US 6,643,684 B1 · Sender- specified delivery customization

Abstract

A system and method that enables a given sending user to specify a set of delivery policies and have them used for the electronic delivery of a given message, the message potentially having several heterogeneous parts (e.g., text and pictures) each of which is handled differently, and delivered to multiple heterogeneous devices (e.g., PCs, Smartphones, fax machines), and possibly to several distinct recipients. The factors with which a sender can qualify their delivery policies include: time/date, transmission cost; whether the transmission can be forwarded; receiving device capability; and network reliability, speed, and security transmission. Methods are also provided enabling a sender to specify that particular transmissions be redirected or copied, e.g., “send fax copy to my broker and my accountant.” In one embodiment, the delivery policies may be specified using PICS.

Claims58

Dependent claims

In a computer network of heterogeneous nodes including at least one sending device and one or more receiving devices having potentially different capabilities for receiving transmissions from the at least one sending device, a method for senders to specify content delivery policies and to deliver content accordingly, comprising the steps of:

associating sender specified policies with a particular communication for delivery of content to one or more said receiving devices;
receiving from a sending device the sender-specified policies associated with the particular communication for delivery of content to the one or more said receiving devices, wherein at least one of said receiving devices is distinct from the sending device;
breaking the transmissions into component parts;
determining handling protocols for the component parts;
and
completing the particular communication for delivery of content to the one or more said receiving devices based on the sender-specified policies associated with said particular communication, wherein the component parts are delivered to one or more said receiving devices according to the handling protocols.

3 more elements

In a computer network of heterogeneous nodes including sending devices and receiving devices having potentially different capabilities, a sender-specified delivery customization system for enabling a sender to specify content delivery policies, comprising:

associating means for enabling a sender to associate one or more delivery policies with content to be communicated to one or more said receiving devices, the content to be sent from at least one of said sending devices;
means for communicating the content to one or more said receiving devices based on the delivery policies,
a processor device for receiving a transmission including the content with associated delivery policies, the processor including means for breaking the transmission into component parts, and determining how each component parts should be handled;
wherein the sender is enabled to specify handling protocols for the component parts for delivery to at least one of said receiving devices which is distinct from said at least one of said sending devices, said processor further delivering the component parts to receiving devices according to the handling determination.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Sender- specified delivery customization

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Sender- specified delivery customization

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims58