U.S. patent application number 11/043500 was filed with the patent office on 2005-06-16 for web based email control center.
Invention is credited to Coleman, Denis R., Pennell, Mark E., Zorovic, Aleksandar Sasa.
Application Number | 20050132072 11/043500 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34315895 |
Filed Date | 2005-06-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050132072 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pennell, Mark E. ; et
al. |
June 16, 2005 |
Web based email control center
Abstract
Accessing web sites on which the user has an account and
providing notification of changes at the site, and improved
electronic mail management is provided, allowing all email to be
collected and forwarded from a central site to other email
addresses or allowing for the user to view the email at the central
site. The user may assign individual email addresses to any number
of uses, for example, an individual email address for use in
communicating with a particular commercial web site.
Inventors: |
Pennell, Mark E.; (Austin,
TX) ; Zorovic, Aleksandar Sasa; (Palo Alto, CA)
; Coleman, Denis R.; (Atherton, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SQUIRE, SANDERS & DEMPSEY L.L.P
600 HANSEN WAY
PALO ALTO
CA
94304-1043
US
|
Family ID: |
34315895 |
Appl. No.: |
11/043500 |
Filed: |
January 25, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11043500 |
Jan 25, 2005 |
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09437812 |
Nov 10, 1999 |
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6874023 |
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60107790 |
Nov 10, 1998 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
709/228 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 51/14 20130101;
H04L 51/28 20130101; H04L 51/24 20130101; G06Q 10/107 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/228 |
International
Class: |
G06F 015/16 |
Claims
What is claimed:
1. A method, comprising: generating a unique email address when
registering with each of multiple web sites; receiving emails from
the multiple web sites at an email control center; identifying and
sorting the emails according to the web sites from which the emails
were received; and forwarding one or more of the emails to a user's
email account in accordance with instructions provided by the user
to the email control center.
2. A method, comprising: generating an email address to correspond
with a user and a network site; and supplying the email address to
the network site as a contact email address of the user.
3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein at least one of the
generating and supplying is conducted automatically in response to
a request from the network site for the contact email address of
the user.
4. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the generating and
supplying are conducted automatically in response to a request from
the network site for the contact email address of the user.
5. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the generating
comprises adding one or more alphanumeric characters with a
predetermined email address portion.
6. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein the predetermined
email address portion is a high level domain name to which the
alphanumeric characters form a string concatenated as a prefix to
the predetermined email address portion.
7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the high level domain
name identifies a central network site.
8. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the string associates
the network site and the user.
9. The method as recited in claim 2, further comprising: receiving
at a central site an email from the network site; and processing
the email according to the supplied contact email address of the
user.
10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the processing
includes processing the email according to one or more user
preferences.
11. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the processing
comprises sorting the email with other user information or
automatically forwarding the email to a further email address of
the user.
12. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the other user
information comprises at least one of a second user email, a change
notification associated with the user or a status notification
associated with the user.
13. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the generating and
supplying is performed by a browser.
14. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the network and the
central site are connected via the Internet.
15. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the user can suspend
use of the supplied contact email address.
16. The method as recited in claim 2, further comprising supplying
the unique email address of the user to a further network site as a
contact email address.
17. A system, comprising: generating means for generating an email
address to correspond with a user and a network site; and supplying
means coupled to the generating means for supplying the email
address to the network site as a contact email address of the
user.
18. The system as recited in claim 17, further comprising:
receiving means coupled to the supplying means for receiving at a
central site an email from the network site; and processing coupled
to the supplying means for processing the email according to the
supplied contact email address of the user.
19. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein the user can suspend
use of the supplied contact email address.
20. A computer readable storage medium storing program code for
causing a computer to perform the steps of: generating an email
address to correspond with a user and a network site; and supplying
the email address to the network site as a contact email address of
the user.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No.
09/437,812, filed Nov. 10, 1999 which is incorporated by reference
herein, which itself claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 60/107,790, filed Nov. 10, 1998.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates to the field of electronic mail
messaging and in particular to a web based email control center for
managing emails from multiple senders to different email addresses
utilized by a particular user.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Today, a user accessing web sites over the World Wide Web
graphical user interface portion of the Internet may do so via one
or more "portals" or "aggregators". With reference to FIG. 1, an
individual can access various web sites over the Internet 100 using
a web browser software application 101 such as Netscape Navigator
available from American Online (AOL), or Internet Explorer
available from Microsoft Corporation. The web sites provide such
diverse services as online stock brokerage accounts 102, retail
accounts 103, travel services 104, online auctions 105, online
magazines and newspapers 106, and the like. In one instance, the
user may access various web sites via a particular Internet portal
site 110, such as America Online (AOL), and in another instance,
access other web sites via a different portal site 120, such as
Yahoo!
