mechanism comprising a transaction server, a database, a scheduler, and a message queue wherein the transaction server accesses the database, the scheduler, and the message queue, the delivery management mechanism further comprising an answer detection mechanism to detect when a call for delivery of the audio message is answered by a person answering a telephone and when the call is answered by an answering machine, the delivery management mechanism further comprising a personal delivery mechanism and further comprising an answering machine delivery mechanism; the personal delivery mechanism delivering one message when the call is detected to be answered by a person, and the answering machine delivery mechanism delivering another message when the call is detected to be answered by an answering machine.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
14 words
The system according to claim 9 , wherein the sender interface comprises a browser.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
15 words
The system according to claim 9 , wherein the sender interface comprises a client computer.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system according to claim 9 , wherein the sender interface comprises a computer with customer access to a notification server and a telephone.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
14 words
The system according to claim 9 , wherein the sender interface comprises a telephone.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system according to claim 9 , wherein the sender interface comprises a portion of a telephony server to respond to spoken customer commands.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
15 words
The system according to claim 9 , wherein the audio message comprises a voice message.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system according to claim 9 , wherein the composed audio message comprises an audio segment of a composite message intended for telephony delivery, the composite message further comprising one or more non-audio segments intended for another mode of delivery.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
72 words
The system according to claim 9 , wherein the message compose mechanism comprises an audio header portion and an audio trailer portion, the audio header portion comprising an audio header message to be provided to a recipient telling the recipient he or she is about to receive a message from the sender, and the audio trailer portion comprising an audio trailer message to facilitate a response to the message by the recipient.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
164 words
A message notification system comprising: a sender interface comprising an address book selection interface, the address book selection interface comprising contact addresses presented to the sender for selection as message recipients, the message recipients comprising human recipients, the sender interface further comprising a message selection mechanism to select delivery of a message to a plural set of selected recipients via a communications route, the address book selection interface comprising a message type categorization mechanism to identify contacts in categories likely to receive similar messages, so that the sender selecting through the address book selection interface a given category causes a contact selection display to be presented to the sender of individually selectable contacts limited to the given category; and a message delivery management mechanism to manage delivery of the message to the selected message recipients, the delivery management mechanism comprising a transaction server, a database, a scheduler, and a message queue; wherein the transaction server accesses the database, the scheduler, and the message queue.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
164 words
A message notification system comprising: a sender interface comprising an address book selection interface, the address book selection interface comprising contact addresses presented to the sender for selection as message recipients, the message recipients comprising human recipients, the sender interface further comprising a message selection mechanism to select delivery of a message to a plural set of selected recipients via a communications route, the address book selection interface comprising a message type categorization mechanism to identify contacts in categories likely to receive similar messages, so that the sender selecting through the address book selection interface a given category causes a contact selection display to be presented to the sender of individually selectable contacts limited to the given category; and a message delivery management mechanism to manage delivery of the message to the selected message recipients, the delivery management mechanism comprising a transaction server, a database, a scheduler, and a message queue; wherein the transaction server accesses the database, the scheduler, and the message queue.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
14 words
The system according to claim 18 , wherein the sender interface comprises a browser.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
15 words
The system according to claim 18 , wherein the sender interface comprises a client computer.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system according to claim 18 , wherein the sender interface comprises a computer with customer access to a notification server and a telephone.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
14 words
The system according to claim 18 , wherein the sender interface comprises a telephone.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system according to claim 18 , wherein the sender interface comprises a portion of a telephony server to respond to spoken commands.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
54 words
The system according to claim 18 , wherein the selection of a given category causes a contact selection display to be presented to the sender of individually selectable contacts in the given category, so that all or a subset of contacts in the given category can be selected as recipients and sent the message.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2009-02-13 | 2009-08-15 | 2010-02-14 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2013-02-13 | 2013-08-15 | 2014-02-14 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2017-02-13 | 2017-08-15 | 2018-02-14 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |