CA2225623A1 - Ever ready telephonic answering machine for receiving and delivering electronic messages - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a telephonic E-mail "answering machine" (1) for receiving, processing and storing electronic messages. The E-mail answering machine (1) includes a phone jack (4) for adapting to an existing telephone line for receiving electronic messages from the phone line. The telephonic apparatus further includes a processor (6) for responding to the electronic messages and for storing the messages in the answering machine (1).
In another preferred embodiment, the telephonic E-mail answering machine (1) further includes an LCD display (8) for providing information to a user relating to a reception of the electronic messages.

Description

CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 WO97/01919 PCT~S96/110'J6 2EVER READY TEl~ C ANSWERING~ MZ~ TN~ FOR
3R~:lvlN~ AND DELIVERING ELECTRONIC MESSAGES

~r~r7~ouND OF T~E lNV~NllON

7 Field of the Invention 8 The present invention is generally related to 9 systems for facilitating electronic messages over interconnected computer networks, and more particularly, ll a system for coordinating and delivering electronic mail 12 messages directly to a novel device for sending and 13 receiving electronic mail messages.

De~cription of the Prior Art 16 Even with rapid increase in the use of personal 17 computers and computer networks, the benefits of 18 electronic communications in the forms of electronic l9 data (or messages) representing texts, images and sounds are still limited to very small percentage of the 21 population. To the majority of people, the information.

22 highway is still too remote. In order to get on the 23 ~ ramp' of the information highway, more sophisticate 24 processes are required which may involve the use of computer and modem to 'log on' a local server, setting 26 up an account, executing communications programs, 27 sending and receiving messages, and download and upload 2 8 files. To people in most households, even with a 29 computer and a modem, these tasks are too complicate and not sufficiently 'user friendly'. Even if the 31 technology and the systems are available, there are 32 still many hurdles to overcome before most people can 33 switch to an E-Mail communication mode. Ordinary people 34 are not yet able to take advantage of the existing telephone systems and micro-processors or computers to 36 routinely communicate with 'electronic mail' (E-Mail) 37 for sending and receiving electronic messages.

38 The telephone system has been greatly enhanced and 39 become a widely accepted communication apparatus in CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96/11076 1 households and offices since its invention. The examples 2 include the telephone answering system found in 3 households, the voice mail system used in office 4 environments. The telephone answering system, including a tape recorder and some control circuits, provides a 6 very affordable and easy-to-use telephone apparatus. It 7 answers the incoming phone call by taking a series of 8 steps. It performs an off-hook operation to simulate the 9 action of human-being picking up a handset Then, it starts the communication by making an announcement and 11 takes the message from the caller by recording the 12 message on an audio tape. when it finishes, it hangs up 13 and sets the incoming message indicator, such as 14 blinking a LBD. The party being called can look at the indicator and knows immediately how many messages are on 16 the machine. To retrieve the message, all it takes is to 17 push one button. The regular tape recorder functions, 18 such as STOP, PLAY, FAST FORWARD and REWIND, are 19 available to the telephone answering system. The system has been so widely accepted that many manufacturers have 21 integrated the answering/recording i~unctions within a 22 telephone apparatus. The voice mail system takes a step 23 further. It creates individuai voice-mail box for 24 everyone on the list. It allows the sharing of one telephone answering system but still keeps the privacy 2 6 of the individual.
27 While voice communication through the telephone 28 becomes part of our daily lives, the widely used 29 computer has created another format of communication-data communication, One of them is electronic mail, or 31 E-mail. The electronic mail may contain text, image and 32 digitized voice It provides a great alternative of 33 communication among people. Through computer network 34 system, one person can send a mail to another person 3 5 anywhere in the world as long as the addressee has a 3 6 computer connected to the same network The increasing 37 popularity of the global computer network the Internet, 38 has made the E-mail more useful than ever.
39 These two important ways of communication by the CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96/110,~6 1 use of telephone and computer networks have worked very 2 well in voice and data communication respectively. More 3 sophisticate computer users are able to use computer 4 with modem to conned with existing telephone networks to manage both data and voice communication, However, since 6 the telephone lines can only be used on a 'dedicated' 7 basis. Voice or data communication is totally blocked 8 for a segment of time when that line is occupied in 9 connecting by modem to computer networks or when two people are talking using' the phone. Because of the 11 nature of operation, an electronic message, which has 12 arrived at a server station, has to wait until a user 13 logs on thus much useful time is wasted. This passive 14 nature of E-mail delivery thus generates waste of useEul resources and time when the messages are idle waiting to 16 be retrieved.
17 There are some attempts to integrate a plurality of 18 media communication in office environment Some 19 representative examples are U.S. Pat No.5,333,266, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MESSAGE HANDLING IN
21 CO~ul~ SYSTEMS, issued to Boaz et al. on Ju1.26, 1994 22 and U.S. Pat No. 5,349,636, entitled INTERFACE SYSTEM

24 AND AN INTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE SYSTEM, issued to Irribarren on Sept.20, 1994. Both rely on a powerful 26 computer and a local area network to integrate multip:Le 27 message systems. They were designed for office use nol 28 suitable for households or small offices. Another 29 example is U.S. Pat 5,193,110, entitled INTEGRATED
SERVICES PLATFORM FOR TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM. It 31 is specifically designed for use in the central office 32 of telephone company or in a large corporate office.
33 These inventions do not provide a solution to the 34 difficulties that higher skill level of computer are required for E-Mail communication, Regular daily use of 36 E-Mail communication in homes, college dormitories an~
37 small offices are still not so convenient for most 38 people.
39 Popular and routine use of E-Mail communications CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96tllO76 ~ -4-1 are still hindered by current requirements of equipment 2 and network configurations. First, the E-mail is limited 3 to those who have access to computers or terminal 4 devices connected to a host computer capable of process E-mail. This may not be a problem in modem offices 6 equipped with computers and networks for connecting to 7 host computers or network severs. But it becomes a 8 significant limiting factor for households and offices 9 without the modem equipment or connecting networks.
Secondly, the actual reception of the electronic 11 messages can only be performed when the receiving 12 computers, i.e., terminals for communication, are 13 connected to E-mail server. The usefulness of E-mail is 14 greatly limited in terms of timelines of the messages.
In order to assure that no important messages are 16 missed, a user has to log on to the network in a routine 17 manner to 'check the mail' regularly. It may becomes 18 burdensome during some inconvenient time. In order to 19 resolve this difficulty, Clercq discloses in a U.S. Pat 5,138,653, entitled SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC NOTIFICATION OF

22 (issued on Aug. it 1992), an E-mail system for making a 23 call to an E-mail addressee which is triggered when a 24 message is received. An addressee is then required to retrieve the E-mail from remote station by the use of a 26 computer. It may even be more inconvenient than a 27 beeper' as the addressee may not be in a convenient 28 place with access to a computer and modem to log on to a 29 server.
~ 30 Therefore, a need still exists in the art of system 31 design and device manufacture for electronic message 32 communication to overcome these bottlenecks and 33 inconveniences which limit the usefulness of the E-mail.
34 Specifically, it is desirable to provide a telephonic E-mail apparatus which provides functions similar to a 36 phone answering machine which is ready for a user for 37 receiving, viewing or listening to the received 38 electronic messages in a 'plug and play' fashion.
39 Additionally, in order to minimize any inconvenience CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 .
W O 97/Ol919 PCTrUS96~1IO76 1 thus caused to a user, it is desirable to adapt the 2 telephonic E-mail apparatus without interfering existing 3 telephonic communication operations. A user would thus, 4 be allowed to operate a telephone or phone answering machine with the E-mail apparatus as if no E-mail 6 apparatus had been adapted into the system. An ordinary 7 telephone user would then be provided with a convenient 8 E-mail apparatus ready to be adapted into a telephone 9 system without requiring the use of a computer and applying computer skills whereby the limitations and 11 difficulties of the prior art can be resolved.
12 Moreover, as more and more people have access to 13 computers providing for electronic mail messaging 14 capabilities via the internet or internal networks, electronic mail messages, commonly referred to as e-mail 16 messages, are becoming an integral part of modern 17 communication. The delivery of an e-mail message occurs 18 virtually instantaneously and the recipient of an e-mail 19 message can reply to the message within minutes of the receipt.
21 However, for the situation where a user is 22 connected via a phone line to the network, special 23 problems exist. In this scenario, e-mail communication 24 requires certain hardware and software combination in order for the user to send and receive e-mail messages.
26 Generally speaking, for connection to the internet via a 27 phone line to a network server, the necessary hardware 28 includes a computer and a communication device such as a 29 modem. Software wise, a mail program for the sending and receiving of e-mail messages is needed.
31 Additionally, there may be a monthly subscriber charge 32 for connect time to the server imposed by a internet 33 service provider if the user is not connected via a 34 prepaid network. Overall, economically speaking, it can be a significant investment to have a computer set up 36 for the sending and receiving of e-mail messages.
37 Moreover, the necessary hardware and software are fairly 38 complex and may be difflcult to set up by a novice user.
39 These barriers bar majority of people from communicating CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96/11076 1 with e-mail messages.
2 Even if a user has a complete computer system setup 3 for the sending and receiving of e-mail messages, there 4 are problems with receiving the messages in a timely manner, with power consumption, and with security risks.
6 In order to receive e-mail messages in a timely 7 manner, a user must either manually and periodically 8 dial into a network server or program the computer to 9 automatically and periodically dial into the server to check and retrieve new mail messages. The manual method 11 is a time consuming and tedious process that distracts 12 the user from productive use of his or her time. The 13 automatic method requires that the computer be left on 14 all of the time which wastes power and may incur telephone toll charges every time the computer calls the 16 server. If the network server is programmed to call and 17 deliver a new message to the user's computer upon 18 receiving it, the user's computer must be left on all 19 the time which again wastes power.
Moreover, whenever a computer is left on, there is 21 a risk of security breach where there might be 22 unauthorized access to the computer via either the phone 23 line or from the keyboard by an unauthorized person and 24 thereby compromising the user~s computer system.
All in all, the above described factors prevents e-26 mail messages from being delivered to every household.
27 Thus, a new e-mail system and a low cost device are 28 needed to provide an universal e-mail messaging system 29 capable of sending and receiving e-mail messages from and to every household.

32 SU~DMARY OF THE PRESENT lNV~llON
33 It is therefore an object of the present invention 34 to provide an apparatus and a new communication system architect and process ready for implementation on 36 existing telephone system to overcome the aforementioned 37 difficulties encountered in the prior art.
38 Specifically, it is an object of the present 39 invention to provide an apparatus ready to adapt to an - CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 PCTAUS96/110'16 1 existing telephone system in a 'plug-and-play' manner to 2 receive and delivery electronic messages including text, 3 images, and digitized voice signals whereby every 4 household with a telephone can easily access to and be t5 benefited by electronic messages without requiring mo:re 6 complicate processes of employing computer and modem and 7 managing the execution of communication programs befo:re 8 such messages can be exchanged thereon.
9 Another object of the present invention is to 10 provide a telephonic electronic message 'answering 11 machine' which is equipped with user friendly features 12 similar to a convention answering machine without 13 interfering with existing telephone functions such that 14 every regular house can apply such an apparatus 15 immediately.

16 Another object of the present invention is to 17 provide an electronic message apparatus which stores 18 initial registration and subsequent logon information 19 therein to automatically dial up several local servers 20 directly, subject to user selection, to perform the 21 initial registration and subsequent logon functions such 22 that more complex functions of registration and logging 23 on to a server can be managed automatically.

24 Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic message apparatus which can 26 coordinate with a server to perform message screening 27 and message prioritizing functions such that a user can 28 pre-arrange to receive or screen types of messages 29 according to the importance of such messages.
Yet another object of the present invention is tc~
31 provide a method and apparatus for facilitating, 32 sending, and receiving of e-mail messages through 33 interconnected computer networks or telephone networks.
34 A further object of the present invention is to provide a low cost method and apparatus for transmitting 36 and receiving e-mail messages.
37 Yet another object of the present invention is to 38 provide a low cost method and apparatus for delivering 39 e-mail messages incurring minimum telephone toll CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96/11076 _ -8-1 charges.
2 Briefly, in a preferred embodiment, the present 3 invention includes a telephonic apparatus for processing 4 electronic messages which includes a means for adapting to an existing telephone line for receiving electronic 6 messages including digitized signals. The telephonic 7 apparatus further includes a processing means for 8 responding to the electronic messages and for storing 9 the messages therein. In another preferred embodiment, the telephonic apparatus further includes an user 11 interface means for providing information to an user 12 relating to a reception of the electronic messages.
13 In another embodiment, a system for facilitating, 14 sending and receiving e-mail messages is disclosed.
This e-mail system is supported by one or more main 16 servers and a plurality of regional servers 17 geographically distributed in populated areas, and are 18 interconnected via a computer network such as the 19 internet. An incoming e-mail message under this system is first processed and packaged by the main server to 21 allow tracking of this message. The packaged message is 22 then sent to the designated local server via a regional 23 server. The local server receives the e-mail message 24 and notifies or delivers the message to a client (user) e-mail device through one of several available methods.
26 These methods include direct mail delivery, call-back 27 mail delivery, and notify-only. Under the notify-only 28 method, the local server uses an optional ringing 29 protocol to notify the e-mail device that there is a mail message waiting. Under the call-back delivery 31 method, the local server uses the optional ringing 32 protocol to notify the e-mail device, and the e-mail 33 device then calls the local server to retrieve the 34 message. Under the direct-delivery method, the local server calls the e-mail device and delivers the message.
36 The e-mail device is a novel device designed to send and 37 receive e-mail messages. It is a low cost device that 38 may be a stand-alone device, a part of a multi-function 39 device, or a part of a computer expansion card. The CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96/110'76 _ g _ 1 servers of the present invention can be maintained and 2 operated remotely.
3 An advantage of the present invention is that it 4 provides a method and apparatus for facilitating, r 5 sending, and receiving e-mail messages through 6 interconnected computer networks and/or telephone 7 networks.
8 Another advantage of the present invention is that 9 it provides a low cost method and apparatus for 10 transmitting and receiving e-mail messages.
11 Yet another advantage of the present invention is 12 that it provides a low cost method and apparatus for 13 delivering e-mail messages while minimizing telephone 14 toll charges.
15 These and other objects and advantages of the 16 present invention will no doubt become obvious to those 17 of ordinary skill in the art after having read the 18 following detailed description of the preferred 19 embodiments.

22 Fig. 1 is a diagram showing how the present 23 invention of the E-mail apparatus connects with the 24 existing telephone answering system.

25 Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the present invention 26 of E-mail capable telephone apparatus.

27 Figs. 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d are preferred embodiments of 28 communication systems which incorporate an E-mail 29 apparatus of the present invention.

30 Fig. 4 is an implementation example of a basic 31 front control panel of the apparatus.

32 Fig. 5 is an example of more complicated or non-33 frequently used functions menu of the apparatus.

34 Fig. 6 is a flow diagram of the easy registration 35 process.

37 Fig. 7 is a flow diagram of a typical E-mail 38 collecting process.

39 Fig. 8 is a flow diagram of an E-mail receiving CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96/11076 1 process.
2 Fig. 9 is a flow diagram of the E-mail delivery 3 process on the E-mail sever.
4 Fig. 10 is the overall network connection diagram.
It shows how the E-mail ready telephone communicates 6 with the server and the rest of the world.
7 Fig. 11 illustrates a conceptual representation of 8 the internet, a number of servers connected to the 9 internet, and a number of computers connected to each server;
11 Fig. 12 illustrates a conceptual representation of 12 the e-mail system of the present invention utilizing the 13 internet, servers, and e-mail devices;
14 Fig. 13 shows a hierarchial relationship between the main server, regional servers, and local servers;
16 Fig. 14 shows another hierarchial relationship 17 between the main server, regional servers, and local 18 servers where the local servers may be connected 19 directly to the main server;
Fig. 15 illustrates the steps for registering an e-21 mail device;
22 Figs. 16a-16d show the pseudo code for the 23 procedures residing on the main server for facilitating 24 incoming and outgoing e-mail messages;
Figs 17a-17h show the pseudo code for the 26 procedures residing on the local server for interacting 27 with the main server and the e-mail devicei 28 Fig. 18a shows a computer expansion card 29 implementation of the e-mail device;
Fig. 18b-18c illustrate the pseudo-code for the 31 software residing on the computer system ~or operating 32 the e-mail expansion card;
33 Fig. l9a-19d show other computer expansion card 34 implementations of the e-mail device used in conjunction with a fax/modem;
36 Fig. 20 illustrates a block diagram of the 37 components in implementing the ringing protocol on the 38 local server side;
39 Fig. 21 illustrates a block diagram of the CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96/110'16 1 components in implementing the ringing protocol on the 2 e-mail device side; and 3 Fig. 22 illustrates a block diagram of an 4 integration of a faxing device and the e-mail device.
r 5 Fig. 23 illustrates a configuration for remote-6 controlling a server computer using the ringing protocol 7 of the present invention.

9 DETATT~n DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to Fig. 1 the block diagram shows how 11 the present invention of the E-mail apparatus connects 12 to the telephone and the answering system. A twisted-13 pair of telephone line 5a connects the phone jack 4 on 14 the wall to the "line" connector on the E-mail apparatus 1. Another telephone wire 6 connects the "phone"
16 connector on apparatus 1 to the answering system 2. T.hen 17 the answering system 2 connects to the telephone 18 (handset and keypad) through line 5c. if there is no 19 answering machine line 5b connects to the telephone 20 directly. Every incoming phone call will be taken by the 21 E-mail apparatus first. If it is not for E-mail it will 22 pass the call to the answering system. It is important 23 to maintain the same functionality of the existing 24 telephone answering system when the apparatus is added to the telephone/answering system. It will be clear when 26 we explain the inside of the apparatus 1. In Fig 1. il 27 shows that the apparatus has 4 major building blocks:
28 central control & telephone line interface unit 6 / front 29 panel display and control 7 optional display unit 8 I/O interface and other devices 9. Only the central 31 control & telephone line interface unit 6 is needed for 3 2 every apparatus. The others may have many different 33 combinations.
34 Fig. 2 is the internal detailed diagram of the E-35 mail apparatus. Processor 11 reads the codes stored in 36 ROM 12 and performs its duty according to the request 37 ~rom the user. For example i~ the auto-collect is set 38 up~ processor 11 will receive an interrupt signal frorn 39 interrupt controller 17. The interrupt will be serviced CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W 097tOl9l9 PCTrUS96tllO76 1 by processor 11 to set up modem 23 through universal I/O
2 bus 20 and dial the designated E-mail server to collect 3 the E-mail. By using an universal I/O bus 20, it makes 4 the architecture flexible to add or reduce its functions. Block 14 contains logic to interface system 6 bus and I/O bus. Blocks 11-20 constitute the basic 7 central control unit Blocks 21-23 belong to the 8 telephone interface unit The basic control and display 9 unit has blocks 25 and 26. Block 28 is the display for mail reading and block 27 is the controller for block 11 28. There are two displays in Fig. 2 The small display 12 in 26 is used for control and status information. To 13 display mail, a bigger display 28 is more suitable. If 14 display 28 is built-in, display 26 can be eliminated. If the user relies on data export function to move E-mail 16 files to his computer and to read the mail there, 17 display 26 alone will be enough. Display 28 can be a 18 LCD, monitor or a TV, and display control 27 will be a 19 compatible controller. RAM 12 is a device used as a scratch pad for processor during the execution of the 21 codes from ROM 12 ROM 12 can be a flash memory.
22 Processor 11, ROM 12, RAM 13 and I/O bus controller 14 23 are connected to system bus 15. I/O bus controller 24 allows the processor to communicate with all the other I/O devices. Real time dock 19 keeps track of the time.
26 Timer 18 and interrupt controller 17 are used for 27 program flow control. Clock and power management 16 is 28 used to save the power consumption of the apparatus.
29 when power consumption is not a concern, block 16 can be as simple as a dock chip. Processor 11 responds to the 31 user request from front panel control 26 through panel 32 interface block 25. It also uses panel interface block 33 25 to display other information to user. UART 22 is a 34 serial communication block, it is used to move data 3 5 between the E-mail apparatus and the external world.
36 Through the modem and telephone line, it connects the 37 apparatus to other communication devices. With a local 38 Rs-232 or infra-red link, it can import/export data 39 to/from a computer, digital organizer or printer.

CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 -WO97/01919 PCT~S96/110'76 1 Display control 27 is to display the mail on a display 2 device 28. Some desirable devices such as secondary 3 storage device 21, audio device 29 are optional add-ons.
4 If a reasonable size of flash device is used as storage, block 21 will not be important Telephone interface block 6 2~ controls the interface with telephone line, telephone 7 answering system and modem. The details of block 14 are 8 shown in the diagram of Fig 3.
9 There are many electronics devices available to implement Fig 2. Here is one example. Use the single 11 chip platform VG-230 ~rom Vadem (San Jose, Cali~ornia) ~2 for blocks 11, 15, 16-19, 20, 22, 27 in Fig. 2. This 13 chip has processor, memory controller, I/O bus and many 14 I/O peripheral devices integrated into a single chip.
Modem (block 23) can be the single-chip modem SSI
16 73K321L from Silicon Systems (Tustin, Cali~ornia).
17 Figs. 2a - 2d are preferred embodiments showing 18 some of the possible combinations of the modules. Fig.
19 2a uses TV as a primary display of mail. Block 28 in Fig. 2 is replaced with a television 28a. Flash memory 21 12a is used for codes and mail storage space. This is 22 one of the simple implementations. Fig. 2b is suitable 23 for people who have access to the computer. It is 24 comprised of a floppy controller and drive. The mail is save on a floppy diskette. The user can take diskette to 26 a computer and read mail there. Block 25 can be 27 simplified since there is no need to control the display 28 of mail. This is an example of how to count on data 29 export function to reduce the configuration of the apparatus. Fig. 2c is another example of data export 31 function except using different means of moving data is 32 used. It uses Infra-red link o move data to/from the 33 computer. In both cases, outgoing mail can also be 34 imported from diskette or infra-red-link. Fig. 2d is an example with extensive functions. It contains removable 36 flash memory card 26b using industry standard PCMCIA
37 interface to save mail. It has a built-in LCD display 38 28b for reading mail. An audio device 29a will generate 39 voice if the incoming mail contains a digitized voice CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 1 file.
2 Fig. 3 is the diagram showing internal block of the 3 telephone interface function. When the system is in idle 4 state (i.e. no incoming phone call), line switch 31 is set to telephone line 35 and interface control 34 and 6 line 39 is open. When there is an incoming phone call, 7 the telephone line interface control 34 will generate an 8 off-hook to the caller and then monitor line 35 to see - 9 if it is an E-mail communication from line 38. If it is not, interface control 34 triggers a ring through the 11 ring control 32 and lines 40, 41 and 42 to the telephone 12 answering system. When handset/keypad interface block 33 13 detects off-hook signals on line 37 from the telephone 14 answering system, line switch 31 turns the switch to line 39. Then the telephone is in control. The E-mail 16 apparatus gives up communication to the 17 telephone/answering system. This is a very important 18 process for maintaining the function of telephone 19 answering system function as if the E-mail apparatus is absent. In the case of E-mail communication, line switch 21 31 keeps the phone line connected to 35 all the time.
22 Handset and keypad interface block 33 also becomes 23 active when the keypad is used to control the E-mail 24 apparatus or to edit an outgoing mail. The keypad information will be passed to the processor to respond.
26 Fig. 4 is an example to show the concept of the 27 easy-to-use interface. Block 51 is a simple display 28 panel. Blocks 52-57 are control buttons. Button 58 is a 29 control button and an indicator. A blinking indicator 58 means an incoming mail is ready ~or retrieval. The user 31 can push button 54 to read the mail. At every push of 32 button 54, a full page of mail would be displayed to fit 33 into the size of the display. Push button 55 to jump to 34 the next mail. Button 53 is to display the previous page. Pushing button 52 to jump to the beginning of the 36 previous mail. Pushing button 52 longer means back 37 to.the beginning of the first mail and the mail will be 38 overwritten when the next batch o~ mail arrives. Pushing 39 button 58 will dial, send and collect mail. When it is CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96/11076 ~ -15-1 done, a message will be displayed on block 1 and call 2 indicator 8 will be blinking. Button 56 is used to 3 interrupt the E-mail communication when the user needs 4 to use the telephone. Button 57 is a special function button. It provides more complicated or unusual 6 functions. It brings a menu of functions for the user to 7 select. The functions may include registration, mail 8 forward, and mail hold request The list in Fig. 5 is an 9 example for those functions. The concept of separating all the basic and frequently-used functions from the 11 complicated and infrequently-used functions by different 12 interfaces makes the E-mail apparatus a user-friendly 13 device while maintaining some advanced functions.
14 Fig. 5 exemplifies a list of the menu of more complicated and infrequently-used functions. Function 1 16 is a guided registration process function. Function 2 is 17 to set the current time. Function 3 is to set the 18 programmable secret code. Function 4 is to change the 19 number to dial other than the designated E-mail server.
Function 5 is to request E-mail server to hold the mail.
21 Function 6 is to request the forwarding of the mail.
22 Function 7 is to set up the daily auto-dial and connect 23 time with the E-mail server. Function 8 is for data 24 import/export. Function 9 is to display your e-mail address. Function 10 is to request the change of E-mail 26 address if you don't like the assigned address after 27 registration. Function 11 is to run diagnostics on the 28 unit By pushing button 57 in Fig. 5, the menu of 29 functions will be on the display 51 in Fig. 4. Every push will display next function. Button 58 is used to 31 select the function. When the function is selected, the 32 software in apparatus will guide user through the 33 process. If the unit has a bigger LCD display built-in, 34 it may display all the function at once, and the user can move the courser around the menu to select the 36 function.
37 Whenever the apparatus does not detect any action 38 from the user for an extended period of time, such as 10 39 minutes, it aborts all the incomplete process and resets CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96/11076 1 to the idle state.
2 Therefore, the present invention discloses a 3 telephonic apparatus for processing electronic messages 4 which includes a means for adapting to an existing telephone line for receiving electronic messages. The 6 telephonic apparatus further includes a processing means 7 for responding to the electronic messages and for 8 storing the messages therein. In another preferred 9 embodiment, the telephonic apparatus further includes an user interface means for providing information to an 11 user relating to a reception of the electronic messages.
12 Fig. 6 is the flow chart of a typical registration 13 process. The user only needs to push a few buttons (step 14 101 in the diagram) and enter the phone number (step 103). The process will automatically take place by doing 16 steps 104-111 and an E-mail address will be assigned and 17 displayed (step 108). Step 111 is to search the phone 18 number of the best E-mail server for the user to dial in 19 based on user's phone number and save the number in the apparatus.
21 There are two ways to communicate between an E-mail 22 apparatus and its server. One way is auto-connect, the 23 other is the conventional logon process. when the E-mail 24 apparatus initiates a call to the server, the server will try to auto-connect first It is an automatic 26 process and requires no user attendance. The first 27 requirement for the auto-connect is that the server 28 knows the user's E-mail address and the machine ID of 29 the E-mail apparatus. The second requirement is that the server and the E-mail apparatus have the same derived 31 password. The derived password is a code generated by an 32 equation based on the P code (programmable code), the 33 user's phone number and the machine ID. In order to do 34 transaction, both need to share the same equation.
Checking the machine ID and the derived password, the 36 server can determine the legitimacy of the request from 37 the E-mail apparatus. The auto-connect provides the 38 convenience of automatic downloading mail. But if the 39 checking fails, the server will ask the user to enter CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 PCTrUS96/11076 1 the password. This is the case when a different machine 2 iS used to download mail, the E-mail apparatus has a 3 different machine ID. The server will not use auto-4 connect, and a conventional logon process is required to access for security reasons.
6 In the case of a server initiating the call to an 7 E-mail apparatus, the auto-connect is the only way to 8 communicate and get/give access. In other words, only 9 the designated server can deliver mail to the designated E-mail apparatus. This is to provide security and 11 convenience. if the user gets a new E-mail apparatus, a 12 change of registration is required to get the auto-13 connect function.
14 The following is a detailed process of the accesc legitimacy checking in the auto-connect mode. First, the 16 apparatus sends its unique serial number (i.e. machine 17 D) to the E-mail sever. Secondly, the apparatus sends 18 its E-mail address to the server. if these two do not 19 match, the server will ask the user to enter the password and the conventional logon process takes place.
21 Otherwise, the E-mail apparatus will proceed to send its 22 programmable code or P code and the derived password to 23 the server. The derived password is generated from the 24 machine ID, P code and user's phone number. It is sent to the server and compared against the derived password 26 from the server. If the server checks and finds it 27 correct the access is authorized. The programmable code 28 or P code to the E-mail sever is used as an instruction 29 to screen the incoming mail and to generate a derived password.

32 Fig 7. iS the flow diagram to show how the 33 apparatus connects to the E-mail server, sends the 34 outgoing mail and receives the incoming mail. It can be performed on a predetermined time daily (which starts 36 from step 122 in the diagram) or upon the request from 37 the user (which starts from step 121 in the diagram).
38 Steps 127, 129 and 130 are where security and screening 39 processes take place. Steps 134-138 are designed to CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 W O 97/01919 PCTAUS96/11076 ~ -18-l prevent the overflow of incoming mail and protect the 2 integrity of the received mail. The details are 3 explained later.
4 Fig 8. is the flow diagram of how an E-mail apparatus responds to a request from the server.
6 whenever there is an incoming call, the apparatus will 7 do "off-hook" (step 142) and check if it is an E-mail 8 request (step 143). if it is not, the call will be 9 directed to regular voice communication as steps 144-146. Otherwise, it proceeds to step 147. If the machine 11 ID and derived password checking passes, the transaction 12 starts. if it fails, the call is terminated. Step 148 is 13 an option. It will inform the addressee of a potential 14 problem on the mail delivery. The mail transfer transaction can process the outgoing mail (step 149) and 16 check if the total mail size fits into the E-mail 17 apparatus. if not, only parts (extracted) of the mail 18 are delivered (step 153). Before terminating the 19 process, the incoming mail indicator is updated (step 155).
21 The following is the detailed description on how 22 the E-mail server screens the incoming mail. It includes 23 sorting, extracting and repackaging before the delivery 24 of the mail.
The present invention uses the extension of the E-26 mail address and the programmable codes or P code 27 received from the apparatus to determine the importance 28 of the incoming mail. The E-mail address is based on the 29 naming convention on the Internet, called Domain Name System (DNS), with additional field. The DNS has the 31 general format as:
32 ~someone~@[subdomain].[subdomain].[...].<domain~
33 where the c...~ represents required elements and [...]
34 is optional portion. A typical example looks like:
jsmith@sales.abc.com for John Smith in the sales 36 department of ABC corporation "jsmith" is the account 37 name for John Smith. It is assigned to him by the system 38 administrator of the host computer. Usually, it is the 39 logon name used to access the host computer. And abc.com CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 W O 97/01919 PCTrUS96/110'l6 1 is the name of the host computer connected to the 2 Internet network There is governing body ~or the host 3 name assignment The name will be translated into 'P
4 address and recognized by the peer on the network Hence a mail from bigbird~xyz.com can be delivered to abc.com 6 host computer through the global network, internet. When 7 the host computer named abc.com receives the mail, it 8 knows its subdomain, sales. It sends the mail to the 9 internal E-mail server in sales department of ABC
corporation. When John Smith logons the computer, he 11 will be noti~ied of the arrival o~ the E-mail.
12 The present invention uses some extensions on top 13 of the DNS to provide some enhancements. The new 14 extended E-mail address for jsmith@sales.abc.com become jsmith[.~specialcodes~]~sales.abc.com. The general 16 format becomes:
17 ~csomeone~.[specialcodes]tClasso~Mail]~tsubdomain].t...].~dom ain~

18 One example looks like:jsmith.4567ER@sales.abc.com.
19 Here "4567" is used to compare with the P code on the apparatus. The result of the comparison determines the 21 importance o~ the incoming mail. An incoming mail with 22 special codes completely matching the P code will get 23 the highest priority. A mail with partially matched 24 codes will gain some attention based on how close the address extension codes compare with the security code.
26 In the above examples, "E" indicates the mail is Express 27 mail, so it will be delivered in a more timely fashion.
28 The "R" indicates the mail is registered. It requires a 29 return receipt when the mail is delivered successfully.
A mail without the special codes on the E-mail address 31 will be treated by the E-mail server as a regular bulk 32 mail.
33 Since the E-mail ready telephone apparatus is 34 likely to be a small special-purpose device, the relatively limited capacity requires more careful 36 management The P code provides a very simple way to sort 37 the incoming mail and prevent the flooding o~ the jun~
38 mail. But, even with the screening feature, the 39 unexpected volume of incoming mail may still cause mail CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 W O 97/01919 PCTrUS96/11076 _ -20-1 box overflow. The mail repackaging function on the 2 server will prevent this from happening. It works as 3 follows.
4 After the legitimacy checking, the E-mail server gets the information of available storage on the E-mail 6 apparatus and decides what to send. If the total size of 7 the incoming mail exceeds the available storage space on 8 the apparatus, the E-mail server extracts the incoming 9 mail and "repackages" the E-mail and sends it to the apparatus. The extracting process may reduce the mail 11 size by taking the whole content of high priority mail 12 but only the subject, name of sender from the lower 13 priority mail. It may use a complicated method to 14 achieve the best result from extracted mail. The protocol puts the intelligence and complexity to the E-16 mail server but keeps the E-mail apparatus simple. It is 17 an important concept in the present invention.
18 Fig 9. is the flow diagram of how an E-mail server 19 processes the mail. Step 166 actually is a two-step process as explained before in Fig. 7. Step 170 sending 21 the outgoing mail and steps 171-172 checking and sorting 22 incoming mail can be done in parallel. Different class 23 of mail may take different steps as shown in step 163 24 (for express mail) and step 176 (registered mail). This flow diagram exemplifies how a mail is processed.
26 Fig. 10 exemplifies the overall network connection.
27 The E-mail ready telephone 200 connects to its local E-28 mail server 202 through the existing telephone network 29 201. Usually, the local E-mail server 202 connects to the host computer 204 with a LAN (local area network) 31 203. A global network 205 links the host computer 204 32 and 206 together The network 205 usually is a WAN
33 (wide-area network). Computers 208,209,210 and the host 34 computer 206 are connected by a LAN 207. A user can send an E-mail from computer 208 to an addressee of the E--36 mail ready telephone system 200. The E-mail will travel 37 to the host computer 206 through the LAN 207. The host 38 computer 206 serves as a gateway to the global network 39 205. The mail will be passed to the WAN 205. It may CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 PCTfUS96/1107'6 1 travel through several host computers before reaching 2 the host computer 204 which has the correct domain name 3 of the E-mail address. Then the host computer 204 will 4 look at the E-mail address or the sub-domain name and send the mail to Local server 202 through Local server 6 203. The mail will stay in the server and the process of ~ 7 Fig. 9 takes place. The server will deliver the mail 8 either by dialing the addressee's phone number or by g just waiting for the request from E-mail ready telephone. Those are the process flows in Figs. 7 and 8.
11 All the communication process, including legitimacy 12 checking, mail size checking and mail transfer, taken 13 place between the server and the E-mail ready apparatus 14 are through the telephone network 201. when the E-mail apparatus initiates the connection, as described in the 16 process flow of Fig. 7, the server will check if it is 17 the right machine before giving the mail. If the machine 18 ID checking fails, the user has to enter the password to 19 gain access. If the server initiates the call to the ~-mail apparatus and finds the incorrect machine ID, mail 21 won't be delivered. But the E-mail apparatus will 22 signifies the addressee of the failed attempt In any 23 case, the server has to request the information of the 24 available storage space on the E-mail apparatus before sending the mail. It may be necessary for the server to 26 determine the priority of the mail based on the p code 27 and extract partial information for delivery. In other 28 words, it is server's responsibility to deliver the 29 proper size of mail to the apparatus.

31 DET~TT~T~'n DESCRIPTION OF A SECOND EMBODIMENT
32 Referring to Fig. 11, the network infrastructure 33 (for a network such as the internet) 1014 is comprisecL
34 of a number of interconnected servers 1012 communicating with each other using a common protocol (such as 36 TCP/IP). A user may communicate to another user by 37 using a computer 1010 that is connected to a server that 38 has a point of presence on the network. The user may 39 then send a mail message to another user having an CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 WO97/01919 PCT~S96/11076 1 address at a computer connected to another server.
2 Under this paradigm, computers are needed at both ends 3 of the communication link and the costs for the 4 computers may be ~uite high. Additionally, local area network (LAN) is used extensively in the corporate 6 environment to connect the user's computer to the mail 7 server. The LAN allow the user's computer to 8 communicate to mail server in real time which acts like g a local post office in the e-mail world. Real time communication between the user computer and the server 11 allows e-mail messages be sent and received in a timely 12 manner. However, LAN or any existing real time network 13 is expensive and difficult to install for small 14 businesses and households. In these situations, a phone line (voice or ISDN) is used for most people to 16 communicate with the mail server from their home 17 computers. This approach reduces the cost at the price 18 of real time connection. Without real time 19 communication, the communication efficiency and convenience is greatly reduced.
21 Referring to Fig. 12, an e-mail messaging system of 22 the present invention utilizing the existing internet 23 infrastructure is presented. The user can use a low 24 cost e-mail messaging device 1018 to communicate with a mail server 1016 or another e-mail messaging device 26 1018. The device in accordance with one embodiment of 27 the present invention is simply a low cost stand alone 28 device capable of receiving a notification that one or 29 more e-mail messages have been received at the local server 1016 waiting for retrieval. The device also is 31 capable of iden~ifying an incoming signal as an e-mail 32 message signal, receives the incoming e-mail messages 33 and stores them Moreover, the device can provide the 34 needed functional components for the user to compose an e-mail message and deliver the e-mail message to the 36 local server or another e-mail device directly. The e-37 mail device uses minimum set of electronic components 38 and consumes very low power when compared to the power 39 consumption of a computer. It can be left on like an CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 9;101919 PCT~US96/11076 _ -23-1 answer machine. There are also other possible 2 embodiments of the e-mail device.
3 Fig. 13 illustrates the preferred hierarchy ~or the 4 e-mail messaging system. At the top level, there is a main server 1020 receiving e-mail messages from the 6 internet network and sending e-mail messages originated 7 from the client e-mail devices to the network. The main 8 server may be one or more computers sharing a g centralized database. The main server 1020 distributes and receives e-mail messages from a number of regional 11 servers 1022. Each regional server 1022 iS designated 12 to serve a particular geographical area and serves one 13 or more local servers 1024. The local servers 1024 14 interact with the client e-mail devices 1026 within its geographical area. The client device is designated to 16 be a simple, low-cost electronic device suitable for 17 home or business use, and it is ~urther described in~ra.
18 To illustrate the message flow, the main server 19 1020 receives an e-mail message, identifies the e-mail address, determines the regional server 1022 i~or this e-21 mail message, and sends it to the corresponding regional 22 server 1022. The regional server may be designated to 23 serve a city or a greater metropolitan area involving 24 several area codes. A:Eter it receives a message, it forwards the message to the local server. A local 26 server is designated ~or each sub-region and directly 27 serves the clients and their e-mail devices.
28 Implementation wise, a regional server and a local 29 server may be logically separate systems residing on the same physical machine. Each local server is e3uipped 31 with the necessary hardware and so~tware to communicate 32 with clients' e-mail devices.
33 In an alternate embodiment, referring to Fig. 14, 34 the main server 1020 may communicate directly with local servers to send and receive e-mail messages to and from 36 the client e-mail devices.
37 Although the illustrated embodiments show a 3 8 hierarchial structure, lt is within the scope of the 39 present invention to implement the present invention in CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 W O 97/01919 PCTrUS96/11076 1 a distributive structure.
2 In order to provide direct e-mail messages to each 3 client, each client is identified by an unique e-mail 4 address, and must be registered with the e-mail system in order for the e-mail system to interact with the e-6 mail device. Typically, the e-mail device is accessed 7 via a local telephone line such as a voice, data or ISDN
8 line.
g Fig. 15 illustrates the steps for the registration process where an e-mail device (as operated by the 11 client) dials a toll-free number, logs on the main 12 server, and the main server performs the illustrated 13 steps. First, the main server requests and obtains the 14 machine identification number unique to the particular e-mail device. The machine identification number 16 identifies the device type and also provides for theft 17 prevention. Secondly, the main server gets the security 18 code (password) entered by the user. The use of a 19 security code minimizes the possibility that the mail messages being delivered or received by the wrong party.
21 Next, the main server fetches the notification code from 22 the e-mail device. The notification code is an optional 23 ringing protocol used by the main server to provide a 24 notice to the e-mail device through the use of ring tones without incurring telephone toll charges.
26 The phone number for connecting to the e-mail 27 device is provided to the main server. For the given 28 phone number, the main server finds the corresponding 29 local server and its phone number, and sends this phone number to the e-mail device. The e-mail device stores 31 it in its memory for future use. Finally, the main 32 server completes the registration process by completing 33 and inserting a new client information entry into the 34 centralized database.

