Unified Messaging Solutions LLC v. Facebook, Inc. et al

Filing 1

COMPLAINT against Atmos Energy Corp., Atmos Energy Services, LLC, Ban of America, N.A., Bank of America Corporation, Cequel Communications Holdings I, LLC, Cequel Communications, LLC, Charter Communications, Inc., Comcast Corporation, Comerica Bank, Comerica Incorporated, ETRADE Bank, ETRADE Financial Corporation, Facebook, Inc., LinkedIn Corporation, Match.com, Inc., Regions Bank, Regions Financial Corporation, Reliant Energy Retail Holdings, LLC, Reliant Energy, Inc., Research In Motion Corporation, T-Mobile USA, Inc., TXU Energy Retail Company LLC, True Beginnings, LLC, Verizon Communications, Inc., Windstream Corporation, eHarmony, Inc. ( Filing fee $ 350 receipt number 0540-2935933.), filed by Unified Messaging Solutions LLC. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D, # 5 Civil Cover Sheet)(Hill, Jack)

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EXHIBIT A 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 US006857074B2 United States Patent (10) Bobo, II (12) (45) (54) SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR STORING, DELIVERING, AND MANAGING MESSAGES (75) Inventor: (73) Assignee: j2 Global Communication, Inc., Los Angeles, CA (US) ( *) Notice: FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS AU EP Charles R. Bobo, II, Atlanta, GA (US) WO WO WO WO WO Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U.S.c. 154(b) by 24 days. (21) Filed: Prior Publication Data US 2003/0208688 A1 Nov. 6, 2003 Related U.S. Application Data (63) (List continued on next page.) Continuation of application No. 09/840,759, filed on Apr. 23, 2001, now Pat. No. 6,564,321, which is a continuation of application No. 09/186,595, filed on Nov. 5, 1998, now Pat. No. 6,350,066, which is a continuation of application No. 08/944,741, filed on Oct. 6, 1997, now Pat. No. 5,870, 549, which is a continuation-in-part of application No. 08/431,716, filed on Apr. 28, 1995, now Pat. No. 5,675,507. (51) Int. CI? (52) U.S. CI. Field of Search (57) 713/168, 165, 713/200, 201 References Cited U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 4,106,060 4,289,930 4,405,829 4,532,588 4,713,780 4,754,428 4,816,653 A A A A A A A 8/1978 9/1981 9/1983 7/1985 12/1987 6/1988 3/1989 ABSTRACT A Message Storage and Deliver System (MSDS) is connected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and receives incoming calls with these calls being facsimile, voice, or data transmissions. The MSDS detects the type of call and stores the message signal in a database. The MSDS is also connected to the Internet and has a hyper-text transfer protocol deamon (HTTPD) for receiving requests from users. The HTIPD forwards requests for certain files or messages to a network server which transmits at least part of the message to the HTIPD and then to the user. In addition to requests for certain documents, the HTTPD may also receive a request in the form of a search query. The search query is forwarded from the HTTPD to an application program for conducting the search of the database. The results of the search are forwarded through the HTIPD to the user. The user may then select one or more files or messages from the search results and may save the search for later reference. 713/168; 713/165; 713/200; 713/201 (58) Primary Examiner-Thomas R. Peeso (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Kenyon & Kenyon G06F 3/00 (56) 4/2003 2/1994 9/1992 6/1993 8/1993 1/1994 10/1996 B. S. Kaliski Jr., "An Overview of the PKCS Standards," RSA Laboratories Technical Note, RSA Security, Inc. Public-Key Cryptography Standards (PKCS), Revised Nov. 1, 1993. "Keys and Certificates," downloaded from the Internet at www.elock.com. May 12, 2003 (65) 755321 0615368 A2 WO 1994006230 WO 1995001040 WO 1995006386 WO 1995020288 WO 96/34341 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Appl. No.: 10/436,798 (22) Patent No.: US 6,857,074 B2 Date of Patent: Feb. 15,2005 Chapman, Jr. Connolly et al. Rivest et al. Foster Schultz et al. Schultz et al. Ander! et al. (List continued on next page.) 28 Claims, 18 Drawing Sheets 10'" CG'lTRAL OFFICE MESSAGE STOOAGEAND D8JVERY SYSTEM """'NET WORLDWIDE WEB " 32 0 US 6,857,074 B2 Page 2 U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 4,837,798 4,853,961 4,918,722 5,008,814 5,033,079 5,065,427 5,068,888 5,091,790 5,105,184 5,115,326 5,517,556 5,167,011 5,175,762 5,241,594 5,247,591 5,247,661 5,255,312 5,257,112 5,448,626 5,276,869 5,283,887 5,488,651 5,291,302 5,291,546 5,293,250 5,297,208 5,317,628 5,333,266 5,349,636 5,742,905 5,355,472 5,367,621 5,379,374 5,404,231 5,406,557 5,608,874 5,418,908 5,424,724 5,459,584 5,471,617 5,479,411 5,483,466 5,483,580 5,495,610 5,497,373 5,509,123 5,513,323 5,526,353 5,530,852 5,544,320 5,555,100 5,559,611 5,572,643 5,608,786 5,673,316 5,675,507 5,677,955 6,282,270 5,710,883 5,727,156 5,737,396 5,751,814 5,751,956 5,768,528 5,781,901 5,787,175 5,790,790 5,790,793 5,793,972 5,819,295 A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A B1 A A A A A A A A A A A A 6/1989 8/1989 4/1990 4/1991 7/1991 11/1991 11/1991 2/1992 4/1992 5/1992 9/1992 11/1992 12/1992 8/1993 9/1993 9/1993 10/1993 10/1993 11/1993 1/1994 2/1994 2/1994 3/1994 3/1994 3/1994 3/1994 5/1994 7/1994 9/1994 9/1994 10/1994 11/1994 1/1995 4/1995 4/1995 4/1995 5/1995 6/1995 10/1995 11/1995 12/1995 1/1996 1/1996 2/1996 3/1996 4/1996 4/1996 6/1996 6/1996 8/1996 9/1996 9/1996 11/1996 3/1997 9/1997 10/1997 10/1997 11/1997 1/1998 3/1998 4/1998 5/1998 5/1998 6/1998 7/1998 7/1998 8/1998 8/1998 8/1998 10/1998 Cohen et al. 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Borenstein et aI., "MIME: Mechanisms for Specifying and Describing the Format of Internet Message Bodies," Network Working Group, RFC 1341, Jun. 1992. N. Borenstein, "MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) Part One: Mechanism for Specifying and Describing the Format of Internet Message Bodies," Network Working Group, RFC 1521, Sep. 1993. K. Moore, "MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) Part Two: Message Header Extensions for Non-ASCII Text," Network Working Group, RFC 1522, Sep. 1993. N. Freed, et aI., "Definition of the URL MIME ExternalBody Access-Type," Network Working Group, Internet Draft of RFC 2017 (Apr. 11, 1995) see also N. Freed et aI., "Definition of the URL MIME External-Body Access-Type," Network Working Group, RFC 2017, Oct. 1996. C. Mamos, "New Internet Mail Functionality for Delivery Status Notifications," Messaging Magazine, Jul.lAug. 1995. K. Moore, "SMTP Service Extension for Delivery Status Notifications," Network Working Group, Internet-Draft of RFC 1891, Sep. 21, 1995. US 6,857,074 B2 Page 4 Internet Engineering Task Force, R. Braden (ed.), "Requirements for Internet Hosts-Application and Support," Network Working Group, RFC 1123, Oct. 1989. J. Myers, et aI., "Post Office Protocol-Version 3," Network Working Group, RFC 1725, Nov. 1994. K Sollins et aI., "Functional Requirements for Uniform Resource Names," Network Working Group, RFC 1737 Dec. 1994. T. Berners-Lee, "Universal Resource Identifier in WWW,A Unifying Syntax for the Expression and Address of Objects on the Network as used in the World-Wide Web," Network Working Group, RFC 1630, Jun. 1994. T. Berners-Lee, et aI., "Uniform Resource Locators (URL)," Network Working Group, RFC 1738, Dec. 1994. T. Berners-Lee, et aI., "Hypertext Markup Language-2.0," Network Working Group, RFC 1866, Nov. 1995. S. 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Fax Mailbox, PC Today, Sep. 1994. The Multimedia Fax-MIME Gateway, Patel, Henderson and Georganas, IEEE Multimedia, Winter 1994. Multimedia Fax-MIME Interworking, Patel, Henderson and Georganas, IEEE, 1994. MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension) Part One: Mechanisms for Specifying and Describing the Format of Internet Message Bodies, Internet 1521 (obsoletes 1342), Sep. 1993. MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension) Part Two: Message Header Extensions for Non-ASCII Text, Internet RFC 1522 (obsoletes 1342), Sep. 1993. Lotus Turns Up the Heat on Microsoft Exchange Rival, Network Week, Jan. 27, 1994. Novell Inc. to Demonstrate Alex, a Universal In-box That Will Accept and Store Email, Voice mail and Faxes, Computer Reseller News, Feb. 6, 1995. IBM Softward Allows Phone Messages to be Retrieved Via Internet World Wide Web, press release, Nov. 28, 1995 (announcing product release). MSN Hotmail Continues to Grow Faster than Any Company in History, press release, Feb. 8, 1999 (referencing Jul. 4, 1996 launch of Hotmail, which permitted users to access e-mail accounts through web browsers). u.s. Patent Feb. 15,2005 D US 6,857,074 B2 Sheet 1 of 18 TELEPHONE CALL INITIATED 40/ 28 ! ADDRESS SIGNAL DELIVERED 42/ CENTRAL OFFICE ~ CALL ROUTED WITHIN MSDS «/ 20 ! CALL ANSWERED AND ADDRESS SIGNAL RECEIVED 15 MESSAGE STORAGE AND DELIVERY SYSTEM ./ 46 ! CALLIS ESTABLISHED 48 10 / ~ MESSAGE RECEIVED BY MSOS 50 INTERNET WORLDWIDE WEB / ~ MESSAGE IS STORED 5'2/ ! DATABASE IS UPDATED 30 54 / t CUSTOMER IS NOTIFIED 32 56 MESSAGE IS CONVERTED TO HTML BASED ON USER PREFERENCES FIG 1 58 FIG 2 u.s. Patent Feb. 15,2005 US 6,857,074 B2 Sheet 2 of 18 INTENDED RECIPIENT CONNECTS TO INTERNET ~ 60/ INTENDED RECIPIENT ACCESSES MAILBOX ~ 6.'2/ HTTPD RECEIVES URLREQUEST ~ / 64 HTTPD REQUESTS USER AUTHENTICATION / t 66 10 AND PASSWORD SUPPLIED 68 / 1 ~DOES~ ~IO AND PASSWOR .~_N0-.J SEND AUTHENTICATION MATCH FOR REQUESTE ..............MAILBOX7--- FAILURE MESSAGE / 70 YES 74 ACCESS PROVIDED RECEIVE INFORMATION REQUEST FIG J ~S REQUESTED INFORMATION 1ST YES NO 78 SEND INFORMATION TO ...-_ _-tGENERATE INFORMATION USER'S COMPUTER BASED ON PREFERENCE 80 82 u.s. Patent Feb. 15,2005 GENERATE TEXTUAL EXTRACT FIRST PAGE FROM FAX FILE USTING OF FAXES AND REFERENCE TO FAX ALES 102 US 6,857,074 B2 Sheet 3 of 18 EXTRACT FIRST PAGE FROM FAX FILE 116 108 CREATE REDUCED SIZEHTMllMAGE CONVERT FIRST PAGE TO RJU SIZE HTMLIMAGE OF FIRST PAGE 118 110 GENERATE UST NG WITH EMBEDDED ARSTPAGE THl.NBNAIL UNK TO . FAXALE 112 MOVE FiLE TO INTERNET SERVER 104 GENERATE USTING WITH EMBEDDED ARSTPAGE UNK TO FAX FILE 120 FIG 4A u.s. Patent US 6,857,074 B2 Sheet 4 of 18 Feb. 15,2005 J---_@ NO NO 144 122 YES YES EXTRACT FIRST PAGE EXTRACT FIRST PAGE 124 146 EXTRACT NEXT PAGE EXTRACT NEXT PAGE 154 142 CREATE FULL SIZEHTML IMAGE OF PAGE CREATE REDUCED SIZE HTMLIMAGE OF PAGE 126 ~ 148 GENERATE LISTING WITH EMBEDDED IMAGE AND LINKS TO PREVIOUSANDNEXT PAGES CREATE FULL SIZEHTML IMAGE OF PAGE 150 GENERATE LISTING WITH EMBEDDED IMAGE THUMBNAIL WITH LINK TO FULL SIZE IMAGE NO 152 YES 130 NO 104 140 MOVE FILE TO INTERNET SERVER t YES FIG 48 u.s. Patent Feb. 15,2005 Sheet 5 of 18 DETERMINE IMAGE TYPE NEEDED YES US 6,857,074 B2 U.S. Patent Feb. 15,2005 Sheet 6 of 18 US 6,857,074 B2 Fax from (404)249-6801 RETRIEVE VOICE FILE Received on May 31, 1995 at 1:58 PM Page 10f 3 170/ NetOffice, Inc. ~ CONVERT AD/PCM TOWAV 172/ From: Charles R. Bobo,11. Pages: 3 Date: May 31, 1995 ~ UPDATEHTML LISTING 174 / FIC 8 RETRIEVE DATA FILE 180/ t UPDATEHTML LISTING 7 182 FIC 9 Next Page Return to fax Listing This page was automatically generated by FaxWeb{tm) On May 31,1995 at 2:05pm ©1995 NetOffice, inc. NetOffiee, ioe, PO Box 7115 Atlanta, GA 30357 info@netoffice.com FIG 7 u.s. Patent US 6,857,074 B2 Sheet 7 of 18 Feb. 15,2005 GO OFF HOOK AND RING PHONE 200 YES NO FAX MESSAGE STOP RINGING 2 204 YES DATA MESSAGE STOP RINGING 212 210 YES YES STOP RINGING NO 216 YES 226 YES • • • STOP RINGING SOUND ~ 228 224"ft> FIG 10 © u.s. Patent Sheet 8 of 18 Feb. 15,2005 US 6,857,074 B2 PLAY VOICE GREETING 2JO YES NO ....-----. PROMPT FAX MESSAGE FOR MESSAGE NO 2 • • • RECORD MESSAGE TO ALE DEFAULT USER WITH OPTIONS PROMPT 238 248 TERMINATE CAll FIG 11 242 u.s. Patent Feb. 15,2005 US 6,857,074 B2 Sheet 9 of 18 PROMPT FOR PASSWORD GET PASSWORD PASSWORD INCORRECT NO ......MORE THAN "N~ .......... ATTEMPTS?......... TERMINATE CALL 278 NO PLAY FAILURE MESSAGE YES TERMINATE CALL PLAY 2 MESSAGES 2 YES , . - - - - - - , . OPTIONS MOO 270 YES PR~OU~~EMJ OREXITIFNO PREVIOUS MOO 274 INVAliD KEY 2"/1 FIG 12 u.s. Patent Feb. 15,2005 US 6,857,074 B2 Sheet 10 of 18 SOFTWARE INPUT I DEVICE CENTRAL STORAGE DID TRUNK ·DfDTRllNK DID TRUNK OUTPUT PROCESSOR SOFTWARE g' INTERNET SERVER INTERNET 30 PAGING SYSTEM 13/ ~ P FIG lJ D . ( 32/ 1'= &;., u.s. Patent Feb. 15,2005 Sheet 11 of 18 PULSE/ TONE DECODER US 6,857,074 B2 TELEPHONE LINE INTERFACE DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSOR DID TRUNK 15/ • • • f- 25/ "29 PULSE! TONE DECODER TELEPHONE LINE INTERFACE 23/ 21/ DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSOR L------I I-- MICROPROCESSOR 1----1 SOFTWARE FIG 14 STORAGE DID TRUNK 7 15 u.s. Patent US 6,857,074 B2 Sheet 12 of 18 Feb. 15,2005 CENTRAL PROCESSOR 3 '--,......--- r------------ ----------------------------1 5 ~v MEMORY APPUCATION I-+-i-----l PROGRAMS 39 SIGNAL PROCESSOR 31 33 CGI STORAGE TREPHONE I I PAGING INTERFPl:E : I 35 HTTPD SYSTEM ....--_1.------" I 11 41 I I I I 43 13 I I I I L 37 _ INTERNET FIG 1 ~ 30 ·INDIVIDUAL APPUCATION PROGRAMS PREFORMATTED HTML FILE COMMON GATEWAY INTERFPl:E (CGII HTTPD HTTPD INETD INTERNET DEAMON UNETD) OS OPERATING SYSTEM (OS) TCP/IP TCP/IP FIG 16A FIG 168 u.s. Patent Sheet 13 of 18 Feb. 15,2005 US 6,857,074 B2 0> o M Q:=(f) we I-J LJ ~w OLL I- zo:: WW ~ro ::>~ ~ 0:::> OZ 0 (f) .w J 0(9 z<i CL <D o M Ww -IN LL<f) J W ~zo:: a::Ow WIco -JCL~ -Jw:::> <i-J ow z LJ (9 LL IW ~ LJ I- M o W M ~ LJ I- 0 I- Z Ww ~CL B~ 0 0 (f) ~ zw w~ -« CL () W 0:: Z (\/ 0 (") LJ ..- 0 (") LJ u.s. Patent Feb. 15,2005 US 6,857,074 B2 Sheet 14 of 18 3 21 320 USER SENDS REQUEST FOR SEARCH LJ 322 MSOS SENDS USER A SEARCH QUERY FORM ~ 323 USER ENTERS SEARCH PARAMETERS IN SEARCH QUERY FORM J 32 4 MSDS PERFORMS REQUESTED SEARCH FOR FILES/MESSAGES ~ 32 5 MSDS SENDS USER RESUL TS OF SEARCH LJ 32 6 FIG. 18 USER SELECTS DESIRED FILES/MESSAGES LJ u.s. Patent Feb. 15,2005 Sheet 15 of 18 US 6,857,074 B2 SEARCH QUERY RECIPIENT'S NAME: 10 DOCUMENT TYPE: IW I DATE: FILE SIZE: I I I NO. PAGES: I DOCUMENT NO.: I TIME: CALLING NO.: 10 OTHER FIELD: SEARCH RECENT FILES STORED SEARCH GROUP HELP FIG. 19 u.s. Patent Feb. 15,2005 US 6,857,074 B2 Sheet 16 of 18 SEARCH QUERY RECIPIENT'S NAME: DOCUMENT TYPE: IFACSIMILE DATE: TIME: CALLING NO.: 1(404) 249-6801 ICIJ IW I I I I FILE SIZE: I I I (IJ NO. PAGES: DOCUMENT NO.: OTHER FIELD: SEARCH RECENT FILES STORED SEARCHES HELP FIG. 20 u.s. Patent Feb. 15,2005 Sheet 17 of 18 US 6,857,074 B2 SEARCH RESULTS 1. Document No, 11: Facsimile from (404) 249-6801 to Jane Doe on May 31. 1995. 3 Pages 2, Document No. 243: Facsjmile from (404) 249-6801 to Jane Doe 00 July 16. 1995.21 Pages 3. Document No. 1002: Facsimile from (404) 249-6801 to Jane Doe on January 1. 1996. 10 Pages SAVE SEARCH AS; ICHARLES R. BOBO FACSIMILES I HELP FIG. 21 u.s. Patent Feb. 15,2005 Sheet 18 of 18 US 6,857,074 B2 STORED SEARCHES 1. CHARLES R. 80BO FACSIMILES 2. CHARLES R. SOSO YOICE MESSAGES 3. DATA TRANSFERS FROM 01=01-96 TO 6-01-96 TO JANE DOE HELP FIG. 22 US 6,857,074 B2 1 2 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR STORING, DELIVERING, AND MANAGING MESSAGES machine needs repairing, or when the facsimile machine is busy with another message. These costs occur more frequently with some of the smaller businesses, who are also less able to incur these expenses, since many of them have a single phone line for a telephone handset and the facsimile machine and thereby stand to lose both telephone calls and facsimile messages when the single line is busy. In fact, the Atlanta Business Chronicle estimated that fewer than 5% of the small businesses have 2 or more facsimile machines. Many of the larger companies can reduce these losses by having more than one facsimile machine and by having calls switched to another machine when one of the machines is busy. These losses, however, cannot be completely eliminated since the machines can still experience a demand which exceeds their capabilities. A main benefit of the facsimile machine, namely the quick transfer of documents, does not necessarily mean that the documents will quickly be routed to the intended recipient. The facsimile machines may be unattended and a received facsimile message may not be noticed until a relatively long period of time has elapsed. Further, even for those machines which are under constant supervision, the routing procedures established in an office may delay the delivery of the documents. It is therefore a problem in many offices to quickly route the facsimile message to the intended recipient. The nature of the facsimile message also renders it difficult for the intended recipient to receive a sensitive message without having the message exposed to others in the office who can intercept and read the message. If the intended recipient is unaware that the message is being sent, other people may see the message while it is being delivered or while the message remains next to the machine. When the intended recipient is given notice that a sensitive message is being transmitted, the intended recipient must wait near the facsimile machine until the message is received. It was therefore difficult to maintain the contents of a facsimile message confidential. In an office with a large number of employees, it may also be difficult to simply determine where the facsimile message should be routed. In light of this difficulty, some systems have been developed to automatically route facsimile messages to their intended recipient. One type of system, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,112 to Okada, can route an incoming call to a particular facsimile machine based upon codes entered with telephone push-buttons by the sender of the message. Another type of system, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,326 to Burgess et al. or in U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,591 to Baran, requires the sender to use a specially formatted cover page which is read by the system. This type of system, however, burdens the sender, who may very well be a client or customer, by requiring the sender to take special steps or additional steps to transmit a facsimile message. These systems are therefore not very effective or desirable. Another type of routing system links a facsimile machine to a Local Area Network (LAN) in an office. For instance, in the systems disclosed in the patents to Baran and Burgess et aI., after the system reads the cover sheet to determine the intended recipient of the facsimile message, the systems send an E-mail message to the recipient through the local network connecting the facsimile machine to the recipient's computer. Other office systems, such as those in U.S. Pat. No. 5,091,790 to Silverberg and U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,546 to Giler et aI., are linked to the office's voice mail system and may leave a message with the intended recipient that a facsimile message has been received. Some systems which This application is a continuation of patent application Ser. No. 09/840,759, filed Apr. 23, 2001, U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,321, which is a continuation of patent application Ser. No. 09/186,595, filed Nov. 5, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,350,066, which is a continuation of patent application Ser. No. 08/944,741, filed Oct. 6, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,549, which is a continuation-in-part of patent application Ser. No. 08/431,716, filed Apr. 28, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,507. 5 10 FIELD OF THE INVENTION 15 This invention relates to system(s) and methodes) for storing and delivering messages and, more particularly, to system(s) and methodes) for storing messages and for delivery the messages through a network, such as the Internet, or a telephone line to an intended recipient. In another aspect, the invention relates to system(s) and methodes) for storing, delivering, and managing messages or other files, such as for archival purposes or for document tracking. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Even though the facsimile machine is heavily relied upon by businesses of all sizes and is quickly becoming a standard piece of office equipment, many businesses or households cannot receive the benefits of the facsimile machine. Unfortunately, for a small business or for a private household, a facsimile machine is a rather expensive piece of equipment. In addition to the cost of purchasing the facsimile machine, the facsimile machine also requires toner, paper, maintenance, as well as possible repairs. These expenses may be large enough to prevent many of the small businesses and certainly many households from benefiting from the service that the facsimile machine can provide. For others who are constantly traveling and who do not have an office, it may be impractical to own a facsimile machine. In fact, the Atlanta Business Chronicle estimates that 30% of the small businesses do not have any facsimile machines. Therefore, many businesses and households are at a disadvantage since they do not have access to a facsimile machine. Because a facsimile machine can be such an asset to a company and is heavily relied upon to quickly transmit and receive documents, a problem exists in that the machines are not always available to receive a facsimile message. At times, a facsimile machine may be busy receiving another message or the machine may be transmitting a message of its own. During these times, a person must periodically attempt to send the message until communication is established with the desired facsimile machine. This inability to connect with a facsimile machine can be frustrating, can consume quite a bit of the person's time, and prevent the person from performing more productive tasks. While some more advanced facsimile machines will retry to establish communication a number of times, a person will still have to check on the facsimile machine to ensure that the message was transmitted or to re-initiate the transmission of the message. In addition to labor costs and a reduction in office efficiency, a facsimile machine may present costs to businesses that are not readily calculated. These costs include the loss of business or the loss of goodwill that occurs when the facsimile machine is not accessible by another facsimile machine. These costs can occur for various reasons, such as when the facsimile machine is out of paper, when the 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 US 6,857,074 B2 3 4 are even more advanced, such as those in U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,628 to Misholi et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,266 to Boaz et aI., are connected to an office's local network and provide integrated control of voice messages, E-mail messages, and facsimile messages. The various systems for routing facsimile messages, and possibly messages of other types received in the office, are very sophisticated and expensive systems. While these office systems are desirable in that they can effectively route the messages at the office to their intended recipients, the systems are extremely expensive and only those companies with a great number of employees can offset the costs of the system with the benefits that the system will provide to their company. Thus, for most businesses, it still remains a problem to effectively and quickly route messages to the intended recipients. It also remains a problem for most businesses to route the messages in a manner which can preserve the confidential nature of the messages. Even for the businesses that have a message routing system and especially for those that do not have any type of system, it is usually difficult for a person to retrieve facsimile messages while away from the office. Typically, a person away on business must call into the office and be informed by someone in the office as to the facsimile messages that have been received. Consequently, the person must call into the office during normal business hours while someone is in the office and is therefore limited in the time that the information in a facsimile message can be relayed. If the person away on business wants to look at the facsimile message, someone at the office must resend the message to a facsimile machine accessible to that person. Since this accessible machine is often a facsimile machine at another business or at a hotel where the person is lodging, it is difficult for the person to receive the facsimile message without risking disclosure of its contents. Further, since someone at the person's office must remember to send the message and since someone at the accessible facsimile machine must route the message to the person away from the office, the person may not receive all of the facsimile messages or may have to wait to receive the messages. The retrieval of facsimile messages, as well as voice mail messages, while away from the office is not without certain costs. For one, the person often must incur long distance telephone charges when the person calls the office to check on the messages and to have someone in the office send the messages to another facsimile. The person will then incur the expenses of transmitting the message to a fax bureau or hotel desk as well as the receiving location's own charges for use of their equipment. While these charges are certainly not substantial, the charges are nonetheless expenses incurred while the person is away from the office. Overall, while the facsimile machine is an indispensable piece of equipment for many businesses, the facsimile machine presents a number of problems or costs. Many businesses or households are disadvantaged since they are unable to reap the benefits of the facsimile machine. For the businesses that do have facsimile machines, the businesses must incur the normal costs of operating the facsimile machine in addition to the costs that may be incurred when the facsimile machine or machines are unable to receive a message. Further, the facsimile messages may not be efficiently or reliably routed to the intended recipient and may have its contents revealed during the routing process. The costs and problems in routing a facsimile message are compounded when the intended recipient is away from the office. Many of the problems associated with facsimile messages are not unique to just facsimile messages but are also associated with voice mail messages and data messages. With regard to voice messages, many businesses do not have voice mail systems and must write the message down. Thus, the person away from the office must call in during normal office hours to discover who has called. The information in these messages are usually limited to just the person who called, their number, and perhaps some indication as to the nature of the call. For those businesses that have voice mail, the person away from the office must call in and frequently incur long distance charges. Thus, there is a need for a system for storing and delivery voice messages which can be easily and inexpensively accessed at any time. With regard to data messages, the transmission of the message often requires some coordination between the sender and the recipient. For instance, the recipient's computer must be turned on to receive the message, which usually occurs only when someone is present during normal office hours. Consequently, the recipient's computer is usually only able to receive a data message during normal office hours. Many households and also businesses may not have a dedicated data line and must switch the line between the phone, computer, and facsimile. In such a situation, the sender must call and inform the recipient to switch the line over to the computer and might have to wait until the sender can receive the message. The retransmission of the data message to another location, such as when someone is away from the office, only further complicates the delivery. It is therefore frequently difficult to transmit and receive data messages and is also difficult to later relay the messages to another location. A standard business practice of many companies is to maintain records of all correspondence between itself and other entities. Traditionally, the correspondence that has been tracked and recorded includes letters or other such printed materials that is mailed to or from a company to the other entity. Although tracking correspondence of printed materials is relatively easy, non-traditional correspondence, such as facsimile messages, e-mail messages, voice messages, or data messages, are more difficult to track and record. For example, facsimile messages may be difficult to track and record since the messages may be received on thermal paper, which suffers from a disadvantage that the printing fades over time. Also, accurate tracking of facsimile messages is difficult since the facsimile messages may only be partially printed at the facsimile machine or the messages may be lost or only partially delivered to their intended recipients. Facsimile messages also present difficulties since they are often delivered within an organization through different channels than ordinary mail and thus easily fall outside the normal record keeping procedures of the company. Voice mail messages are also difficult to track and record. Although voice messages can be saved, many voice mail servers automatically delete the messages after a certain period of time. To maintain a permanent record of a voice message, the voice message may be transcribed and a printed copy of the message may be kept in the records. This transcribed copy of the voice message, however, is less credible and thus less desirable than the original voice message since the transcribed copy may have altered material or may omit certain portions of the message. In addition to facsimile and voice mail messages, data messages are also difficult to track and record. A download 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 US 6,857,074 B2 5 6 or upload of a file may only be evident by the existence of a file itself. A file transfer procedure normally does not lend itself to any permanent record of what file was transferred, the dialed telephone number, the telephone number of the computer receiving the file, the time, or the date of the transfer. It is therefore difficult to maintain accurate records of all data transfers between itself and another entity. server receives a request from the user over the network, the network server transmits at least a portion of the message over the network to the user. Preferably, the network storage and delivery system can receive facsimile messages, data messages, or voice messages and the network is the Internet. The messages are converted into a standard generalized mark-up language and the user is notified that a message has arrived through E-mail or through a paging system. A listing of the facsimile messages may be sent to the user in one of several formats. These formats include a textual only listing or a listing along with a full or reduced size image of the first page of each message. A full or reduced size image of each page of a message in the listing may alternatively be presented to the user. According to a further aspect, the invention relates to a system and method for managing files or messages and involves storing message signals in storage and receiving requests from a user for a search. The search preferably comprises a search query that is completed by a user and supplied to a hyper-text transfer protocol deamon (HTTPD) in the system. The HTTPD transfers the request through a common gateway interface (CGI) to an application program which conducts the search. The results of the search are preferably returned through the HTTPD to the computer in the form of a listing of all messages or files satisfying the search parameters. The user may then select one or more of the listed messages or files and may save the search for later references. 5 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to reliably and efficiently route messages to an intended recipient. It is another object of the invention to route messages to the intended recipient while maintaining the contents of the message confidential. It is another object of the invention to enable the intended recipient to access the messages easily and with minimal costs. It is a further object of the invention to permit the simultaneous receipt of more than one message on behalf of the intended recipient. It is a further object of the invention to enable the intended recipient of a message to access the message at any time and at virtually any location world-wide. It is yet a further object of the invention to enable the intended recipient of a message to browse through the received messages. It is yet a further object of the invention to quickly notify an intended recipient that a message has been received. It is still another object of the invention to receive messages of various types. It is still another object of the invention to deliver messages according to the preferences of the intended recipient. It is still a further object of the invention to record and track correspondence, such as facsimile messages, voice mail messages, and data transfers. Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this description or practicing the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the appended claims. To achieve the foregoing and other objects, in accordance with the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a system and method for storing and delivering messages involves receiving an incoming call and detecting an address signal associated with the incoming call, the address signal being associated with a user of the message storage and delivery system. A message accompanied with the address signal is then received and converted from a first file format to a second file format. The message is stored in the second file format within a storage area and is retrieved after a request has been received from the user. At least a portion of the message is then transmitted to the user over a network with the second file format being a mixed media page layout language. In another aspect, a network message storage and delivery system comprises a central processor for receiving an incoming call, for detecting an address signal on the incoming call, for detecting a message on the incoming call, and for placing the message in a storage area. The address signal on the incoming call is associated with a user of the network message storage and delivery system. A network server receives the message from the storage area, converts the message into a mixed media page layout language, and places the message in the storage area. When the network 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in, and form a part of, the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings: FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the connections of a message storage and delivery system MSDS; FIG. 2 is an overall flow chart of operations for transmitting a message to the MSDS of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is an overall flow chart of operations for receiving a message stored at the MSDS of FIG. 1; FIGS. 4(A) and (B) are flowcharts of operations for generating HTML files according to user preferences; FIG. 5 is a flowchart of operations for generating requested information; FIG. 6 is a flowchart of operations for converting a facsimile message into HTML files; FIG. 7 is an exemplary display of a first page of a facsimile message according to a fourth display option; FIG. 8 is a flowchart of operations for converting a voice message into an HTML file; FIG. 9 is a flowchart of operations for converting a data message into an HTML file; FIG. 10 is a flowchart of operations for detecting a type of call received at the MSDS 10; FIG. 11 is a flowchart of operations for receiving voice messages; FIG. 12 is a flowchart of operations for interacting with an owner's call; FIG. 13 is a more detailed block diagram of the MSDS 10; FIG. 14 is a block diagram of the central processor in FIG. 13; FIG. 15 is a block diagram of the Internet Server of FIG. 13; US 6,857,074 B2 7 FIGS. 16(A) and 16(B) depict possible software layers for the Internet Server of FIG. 13; FIG. 17 is a diagram of a data entry for a message signal; FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a process for sending a search query, for conducting a search, and for returning results of the search to a computer through the Internet; FIG. 19 is an example of a search query form for defining a desired search; FIG. 20 is an example of a completed search query; FIG. 21 is an example of a set of search results returned to the computer in response to the search query of FIG. 20; and FIG. 22 is an example of a listing of stored searches. 8 When the call reaches the MSDS 10, the call is routed within the MSDS 10 in a manner that will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 13. At step 46, the MSDS 10 answers the telephone call and receives the address signal from the DID trunk 15. Next, at step 48, the 5 call is established between the MSDS 10 and the third party and, at step 50, the MSDS 10 receives the message transmitted over the telephone line. The message is stored at step 52, a database within the MSDS 10 is updated at step 54, and 10 the intended recipient of the message is notified at step 56. The intended recipient of the message uses the services provided by the MSDS 10 and will hereinafter be referred to as a user. At step 58, the message is converted into hyper-text mark-up language (HTML). 15 After the MSDS 10 receives a message for one of its DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF IRE users, the user can then communicate with the MSDS 10 at PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS any time and at any location by connecting to the Internet World Wide Web 30 and retrieving the message stored Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred within the MSDS 10. With reference to FIG. 3, at step 60 the embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illus20 user first connects to the Internet 30, such as through a trated in the accompanying drawings. personal computer 32 which may be connected to the With reference to FIG. 1, a message storage and delivery Internet 30 in any suitable manner, such as through its own system (MSDS) 10 is connected to a central office 20 of the portal or node or through some intermediate access provider. telephone company through at least one direct inward dialThe personal computer 32 is not limited to a single computer ing (DID) trunk 15. With each call on the DID trunk 15, an address signal indicating the telephone number being called 25 but may instead comprise a network of computers, such as a local area network within an office. is provided to the MSDS 10. The DID trunk 15 can carry a Once connected with the Internet 30, at step 62, the user large number of telephone numbers or addresses. Preferably, accesses with a hyper-text browser the Universal Resource the DID trunk 15 comprises a number of DID trunks 15 Locator (URL) associated with his or her MSDS 10 mailbox. connected in parallel between the central office 20 and the MSDS 10 so that the MSDS 10 can simultaneously receive 30 The computer 32 may use any suitable hypertext browser, such as Netscape, to access the mailbox. A Hypertext more than one call and, moreover, can simultaneously Transfer Protocol Deamon (HTTPD) within the MSDS 10 receive more than one call for a single telephone number or receives the URL request at step 64 and, at step 66, requests address. user authentication. The user then supplies his or her ID and The central office 20 is connected to a number of third parties. For instance, the central office 20 may be connected 35 password at step 68 and, if found valid at step 70, the MSDS 10 provides the computer 32 with access to the mailbox at to a facsimile machine 24, a telephone set 26, and to a step 72. If the ID and password are invalid, as determined at computer 28 with each connection being made through a step 70, then the HTTPD sends the computer 32 an authenseparate telephone line. While a single computer 28 is shown in the figure, the single computer 28 may actually 40 tication failure message at step 74. After the user gains access to the mailbox at step 72, the represent a local area network which is connected through user can request information stored within the MSDS 10. the central office 20 to the MSDS 10. Although the facsimile The MSDS 10 receives the request at step 76 and, at step 78, machine 24, telephone set 26, and computer 28 have been determines whether the information exists. As is common shown on separate lines, it should be understood that one or 45 practice, the MSDS 10 also determines the validity of the more of these devices could share a single line. request at step 78. The request from the user will include the The MSDS 10 is also connected to a network, preferably mailbox number for the user, the message identifier, display the Internet World Wide Web 30. Although the Internet 30 preferences, and, if the message is a facsimile message, a has been shown as a single entity, it should be understood page identifier. If for any reason the request is invalid, such that the Internet 30 is actually a conglomeration of computer networks and is a constantly evolving and changing struc- 50 as when a hacker is attempting to gain access to privileged information, the request for the information will be termiture. The MSDS 10 therefore is not limited to the current nated. structure or form of the Internet 30 but encompasses any If the requested information is available, then at step 80 future changes or additions to the Internet 30. Further, the the information is transmitted through the Internet 30 to the MSDS 10 is shown as being directly connected to the Internet 30, such as through its own node or portal. The 55 user's computer 32. If, on the other hand, the information does not exist, then at step 82 the MSDS 10 will generate the MSDS 10, however, may be practiced with any suitable requested information and then send the information to the connection to the Internet 30, such as through an intermeuser's computer through the Internet 30 at step 80. diate Internet access provider. With reference to FIG. 2 depicting an overall operation of Prior to gaining access to the mailbox at step 72, the user the invention, a telephone call directed to a number serviced 60 is preferably sent a greeting page or other such type of by the MSDS 10 is initiated at step 40 by a third party, for information which permits the user to learn about the instance, through the facsimile machine 24, telephone set services provided by the MSDS 10, open an account with the 26, or computer 28. The incoming telephone call may MSDS 10, or gain access to an account. Once access is therefore carry a facsimile message, a voice message, or a provided at step 72, the user is provided with information data message. At step 42, the address signal associated with 65 indicating the total number of messages stored in his or her the initiated call is routed through the central office 20, over mailbox within the MSDS 10. Preferably, the information the DID trunk 15, and to the MSDS 10. sent by the MSDS 10 indicates the total number of messages US 6,857,074 B2 9 10 for each type of message and also the total number of saved The second through fifth options allow the user to preview messages versus the total number of new messages. an image of the facsimile message before having the mesThe user is also preferably given the option at this step to sage downloaded from the MSDS 10 through the Internet 30 change account information. The account information might and to the computer 32. The second option permits the user include the E-mail address for the user, the manner in which 5 to view the list of messages with a reduced size image of the messages are to be reviewed, the user's pager information, cover page next to each entry on the list. When the user as well as other user preferences. The display options and selects one of the messages on the list, the selected facsimile other user preferences will be discussed in further detail message is transmitted through the Internet 30 to the combelow. puter 32. The user may also scroll through the listings if all The general information HTML file which indicates the 10 of the message cannot be displayed at one time on the total number of different messages is provided with a computer 32. number of anchors, which are also termed links or referThe third option provides the user with a full size view of ences. In general, an anchor permits a user on the computer the cover page of each facsimile message. The user can 32 to retrieve information located on another file. For instance, an anchor to a listing of facsimile messages is 15 quickly scroll through the cover pages of each message without downloading the entire message to the computer 32. preferably provided on the display of the total number of The full size view of the cover pages permit the user to messages. When the user selects the anchor for the facsimile clearly discern any comments that may be placed on the list, the MSDS 10 pulls up and displays the file containing cover page, which may not be possible from just a reduced the list of facsimiles, such as a file "faxlist.html." The other types of messages, such as voice messages and data 20 image of the cover page available through the second option. The fourth option provides the user with a reduced size messages, would have similar anchors on the general inforimage of each page and permits the user to scroll through the mation page directed to their respective HTML listing files. entire message. The user can therefore read the entire When a new message is received at step 54 in FIG. 2, the facsimile message on screen before the message is downuser's mailbox is updated to display the total number and types of messages. The MSDS 10 might also update other 25 loaded onto the computer 32. With this option, the user can go through the pages of the facsimile message and can also files in addition to the total listing of messages. Additionally, skip to the next message or previous message. Additionally, at this time, the MSDS 10 sends an E-mail message to the the user has the option of enlarging a page to a full size view user's computer 32 to inform the user of the newly arrived of the page. When one of the messages is selected, as with message. The MSDS 10 could also send notice to the user through a paging system so that the user receives almost 30 the other options, the HTTPD within the MSDS 10 causes the facsimile message to be transmitted through the Internet instantaneous notice that a message is received. 30 to the user's computer 32. The MSDS 10 also generates additional information With a fifth option, a full size image of each page is according to the user's preferences. These preferences on transmitted to the user's computer 32. The user can scroll how the MSDS 10 is configured for the user include options on how the messages are reviewed. With facsimile 35 through the pages of the facsimile message and easily read the contents of each page. If the user wants the message messages, for instance, the user can vary the amount or the downloaded to the computer 32, the user selects the message type of information that will be supplied with the listing of and the HTTPD within the MSDS 10 transmits the message the facsimile messages by selecting an appropriate option. to the user's computer 32 through the Internet 30. Other options are also available so that the user can custom As discussed above, after the database is updated at step fit the MSDS 10 to the users own computer 32 or own 40 54, the MSDS 10 will generate additional information based personal preferences. upon the option selected for displaying the facsimile mesFor instance, when a facsimile message is received, the sages. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4(A), if the first MSDS 10, at step 54, will update the total listing of all option has been selected, as determined at step 100, then at messages to indicate the newly received message and may additionally generate the HTML files for the newly received 45 step 102 the MSDS 10 will generate the textual listing of the facsimile messages with anchors or references to the respecfacsimile message according to the user's preferences. tive facsimile files. The HTML files are then moved to an When the user later requests information on the message at Internet Server at step 104. step 76, the HTML information has already been generated If the first option is not selected, the MSDS 10 next and the MSDS 10 may directly send the requested information to the user at step 80. If, on the other hand, the user 50 determines whether the second option has been selected at step 106. With the second option, the facsimile messages are desires to view the message according to one of the other listed along with a reduced size image of the cover page. To options, the MSDS 10 will generate the HTML files at step generate this information, the cover page is extracted from 82 according to that other option at the time of the request. the facsimile file at step 108 and a reduced size HTML A first option available to the user for viewing a facsimile message is a textual only listing of the messages. The 55 image of the cover page is created at step 110. At step 112, a listing of the facsimile messages is generated with a information on the textual listing preferably includes the thumbnail view of each cover page linked to its respective date and time that the message was received at the MSDS facsimile file. The generated HTML files are then sent to the 10, the telephone number from where the message was Internet Server at step 104. transmitted, the number of pages, the page size, and the size of the message in bytes. The messages, of course, could be 60 When the third option is selected, as determined at step 114, a full size image of the cover page is sent to the listed with other types of information. When the user selects one of the facsimile messages on the list, a request is sent to computer 32. The full size image of the cover page is the HTTPD within the MSDS 10 causing the message to be generated by first extracting the cover page from the facdownloaded via the Internet 30 to the user's computer 32. simile file at step 116. Next, the cover page is converted into Once the message is received by the computer 32, the 65 a full size HTML image at step 118 and, at step 120, the listing is generated with the embedded cover page linked to message can be displayed, printed, or saved for further the facsimile file. reVIew. US 6,857,074 B2 11 12 If, at step 122, the fourth option is determined to be The process for converting a facsimile message into selected, then a reduced size image of each page is provided HTML files according to the fifth option will be described to the user with the option of enlarging the page to view the with reference to FIG. 6. This process will occur at step 54 contents of the page more clearly. With reference to FIG. when the message is received and when the fifth option is the 4(B), the information necessary for the third option is 5 user's preferred option of displaying the messages. It should be understood that a similar type of process will also occur produced by first extracting the first page of the facsimile message at step 124. A reduced size HTML image is created when the user requests a page of information according to at step 126 and then a full size HTML image is created at the fifth option when the user is retrieving a facsimile message and the fifth option is not the user's preferred step 128. At step 130, the listing is generated with embedded thumbnail images of the pages with links to the full size 10 option. The conversion processes according to the other images. If the page is not the last page, as determined at step options will become apparent to those skilled in the art and 140, then the next page is extracted at step 142 and steps 126 will therefore not be discussed in further detail. to 130 are repeated to generate the HTML files for the other With reference to FIG. 6, when the facsimile message is pages of the facsimile message. After the last page has been received, the message is in a Tagged Image File Format! converted into an HTML file according to the third option, 15 Facsimile (TIFFIF) and each page of the facsimile message the files are moved onto the Internet Server at step 104. is split into a separate file. Each page of the facsimile At step 144, the MSDS 10 determines whether the fifth message is then converted from the TIFFIF format into a option has been selected. The fifth option provides the user Portable Pixel Map (PPM) format. The PPM files are next with a full size image of each page of the facsimile message. converted into separate Graphic Interchange Format (GIF) While only five options have been discussed, the inven- 20 files and then into separate HTML files. Thus, each page of the facsimile message is converted into a separate HTML tion may be practiced with additional options. Consequently, with additional options and with the fourth option not being file. The TIFF/F files may be converted into PPM with an available software package entitled "LIBTIFF" and the PPM selected, the MSDS 10 would next determine whether one of the additional options have been selected. With the preferred files may be converted into GIF files with an available embodiment of the invention having only five options, 25 software package found in "Portable Pixel Map Tools." however, the MSDS 10 will assume that the fifth option has The invention is not limited to this exact conversion been selected if none of the first four options were found to process or to the particular software packages used in the be selected. conversion process. For instance, the TIFF/F files may be converted into another portable file format, through any The information necessary to display the pages of the facsimile message according to the fifth option is generated 30 other type of intermediate format, or may be converted by first extracting the first page of the facsimile message at directly into the GIF format. Further, instead of GIF, the step 146. At step 148, a full size HTML image of the page facsimile messages may be converted into lPEG, BMP, is created and, at step 150, a listing is generated with an PCX, PIF, PNG, or any other suitable type of file format. embedded image and links to previous and next pages. The files may be identified with any suitable filename. In When the page is not the last page, as determined at step 152, 35 the preferred embodiment, the files for each user are stored the MSDS 10 extracts the next page and generates the in a separate directory assigned to just that one user because HTML file for that page. After all pages have been converted an entire directory for a given user generally can be prointo HTML files according to the fourth option, the files are tected easier than the individual files. The memory, however, sent to the Internet Server at step 104. may be organized in other ways with the files for a single While FIGS. 4(A) and (B) describe the operations of the 40 user being stored in different directories. The first part of the MSDS 10 at the time a message is received, FIG. 5 depicts filename is a number preferably sequentially determined an overall flowchart of operations for the MSDS 10 when the according to the order in which messages arrive for that user. The preferred naming convention for ending the filenames is user requests a page of information in a display format other depicted in FIG. 6. Each page of the facsimile message is than the user's preferred option of displaying the message. FIG. 5 is therefore a more detailed explanation of how the 45 saved as a separate file with an extension defined by the MSDS 10 generates the necessary information at step 82 of format of the file. Thus, the files will end with an extension of ".TIFF," ".PPM," ".GIF," or ".HTML" according to the FIG.3. format of the particular file. In the example shown, the In general, as shown in FIG. 5, the MSDS 10 first separate pages have filenames which end with the respective determines the type of image that is 20 needed at step 82a. For example, at this step, the MSDS 10 will determine 50 page number, for instance, the first page ends with a "1." The files, however, are preferably terminated with a letter or whether images are unnecessary, whether an image of just multiples letters to indicate the order of the pages. For the cover page is necessary, whether an image is needed for instance, page 1 might have an ending of "aa," page 2 might every page, and whether the image needs to be a full size, a have an ending of "ab," etc. The invention, however, is not reduced size, or both full and reduced sized images. At step 82b, the MSDS 10 determines whether the image has 55 limited to the disclosed naming convention but encompasses other conventions that will be apparent to those skilled in the already been created. If the image has not been created, then art. at step 82c the MSDS 10 will extract the page from the base facsimile file and, at step 82d, generate the required HTML As shown in FIG. 6, in addition to the GIF files representing the pages of the facsimile message, the HTML files image. As discussed above, the required image may be for just the cover page, for all the pages, and may be a full size 60 include a number of anchors or references. In the example shown, the first HTML file has an anchor a for the "Next and/or a reduced size image of the page. At step 82e, the image is embedded with links or anchors to other HTML Page." Anchor a is defined as a=<A HREF="2.html">Next Page</a> and will therefore reference the second HTML file files. These links or anchors might be references to the next when a user selects the "Next Page." The second HTML file and previous pages and also to the next and previous facsimile messages. Finally, the HTML file having the 65 has an anchor b for the "Previous Page" and an anchor c for the "Next Page" and the third HTML file has an anchor d for embedded image and links is sent to the user at step 80 in the "Previous Page." With these particular HTML files, the FIG. 3. US 6,857,074 B2 13 14 retrieved at step 170. The voice message is then converted user can scroll through each page of the facsimile message either into an AU format or WAY format in accordance with and view a full size image of the page. the user's preference, which is stored in memory. Preferably, Each HTML file preferably contains anchors in addition the message is preferably in the AD/PCM format originally to those relating to "Next Page" and "Previous Page." For instance, each HTML file may contain an anchor to the next 5 and is converted in WAY, but the voice files may alternatively be stored and converted in file formats other than the facsimile message, an anchor to the previous facsimile ones disclosed, such as RealAudio (RA). message, and an anchor to return to the facsimile list. The At step 174, the listing of all of the voice messages is then HTML files preferably contain anchors relating to "Save" updated to include a listing of the newly received voice and "Delete." When the "Save" anchor is selected, the user would be able to save the message under a more descriptive 10 message and an anchor to the voice message. For instance, the original voice message may be stored with filename name for the message. The "Delete" anchor is preferably "1.vox" and is converted into WAY and stored with a followed by a inquiry as to whether the user is certain that filename "1.wav." The HTML file "voicelist.html" which he or she wants to delete the message. Other anchors, such contains a list of all voice messages would then have an as an anchor to the general listing, will be apparent to those anchor to the filename "1.wav" along with identifying skilled in the art and may also be provided. 15 information for the voice message, such as when the mesFIG. 