U.S. patent application number 10/513978 was filed with the patent office on 2006-10-19 for mail program for processing multiple e-mail messages.
Invention is credited to Peter Weissman.
Application Number | 20060236249 10/513978 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25540915 |
Filed Date | 2006-10-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060236249 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Weissman; Peter |
October 19, 2006 |
Mail program for processing multiple e-mail messages
Abstract
A mail program allows a user to simultaneously process multiple
email messages (130, 150) to separate recipients or groups of
recipients. A primary email has a primary message (130) to be sent,
and a secondary email has a floater or secondary message (150). The
secondary email is associated with the primary email, but directed
to a different set of recipients than the primary email.
Inventors: |
Weissman; Peter;
(Washington, DC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Peter Weissman
2912 Upton Street NW
Washington
DC
20008
US
|
Family ID: |
25540915 |
Appl. No.: |
10/513978 |
Filed: |
November 27, 2002 |
PCT Filed: |
November 27, 2002 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/US02/37902 |
371 Date: |
November 10, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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09994672 |
Nov 28, 2001 |
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10513978 |
Nov 10, 2004 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
715/752 ;
709/206; 715/781 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/107
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/752 ;
709/206; 715/781 |
International
Class: |
G06F 15/16 20060101
G06F015/16 |
Claims
1. A mail program comprising: a first email (100) having a first
message (130) with at least one primary recipient; and, a second
email (150) having a second message with at least one secondary
recipient, the second email associated with the first email.
2. The mail program of claim 1, wherein the second email is
processed by the mail program simultaneously with the first
email.
3. The mail program of claim 1, wherein each of the at least one
secondary recipient(s) are different than the at least one primary
recipient(s).
4. The mail program of claim 1, wherein the at least one secondary
recipient(s) are the same as the at least one primary
recipient(s).
5. The mail program of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of
primary recipients, wherein the at least one secondary recipient is
one of the plurality of primary recipients.
6. The mail program of claim 1, wherein the first message and the
second message are created by a sender and simultaneously
transmitted by the mail program.
7. The mail program of claim 1, wherein the first message and the
second message are simultaneously received by the mail program for
one of the primary recipient and secondary recipient.
8. The mail program of claim 1, wherein the first email and the
second email are transmitted to each of the at least one primary
recipient and the at least one secondary recipient as a single
electronic mail.
9. The mail program of claim 1, wherein at least one of the at
least one secondary recipients receives the first message and the
second message.
10. The mail program of claim 1, wherein at least one of the at
least one primary recipient receives the first message, but not the
second message.
11. The mail program of claim 1, wherein said mail program
comprises a mail service.
12. The mail program of claim 1, wherein said mail program
comprises a mail client.
13. An email (100) comprising: a primary window having a primary
message (130, 302) with at least one primary recipient; and, a
secondary window having a secondary message (150, 304) with at
least one secondary recipient, the secondary window separate from
and associated with the primary window.
14. The email of claim 13, wherein each of the at least one
recipient(s) are different than the at least one primary
recipient(s).
15. The email of claim 13, wherein the secondary window is sent to,
but not displayed to, the primary recipient.
16. The email of claim 13, further comprising a primary tab
associated with the primary window and a secondary tab associated
with the secondary window, wherein the primary and secondary tabs
enable the selective display of the primary window and secondary
window.
17. A software application having instructions that, when executed
by a processor, cause the processor to execute the steps comprising
the steps of: processing a primary email (100) having at least one
primary recipient; and, processing a secondary email (150) having
at least one secondary recipient, the secondary email associated
with the primary email and processed simultaneously with the
processing of the primary message.
18. The software application of claim 17, wherein each of the at
least one secondary recipient(s) are different than the at least
one primary recipient.
19. The software application of claim 17, wherein said processing
the primary email comprises generating the primary email and said
processing the secondary message comprises generating the secondary
email.