[0006] Visiting multiple web sites to check news, obtain stock
quotes, examine retail orders, or book travel plans, can be
cumbersome and repetitive. Retrieving information from multiple
accounts is time consuming. Moreover, many sites require a user to
provide personal information, such as his name, address, credit
card number, and email address. Providing such information also
raises privacy concerns and opens the door for unsolicited emails
directed to the user. A user visiting certain web sites may be
reluctant to either provide their email address or provide a fake
email address.
[0007] Accordingly, there is a need for a method and apparatus that
provide for increased ease and convenience in managing a user's
Internet communications, while at the same time ensuring the user's
privacy and minimizing unsolicited email communications with the
user.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Methods and apparatus according to embodiments of the
invention provide for accessing web sites on which the user has an
account and providing notification of changes at the site.
Embodiments also enable information to be collected, organized,
presented and forwarded, such as change or status information
corresponding to one or more of a user's accounts. Electronic mail
management embodiments are also provided, enabling email to be
collected and forwarded from a central site to other email
addresses, or enabling the user to view the email at the central
site. A user may, for example, assign individual email addresses to
any number of uses, such as an individual email address for use in
communicating with a particular commercial web site. Embodiments
further enable such information handling to be conducted
automatically.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art system for communicating with
multiple web sites via a web browser software application.
[0010] FIG. 2 illustrates single site notification of changes in
status of a user's web site accounts in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0011] FIG. 3 illustrates generation of a unique email address for
use in communicating with a web site in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 4 further illustrates generation of a unique email
address for use in communicating with a web site in accordance with
an embodiment of the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 5 illustrates a user's email inbox in accordance with
an embodiment of the present invention.
[0014] FIG. 6 illustrates an email control center and options
related thereto in accordance with the present invention.
[0015] For ease of reference, reference numerals in the
accompanying drawings typically are in the form "drawing number"
followed by two digits, xx; for example, reference numerals may be
numbered 3xx. In certain cases, a reference numeral may be
introduced on one drawing and the same reference numeral may be
utilized on other drawings to refer to the same item.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] FIG. 2 illustrates a web site change notification screen 201
in accordance with the present invention. A user receives
notification of changes and status of multiple online accounts
while visiting a web site 200, in this instance, the preview travel
web site. The user accesses the web site using a browser software
application executing on a computing device, such as a personal
computer, connected to the Internet's world wide web. It should be
noted that while the described embodiment operates in conjunction
with the Internet, the present invention may be implemented in an
Intranet environment as well.
[0017] The notification screen is provided by a web site change
notification software application. The notification software may be
implemented as part of the web browser application, or a stand
alone application. Additionally, the application may reside
locally, at the user's computer, or reside at a central location,
e.g., a server, accessible over the Internet. The software
application underlies a fee-based or free service that may be
provided by an e-commerce business, e.g., BuyJupiter in the
illustration provided in FIG. 2.
[0018] The notification screen 201 provides up to date information
for each of the sites listed in the screen 201. In one instance,
the listed sites are previously selected by the user. The sites are
listed if a change in status of the user's account at the sites is
detected by the change notification software. Alternatively, the
software may display the status of a selected number of most
recently visited web sites in which the user conducted a
transaction. Thus, screen 201 displays the status of the user's
Hotmail email account 210, the change in status of a bid on the
auction site, eBay 211, stock trading activities at the user's
online brokerage account 212, etc.
[0019] The change notification software may be configured so that
it periodically displays screen 201, or displays the screen when
the user visits a particular web site, or displays the screen when
requested by the user. In any case, the change notification
software provides seamless notification of all the user's
transactions in a single, easy to view, pop up window. If the user
desires further information regarding status of their account at a
particular web site, the user may specify the Uniform Resource
Locator (URL) address in the web browser, or follow a hyperlink to
the site, if provided in the notification screen.
[0020] In another aspect of the invention, the Internet user is
provided with significant flexibility and privacy in managing
electronic mail messages. In one embodiment, the invention
generates a new, revocable email address whenever needed or
requested by the user; the user's primary email address is not
needed to communicate with a web site. For example, the user may
wish to remain anonymous when visiting a particular web site, as
when checking out a competitor's web site that requires
registration. An embodiment of the present invention allows the
user to specify a unique email address for use in communicating
with the service provided by the web site.
