Methods, apparatus and computer program products for dispatching and prioritizing communication of generic-recipient messages to recipients

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9848086-B2
Application number	US-78445004-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 23, 2004
Priority date	Feb 23, 2004
Publication date	Dec 19, 2017
Grant date	Dec 19, 2017

Abstract

Devices, methods and computer program products are provided for dispatching messages to recipients and for prioritizing the dispatch of generic-recipient messages. The device and methods are generally automatic and, thus, require minimal manual intervention by system administrators. Further, the devices and methods are capable of supporting both local and remote message dispatching so as to optimize the system and achieve a lowest cost alternative. In addition, the devices and methods of the present invention dispatch messages over various communication means, such as short-range wireless, Internet, cellular networks and the like.

First claim

That which is claimed:

1. A method comprising:
receiving a generic-recipient message by a network hub;
determining predefined attributes of the message, wherein the predefined attributes comprise one or more of a sender of the message, a subject of the message, or content of the message;
determining a type of communication medium of the message;
determining one or more potential recipients for the message based, at least in part, on the determined type and the predefined attributes by comparing the predefined attributes of the message with stored information related to potential recipients, wherein the stored information includes information identifying one or more receiving devices associated with the potential recipients, and wherein the one or more potential recipients are individuals;
displaying the message on a display viewable by the one or more potential recipients; and
dispatching the message to the one or more receiving devices of one or more determined recipients.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the message is dispatched internally within a physical confines of the network hub using a short-range wireless communication, or wherein the message is dispatched externally beyond the physical confines of the network hub using a Short Message Service message, a Multimedia Message Service message, an electronic mail message or a voice message.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining that one or more acknowledgments by the one or more determined recipients are not received by the network hub within a specified period of time; and
causing, at least in part, a dispatch of the message to a supervisor of the one or more determined recipients.

4. A method comprising:
receiving a generic-recipient message by a network hub;
determining predefined attributes of the message, wherein the predefined attributes comprise one or more of a sender of the message, a subject of the message, or content of the message;
determining a type of communication medium of the message;
determining whether the message has priority based, at least in part, on the determined type and on the predefined attributes by comparing the predefined attributes of the message with pre-stored priority information;
prioritizing the message when a determination is made that the message has priority;
displaying the message on a display viewable by the one or more potential recipients;
dispatching the message to one or more receiving devices of one or more determined recipients based on the priority,
wherein the one or more determined recipients are individuals,
wherein the one or more potential recipients are determined by comparing the predefined attributes of the message with stored information related to the potential recipients, and
wherein the stored information includes information identifying the one or more receiving devices.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein determining whether the message has priority based on the predefined attributes further comprises determining whether the message has display priority based on the predefined attributes.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein prioritizing the message when a determination is made that the message has priority further comprises prioritizing a display of the message when a determination is made that the message has display priority.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein prioritizing the display of the message when a determination is made that the message has display priority further comprises directing display of the message in a prominent position on the display associated with the network hub.

8. The method of claim 4 , wherein determining whether the message has priority based, at least in part, on the predefined attributes further comprises determining whether the message has dispatch priority based, at least in part, on the predefined attributes.

9. The method of claim 4 , wherein prioritizing the message when a determination is made that the message has priority further comprises prioritizing the dispatch of the message when a determination is made that the message has dispatch priority.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein prioritizing the dispatch of the message when a determination is made that the message has dispatch priority further comprises prioritizing a communication medium used to dispatch the message when a determination is made that the message has communication medium dispatch priority.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein prioritizing the dispatch of the message when a determination is made that the message has dispatch priority further comprises prioritizing a time of the dispatch of the message when a determination is made that the message has time dispatch priority.

12. The method of claim 4 , wherein the message is dispatched internally within a physical confines of the network hub using a short-range wireless communication, or wherein the message is dispatched externally beyond the physical confines of the network hub using a Short Message Service message, a Multimedia Message Service message, an electronic mail message or a voice message.

13. The method of claim 4 , wherein the network hub is a wireless network hub.

14. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and stored computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least:
receive a generic-recipient message from one or more communication networks;
determine predefined attributes of the message, wherein the predefined attributes comprise one or more of a sender of the message, a subject of the message, or content of the message;
determine a type of communication medium of the message;
determine one or more potential recipients for the message based, at least in part, on the determined type and the predefined attributes by comparing the predefined attributes of the message with stored information related to the potential recipients, wherein the stored information includes information identifying one or more receiving devices associated with the potential recipients, and wherein the one or more potential recipients are individuals;
display the message on a display viewable by the one or more potential recipients; and
dispatch the message to the one or more receiving devices of one or more determined recipients.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the dispatch of the message is via lower power Radio Frequency.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the dispatch of the message is via a digital cellular network.

17. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the dispatch of the message is via a communication network, and the apparatus is further caused, at least in part, to:
determine that one or more acknowledgments by the one or more determined recipients are not received by the network hub within a specified period of time; and
cause, at least in part, a dispatch of the message to a supervisor of the one or more determined recipients.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the message is dispatched internally within a physical confines of the network hub using a short-range wireless communication, or wherein the message is dispatched externally beyond the physical confines of the network hub using a data network, a Short Message Service network, a Multimedia Message Service network or a telephony network.

19. The apparatus of claim 14 , further comprising the display associated with the apparatus that is configured to, under the direction of the at least one memor

Assignees

• Zilliacus Martin
• Koli Ari
• Nokia Technologies Oy

Inventors

• Zilliacus Martin
• Koli Ari

Classifications

• H04M3/5307

  for recording messages comprising any combination of audio and non-audio components · CPC title

• H04M3/527 Primary

  Centralised call answering arrangements not requiring operator intervention · CPC title

• H04W4/14

  Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD] · CPC title