20. The software application of claim 17, wherein said processing
the primary email comprises receiving the primary email and said
processing the secondary email comprises receiving the secondary
email.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to software programs for
processing messages. More particularly, the present invention
relates to a mail program for processing multiple emails.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Electronic mail (or "email") is the transmission of a
message over a network and has become a ubiquitous form of
communication. Email is commonly processed by a mail program or a
mail service which accesses mail servers in a local or remote
network. A mail program (also known as a "mail client") is a
software application that is installed on a user's computer or PC
and can either be a stand-alone program, such as Eudora or Outlook,
or built into a Web browser. A mail service, on the other hand, is
a software application that is accessed on the Web by a browser,
such as Yahoo. Typical mail programs and mail services include such
basic features as formatting, sending, receiving and organizing
email. Email can be sent, for instance, over the Internet, private
intranets or LANs. As used herein, however, the phrase "mail
program" refers to any system that processes email, and includes
both mail clients and mail services.
[0005] Users can send mail to a single recipient or broadcast the
message to multiple users. The mail is usually sent to a mail
server or host computer for the mail recipient. Most email include
a header with three recipient fields, namely To, Cc (carbon copy)
and Bcc (blind carbon copy). When sending to multiple recipients,
the sender usually places the email address for each primary
recipient(s) in the To field, and the email address for any
secondary or additional recipient(s) in the Cc or Bcc fields. All
the recipients of an email are able to view the name and/or email
address for each of the To and Cc recipients, but the name and
email address for each Bcc recipient only appear to that Bcc
recipient.
[0006] One limitation of current mail programs, however, is that
they are only able to process a single message for a single
recipient or group of recipients. In addition, if the sender wishes
to send a different message to a subset of recipients of a primary
message, the sender would have to first send the primary email,
then locate that primary email in his/her Sent mailbox (if the
user's mail program is set up to automatically place all sent email
in a Sent mailbox) and forward that primary email to the subset of
recipients in a separate email with the different message.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] In view of the foregoing, one object of the present
invention is to provide a mail program that is capable of
simultaneously processing multiple messages. It is another object
of the invention to provide a mail program that can process a
primary message having a set of recipients and one or more
secondary messages having a subset of recipients. It is yet another
object of the invention to provide a mail program that can process
a primary message having a set of recipients and one or more
secondary messages having a different set of recipients. It is
still another object of the invention to provide a mail program
that can process a primary message having a set of recipients, one
or more secondary messages having a subset of recipients, and one
or more tertiary messages having a different set of recipients. It
is yet another object of the invention to provide a mail program
with primary and secondary messages which can be processed by the
recipient's server and/or mail program as an attachment in a
conventional manner.
[0008] In accordance with these and other objects, the invention is
a mail program that allows a user to simultaneously process
multiple email messages to separate recipients or groups of
recipients. A primary email has a primary message to be sent, and a
secondary email or floater message is associated with the primary
email, but directed to a different set of recipients than the
primary email.
[0009] These and other objects of the invention, as well as many of
the intended advantages thereof, will become more readily apparent
when reference is made to the following description, taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 shows an outgoing email in accordance with the
invention;
[0011] FIG. 2 shows an email received by the recipient
TechDept@Acme.com of the email shown in FIG. 1 in accordance with
the invention, and;
[0012] FIGS. 3 and 4 show an alternative embodiment of the
invention, in which the primary message and the secondary message
are accessed by tabs.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0013] In describing a preferred embodiment of the invention
illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted
to for the sake of clarity. However, the invention is not intended
to be limited to the specific terms so selected.
[0014] Turning to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows an outgoing email 100
having a primary message box 130. Various floater message boxes 150
are provided in accordance with the present invention. The email
100 has four main components: the toolbar 110, header 120, primary
message box 130 and attachment box 140. One or more floater message
boxes 150 can be associated with the email 100, as desired by the
sender. Each floater message box 150 can optionally have its own
toolbar, header and/or attachment boxes. The primary message box
130 contains a primary message which is sent to all the recipients
listed in the header 120, and the secondary message box 150
contains a secondary message which is sent only to a subset of the
recipients.