7 provides an example of a display according to the sage was received. fifth option for the first page of the facsimile message shown The listing of the voice messages may have additional in FIG. 6. The headings of the display provide information anchors or references. For instance, each voice message may on the telephone number from where the message was sent, have an anchor directing the MSDS 10 to a file which the date and time the message was received at the MSDS 10, 20 contains a short sampling of the message. Thus, when the and an indication of the page of the message being disuser selects this anchor, the user could receive the first 5 played. The main portion of the display is the full size image seconds of the message or some other predefined number of of the page. At the bottom of the display, an anchor or link seconds. As with the listing of facsimile messages, the is provided to the "Next Page" and another anchor is listing of the voice messages also preferably has anchors to provided to the "Return to Fax Listing." Additional infor- 25 "Save" and "Delete." mation may also be provided on the display, such as a link FIG. 9 illustrates a process for converting a data message to a company operating the MSDS 10. into HTML. At step 180, the data file is retrieved from a An example of the "1.html" file for generating the display database and at step 182 the HTML file containing the list shown in FIG. 7 is shown below in Table 1. of data messages is updated to include a listing of the newly 30 received message along with identifying information. For TABLE 1 instance, the HTML file for the listing "datalist.html" would be updated to include an anchor to a data file "file 1.1" and <HrML> would have information such as the time and date that the <HEAD> <TITLE>Fax Received on May 31,1995 at 1:58 PM from (404) 249 data was transmitted, the size of the data file, as well as 6801; 35 additional identifying information. Page 1 of 3<rrITLE> Because the MSDS 10 can receive messages of various </HEAD> types, such as a facsimile message, voice message or data <BODY> <H1>Fax from (404) 249-6801</H1> message, the MSDS 10 must be able to determine the type <H2>Received on May 31, 1995 at 1:58 PM</H2> of message that is being sent over the DID trunk 15. With <H2>Page 1 of 3</H2> 40 reference to FIG. 10, when an incoming call is received, the <!MG SRC="l.gif'> MSDS 10 goes off hook at step 200 and starts to generate a <P> <A HREF~"2.html">Next Page</a> ringing sound. If, at step 202, a facsimile calling tone is <HR> detected, then the ringing sound is stopped at step 204 and <A HREF~"faxlist.html">Return to Fax Listing</A> the message is received as a facsimile message at step 206. <P> This page was automatically generated by FaxWeb(tm) on 45 Similarly, when a data modem calling tone is detected at step May 31, 1995 at 2:05 PM. 208, the ringing sound is stopped at step 210 and the <P> message is identified as a data message at step 212. &copy; 1995 NetOffice, Inc. If the MSDS 10 detects a DTMF digit at step 214, the <HR> ringing sound is stopped at step 216 and the MSDS 10 then <Address> <A HREF~ ..http://www.netoffice.coml..>NetOffice. Inc.</A><BR> 50 determines which digit was pressed. When the digit is a "1," PO Box 7115<BR> as determined at step 218, the message is identified as a Atlanta, GA 30357<BR> facsimile message. The MSDS 10 will thereafter receive and <A HREF~"mailto:info@netoffice.com">info@netoffice.com</A> </Address> store the facsimile message in the manner described above </BODY> with reference to FIG. 2. If the digit is identified as a "0" at </HrML> 55 step 220, the call is identified as an owner's call and will be processed in a manner that will be described below with reference to FIG. 12. As will be apparent, other digits may As is apparent from the listing in Table 1, the image file cause the MSDS 10 to take additional steps. If any other "1.gif' for the first page is embedded into the HTML file DTMF digit is pressed, at step 224 the MSDS 10 activates "1.html." Also apparent from the listing is that the anchor for "Next Page" directs the MSDS 10 to the second page of the 60 a voice call system, which will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 11. facsimile message having the filename "2.html" and the With step 226, the MSDS 10 will enter a loop continuanchor for "Return to Fax Listing" directs the MSDS 10 to ously checking for a facsimile calling tone, a data modem the filename "faxlist.html" containing the list of facsimile calling tone, or for a DTMF digit. If after n rings none of messages. A process for converting a voice message into an HTML 65 these tones or digits has been detected, the ringing sound is stopped at step 228 and the voice call system is activated at file is illustrated in FIG. 8. The voice message is originally step 224. stored in a VOX format or an AD/PCM format and is US 6,857,074 B2 15 16 With reference to FIG. 11, when a fax calling tone or from GIF to another format, the owner can select the file formats for the voice messages, as well as other options. modem calling tone is not detected, the voice call system If the "*,, DTMF digit is received, as determined at step begins at step 230 by playing a voice greeting. If the greeting 272, then the owner is returned to a previous menu. The "*,, was not interrupted by a DlMF digit as determined at step 232, then the caller is prompted for the voice message at step 5 digit is also used to terminate the call when the owner has returned to the initial menu. The "*,, digit is therefore 234 and, at step 236, the voice message is recorded and stored in memory. At step 238, the caller is prompted with universally recognized by the MSDS 10 throughout the a number of options, such as listening to the message, saving various menus as a command for returning to a previous menu. the message, or re-recording the message. Since the selection of these options with DTMF digits will be apparent to 10 If the owner enters a DTMF digit that is not being used by those skilled in the art, the details of this subroutine or the MSDS 10, the owner receives an indication at step 276 that the key is invalid and the owner is then again provided subroutines will not be described in further detail. When the with the owner's menu at step 258. When the owner does not caller wishes to re-record the message, as determined at step 240, the caller is again prompted for a message at step 234. enter a DTMF digit while the owner's menu is being played, If the caller does not wish to re-record the message, the call 15 as determined at step 260, the menu will be replayed n times. Once the menu has been replayed n times, as determined at is terminated at step 242. step 262, then the call will be terminated at step 278. If the voice greeting is interrupted by a DTMF digit, as determined at step 232, then the MSDS 10 ascertains which If the password is incorrect, as determined at step 254, digit has been pressed. At step 244, if the digit is a "0," the then the MSDS 10 checks whether the user has made more MSDS 10 detects that the call is an owner's call. When the 20 than "n" attempts at step 280. If "n" attempts have not been digit is a "1," the MSDS 10 is informed at step 206 that the made, then a password incorrect message will be displayed to the user at step 282 and the user will once again be call carries a facsimile message. As discussed above with prompted for the password at step 250. When the user has reference to FIG. 10, other DTMF digits may cause the made "n" attempts to enter the correct password, the MSDS MSDS 10 to take additional steps. If an invalid digit is pressed, by default at step 248 the routine returns to step 234 25 10 will playa failure message to the user at step 284 and then terminate the call at step 286. The specific number "n" may of prompting the caller for a message. It should be understood that the invention is not limited to be three so that the call is terminated after three failed the specific interactive voice response system described with attempts. reference to FIG. 11. As discussed above, the invention may The owner's menu may be responsive to an additional be responsive to DTMF digits other than just a "0" and a"!." 30 number of DTMF digits and may be structured in other ways. For instance, separate DTMF digits may direct the Further variations or alterations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. owner to the respective types of messages, such as a With reference to FIG. 12, when the call is considered an facsimile message, data message, or voice message. Also, separate DTMF digits may direct the owner to a recording owner's call, the caller is first prompted for the password at step 250. The password is received at step 252 and, if found 35 of new messages or to a recording of saved messages. Other correct at step 254, a set of announcements are played to the variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. owner. These announcements would preferably inform the A more detailed diagram of the MSDS 10 is shown in owner of the number of new messages that have been FIG. 13. As shown in the figure, a plurality of DID trunks 15 received, the number of saved messages, the number of are received by an input/output device 17 and are then sent facsimile message, the number of data messages, and the 40 to a central processor 3. The number of DID trunks 15 may be changed to any suitable number that would be necessary number of voice messages. Other announcements, of course, to accommodate the anticipated number of telephone calls could also be made at this time. At step 258, the owner then receives a recording of the that may be made to the MSDS 10. The input/output device owner's menu with the appropriate DTMF digit for each 17 routes a call on one of the DID trunks 15 to an open port option. For instance, the DTMF digit "1" may be associated 45 of the central processor 3 and is preferably a DID Interface with playing a message, the DlMF digit "2" may be Box manufactured by Exacom. associated with an options menu, and the DTMF digit "*,, The central processor 3 receives the calls on the DID trunks 15 and stores the messages in storage 11 in accormay be associated with returning to a previous menu or dance with software 7. Preferably, a separate directory in terminating the call if no previous menu exists. A DTMF digit is detected at step 260 and the appropriate 50 storage 11 is established for each user having an account on action is taken based upon the digit received. Thus, if the the MSDS 10 so that all of the messages for a single user will digit is determined to be a "1" at step 264, the owner can be stored in the same directory. It should be understood that the number of processors within the central processor 3 is play a message at step 266. At step 266, the owner is preferably greeted with a menu giving the owner the options dependent upon the number of DID trunks 15. With a greater of playing or downloading new messages, saved messages, 55 number of DID trunks 15 capable of handling a larger number of telephone calls, the central processor 3 may facsimile messages, data messages, or voice messages. As should be apparent to those skilled in the art, the owner may actually comprise a number of computers. The input/output receive one or more menus at step 266 and the owner may device 17 would then function to route incoming calls to an enter one or more DTMF digits in order to play or download available computer within the central processor 3. A more detailed diagram of the central processor 3 is a particular message. 60 If, instead, the digit is determined to be a "2" at step 268, shown in FIG. 14. The central processor 3 comprises a telephone line interface 21 for each DID trunk 15. The then the owner receives an options menu at step 270. With telephone interface 21 provides the ringing sounds and other the options menu, the owner can enter or change certain communication interfacing with the telephone lines. The parameters of the MSDS 10. For instance, the owner can change his or her password, the owner can change the 65 signals from the telephone interface 21 are routed to a pulse/tone decoder 23 and to a digital signal processor manner in which facsimile messages are displayed on the (DSP) 25. The pulse/tone decoder 23 detects the address computer 32, the owner can change the image file format US 6,857,074 B2 17 18 signal off of an incoming call and sends the address signal handled by the HTTPD 37, transferred through the cm 35, onto a bus 29 to a microprocessor 27. The DSP performs the and then received by the application programs 31. The necessary signal processing on the incoming calls and routes application programs 31 would then take appropriate actions the processed signals to the microprocessor 27. according to the request, such as transferring the requested The microprocessor 27 will then read the address signal 5 file through the cm 35 to the HTTPD 37 and then through the Internet 30 to the user's computer 32. from the pulse/tone decoder 23 and store the message from the DSP 25 in an appropriate directory in storage 11. As The Internet Server 5 may be connected to a paging discussed above, the central processor 3 may comprise a system 13. Upon the arrival of a new message, in addition to sending an E-mail message to the user's mailbox, the number of computers or, more precisely, a number of microprocessors 27 with each microprocessor 27 handling 10 Internet Server 13 may also activate the paging system 13 so the calls from a certain number, such as four, DID trunks 15. that a pager 15 would be activated. In this manner, the user could receive almost instantaneous notification that a mesThe microprocessor 27 may comprise any suitable microprocessor, but is preferably at least a 486 Pc. sage has arrived. In addition to handling incoming calls and storing the The paging system 13 is preferably one that transmits messages in storage 11, the central processor 3 also coor- 15 alphanumeric characters so that a message may be relayed to the user's pager 15. The Internet Server 5 therefore comdinates the interactive voice response system of the MSDS 10. The software 7 would incorporate the flowcharts of prises a signal processor 41 for generating signals recogoperations for receiving a message shown in FIG. 3, for nized by the paging system 13 and a telephone interface 43. detecting the type of message on an incoming call shown in The signal processor 41 preferably receives information FIG. 10, for receiving voice messages shown in FIG. 11, and 20 from the application programs 31 and generates a paging for receiving an owner's call shown in FIG. 12. Based upon message in a paging file format, such as XIO/TAP. The telephone interface 43 would include a modem, an autothe above-referenced flowcharts and the respective matic dialer, and other suitable components for communidescriptions, the production of the software 7 is within the cating with the paging system 13. capability of one of ordinary skill in the art and will not be The information from the application programs 31 may described in any further detail. 