Intelligent message screening

#This invention relates generally to communications over a network, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for processing electronic messages conveyed over a network, based on predefined criteria such as the sender of the message and the content of the message, where the recipient's response to and handling of current messages affects the automated processing of future messages.

#Electronic messaging system traffic has increased dramatically in the past twenty years. The introduction of mobile and cellular telephone systems increased the utility of the telephone systems, and traffic on such systems has correspondingly increased. Fax machines have become ubiquitous in both business and personal applications, further increasing the use of electronic messaging for transmitting hard copies of documents. But the greatest growth in electronic messaging has occurred due to the advent of email communications between personal computers over the Internet (and other networks). It is not uncommon for individuals in a busy work environment to receive hundreds of email messages each day. Unfortunately, many of these email messages are spam, i.e., unsolicited email messages from strangers, or of relatively low priority and of little interest to the recipient.

#Mixed in with the spam email messages are those that are relatively important, for example, messages from business contacts, friends, or relatives. Electronic messages represent an essential form of communication that cannot be ignored. Indeed, email messaging has become so important in conducting business and in personal communications that many feel obliged to access email messages, even when away from home or the office. As a result, the use of Web enabled pagers, smart phones, and personal digital assistants (PDAs) is becoming widespread, to enable electronic messages to “follow” an individual almost anywhere. However, the display screens available on such portable devices are generally too small to facilitate navigating through a lengthy list of electronic messages. Sorting through hundreds of electronic messages on such a small display to separate the important messages from the spam and relatively unimportant messages is thus both difficult and time consuming.

#The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

#FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating how the present invention prioritizes electronic messages using fuzzy logic;

#FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a computing device useful for implementing the present invention;

#FIG. 1 schematically illustrates functions of the present invention. In a system 10b, email, faxes, and telephone messages comprising electronic messages 12b are received by a computing device 14b. Computing device 14b executes a message handler routine 18 and a manual update routine 24 to implement the present invention, and stores user defined preferences and address book 20, which are accessed when prioritizing the electronic messages. Preferably, the present invention prioritizes the incoming messages using fuzzy logic, as indicated in a block 16b, to determine a category for the messages, which will determine how the electronic messages are handled. The prioritized messages are available to a user 22, who will no longer need to sort through multiple electronic messages to determine which messages have a high priority.

#As those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize, the term “fuzzy logic” refers to a mathematical technique for dealing with imprecise data and problems having multiple acceptable solutions, rather than a single solution. Fuzzy logic is often used for solving problems in systems that must react to an imperfect environment including highly variable and volatile or unpredictable conditions. According to traditional logic, an element is either a member of a set or not. According to fuzzy logic, membership in a set is a matter of degree, rather than specific yes/no determination. Fuzzy set theory, which was originally developed by Lotfi Zadeh in the 1960s, resembles human reasoning in that it employs approximate information and uncertainty to arrive at decisions. Fuzzy logic has been specifically designed to mathematically represent uncertainty and vagueness, and to provide formalized tools for dealing with the imprecision intrinsic to many systems.

#Fuzzy set theory defines classes or groupings of data with boundaries that are not sharply defined (i.e., boundaries that are fuzzy). Linguistic variables are an important aspect of fuzzy logic applications, as general terms such as “large,” “medium,” and “small” are used to capture a range of numerical values. Fuzzy logic allows sets to overlap. For example, under fuzzy logic, a 200 pound man might be classified in both “large” and “medium” weight categories, with varying degrees of membership in each category. Fuzzy set theory encompasses fuzzy logic, fuzzy arithmetic, fuzzy mathematical programming, fuzzy topology, fuzzy graph theory, and fuzzy data analysis; however, the term fuzzy logic is often used to encompass all of these aspects.