[0015] The toolbar 110 contains various command icons, such as a
Send command icon 112, Bold command icon 114 and a Floater command
icon 116. The commands can also be provided in a pull-down menu
(not shown) that can be located across the top of the email 100 in
accordance with well-known techniques. The Send command 112 is used
to send the email 100, including the floater message boxes 150, to
each of the various recipients listed in the header 120 and
associated with the respective floater message box 150. If the user
clicks on the floater command icon 116, a floater message box 150
is created.
[0016] The email header 120 includes the standard fields, To 122,
Cc 124 and Bcc 126. In addition, one or more Fcc (floater carbon
copy) fields 128 can optionally be provided. The user enters the
email address for each of the primary recipients of the primary
message 130 in the standard fields 122, 124 and 126. The Fcc field
128 allows the user to create a floater message box 150 to be sent
to the recipients listed in the Fcc field 128.
[0017] The message box 130 contains the primary message 132 that is
to be sent to each of the recipients listed in the standard header
fields 122, 124, 126. The attachment box 140 is displayed when an
attachment 142 is to be sent with the email 100.
[0018] The floater message box can be a separate box that is
connected to the associated email 100 by a connector or lead line
152. The connector 152 can extend from the floater message box 150
to the recipient address in the Fcc field 128, or to a particular
highlighted text 134 in the message box 130 that is associated with
the floater message box 150.
[0019] Alternatively, the floater message box 150 can be
incorporated into the email 100, but set off from the email 100 by
a vertical, horizontal and/or diagonal divider 154. The divider 154
can have any size or shape, such as a small square, rectangle or
cutaway that is positioned along the side, or in the corner of, the
email 100. The floater message box 150 can be physically located
either internal or external to the email 100. Still yet, the
floater message box 150 can be in the form of an attachment 142
that is located in the attachment box 140 of the email 100.
[0020] In operation, the floater message can be created at any time
during the creation of an email 100. The user selects the floater
command from the pull-down menu (not shown), by clicking on the
icon 116, or by entering an email address in one of the Fcc fields
128. When the floater command is selected, user options are
presented which permit the user to select the type of floater
message that is desired, such as an oval callout or balloon, an
appended message with a divider 154, a box-shape with an optional
connector 152, or the use of selectors 302, 304 (see FIGS. 3 and
4). The user can drag and drop the connector 152 as desired, or
eliminate the connector 152 altogether, so that the floater message
box 150 would appear to the user as a separate email.
Alternatively, the user need not be presented with the options 118,
and instead one of the floater messages 150 can be displayed by
default.
[0021] The user can also associate the floater message box 150 with
specific text of the email message box 130. The user selects the
desired message text 132, then selects the floater command (i.e.,
by entering an Fcc address, clicking on the floater icon 116,
etc.). The desired text is automatically distinguished, such as by
highlighting that text, as represented by the underlining of
highlighted text 134. In addition, the floater message box 150 is
associated with that selected text. For instance, the connector 152
extends to the highlighted text 134, or the balloon points to the
highlighted text 134. Another option is to insert a designator 136
(such as F1) at the end of the highlighted text that identifies the
floater message associated with that text. The associated floater
message includes that same designator. The dashed lines in FIG. 1
reflect that there is an association between the designator 136 and
the respective floater message 150. However, the dashed lines are
preferably not displayed to the user.
[0022] However, the manner and type of floater message boxes 150
are not to be limited to the embodiments shown, and suitable
alternatives will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill.
For instance, the email 100 can include a view floater command that
the user can select to view a floater message box 150. The user can
then type a floater message and then identify the floater message
recipient. The floater message box can also be in the form of tabs
302, 304 which are used to separate the primary and secondary
messages 306, 308, respectively, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The
floater message box 150 preferably displays a secondary message in
a manner which distinguishes the secondary message from a primary
message. The floater message box 150 need not be a "box" or any
particular shape or size.
[0023] Once the floater message box 150 is created, the user enters
a floater message (i.e., a secondary message) in the floater
message box 150 and attaches any attachments. The floater message
box 150 is addressed to one or more floater recipients. The floater
recipient(s) can be any of the recipient(s) of the primary message.