25 The Internet Server 5 is connected to the central processor simply notify the user of a message or may provide more 3, such as through a local area network, and also has access detailed information. For instance, with a facsimile message, to the storage 11. The Internet Server 5 performs a number the information from the application programs 31 may of functions according to software 9. For instance, the comprise CSI information identifying the sender's telephone Internet Server 5 retrieves the data files stored in storage 11 30 number. The user would therefore receive a message on the pager 15 informing the user that a facsimile message was by the central computer 3 and converts the files into the appropriate HTML files. The converted HTML files are then received from a specified telephone number. The amount stored in storage 11 and may be downloaded to the computer and type of information that may be sent to the user on the pager 15 may vary according to the capabilities of the paging 32 through the Internet 30. The Internet Server 5 also handles the requests from the computer 32, which might 35 system 13 and may provide a greater or lesser amount of information than the examples provided. require the retrieval of files from the storage 11 and possibly the generation of additional HTML files. The Internet Server 5 is not limited to the structure shown in FIG. 15 but may comprise additional components. For The software 9 for the Internet Server 5 would therefore incorporate the flowchart of operations for generating instance, the HTTPD 37 would be linked to the Internet 30 HTML files according to user preferences shown in FIG. 4, 40 through some type of interface, such as a modem or router. for generating requested information from a user shown in The Internet Server 5 may be connected to the Internet 30 FIG. 5, for converting facsimile messages into HTML through typical phone lines, ISDN lines, a Tl circuit, a T3 shown in FIG. 6, for converting voice messages into HTML circuit, or in other ways with other technologies as will be shown in FIG. 8, and for converting data messages into apparent to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, the Internet Server 5 need not be connected HTML shown in FIG. 9. Based upon the above-referenced 45 to the Internet 30 but may be connected to other types of flowcharts and their respective description the production of the software 9 is within the capability of one of ordinary skill networks. For instance, the Internet Server 5, or more in the art and need not be described in any further detail. generally the network Server 5, could be connected to a large Nonetheless, a more detailed block diagram of the Interprivate network, such as one established for a large corponet Server 5 is shown in FIG. 15. The Internet Server 5 runs 50 ration. The network Server 5 would operate in the same on a suitable operating system (OS) 39, which is preferably manner by converting messages into HTML files, receiving Windows NT. The Internet Server 5 has a number of requests for information from users on the network, and by transmitting the information to the users. application programs 31, such as the ones depicted in the Also, at least one interface circuit would be located flowcharts discussed above, for communicating with the central processor 3 and for accessing data from storage 11 55 between the Internet Server 5 and the central processor 3 in and also from memory 33. order to provide communication capabilities between the The memory 33, inter alia, would contain the data indiInternet Server 5 and the central processor 3. This network interface may be provided within both the Internet Server 5 cating the preferences of each user. Thus, for example, when and the central processor 3 or within only one of the Internet a facsimile message in the TIFFIF format is retrieved by the Internet Server 5, the Internet Server 5 would ascertain from 60 Server 5 or central processor 3. the data in memory 33 the preferred option of displaying the Examples of the Internet Server 5 software layers are facsimile message and would generate the appropriate shown in FIGS. 16(A) and 16(B), with FIG. 16(A) representing the Internet Server 5 in an asynchronous mode of HTML files. All interfacing with the Internet 30 is handled by the communication and FIG. 16(B) representing the Internet 5 HTTPD 37, which, in the preferred embodiment, is "Enter- 65 in a synchronous mode of communication. As shown in the prise Server" from NetScape Communications Corp. Any figures, the software 9 for the Internet Server 5 may additional comprise an Internet Deamon for running the HTTPD requests from users, such as a request for a file, would be US 6,857,074 B2 19 20 37. The software 9 for the Internet Server 5 would also converted from a two tone black or white image into an include TCP/IP or other transport layers. Moreover, while image with a varying gray scale. As is known in the art, a the authentication is provided through the HTTPD 37, the gray scale image of a facsimile message provides a better authentication of the user's password and ID may be suppleimage than simply a black or white image of the message. mented or replaced with other ways of authentication. 5 The signal processing may comprise any suitable standard The term synchronous has been used to refer to a mode of contrast curve method of processing, such as anti-aliasing or a smoothing filter. The signal processing may occur concuroperation for the MSDS 10 in which the all possible HTML rently with the conversion from TIFFIF to GIF and is files for a message are generated at the time the message is preferably performed for both full and reduced size images received. The HTML files may be generated by the central processor 3 or by the application programs 31. When a 10 of the facsimile messages. request for information is then later received by the HTTPD Furthermore, the user may be provided with a greater or fewer number of options in displaying or retrieving mes37, the information has already been generated and the HTTPD 37 only needs to retrieve the information from sages. The options are not limited to the exact forms storage 11 and transmit the information to the user's comprovided but may permit the user to review or retrieve the puter 32. With a synchronous mode of operation, the CGI 35 15 messages in other formats. The options may also permit a user to join two or messages into a single message, to delete would be unnecessary. portions of a message, or to otherwise the contents of the The MSDS 10 preferably operates according to an asynchronous mode of operation. In an asynchronous mode of messages. Also, the various menus provided to the user over the telephone may have a greater number of options and the operation, information requested by the user may not be available and may have to be generated after the request. The 20 MSDS 10 may accept responses that involve more than just asynchronous mode of operation is preferred since fewer a single DTMF digit. files are generated, thereby reducing the required amount of The specific DTMF digits disclosed in the various menus are only examples and, as will be apparent to those skilled storage 11. Because the information requested by a user may in the art, other digits may be used in their place. For not be available, some anchors cannot specify the filename, such as "2.html," but will instead contain a command for the 25 instance, a "9" may be used in the place of a "*,, in order to file. For instance, an anchor may be defined as <AHREF= exit the menu or to return to a previous menu. Also, the "/faxweb/users/249680l/viewpage .cgi ?FAX_NUM= DTMF digits may be changed in accordance with the user's l&PAGE=l&VIEW_MODE=FULL">for causing the cm personal convention. If the user had a previous voice mail 35 to run a viewpage program so that page 1 of facsimile system, the user could customize the commands to corremessage 1 will be displayed in a full size image. The cm 35 30 spond with the commands used in the previous system in order to provide a smooth transition to the MSDS 10. will generate the requested information when the informaThe MSDS 10 may restrict a user to only certain types of tion has not been generated, otherwise the CGI 35 will retrieve the information and relay the information to the messages. For instance, a user may want the MSDS 10 to HTTPD 37 for transmission to the user. store only facsimile messages in order to reduce costs of With the invention, the MSDS 10 can reliably receive 35 using the MSDS 10. In such a situation, the MSDS 10 would voice, facsimile, and data messages for a plurality of users perform an additional step of checking that the type of and can receive more than one message for a user at a single message received for a user is a type of message that the MSDS 10 is authorized to receive on the user's behalf. When time. The messages are stored by the MSDS 10 and can be retrieved at the user's convenience at any time by connectthe message is an unauthorized type of message, the MSDS ing to the Internet 30. The Internet World Wide Web 30 is a 40 10 may ignore the message entirely or the MSDS 10 may inform the user that someone attempted to send a message constantly expanding network that permits the user to to the MSDS 10. Moreover, the MSDS 10 has been retrieve the messages at virtually any location in the world. Since the user only needs to incur a local charge for described as having the central processor 3 for handling connecting to the Internet 30, the user can retrieve or review incoming calls and the Internet Server 10 for interfacing messages at a relatively low cost. 45 with the Internet 30. The invention may be practiced in Even for the user's at the office or at home, the MSDS 10 various ways other than with two separate processors. For instance, the central processor 3 and the Internet Server 5 provides a great number of benefits. The user would not need may comprise a single computer or workstation for handling a facsimile machine, voice mail system, or a machine the incoming calls and for interfacing with the Internet 30. dedicated for receiving data messages. The user also need not worry about losing part of the message or violating the 50 The MSDS 10 may convert the messages into HTML files confidential nature of the messages. The user, of course, can prior to storing the messages. Also, the central processor 3 still have a facsimile machine and dedicated computer for may communicate with the paging system 13 instead of the data messages. The MSDS 10, however, will permit the user Internet Server 5. Additionally, as discussed above, the to use the telephone company's "call forwarding" feature so central processor 3 may comprise a number of microprothat messages may be transferred to the MSDS 10 at the 55 cessors 27 for handling a large number of DID trunks. user's convenience, such as when the user is away from the The invention has been described as converting the messages into HTML and transmitting the HTML files over the office. Internet 30 to the computer 32. The HTML format, however, The software 7 and software 9 are not limited to the exact is only the currently preferred format for exchanging inforforms of the flowcharts shown but may be varied to suit the particular hardware embodied by the invention. The soft- 60 mation on the Internet 30 and is actually only one type of a Standard Generalized Mark-Up Language. The invention is ware may comprise additional processes not shown or may therefore not limited to the HTML format but may be combine one or more of the processes shown into a single process. Further, the software 7 and 9 may be executed by practiced with any type of mixed media page layout lana single computer, such as a Silicon Graphics Workstation, guage that can be used to exchange information on the or may be executed by a larger number of computers. 65 Internet 30. The facsimile messages preferably undergo signal proSGML is not limited to any specific standard but encomcessing so that the images of the facsimile messages are passes numerous dialects and variations in languages. One US 6,857,074 B2 21 22 example of an SGML dialect is virtual reality mark-up In addition to different versions of HTTP, the HTTPD 37 language (VRML) which is used to deliver three dimenof the MSDS 10 may operate with other implementations of HTTP. For instance, the W3C's has an implementation of sional images through the Internet. As another example, the computer 32 for accessing the MSDS 10 through the Internet HTTP called "Jigsaw." Jigsaw is an HTTP server entirely 30 may comprise a handheld device. A handheld device is 5 written in Java and provides benefits in terms of portability, generally characterized by a small display size, limited input extensibility, and efficiency. The MSDS 10 may employ capabilities, limited bandwidth, and limited resources, such Jigsaw or other implementations of HTTP. as limited amount of memory, processing power, or permaWith regard to the transmission of messages to the user's nent storage. In view of these limited capabilities, a handcomputer 32, the MSDS 10 permits the user to sample the held device markup language (HDML) has been proposed to 10 voice message or to preview the facsimile message without provide easy access to the Internet 30 for handheld devices. requiring the MSDS 10 to transmit the entire message to the The SGML information transmitted by the MSDS 10 to the computer 32. This sampling ability is a significant benefit since the transmission of the entire message would frecomputer 32 may therefore comprise HDML information suitable for a handheld device or may comprise VRML. quently tie up the computer 32 for a rather long period of As another example, Extensible Mark-Up Language 15 time. Thus, with the preview or sample feature, the user can determine whether the user needs the message transmitted to (XML) is an abbreviated version of SGML, which makes it the computer 32. easier to define document types and makes it easier for programmers to write programs to handle them. XML omits If the user does decide that the entire message needs to be some more complex and some less-used parts of the stantransmitted, as stated above, the user's computer 32 might dard SGML in return for the benefits of being easier to write 20 be receiving the message for a relatively long period of time. After the entire message has been received, the user then has applications for, easier to understand, and more suited to the options of viewing, listening, retrieving, or saving the delivery and inter-operability over the Web. Because XML message. As an alternative, the user's computer may instead is nonetheless a dialect of SGML, the MSDS 10 therefore encompasses the translation of facsimile, voice, and data indicate the contents of the message to the user as the messages into XML, including all of its dialects and 25 message is being received. For instance, with a voice message, the user's computer variations, and the delivery of these messages to computers 32 through the Internet 30. 