[0021] Additionally, the embodiment sends all emails to the user at
a web based central email center and optionally sorts them by
sender or other user configured designation. In this manner, an
embodiment of the present invention enables a user to stop or
suspend email from any sender at any time or forward the email to
another email address, e.g., the user's business or Hotmail email
address instead of the user's personal email address.
[0022] In another embodiment, the present invention provides
notification of receipt of an email on the user's computer display
screen.
[0023] The above mentioned email features of the present invention
are better understood with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. In FIG. 3,
the user is visiting the Eddie Bauer web site 300, and is being
asked by the web site to providing shipping and billing
information, including the user's email address. A pop up window
301 is provided by an embodiment of the present invention to supply
the necessary shipping and billing information. In particular, the
user is able to specify at 302 the email address with which to
correspond with the user. Email is to be sent to the BuyJupiter
email center.
[0024] As seen in FIG. 4, when the user information is supplied to
the form at the web site 300 by the clicking on the fields in the
pop up window 301, a unique email address 400 is created by
concatenating a numeric value 833.543.5426 to the high level domain
name @buyjupiter.com. When the user registers at another web site,
a different numeric value is provided by the present invention so
that each account set up by the user may utilize a unique email
address. If the user then receives email from the web site, whether
solicited or unsolicited, the user is able to discern the sender of
the email, as well as control future email correspondence with the
web site by discarding the email address. It should be understood
that while the email address generated by an embodiment of the
present invention utilizes a numeric prefix, any alphanumeric
character string that conforms with the applicable email
communication standard, such as SMTP, may be utilized in
conjunction with the high level domain name portion of the email
address.
[0025] In FIG. 5, the user's inbox at the email center "BuyJupiter"
is illustrated. Email is identified and sorted according to sender.
Thus, an email from the Eddie Bauer web site is easily identified
at 501. FIG. 6 illustrates the email control center 600 as
envisaged in accordance with the present invention. One of the key
advantages of the control center is the automatic aggregation of
information at one site, rather than requiring the user to visit
multiple sites to view the information. Additionally, although the
user is, specifying different email addresses for different
accounts at different web sites, the user can receive notification
at one site from each of the sites, providing for convenient,
private electronic communication with the multiple accounts.
[0026] By selecting a check box associated with a particular web
site, a user may delete the email address used by that particular
web site to communicate with the user so that the user no longer
receives email messages from the web site. For example, if the user
wishes to no longer receive email from the Eddie Bauer web site,
the user selects the check box 601 with a user input device such as
a mouse pointer and then presses the delete button 602. Thereafter,
Eddie Bauer is removed from the user's email control center as a
sender of email to the user.
[0027] In another aspect of the present invention, the user may
configure an actual email address used by the user to which to
forward email received at the email control center via the email
address generated, for example, at 400. Thus, if a user wished to
receive an email from the Eddie Bauer web site at the user's
Hotmail email account, the user could forward the email to the
user's Hotmail email address 603. The pull down list 604 allows the
user to add to or select from any one of a number of different
email addresses utilized by the user. In this manner, the user may
receive email messages from a web site without having to identify
the user's actual email address to the web site, thereby ensuring
the user's privacy and ability to discard unwanted and/or
unsolicited emails.
[0028] The email center further provides for the user's ability to
configure when and how often to receive an email from a given
sender. The notify column in the email control center provides for
the user to configure whether to receive an email from a particular
sender immediately, never, every so often, e.g., once a week, or
after a particular number of email messages are received from the
sender and accumulate in the user's email control center. In the
instance case, the user has configured the email control center to
forward email messages from the Eddie Bauer web site to the user's
Hotmail email account upon receipt of five new messages from the
web site.
[0029] Given enough web sites with which the user has registered,
the number of entries in the user's email control center becomes
too numerous to easily view in the screen display depicted in FIG.
6. The user is able to separate and categorize web sites according
to, user defined preference. At 610, the user is provided a pull
down list with which to add or select one of a number of
categories, e.g., merchants, news, business, or the like, so that
only web sites for a particular category are displayed.
ALTERNATIVES TO THE ABOVE EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
[0030] There are, of course, alternatives to the described
embodiment which are within the reach of one of ordinary skill in
the relevant art. The present invention is intended to be limited
only by the claims presented below.
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