In addition, the floater recipient(s) can be a different recipient
that isn't receiving the primary message. In such instances, the
floater message box 150 and email 100 are preferably switched, such
that the floater recipient receives the floater message 150 as the
primary email, and the email 100 forms the floater message or an
attachment to the email.
[0024] Preferably, the floater message boxes 150 can include the
standard email header fields of To, Cc and Bcc, as well as the Fcc
field (to provide a floater message within a floater message).
Accordingly, the sender can control the floating message box 150
recipients. In addition, commands (such as All, All To, All Cc, All
Bcc, All Fcc, All but To, All but Cc, All but Bcc, and All but Fcc)
can be provided to indicate that the floating message box 150 is to
be sent to certain ones of the recipients listed in the email
header 120 (such as to all of the listed recipients, all of the To
recipients, all of the Cc recipients, etc., respectively). In an
alternative embodiment, the Fcc field 128 can be replaced by an Fm
(floating message) field that can be user-defined to specific
recipients, with Fto, Fcc, Fbc fields, for instance, which would
indicate that the floating message is to be sent to all the To, Cc
or Bcc recipients, respectively. In addition, a field, such as
Fall, could be provided such that the recipients listed in that
field receive the primary message 132, and all floater
messages.
[0025] In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the email 100 is
directed to primary recipients Worker1@Acme.com through
Worker5@Acme.com, as reflected in the standard fields 122, 124,
126. The user then enters an address, CEO@Acme.com, to a first Fcc
field, Fcc1, and a second address, SalesDept@Acme.com to a second
Fcc field, Fcc2. Thus, the CEO and SalesDept will not only receive
the primary message 132, but also the specific floater messages 150
addressed to them. In this example, the CEO and SalesDept are
listed in the Fcc field 128 for the floater message 150 shown in
the bottom-right corner of the email 100. However, the recipients
of floater messages need not be shown in the Fcc field 128.
[0026] In addition, the CEO receives the floater message addressed
to the SalesDept since the CEO is listed as a bcc in that floater
message box 150. The primary recipients, Worker1-Worker 5, only
receive the primary message, but not any of the floater messages,
except that Worker3 and Worker4 receive the one floater message box
150 addressed to them, and which is associated with the highlighted
text 134. The recipient, TechDept receives the floater message to
Worker3 and Worker 4, as well as the floater message contained
within the floater message to Worker3 and Worker4.
[0027] Turning to FIG. 2, an incoming email 200 is shown that is
associated with a floater message box 250. In accordance with the
example of FIG. 1, the incoming email 200 is for the TechDept
recipient. The recipient sees all the recipients down the chain
from the highest-order floating message. That is, the TechDept
recipient sees the floating message directed to it, as well as the
floating message directed to Worker3 and Worker4, and the primary
email message 232. The TechDept also sees the recipients of the
downstream messages, including the Bcc to the primary message,
Worker5. For the option in which the floater message 250 is
associated with highlighted text and/or a designator 236, the
floater message 250 is preferably hidden when first received. The
recipient accesses the floater message 250 by passing a mouse over
the highlighted text 234, by clicking on the designator 236, or by
clicking on a general Floater icon 216.
[0028] On the other hand, the recipient does not see any of the
floating messages that are not in its chain. Thus, in the example
of FIG. 1, the TechDept does not see the floating message to the
CEO and the floating message to the SalesDept and CEO. If the
sender did not wish the TechDept recipient to see the Bcc to the
primary message, the sender could have removed Worker5 from the
Bcc, and created a floating message to Worker5 alone.
Alternatively, a separate field (for instance, a Bcc that follows
the Fcc fields 120) could be created to indicate that listed
recipient(s) only receive the primary message 132, and are not seen
by any other recipient, including recipient(s) of any floating
message.
[0029] The email 200 and floater messages 250 are preferably
displayed in the manner selected by the sender of the email 100.