32 could send the message to an audio speaker as the message is being received. In this manner, the message As a further example, the MSDS 10 encompasses the use of "dynamic HTML." "Dynamic HTML" is a term that has would be played in real time and the user would not need to been used to describe the combination of HTML, style 30 wait until the entire message is received before listening to the message. In order to play the messages in real time, the sheets, and scripts that allows documents to be animated. messages are preferably in the RealAudio (RA) format, The Document Object Model (DaM) is a platform-neutral which the user can select as the preferred file format for and language neutral interface allowing dynamic access and voice messages. updating of content, structure, and style of documents. The In operation, the MSDS 10 would transmit an HTML file MSDS 10 may therefore include the use of the DaM and 35 dynamic HTML to deliver dynamic content to the computer containing an RA file. If the user selects the RA file with the browser on the computer 32, the browser will activate a 32 through the Internet 30. The MSDS 10 is also not limited to any particular version program for use with RAfiles. The operations and functioning of this program will be apparent to those skilled in the or standard of HTTP and thus not to any particular hypertext transfer protocol deamon 37. In general, HTTPis a data 40 art and will be available as a separate software package or will be incorporated within a browser program. The RA access protocol run over TCP and is the basis of the World Wide Web. HTTP began as a generic request-response program will request the RAdata file containing the message protocol, designed to accommodate a variety of applications from the MSDS 10 and, as the RA file is being received at ranging from document exchange and management to the computer 32, this program will play the message in real searching and forms processing. Through the development 45 time. The MSDS 10 and the user's computer 32 could also be of HTTP, the request for extensions and new features to HTTP has exploded; such extensions range from caching, arranged so that each page or even line of a facsimile distributed authoring and content negotiation to various message could be displayed as the computer 32 receives the remote procedure call mechanisms. By not having a modufacsimile message. Further, although the transmission of a larized architecture, the price of new features has been an 50 data message is relatively fast in comparison to a voice or overly complex and incomprehensible protocol. For facsimile message, the computer 32 could also be programmed to permit access to the data message as the instance, a Protocol Extension Protocol (PEP) is an extenmessage is being received. sion mechanism for HTTP designed to address the tension The invention has been described as storing and transbetween private agreement and public specification and to accommodate extension of HTTP clients and servers by 55 mitting voice messages. It should be understood that the voice message would probably be the most often type of software components. Multiplexing Protocol (MUX) is audio message stored at the MSDS 10. The invention, another extension that introduces asynchronous messaging support at a layer below HTTP. As a result of these drawhowever, may be used with any type of audio message and backs of HTTP, a new version of HTTP, namely HTTP-NG, is in no way limited to just voice messages. According to another aspect of the invention, the MSDS has been proposed and its purpose is to provide a new 60 architecture for the HTTP protocol based on a simple, 10 may be used as a file repository serving as an archive for extensible distributed object-oriented model. HTTP-NG, for a particular user or group of users. As described above, the instance, provides support for commercial transactions MSDS 10 may maintain a list of all messages for a particular including enhanced security and support for on-line payuser which is displayed to the user when the user access his ments. Another version of HTTP, namely S-HTTP, provides 65 or her mailbox. The MSDS 10 may store all messages, whether they are voice, facsimile, or data, for a user in the secure messaging. The MSDS 10 and the HTTPD 37 may database indefinitely. The MSDS 10 may therefore be relied incorporate these versions or other versions of HTTP. US 6,857,074 B2 23 24 upon by a user to establish the authenticity of a message and may also be used by a user to customize the MSDS 10 the existence or absence of a particular message. Through according to his or her own desires. For instance, if the user the MSDS 10, a user can therefore maintain an accurate is a company, the company may want to classify messages record of all received email messages, facsimile messages, according to the division at which the message is directed, and data transfers. 5 such as one code for marketing, one for sales, one for In addition to serving as a file depository, the MSDS 10 engineering, and one for legal. may also function as a document management tool. As As another example of a use of one of the other fields 309, described above with reference to FIG. 2, when the MSDS a user can input notes in the other field 309. When a user initially receives a data entry 300, the entry 300, for 10 receives a message, the MSDS 10 updates a database with information on the message. This information includes 10 instance, may include data in all fields 301 to 308 except the type of message, whether it is a facsimile message, voice field 309, which has been left blank. The user can then input his or her notes in the other field. An initial data entry 300 message, or data message, the time and date at which the message was received, the size of the file, such as in bytes, may include the field 305 for the caller's telephone number the telephone number of the caller leaving the message, as which contains the digits for the calling number. The user, well as other information, such as the number of pages of a 15 however, may not readily recognize the caller from just facsimile message. Because the telephone number called is reading the telephone number listed in field 305. To more unique for each user, the information also includes the clearly indicate the caller, the user may input notes in field intended recipient of the message. 309 to identify the caller's name. Alternatively, the notes in field 309 may reflect part or all of the contents of the An example of a data entry 300 in storage 11 for a message is shown in FIG. 17. The data entry 300 represents 20 message. The user may receive a large document or message and may input a brief description of the document or the entry for just a single message with each message having a separate data entry 300. Preferably, the data entries 300 are message in the field 309. As another example, the recipient stored in a relational database and may be searched through of the message may read the message or document and a structured query language (SQL). discover that the caller is requesting some service or goods As shown in FIG. 17, the data field 300 for a message may 25 from the recipient, such as a request for certain documents or delivery of a certain quantity of goods. The recipient may comprise numerous data fields for describing the message. One of these data fields may comprise a field 301 for read the document or message and place some notes in the indicating the name of the person receiving the message. As field 309 to indicate the type of follow-up service or action will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the person may that needs to be taken. An assistant to the recipient can then be identified in numerous ways, such as by a portion of the 30 view the notes in field 309 and take appropriate steps to ensure that the requested service or goods are delivered. If person's name or by a unique number. Another field 302 in the data entry 300 indicates the type of the document, such the data entry is security protected, one of the other fields as whether the document is a facsimile message, voice 309, as discussed above, may grant the assistant limited message, or data transfer, and fields 303 and 304 respecaccess to just the field 309 or may grant more expansive tively indicate the date and time that the message was 35 access whereby the assistant can view fields 301 to 309 as well as the actual document or message. The fields 309 may received by the MSDS 10. The telephone number of the caller is indicated in field 305 while the size of the message, serve various other purposes, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. which may be measured in bytes, is indicated in field 306 FIG. 18 illustrates a process 320 for using the MSDS 10 and the number of pages of the message is indicated in field 307. A document number for uniquely identifying the mes- 40 for document management purposes. With reference to FIG. 18, a user sends a search request to the MSDS 10 for a sage is indicated in field 308. As discussed above, the files or messages received for a particular user may be numbered particular document or set of documents at step 321. The sequentially in the order that they are received by the MSDS user may issue this request with the computer 32 by clicking on a link, such as a link to "Search Documents," which may 10. The files and messages, however, may be numbered or identified in other ways, such as by a combination of 45 be presented to the user by the MSDS 10 after the user has numbers with an identifier for the date when the message been granted accesses to his or her mailbox at step 72 shown in FIG. 3. The MSDS 10 may present the user with the was received. Also, the documents number or identifier may option to search the document archives at other times, such be unique for each file or message directed to a user or, as when the user first attempts to access the mailbox at step alternatively, may be unique for each file or message directed to a plurality of users, which is advantageous when 50 62, or when the URL received by the HTTPD 37 from the MSDS 10 tracks documents for an entire company or computer 32 points toward the document archives. other group of users. In response to this request, the HTTPD 37 sends the user In addition to fields 301 to 308, the data entry 300 for a a search query form at step 322 to allow the user to define message or file may have other fields 309 for describing or a desired search. An example of a search query form is documenting the message or file. The other fields 309, for 55 shown in FIG. 19. The search query form may include an entry for each of the data fields 301 to 309 in the data entry instance, may be used to identify the type of storage that a message should receive. The messages or files may have 300. For instance, the user may input one or more names for different lengths of time that the message is stored before a recipient and have the MSDS 10 search for all messages being automatically deleted. The type of storage, such as or files directed to just those recipients. The user may also whether the full text of the message is stored, may also be 60 indicate the type of document, such as whether it is a facsimile, voice message or data file. The search query form indicated by field 309. Another example of a trait that may also has entries for the date or time, which preferably accept be contained within the other field 309 is security. At times, ranges of times and dates, and an entry for the telephone a user may desire and may be granted access to another person's mailbox, such when the MSDS 10 tracks docunumber of the caller to the MSDS 10. The search query form ments for an entire company. By designating a message or 65 may also include an entry for the size of the file or for the number of pages, which is relevant if the message is a file as secure in field 309, a user may restrict or deny access to that message or file by other users. The other fields 309 facsimile message. The search query form may also include US 6,857,074 B2 25 26 an entry for the document number, which may accept a range saves the results of a search as an open search, then the files or messages in that named search may be updated with of document numbers, and also an entry for another field. recent files or messages falling within the particular search At step 323, the user enters the search parameters in the parameters for the search. On the other hand, a closed search search query form with computer 32 and returns the information to the MSDS 10 through the Internet 30. The user 5 is one in which the files or messages in the named search are limited to those existing at the time of the search. For may define the search about anyone data field or may define the search about a combination of two or more data fields. example, if the MSDS 10 saved the search results shown in For instance, as reflected in the completed search query form FIG. 21 as a closed search, then any retrieval of the "CHARLES R BOBO FACSIMILES" would result in only shown in FIG. 20, a user may define a search by designating the document type as a facsimile and the calling number as 10 the three listed documents. If, on the other hand, the search named as the "CHARLES R BOBO FACSIMILES" was (404) 249-6801. Once the user has finished defining the search, the user then selects the "SEARCH" link shown at saved by the MSDS 10 as an open search, then the MSDS 10 would reactivate the search query shown in FIG. 20 in the bottom of the screen whereby the user's computer 32 response to a request by the computer 32 for that search in would send the completed search query form through the Internet 30 to the HTTPD 37 of the MSDS 10. 