However, the recipient's mail program (or mail server) also permits
the recipient to set preferences on how incoming floater messages
250 are to be displayed. Thus, for instance, the sender can format
the floater message 150 with a connector 152 internal to the email
100. However, the recipient can choose to display any floater
message as an attachment 142 or as an external message.
[0030] The email 200, and each floater message 250, includes a
Reply command 212 and Reply All command 214 that permit the
recipient to respond to the sender(s). The Reply command 212 in
each floater message 250 enables the user to respond to the floater
message 250, in which case the original message 200 is preferably
not repeated. However, the floater message 250 can also be formed
as the primary message of the reply email, and the original email
100 is an attachment. The Reply All command 214 in the email 200
enables the recipient to reply to the floater message 250 and the
email 200, such that the email 200 remains associated with the
reply.
[0031] The email 200, and each floater message 250, further
includes a Delete command (not shown) that permits the recipient to
delete the respective message. Thus, the recipient can delete a
floating message 250, and retain the primary email 200. Or, the
recipient can delete the primary email 200, and retain the floating
message 250. The primary email 200 also has a main delete command
that allows the recipient to delete both the primary email 200 and
floater message 250 at the same time.
[0032] Turning to FIGS. 3 and 4, the primary message 306 and
secondary message 308 are placed within the same email 100, and
primary and secondary selectors or tabs 302, 304 are used to toggle
between the different messages. The recipient of a given message is
listed in the tabs 302, 304 corresponding to the message. Thus, in
the example of FIGS. 3 and 4, "Workers 1, 2, 3" are displayed in
the primary tab 302 corresponding to the primary message 306 since
each of those recipients receive the primary message 306. However,
only "Workers 2 and 3" are displayed in the secondary tab 304
corresponding to the secondary message 308 since only Workers 2 and
3 receive the secondary message 308. The tabs 302, 304 can appear
once the user enters an address in the Fcc field, and the
recipients name (i.e., everything before the "@" in the Fcc field)
can be automatically displayed in the tab. Alternatively, the user
can select the floater command 116, which will create the tabs 302,
304.
[0033] The tabs 302, 304 enable the primary and secondary messages
306, 308 to be clearly distinguished from each other, and at the
same time notify the recipient as to the presence of a secondary
message 308 directed only to that recipient. Though not shown, the
secondary message 308 can contain the To, Cc, Bcc, and Fcc fields,
and any recipient named in a Bcc and/or Fcc field need not be
displayed to the other recipients in the corresponding tab 304.
Each secondary message preferably has its own tab, though one
secondary message can be displayed by a tab, and another secondary
message can be displayed as an attachment, etc.
[0034] Of course, the primary recipient, Worker 1 in the example of
FIGS. 3 and 4, is only receiving the primary message 306. Thus, the
primary message 306 need not be displayed in association with a
separate tab 302, but instead is displayed in the normal fashion.
The secondary recipient, Worker 2 in the example, receives both the
primary message 306 and the secondary message 308. The tabs 302,
304 allow the recipient, Worker 2, as well as the sender, to move
between the primary and secondary messages 306, 308, and clearly
differentiates the separate message and separate recipients.
[0035] When a floater message 150 is created and the email 100 is
sent, the mail program preferably sends the floater message 150 as
part of a single message with email 100. That is, for the example
of FIG. 1, the mail program transmits eight (8) mail messages: the
primary email to each of Worker1-Worker5, with Worker3 and Worker 4
receiving the additional floater message 150; the CEO receives the
primary message 130 and two floater messages 150; the SalesDept
receives the primary message 130 and one floater message 150; and,
the TechDept receives the primary message 130 and two floater
messages 150.
[0036] Accordingly, each recipient only receives a single email
message, some of which also include a floater message. However, the
email 100 and floater messages 150 can be transmitted in any
suitable manner, such as separate emails that are linked together
by the recipient's mail program. In sending the email 100, the mail
program and/or sender's server preferably first determines all of
the various recipients, then cycles through each recipient and
identifies the floater message(s), if any, to be sent to that
recipient. The mail program and/or sender's server then sends a
single email to each recipient.
[0037] Preferably, however, the sender's mail program and/or server
simply indicates that a secondary message is being sent as an
attachment so that the recipient's mail program and/or server
(which currently process attachments) need not be specially
configured to process the secondary message in a different manner.
The sender's server need only recognize that the attachment is only
directed to the subset of recipients, such as by checking the Fcc
field and/or checking the To and Cc fields of the floater message
box 150.
[0038] The recipient's server simply processes the secondary
message as a standard attachment in a conventional manner. Of
course, the recipient's mail program and/or server can be
configured to recognize secondary messages sent in other forms,
such as the floater boxes 150, and or tabs 302, 304 (FIGS. 3 and
4), and process them accordingly. The sender's server can also
check whether the recipient server will recognize the floater
message 150 before sending the email 100 and, if not, then the
sender's server only sends the floater message 150 as an attachment
to that server, so that the recipient's server need not be
specially configured to receive the secondary message.
[0039] Alternatively, the secondary message 150 can be sent to all
the recipients listed in the To, Cc, Bcc and Fcc fields, but hidden
from all the recipients except for the Fcc recipients. The
secondary message 150 can be hidden, for instance, by defining a
special format within the secondary message, or by having the
recipient server recognize that certain text is to be hidden from
the recipient.
[0040] Once the email 100 is sent, the email 100 appears in the
sender's Sent mailbox with a special designator indicating that a
floater message 150 was attached to the email 100. Similarly, when
an email 100 is still being created and appears in the user's Draft
mailbox, that email 100 can appear as a special designator, such as
a balloon icon, in the Draft mailbox, to indicate that the email
100 has a floater message 150. Likewise, when a recipient receives
an email 200 that contains a floater message 250 for that
recipient, the email 200 is designated by a special icon in the
recipient's Inbox to indicate that the email 200 contains the
floater message 250.
[0041] Though the floater message box 150 has been described as
being particularly advantageous when there are multiple recipients
to an email 100, it can also be used where there is a single email
recipient. The floater message 150 can be used by the sender to
make remarks about the primary message 132 that the sender doesn't
want to put directly in the primary message 132. Thus, for
instance, the sender may wish to submit a primary message (such as
a draft letter to a third party, a paper or publication being
co-authored by the sender and recipient, etc.) to a recipient, and
use the floater box 150 to make reference to different points of
the primary message without marking the primary message.
[0042] As another example, the email 100 can be a Reply or Forward
email, and the primary message 132 can be the text of the original
message. The sender can use the floater message boxes 150 to make
remarks about the original message without disturbing the original
message. In this regard, floater messages can also be used in a
newsgroup or threaded messages, or one of the recipients of the
email 100 can be a newsgroup.
[0043] The floater message boxes 150, 250 can have any suitable
size or shape, and can be presented in any manner to distinguish it
from the primary message, such as, for example, by change in color,
an audible indicator, location (internal or external to the email
100, 200), and/or pop-up when the user passes the cursor over
highlighted text or selects the floating message icon. In addition,
the floater messages 150, 250 need not be presented in boxes, but
can be incorporated into the text 132 of the email 100. Thus, for
instance, the sender can designate certain text 132 to be seen by
different recipients of an email 100.
[0044] In addition, message viewers or pre-viewers which permit the
message to be displayed in a viewing pane without actually opening
the email, can be provided with two or more viewing panes to
separately display the primary message and the secondary message.
The primary message can also be prepared as a first or primary
email, and the secondary message can be prepared as a separate
second or secondary email, which are then linked together by the
sender's email program and/or sender's server so that the secondary
message is an attachment to the primary email.
[0045] The foregoing descriptions and drawings should be considered
as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. The
invention may be configured in a variety of shapes and sizes and is
not limited by the dimensions of the preferred embodiment. Numerous
applications of the present invention will readily occur to those
skilled in the art. Therefore, it is not desired to limit the
invention to the specific examples disclosed or the exact
construction and operation shown and described. Rather, all
suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling
within the scope of the invention.
* * * * *