15 order to obtain all facsimile messages from that particular telephone number, including those received after the initial At step 324, the HTTPD 37 receives the completed search saving of the search results. query form and, through CGI 35, invokes one or more of the application programs 31 for performing the desired search With reference to FIG. 19, rather than defining a new search, the user may click on the "STORED SEARCHES" for any files or messages falling within the parameters of the search. The results of the search are passed from the appli- 20 link in order to receive the results of a previously performed search. For example, by clicking on this link, the MSDS 10 cation programs 31 through the cm 35 to the HTTPD 37 may return a listing of searches stored for that particular and, at step 325, are returned to the user through the Internet 37. Preferably, the MSDS 10 returns the search results in the user, such as the searches shown in FIG. 22. As shown in this figure, the "CHARLES R. BOBO FACSIMILES" is form of a listing of all files or messages contained within the search parameters, although the MSDS 10 may return the 25 included within the list of stored searches. If the user then selected the "CHARLES R. BOBO FACSIMILES" search, results in other ways. An example of the search results of the query shown in the user may then be presented with the listing of facsimiles FIG. 20 is shown in FIG. 21. As discussed above, the shown in FIG. 21, possibly including recent additions to the search group. parameters of the search were all facsimile messages from With reference to FIG. 19, the MSDS 10 may also provide telephone number (404) 249-6081. With reference to FIG. 30 a user with a link to "RECENT FILES" at step 322. By 21, this query resulted in three messages being discovered. The first document has a document number 11 and is selecting this link, the MSDS 10 may return a listing of all described as being a facsimile from the designated telephone facsimile, voice, and data messages received with a particunumber to Jane Doe on May 31, 1995, and consists of three lar period of time, such as the last month. By placing the pages. This first-listed document is an example of the 35 "RECENT FILES" link on the search query form rather than in the listing of "STORED SEARCHES," the user can facsimile shown in FIG. 7. The other two documents respectively correspond to document numbers 243 and 1,002 and quickly turn to the most recent files and messages. The are also from the designated telephone number. search query form may contain other such easy-access links, At step 326, the user selects the desired file or message such as a link to the last search performed by the MSDS 10 from the listing of messages and files. For instance, by 40 on behalf of the user. The messages or files received by the MSDS 10 need not clicking on the first listed document, namely document number 11, the computer 32 sends a request to the MSDS 10 arrive from a third party. In other words, the MSDS 10 may for a viewing of that document and, in response, the MSDS be used as a file repository or as a file manager for docu10 provides a viewing of the document according to the user ments generated by the user itself. The user may call the defined preferences. As described above, the user may 45 designated telephone number for receiving messages and transmit voice messages, data messages, or facsimile mesreceive a reduced size image of the first page, a full size sages and have the MSDS 10 document the receipt and image of the first page, reduced size images of all pages, or full size images of all pages of the facsimile message. Thus, content of these messages. A user may easily use a facsimile machine as a scanner for entering documents into the storage if the user selected the fourth display option as the user defined preference, the MSDS 10 would return an image of 50 11 of the MSDS 10. the first page of the facsimile, such as the one depicted in The MSDS 10 may have applications in addition to those FIG. 7. discussed-above with regard to serving as a message deliverer, file repository, and file manager. For instance, the At step 326, the user may also have the MSDS 10 save the MSDS 10 may perform some additional processing on the search results. For instance, as shown in FIG. 21, the user may input the name of "CHARLES R. BOBO FACSIMI- 55 incoming calls prior to forwarding them to the user. For LES" as the name for the search. By clicking on the "SAVE voice messages, this processing may involve transcribing SEARCH AS" link, the name of the search is provided from the message and then returning the transcribed messages to the user. The MSDS 10 may therefore be viewed as offering the computer 32 to the MSDS 10. At the MSDS 10, the HTTPD 37 transfers the information from the computer 32 secretarial assistance which may be invaluable to small to the cm 35 and the cm 35 invokes an application 60 companies or individuals who cannot afford a secretary or even to larger businesses who may need some over-flow program 31 to store the results of the search in storage 11 assistance. The transcription may be provided by individuals under the designated name. The invoked application program 31 preferably does not store the contents of all meslocated in any part of the world or may be performed sages but rather stores a listing of the search results in the automatically by a speech-to-text recognition software, such storage 11. 65 as The results of a search may be stored in storage 11 as Another type of processing that the MSDS 10 may either a closed search or an open search. If the MSDS 10 provide is translation services. The incoming call, whether it US 6,857,074 B2 27 28 is a voice, facsimile, or data message, can be converted into SGML and then forwarded first to a translator. Given the reach of the Internet, the translator may be located virtually anywhere in the world and can return the translated document via the Internet to the MSDS 10. The MSDS 10 can notify the user that the translation has been completed through email, voice mail, pager, facsimile, or in other ways. The user would then connect to the Internet and retrieve the translated document. The translation services of the MSDS 10 may also provide transcription of the message, such as with speech-to-text recognition software. The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention have been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention only be limited by the claims appended hereto. I claim: 1. A communications messaging platform, comprising: at least one computerized server system programmed to implement: a messaging function configured to receive messages and configured to place the messages in storage areas associated with respective mailboxes associated with respective intended recipients of the messages, the messages being of anyone or media types selected from the group consisting of an audio media type, an image media type, and a data media type; and a notification function configured to send notification messages to respective ones of the intended recipi_ ents after receipt of the messages, the notification messages alerting the respective ones of the intended recipients of the receipt and availability of the messages at their respective mailboxes, wherein: the messaging function is configured to interface with the intended recipients through a browser interface; the intended recipients are capable of accessing their respective mailboxes and the messages associated therewith through the browser interface; and the messaging function couples information associated with the messages to the respective intended recipients via the Internet. 2. The communications messaging platform as set forth in claim 1, wherein the notification function provides a Uniform Resource Locator in the notification message. 3. The communications messaging platform as set forth in claim 1, wherein the notification messages comprise wireless messages. 4. The communications messaging platform as set forth in claim 1, wherein the notification messages comprise email messages. 5. The communications messaging platform as set forth in claim 1, wherein the computerized server system further comprises an Internet file storage management function configured to store files associated with Internet users, wherein the Internet file storage and management function is configured to interface with the Internet users through a browser interface, and is configured to enable the Internet users to manage the files through the browser interface. 6. The communications messaging platform as set forth in claim 5, wherein the Internet file storage and management function supports files of a plurality of different formats. 7. The communications messaging platform as set forth in claim 5, wherein the Internet file storage and management function enables the Internet users to control access privileges to the files. 8. The communications messaging platform as set forth in claim 5, wherein the Internet file storage and management function provides a thumbnail view of the files. 9. The communications messaging platform as set forth in claim 1, wherein the computerized server system is further programmed to implement a meta-directory function configured to store user preferences associated with the Internet users. 10. The communications messaging platform as set forth in claim 9, wherein the meta-directory function is configured to store meta-data associated with the files. 11. An integrated messaging platform, comprising: at least one computerized server system programmed to implement: a messaging function configured to receive an electronic document intended for an Internet user, to provide a secure mailbox for the Internet user, to store the electronic document in a storage area associated with the Internet user's mailbox, and to receive electronic documents of a plurality of different formats; and a notification function configured to provide the Internet user with notification of the availability of the electronic document, the notification including a reference provided to assist the Internet user to gain access to the electronic document, wherein: the messaging function is configured to interface with the Internet user through a browser interface; Internet user's mailbox and the electronic document associated therewith are capable of being accessed by the Internet user through the browser interface; and the messaging function is configured to forward the electronic document via the Internet for delivery to the user. 12. The integrated messaging platform as set forth in claim 11, wherein the reference included with the notification comprises a Uniform Resource Locator. 13. The integrated messaging platform as set forth in claim 11, wherein the reference included with the notification comprises a set of alphanumeric characters. 14. The integrated messaging platform as set forth in claim 11, wherein the messaging function determines the authenticity of the electronic document. 15. The integrated messaging platform as set forth in claim 11, wherein the messaging function tracks the delivery of the electronic document. 16. The integrated messaging platform as set forth in claim 11, wherein the messaging function translates the electronic document from a first format to a second format. 17. The integrated messaging platform as set forth in claim 11, further comprising a document management tool. 18. The integrated messaging platform as set forth in claim 17, wherein the document management tool controls privileges associated with the electronic document. 19. The integrated messaging platform as set forth in claim 17, wherein the document management tool stores meta-data associated with the electronic document. 20. The integrated messaging platform as set forth in claim 11, wherein the messaging function receives the electronic document in hyper-text transfer protocol. 21. The integrated messaging platform as set forth in claim 11, wherein the messaging function forwards the electronic document to a plurality of Internet users. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 US 6,857,074 B2 29 30 22. The communications messaging platform as set forth in claim 1, wherein: at least one of the messages is of the audio media type, is received from a telephone line, and is converted to an audio formatted file which is stored in a messaging database associated with the communications messaging platform, and the information associated with the at least one of the messages comprises the audio formatted file. 23. The communications messaging platform as set forth in claim 1, wherein: at least one of the messages is of the image media type, is received as a facsimile transmission from a telephone line, and is converted to an image formatted file which is stored in a messaging database associated with the communications messaging platform, and the information associated with the at least one of the messages comprises the image formatted file. 24. A communications messaging platform, comprising: at least one computerized server system programmed to implement: a messaging function configured to receive a voice message over a telephone line, convert the voice message into an audio formatted file, and place the audio formatted file into a storage area associated with a mailbox associated with an intended recipient of the voice message; and a notification function configured to send a notification message to the intended recipient after receipt of the voice message, the notification message alerting the intended recipient of the voice message of the availability of the audio formatted file via the mailbox, wherein the messaging function is configured to interface with the intended recipient through a browser interface; the mailbox and the audio formatted file associated therewith are capable of being accessed by the intended recipient through the browser interface; and the messaging function is operative to forward the audio formatted file from the communications messaging platform via the Internet for download to the intended recipient in response to a client request packet received via the browser interface. 25. A communications messaging platform, comprising: at least one computerized server system programmed to implement: a messaging function configured to receive a facsimile message over a telephone line, convert the facsimile message into an image formatted file, and place the image formatted file into a storage area associated with a mailbox associated with an intended recipient of the facsimile message; and a notification function configured to send a notification message to the intended recipient after receipt of the facsimile message, the notification message alerting the intended recipient of the facsimile message of the availability the image formatted file via the mailbox, wherein: the messaging function is configured to interface with the intended recipient through a browser interface; the mailbox and the image formatted file associated therewith are capable of being accessed by the intended recipient through the browser interface; and the messaging function is operative to couple the image formatted file from the communications messaging platform via the Internet for download to the internet recipient in response to a client request packet received via the browser interface. 26. An integrated messaging platform, comprising: at least one computerized server system programmed to implement: a messaging function configured to receive a media file intended for a user of a packet switched data network, to provide a secure mailbox for the user, to store the media file into a storage area associated with the user's mailbox, and to receive media files of a plurality of different formats; and a notification function configured to provide the user with notification via a wireless transmission path of the availability of the media file in the storage area, the notification including a reference provided to assist the user to gain access to the media file, wherein: the messaging function is configured to interface with the user through a browser interface; the mailbox and the media file stored in the storage area associated therewith are capable of being accessed through the browser interface; and the messaging function is configured to forward the media file via the packet switched data network for delivery to the user. 27. The integrated messaging platform as set forth in claim 26, wherein the packet switched data network is the Internet and the user uses a web browser to interface with the browser interface. 28. The integrated messaging platform as set forth in claim 26, wherein the packet switched data network is a restricted access network coupled to the Internet, the user uses an application program that interprets markup language to render information on a user interface to interface with the browser interface, and at least oen of the plurality of different formats is an image file format. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 * * * * *

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