3 6 Main Server 37 To track information on the clients, the local 3 8 servers, and the regional servers, two tables are 39 maintained by the main server. In table one, each CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 W O 97101919 PCTAUS96/llO76 1 client's name, phone number, e-mail address, the local 2 server for the client, and other administrative or 3 accounting information are kept.
4 TABhE 1 Client.Name .E-Mail.. Addr .LoGal Phone Number Q~her .
~ Server . : Info.
6 John Smith jsmith 1 (210) 231-1234 7 Bob Clinton bclinton 1 (210) 231-7890 8 Al Goodman agoodman 2 (123) 789-1234 9 Mike White mwhite 2 (123) 789-4321 11 Table two contains information for each local 12 server, information such as the address of the regional 13 server for the local server and the type of connection 14 from the main server to the regional server.

16 L~cal Server ::Regianal.Server.~ddress.le-mail) CDnnection Iy~e 17 1 system~?regionl.com Internet 18 2 postmaster~region2.com (210) 111-1234 (leased line) For example, there are two local servers illustrated in 21 table two. The regional server for local server one is 22 connected to the main server via the internet, and the 23 regional server for local server two is connected to the 24 main server via a leased line for high speed communication. Other types of connection methods 26 between the regional servers and the main server can be 27 utilized as well (e.g. satellite) if they are 28 economically feasible. Additional tables can be created 29 and maintained as needed.

For the purpose of organizing incoming e-mail 31 messages, a mailbox is dedicated to each client and 32 maintained by the main server. The mailbox can be a 33 file or any other type of indexable storage system.

34 Referring to Fig. 16a, the main server is CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96/11076 1 instructed to check for and process incoming and 2 outgoing mail messages every x minutes where x is a 3 defined period of time which can be a function of the 4 load on the system.
Referring to Fig. 16b, the steps for processing 6 outgoing mail messages are illustrated. Outgoing mail 7 messages come from clients of the e-mail system for 8 delivery to other users on the net. This process is 9 performed every so often to ensure mail is processed in a timely m~nner. If there is a new mailbag from a local 11 server, the new mailbag is decompressed, and the mail 12 messages are extracted from the mailbag and passed to 13 the send mail utility. The send mail utility can be a 14 common mail program (e.g. Unix Operating System sendmail utilities) with the capability of sending and receiving 16 e-mail messages.
17 Fig. 16c illustrates the steps for processing 18 incoming mail messages where a mailbag is prepared for 19 each local server. The local servers are indexed consecutively starting with index equals one 1030. For 21 each local server, a new mailbag is initialized 1032.
22 For each client serviced by the particular local server, 23 the client's mailbox is searched, and new messages are 24 extracted and appended to the mailbag for the particular local server 1034. The new mail messages are then 26 deleted from the mailbox ~or the client 1034.
27 If the mailbag is not empty, the mailbag is 28 compressed, and a confirm flag is set 1038. If the size 29 of the mailbag after compression is greater than the maximum size allowed for mail delivery, the mailbag is 31 split into two or more smaller mailbags. A copy of the 32 mailbag(s) is then stored in a To-Be-Confirmed directory 33 for later confirmation, and the mailbag(s) is sent to 34 the regional server for the particular local server.
After all of the mailboxes for a particular local 36 server have been processed, the process repeats until 37 all of the local servers' mailbags have been processed.
38 The main server also performs a confirmation 39 process to ensure that the mailbags and the individual CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96/llO'J6 1 mail messages have been received. Referring to Fig.
2 16d, the steps for the confirmation process is 3 illustrated. Every so many minutes, the confirmation 4 process is executed. For each confirm flag that is set S (confirm [i]=true), the main server searches for a 6 confirmation message from the corresponding local 7 server. If a confirmation message is found and not a].l 8 the mail messages have been delivered and the elapsed g time is greater than the maximum allowed elapsed time, the undelivered mail message is placed in an undelivered 11 mail directory and the operator is notified. If the 12 confirmation message is not found and the elapsed time 13 has exceeded a maximum allowed elapse time, the operat:or 14 is notified. If all the mail messages are confirmed as successfully delivered, the mail bag is placed into 16 archive.

18 Reqional Server 19 The ~unction of the regional server is to serve as an intermediary between the main server and the local 21 servers. The regional server is configured to have the 22 function of an ISP Point-of-Presence (like an internet 23 service provider) in order to receive and send mail via 24 the internet. It maintains a shell account and a mailbox for each of the local server it serves. The 26 regional server interacts with its local servers to 27 facilitate the handling of incoming and outgoing 28 mailbags. The mail utilities commonly available with 29 the operating system (e.g. Unix) of the regional server can be utilized to achieve the tasks described.
31 The regional server can be configured to operate as 32 a local server as well.

34 Local Server Each local server maintains a table of clients.
36 For each client, referring to Table 3, the client's 37 name, e-mail address, phone number, notification type, 38 ringing protocol, security code, machine ID, and other 39 miscellaneous information are kept.

CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96111076 ~ -28-1 T~iBLE 3 2 Name :~Mail Phone ~ 1;on Ringing Sec~rity Ma~hine Address Number l~pe (~ode Code Il:~
3 John Smith jsmith (210) notify-only 0.5/ 123 789 231-1234 0.25 4 Bob bclinton (210) call-back 0.3/ 456 111 Clinton 231-7890 0.5 7 There are three notification/delivery types:
8 notify-only, call-back mail delivery, and direct mail 9 delivery. In the notify-only noti~ication method, the local server calls the client's e-mail device using the 11 specified ringing protocol from the table. No 12 connection is actually made between the local server and 13 the e-mail device. The rings are set up in such a 14 manner that the e-mail device is programmed to recognize the ring pattern and determine that a notification is 16 being delivered by the local server. When the 17 notification is successfully received, the e-mail device 18 activates an indicator light on the e-mail device. The 19 client/user can then retrieve the message at his or her convenience using the e-mail device or other means. If 21 in the process of notifying the e-mail device, an actual 22 connection is made, the e-mail device can be set to call 23 the local server to retrieve the e-mail messages or 24 messages can be directly delivered.
In the call-back mail delivery method, similar to 26 the notify-only method, the ringing protocol is used to 27 notify the client's e-mail device that there is one or 2 8 more e-mail messages waiting at the local server. The 29 notification causes the e-mail device to call the local server and retrieve the e-mail messages.
31 In the direct mail delivery method, the local 32 server calls the e-mail device, connects with the e-mail 33 device, and delivers the e-mail messages to the e-mail 34 device. The client may designate any one o~ the three notification methods as long as it is supported by the CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96/110'.16 _ -29-1 e-mail device and the local server.
2 The optional ringing protocol is a method for the 3 local server to provide notice to the e-mail device 4 without incurring toll charges. It utilizes and controls the length of ring time and the length of time 6 between rings. Using this method, a calling device 7 (here the local server) dials the number, detects ring 8 tone for xl second(s), hangs up, waits for wl second(~3), 9 dials the number again, detects ring tone for x2 second(s), and hangs up. The receiving device (here the 11 e-mail device) upon detecting this particular ringing 12 protocol determines that a notice is belng delivered by 13 a calling device, and accordingly executes a 14 preprogrammed routine (if any). The ringing procedure of dial, detect, hang up, and wait is not limited by a 16 specific number of iterations and may be repeated a 17 number of times. In the preferred embodiment, this 18 procedure is repeated three times, using xl, x2, x3 and 19 wl, w2. The method may be simplified by setting wl and w2 to have the same length of time. Other combinations 21 are possible as well as long as the e-mail device is 22 configured to detect and recognize the designated 23 ringing protocol. In the preferred embodiment of the 24 present invention, a ringing code, n/m, is used for each client where xl is a constant, x2 equals xl+n, and x3 26 equals xl+n+m. Referring to Table 3, for client John 27 Smith, a ringing code of 0. 5/0.25 refers to x2 being 28 x1+0.5 second and x3 being x1+0. 5+0.25 second, where wl 29 and xl are constants. Similarly, the ringing code for Bob Clinton is 0. 3/0.5 which refers to x2 being x1+0.3, 31 and x3 being x1+0. 3+0.5, and wl and xl again being 32 constants. Generally speaking, the ringing tone should 33 not be very long. Note that generally speaking it is 34 more reliable to use the difference between ring tones rather than timing the duration of each ring tone.
3 6 In utilizing the ringing protocol with 37 communication switching devices in a central office 38 where a switching device passes back a signal informing 39 the calling device that the switching device is dialing CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 PCTrUS96/11076 1 and ringing the line, once the calling device receives 2 such a signal, the calling device can determine the 3 length of ring time and hang up accordingly. Other 4 implementation of the above described method can be applied to other types of calling devices and/or 6 switching devices as well.
7 A security code (client password) may be set by the 8 client to provide additional security measures. In 9 order to protect the e-mail device itself from theft (as well as the e-mail messages) a machine identification 11 number (serial number) particular to each machine is 12 used. Thus, if the e-mail device is ill-gotten by 13 another, it will not work. The machine ID also allows 14 the local server to identify the e-mail device machine type.
16 In facilitating mail delivery, the local server 17 interacts with the regional server/main server and 18 clients' e-mail devices.
19 In interacting with the regional server, referring to Fig. 17a, the local server checks for one or more new 21 mailbags from the regional server every x minutes. If a 22 new mailbag is found, the mailbag is decompressed, mail 23 messages are extracted from the mailbag and placed into 24 the mailbox for the particular client.
Referring to Fig. 17b, every so often each client's 26 mailbox is checked to see if there are any e-mail 27 messages need to be delivered. If the mailbox for the 28 particular client is not empty, the e-mail message(s) in 29 the mailbox is delivered via the designated delivery/notification method for the particular client, 31 i.e., one of the available delivery/notification 32 methods. For each of the delivery/notification methods, 33 there is a corresponding procedure call.
34 For the notify-only method, referring to Fig. 17c, the last time the local server interacted with the 36 client's e-mail device (logon time) is ~etched. If no 37 new mail has arrived since the last logon time, the 38 process ends. If there is one or more new e-mail 39 messages and no notification has been sent to clients' CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97101919 PCTrUS96~11076 1 e-mail devices yet, the ringing protocol described above 2 is applied. First the local server calls the client's 3 e-mail device. If the clientrs phone line is busy, the 4 local server waits a few minutes before attempting to ~ 5 call the e-mail device again. If the phone line is not 6 busy, the local server, through its interfacing 7 hardware, detects the ring tone for xl period of time 8 and hangs up, wait wl period of time, and calls the e-9 mail device again. If the line is busy, the process starts over after waiting a certain period o~ time.
11 Otherwise, the local server detects ring tone for x2 12 period of time and disconnects. The local server calls a 13 third time, rings for x3 period of time and hangs up.
14 This completes the notification process.
For the call-back mail delivery method, referring 16 to Fig. 17d, the above described noti~ication process is 17 used, and the local server sets the hardware 18 communication device in auto answer mode. If the 19 client's e-mail device calls back before the end of a specified time period, a handshaking process is executed 21 to verify the security code and the machine code. Then, 22 any outgoing mail messages is retrieved from the e-mail 23 device and any incoming mail is delivered to the e-mail 24 device. When the file exchange process is completed, the line is disconnected, a confirmation signal on the 26 successful delivery of the e-mail messages is sent to 27 the main server via the regional server, and any 2 8 outgoing mail messages is sent to the main server via 29 the regional server as well. If the e-mail device does 30 not call back after a set period of time and if the try-31 counter (that keeps count the number o~ tries) exceeds a 32 maximum try value for the delivery of the messages, it 33 iS deemed that mail delivery has failed and an error 34 messages is generated and sent to the regional server to 35 forward to the main server. Otherwise, the try-counter 36 iS incremented and the program flow starts from label 2 37 again to repeat the process.
38 For the direct mail delivery method, re~erring to 39 Fig. 17e, a try-counter is initialized and the local CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96/11076 1 server calls the client's e-mail device. If the e-mail 2 device fails to respond, the try-counter is incremented;
3 and if the try-counter is greater than a m~3~r;ml~m try-4 counter value, an error is deemed to have occurred and an error message is generated and sent to the server.
6 Otherwise, the process is repeated by branching off to 7 label 3. If the e-mail device responds, the process for 8 handshaking, exchanging of any outgoing and any incoming 9 e-mail messages, sending of a confirmation signal, and sending of any outgoing mailbag as above described for 11 the call-back mail delivery process is executed.
12 In the handshaking process, referring to Fig. 17f, 13 the security code is first verified. If the security 14 code is incorrect, the handshaking process stops and down stream procedures are not executed. This condition 16 is reported to the regional server and the main server 17 for special handling. The machine ID verification 18 process of the e-mail device is similar to the security 19 code verification process.
In the exchange-mail-files process, referring to 21 Fig. 17g, the local server connects to the e-mail device 22 and retrieves any outgoing mail from the e-mail device.
23 Next, the amount of available storage in the e-mail 24 device is determined. If the size of the incoming mail messages is greater than the available storage size, the 26 incoming mail messages are repackaged. The repackaged 27 incoming mail is then sent to the e-mail device, and the 28 process ends. In repackaging the incoming mail 29 messages, referring to Fig. 17h, the incoming mail messages are sorted in order of priority where priority 31 is determined by factors such as the priority code of 32 the message and the date and time stamp of the message.
33 The ordered messages are then selected in order of 34 priority up to the available storage space but leaving space for a system e-mail message to the client that 36 there are additional messages waiting for retrieval or 37 delivery.
38 A priority code of the present invention can be 39 included as part of the e-mail address itself by CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 W O 97/01919 PCTnUS96/110'76 comparing a number in the e-mail address itself to the~
2 security code. For example, for jsmith~?emailsys.com 3 having a security code of "124", an e-mail address such 4 as "jsmith_123@emailsys.com" would have a higher 5 priority than an e-mail address such as 6 "jsmith_456@emailsys.com" because the number "123" is 7 closer to the security code of "124" than the number 8 ~456" is to "124". Thus, by having a single e-mail 9 address, the owner of the e-mail address can give out e-mail addresses with different priority codes.

12 Client E-Mail Device - Software 13 The client's e-mail device has both a hardware 14 component as well as a software component. The e-mai:!
device can communicate with the local server, regiona:l 16 server, main server, or another e-mail device (i~or peer-17 to-peer communication).
18 Referring to Appendix A, the software pseudo-code 19 for the client's e-mail device is illustrated. When t:he device is first turned on, a power-on self-test is 21 executed. If there is a fatal failure, the program flow 22 branches to the Eatal_Error_Stop label, sets the fata]
23 error indicator, and halts the system. If a minor 24 failure occurred, the program flow branches to the Warning_Code label, sets a warning code indicator and 26 resumes the program flow. Next, the phone line status 27 is checked. If it is busy, the device will wait unti]
28 the line is not busy. The e-mail device is then placed 29 in auto-answer mode and the registers for the device are initialized for operation. If there is any failure 31 during this initialization process, a warning code is 32 posted. After the initialization process, the software 33 continuously loops to check for an interrupt from the 34 interrupt registers. If an interrupt is found, the program branches to the Interrupt_Service routine. The 36 Interrupt_Service routine reads the interrupt register, 37 determines the interrupt type, and branches to the 38 corresponding interrupt routine.
39 An interrupt may be caused by one of the several CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96/11076 1 subsystems, where the types of interrupts include 2 registration request interrupt, call-back mail delivery 3 interrupt, dial server interrupt (which calls the same 4 procedure as that of the call-back mail delivery interrupt), incoming mail delivery interrupt, and 6 transfer-abort interrupt.
7 If the call-back interrupt flag is set, the call-8 server routine is executed where the communication 9 module is set to dial the local server phone number and execute an In_Mail routine.
11 The In-Mail routine first performs handshaking with 12 the local server communication module. It then sends 13 out any outgoing mail messages prepared by the client, 14 and requests and receives a con~irmation signal ~rom the local server. If the confirmation signal from the local 16 server is incorrect, the outgoing mail messages are sent 17 again by branching the program :Elow to label SendM.
18 Otherwise, the device is instructed to receive incoming 19 mail messages. If the incoming mail messages are not received correctly, a confirmation signal is generated 21 to sent to the local server which would cause the local 22 server to deliver the mail messages again. When the 23 messages are correctly received, the mail indicator is 24 set.
In the handshaking routine, the device receives the 26 security code from the local server, verifies the code, 27 and branches to the Bye routine if it is incorrect.
28 Similarly, the device receives the machine ID, verifies 29 the ID, and goes to the Bye routine if it is incorrect.
The device then sends the security code and the 31 available storage size to the local server.
32 Back to the Interrupt_Service routine, if the 33 Incoming_Mail interrupt flag is set, the program flow 34 branches to the In_Mail routine as described above.
If the Registration_Request interrupt flag is set, 36 this flag indicates that the client has placed the 37 device in registration mode in order to register with 38 the main server. This process is generally executed 39 when the device is being set up for the ~irst time or CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 W O 97101919 PCT~US96~11076 _ -35-1 when the device has been moved to a new location. The 2 program flow branches to the Registration_Request 3 routine, where the device dials a designated phone 4 number for registration. Generally, this is a 800 toll free number connected to the main server. When 6 connected, the device delivers the machine ID, the 7 security code, and the client's phone number to the main 8 server. The main server determines the particular local 9 server for serving the client's e-mail device based up~n the given phone number. The phone number for the 11 particular local server is sent to the client device, 12 and the client device retains the number in memory for 13 later use.
14 The dial_server interrupt flag is set by the clie:nt to send and retrieve mail messages. Like the call_back 16 interrupt, it calls the call_server routine.
17 In the case where the local server is using the 18 direct mail delivery method, the Incoming-mail flag is 19 set and the In_Mail routine is executed as described above.
21 In the case where a request has been made to 22 disconnect the line, the Transfer-Abort flag is set 23 which causes any phone connection to be disconnected.
24 In the case where the hardware for the e-mail device is part of another computer system (e.g. personal 26 computer system) in the form of an expansion card or a 27 part of an expansion card, the interface with the e-ma:il 28 device can be integrated with a mail program of the 29 computer.
31 Client E-Mail Device - Hardware 32 The hardware component of the e-mail device may be 33 embodied in several different manners. In one form, the 34 e-mail device is a low-cost stand alone device directly connected to the phone line before the phone line is 36 connected to other devices (e.g. answering machine, fax 37 machine, etc.). The stand-alone embodiment interacts 38 with the e-mail system as described above. More 39 particularly, the software for the e-mail device as CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96/11076 1 described above is configured and stored in the ROM of 2 the e-mail device.
3 In another hardware embodiment, the e-mail device 4 is an integral part of a computer expansion card having power supplied from two sources, the computer system 6 itself or an external power supply. Referring to Fig.
7 18a, an expansion card 1050 having an edge connector 8 1052 is illustrated. The expansion card is insertable 9 into an edge connector slot connected to the bus of a computer system. The expansion card includes a CPU 1054 11 (or microcontroller) directly polling an I/O register 12 1056 that is communicatively connected to a notification 13 module 1058. The I/O register 1056 receives information 14 from the notification module 1058 and the user input and control device 1057 (which can be a keyboard, a keypad, 16 dip switches, etc.) for entering security code, e-mail 17 messages, or other inputs, and generates signals for 18 indicators 1059 to indicate the status of any messages 19 and the e-mail device. The notification module sends and receives information via a phone line connection and 21 interacts with the communication module 1062. When the 22 expansion card is inserted into the computer system, a 23 bus controller 1064 controls the data flow to and from 24 the computer system (not shown) via the edge connectors 1052. Information is passed between the flash memory 26 1066, the ROM 1068, the RAM 1070, the CPU 1054, and the 27 communication module 1062 through an internal bus 1072.
28 The communication module can be a fax/modem chipset.
29 The expansion card 50 may be powered by one of two sources, power from the computer system via trace 1074 31 or power from an external source via trace 1076 and 32 power jack 1078. The power switching and conversion 33 module 1080 detects power from one of the two sources, 34 performs any power conversion from one voltage level to another voltage level if it is needed, and routes the 36 power to the components on the expansion card 1050. The 37 power detection and switching is automatically performed 3 8 without interruption to the operation of the e-mail 39 device. Thus, no interruption of operation would occur CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 W O 97/01919 PCTAUS961110,~6 1 if power is switched in the midst of sending or 2 receiving e-mail messages.
3 In this embodiment, when the computer system is on, 4 the expansion card may be controlled and operated by t:he software of the computer system. When the computer 6 system is off, unattended, or not controlled by the 7 software of the computer system, the expansion card 8 obtains its power supply from an external source and g operates in accordance with the software described above.
11 Mailing program on the computer system having the 12 e-mail expansion card would have software routes for 13 sending and retrieving e-mail messages between the 14 computer system and the e-mail expansion card.
Referring to Fig. 18b, the pseudo-code for the computer 16 system to retrieve e-mail messages from the expansion 17 card is illustrated. The status of the card is first 18 verified. If the card is not busy, the in-mail messa~e 19 flag (indicating the existence of new e-mail messages) is checked. If there is a new message, the message is 21 transferred to the computer system and the storage area 22 is cleared. Then, the message is displayed on the 23 computer screen of the computer system. Referring to 24 Fig. 18c, the pseudo-code for the computer system to transfer prepared e-mail messages to the expansion card 26 for outbound is illustrated. If the card status is not 27 busy and if there is enough storage space to store all 28 of the e-mail messages, the e-mail messages are 29 transferred to the expansion card and the computer can be turned off. If the storage on the card is 31 insufficient, the user is informed to wait until the 32 messages are sent before turning the computer off.
33 In yet another hardware embodiment, referring to 34 Fig. l9a, the communication module of Fig. 18a is a commonly available external fax/modem. For an external 36 modem, its serial port 1086 may be connected to the 37 serial port of the computer system. The expansion card 38 1082 (now without the communication module) communicates 39 with the modem 1084 through serial port 1086. The CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96/11076 1 notification device may be connected to the modem via 2 standard phone jacks and a phone line 1088. In this 3 embodiment, the cost of the expansion board now without 4 the communication module is reduced. A phone line signal would come in on jack 1090 and be processed in 6 the same manner as described above.
7 Fig. l9b illustrates the embodiment for an internal 8 modem where the e-mail expansion card 1082 is mounted on g the mother board 1083 and has a phone jack 1092 for receiving the phone line and phone signal and a phone 11 jack 1093 for passing the phone signal to the modem card 12 1094 via phone line 1097. The modem card 1094 iS
13 mounted on the mother board 1083 as well and receives 14 the phone signal at phone jack 1095 and passes the phone signal out at phone jack 1096. The e-mail expansion 16 card directly communicates with the modem card via 17 ribbon 1098. Ribbon 1098 on one end is communicatively 18 attached to the expansion card 1082 and on the other end 19 it can be a ribbon cable inserted into a bus connector slot 1105 of the mother board along with the modem card.
21 Fig. l9c shows that the ribbon cable 1098 at the end 22 having three contact surfaces 1099, 1101, and 1103.
23 Contact surface 1103 makes electrical contacts with 24 selected tabs on one side 1107 of the edge connector of the modem card 1094 and selected tabs on one side of the 26 bus slot 1105. Contact surface 1101 makes physical 27 contact (but no electrical contact) with the bottom of 28 the bus connector slot 1105. Contact surface 1099 makes 29 electrical contact with selected tabs on the other side of the edge connector of the modem card 1094 and 31 selected tabs on one side of the bus slot 1105. In this 32 manner, the modem card can communicate with the computer 33 system and the e-mail expansion card, and the e-mail 34 expansion card is allowed a greater amount of direct control over the modem card. In the case where power is 36 being supplied by an external source, the power can be 37 supplied to the modem card through certain of the 38 selected tabs.
39 Note that in both Figs. l9a and l9b, the e-mail CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 1 expansion card optionally can have complete control over 2 the external or internal fax/modem where all 3 communication between the CPU and the fax/modem has to 4 pass through the e-mail expansion card. In another word, the e-mail expansion card can encapsulate the 6 ~ax/modem. In Fig. l9b, encapsulating can be achieved 7 by providing a ribbon cable having printed traces on one 8 side and non-conductive material on the other side. ~he g modem card nevertheless is inserted into the bus slot but it does not communicate through the traces in the 11 bus slot. Conventional methods can be applied as wel]
12 where the e-mail expansion card and the internal modem 13 card are connected via simple ribbon and connectors on 14 each card.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, 16 referring to Fig. l9d/ the e-mail device 1130 is a 17 stand-alone card having an slot connector 1144 able to 18 receive a regular fax/modem card 1132. The e-mail 19 device has a connector 1138 for receiving ac or dc power 20 supply, a communication port 1136 (such as a serial 21 port), and a phone jack for receiving a phone line 1134 22 and also a jack for passing a phone signal to another 23 device 1135. Likewise, the fax/modem card 1132 has a 24 j ack for receiving a phone signal 1142 and a j ack for passing through a phone signal 1143. This embodiment 26 can be placed in a physical box.
27 Further note that although the e-mail device is 2 8 illustrated as an expansion card it can be easily 29 converted into an external device like that of the common external fax/modem device. Moreover, the 31 expansion card can be converted to a stand alone device 32 with a display. Moreover, communication devices are not 33 limited to the fax/modem devices illustrated above.
34 ISDN devices, cable modem, wireless modem, or other communication devices can be used as communication 36 devices as well.
37 The hardware embodiment for implementing the 3 8 ringing protocol described above requires a tone 39 detection circuit. Referring to Fig. 20, on the local CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 W O 97/01919 PCTnUS96/11076 _ -40-1 server side, the local server provides the dialing and 2 answering functionalities 1052 through the use of a 3 modem 1057 or other communication devices or modules.
4 The modem controls the phone line 1055 to dial the telephone number of the client's e-mail device, and the 6 tone detection circuit 1053 detects the ringing tone and 7 reports it to the local server 1056. The local server 8 determines the length of ringing time and instructs the 9 modem to disconnect when the predetermined period of time has been reached.
11 On the client e-mail device end, the notification 12 device 1054 detects the ringing signal, the time lapsed 13 for each ringing signal and the time lapsed between the 14 signals. It then determines whether a valid notification code has been received. Referring to Fig.
16 21, on the client side, the microcontroller 1058 17 operates a ringing signal detection circuit 1049 and a 18 modem 1047 in detecting whether a valid ringing code has 19 been received.

21 Inteqration of the E-Mail Device 22 The above described e-mail device may be integrated 23 into other devices. For example, the e-mail device may 24 be part of a phone, a fax machine, an answering machine, etc. If the e-mail device is integrated with a fax 26 machine, e-mail messages can be readily printed out and 27 any outgoing mail messages may be composed through the 28 use of the numeric keypad. Fig. 22 illustrates one 29 embodiment of the e-mail device integrated with a fax machine. In this embodiment, there is a transmitter 31 subsystem 1100, a receiver subsystem 1102, and a modem 32 1104 that can be connected to a telephone line 1106.
33 The modem incorporates a control module 1125 to execute 34 the ringing protocol described above and distinguishes a fax/modem signal from an e-mail message signal (or 36 protocol) to activate the corresponding portion of the 37 circuitries.
38 The transmitter 1100 can process two signals, one 39 signal for faxing and one signal for mailing messages.

CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 PCTrUS96/110'76 _ -41-1 For faxing a document, the document is first scanned by 2 a scanner 1108 and the scanned signal is converted to a 3 digital format 1110. For mailing messages, the prepared 4 mail messages are stored in memory 1114 and converted to raster graphic image 1126. Note that a number of 6 methods are available for composing mail messages, 7 including the use of a keyboard, a keypad, etc. The 8 composed messages are then stored in memory. A
9 multiplexer 1116 selects one of the two signals to pa,ss through to the compressor 1112 and then to the modem 11 1104 for transmission in accordance with the selected 12 mode.
13 The receiver subsystem 1102 processes incoming fax 14 signal or mail message signal. For a ~ax signal, the signal is decompressed 1118 and sent to the printing 16 subsystem 1122 through a multiplexer 1120. For an e-17 mail message signal, the signal is received and 18 processed by an integrated e-mail device (and software) 19 1124 as described above. The output from the e-mail device is converted to image format 1126 and sent to the 21 printing subsystem 1122 via the multiplexer 1120.
22 Again, the multiplexer selects the signal to be sent l_o 23 the printing subsystem in accordance with the selected 24 mode.

26 REMOTE CO~rTROL OF THE S~:~V~:KS
27 The servers can be remotely operated and control by 28 using commercially available communication software or 29 tailored software. The ringing protocol may be used lo set and reset the servers. Appendix B illustrates one 31 set of pseudo-code for remote controlling the servers.
32 Referring to Fig. 23, the server computer 1210 is 33 connected to the network 1200 via a direct connection 34 1214 and through a modem 1212. The modem provides a remote login path to the server in order to control or 36 maintain the server. If the server does not respond to 37 the remote login, the ringing protocol of the present 38 invention embodied in the notification device 1205 can 39 be used to detect ringing pattern. Upon receiving a CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 PCT~US96/11076 1 proper ringing pattern, the notification device sends a 2 signal to the server computer via line 1207 to prepare 3 for shut-down and a signal to the power control module 4 1206 to generate a pulse to toggle the relay 1202 for a proper period of time to reboot the computer.
6 The software described herein for implementation of 7 the e-mail system can be written specifically for this 8 particular application in the programming language of g choice. It can also be implemented through the use of existing system mail utility programs. For example, 11 under the Unix system, an entire set of mail utility 12 programs are available for the sending and receiving of 13 mail messages.
14 Although the present invention has been described in terms of the presently preferred and second 16 embodiments, it is to be understood that such disclosure 17 including combinations of the two embodiments is not to 18 be interpreted as limiting. Various alterations and 19 modifications including the various combinations of the two embodiments will no doubt become apparent to those 21 skilled in the art after reading the above disclosure.
22 Accordingly, it is intended that the appended claims be 23 interpreted as covering all alterations and 24 modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 W O 97/01919 43 PCT~US96tllO'76 - APPENDIX A
Client software codes on communication card or on a stand alone system Kernel POST (Power on self-test) If fatal ~ailure, go to Fatal_Error_Stop If minor failure, go to Warning_code - Check line status; if busy, wait until line is not busy;
Set up communication module in auto-answer mode ~ Set up other I/O registers, devices If any failure, go to Warning_code loop Polling interrupt If interrupt found, jump to Interrupt_service go to loop Fatal_Error_Stop:
set error indicator or display Holt Warning_code: (input: warning code) set warning indicator (or display) return Interrupt_Service:
Read interrupt register Check the interrupt type case of:
Call_back: jump to Call_server Registration request: jump to Reg_req Incoming_mail: jump to In_mail Dial_server: jump to Call_server Transfer_abort: jump to Tfr_abort end case:
Clear the interrupt that has been serviced return Call_server:
set up communication module to dial read_server_number dial (phone) In_mail;
return Bye:
hangup set up communication module in auto answer mode return In_mail:
Handshaking sendM send outgoing mail receive transfer confirm info.
If con~irmation info not correct, go to senc~
to retry send available storage size revM receive incoming mail send receive confirmation info _ CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 W O 97/01919 _ 44 _ PCT~US96/11076 ~ If confirmation info is not correct go to revM
set Mail_in indicator return Handshaking:
check the security code, if not correct, go to Bye receive machine ID from server (if it is used) check the machine ID, if not correct, go to Bye return Reg_req:
dial the (800) number establish connection display greeting send machine ID
send security codes echo the security code print "enter your phone number"
read phone_number send phone number receive and save local server number(s) print "registration done"
return Tfr_abort:
save all data for immediate disconnection hangup return CA 0222~623 1997-12-23 W O 97/01919 - 45 - PCTrUS96/110i'6 ~ APPENDIX B
Remote monitor and control of the local server { Codes for every local server }
Program diag_report;
begin Do the following every hour begin run_diagnostics_and log results check any problem mail the report to the main server end end { Codes on main server }

Program remote_monitor;
begin Do the following for every hour begin get_new_mail: //the mail are diag report from local server if there is mail begin check the report from each local server if there is a problem begin remote_dia_contrl: //reference point rlogin local server //remote login & run diag.
if rlogin fail goto cold_boot run more extensive diagnostics if the problem is correctable correct t:he program else reboot //(software warmboot) begin wait for reboot;
rlgoin local server if rlogin fail goto cold_boot if system is okay, exit else begin cold_boot: remote_shutdown_process (n,m);
//hardware cold boot // n,m are the secret code li.ke notification device wait for reboot rlgin local server if system is okay, exit else report problem to operator end end else if it is too long for not receiving mail begin rlogin the local server CA 0222~623 l997-l2-23 W O 97/01919 - 46 - PCTrUS96/11076 - go to remote_dia_contrl end end end { The remote shutdown process uses a method simi~ar to the notification device, but it re~uires much higher security in order to prevent unauthorized shutdown. So, the following procedure uses two codes instead of one code. Again the code represents the ring tone length difference for two consecutive dialings. The first code n is for the difference between the ringing period of the first call xl and the second call x2, and m is for the difference between x2 and the ringing period of the third call x3. Typically, n and m are small numbers which can be positive or negative numbers. More codes can be used to achieve even greater security.}
process remote_shutdown_process (n,m);
begin start_point; //just a reference point call (phone_number) if line busy, wait and go to start_point detect_ring_tone for xl second disconnect;
wait wl seconds;
call (phone_number);
if line busy, wait and go to start_point detect_ring_tone for x2 second //x2=xl+n disconnect wait wl seconds;
call (phone_number);
if line busy, wait and go to start_point detect_ring_tone for x3 seconds //x3=x2+m disconnect;
end

Claims (27)

I claim:

1. A telephonic electronic message apparatus for automatically receiving electronic messages comprising:
a means for adapting to an existing telephone line for receiving said electronic messages; and a processing means for automatically responding to said electronic messages and for storing said messages therein whereby said electronic messages may be received and stored without requiring a human operation.

2. The telephonic apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:
an user interface means for providing information to an user relating to a reception of said electronic messages.

3 The telephonic apparatus of claim 2 further comprising:
a telephone adapting means for connecting to a telephone;
said processing means further including a telephone interface means for detecting an incoming signal received from said telephone line and for determining if said incoming signal being an electronic message and for transmitting said incoming signal to said telephone when said incoming signal being detected is determined not an electronic message.

4. The telephonic apparatus of claim 2 wherein:
said user interface means further including a display means for displaying a message relating to the reception of said electronic messages.

5. The telephonic apparatus of claim 2 wherein:
said processing means further including a message storage means for storing said electronic messages therein.

6. The telephonic apparatus of claim 3 further comprising:
an electronic message exporting means for delivering said electronic messages via a transmitting means to a receiving device.

7. The telephonic apparatus of claim 6 wherein:
said electronic message exporting means including a television interface means for delivering said electronic messages via said transmitting means to a television for displaying said electronic messages thereon.

8. The telephonic apparatus of claim 7 wherein:
said user interface means further including an message exporting control means for controlling a display of said electronic message on said television.

9. The telephonic apparatus of claim 3 further comprising:
an automatic registration means for storing required registration data therein and for automatically dialing and registration with a network server for receiving said electronic messages therefrom.

10. The telephonic apparatus of claim 3 further comprising:
a removable data storage means for storing said electronic messages therein for removably transferring said electronic messages therefrom.

11. The telephonic apparatus of claim 5 further comprising:
a message full means for terminating a reception of said electronic messages when said message storage means reaching a full storage capacity.

12. The telephonic apparatus of claim 3 further comprising:

a message screen means for detecting designated message identifications in said electronic messages for receiving and storing said electronic messages with said designated message identifications.

13. The telephonic apparatus of claim 3 further comprising:
an automatic logon means for automatically dialing and logging on a network server periodically for receiving said electronic messages therefrom.

14. The telephone apparatus of claim 4 wherein:
said user interface means further including a display control means including control buttons for controlling the display of different electronic messages.

15. A telephonic electronic message apparatus for automatically receiving electronic messages comprising:
a means for adapting to an existing telephone line for receiving electronic messages including digitized signals therefrom;
a processing means for automatically responding to said electronic messages wherein said processing means further including a message storage means for storing said electronic messages therein;
an user interface means including a display means for displaying information to an user relating to a reception of said electronic messages, said user interface control means further including a display control means including control buttons for controlling the display of different electronic messages;
a telephone adapting means for connecting to a telephone;
said processing means further including a telephone interface means for detecting an incoming signal received from said telephone line and for determining if said incoming signal being an electronic message and for transmitting said incoming signal to said telephone when said incoming signal being detected is determined not an electronic message;
an electronic message exporting means for delivering said electronic messages via a transmitting means to a receiving device wherein said electronic message exporting means including a television interface means for delivering said electronic messages via said transmitting means to a television for displaying said electronic messages thereon;
said user interface means further including an message exporting control means for controlling a display of said electronic message on said television;
an automatic registration means for storing required registration data therein and for automatically dialing and registrating with a network server for receiving said electronic messages therefrom; and a message full means for terminating a reception of said electronic messages when said message storage means reaching a full storage capacity.

16. The telephonic apparatus of claim 15 further comprising:
a message screen means for detecting designated message identifications in said electronic messages for receiving and storing said electronic messages with said designated message identifications.

17. The telephonic apparatus of claim 16 further comprising:
a removable data storage means for storing said electronic messages therein for removably transferring said electronic messages therefrom.

18. The telephonic apparatus of claim 15 further comprising:
an automatic logon means for automatically dialing and logging on a network server periodically for receiving said electronic messages therefrom.

19. The telephonic apparatus of claim 15 wherein:
said telephonic apparatus being provided for receiving a plurality of message units; and said user interface means including a message unit access Control means for controlling an access to each of said plurality of message units.

20. A method for providing communication between a local electronic message server and a telephone user connected with telephone line to the server comprising the steps of:
(a) providing a telephonic electronic message apparatus (which including a means for adapting]
adaptable to said telephone line for receiving electronic messages from said local server; and (b) providing a processing means for said telephonic electronic message apparatus for automatically receiving electronic messages for storing said messages therein whereby said electronic messages may be received and stored without requiring a human operation.

21. An electronic message communication system comprising:
a local electronic message server connected to an internet system for receiving said electronic messages therefrom and sending said electronic messages thereto;
a telephonic electronic message apparatus connected to said local electronic message server by a telephone line wherein said telephonic electronic message apparatus includes a means for adapting to said telephone line; and said telephonic electronic message apparatus further includes a processing means for automatically receiving said electronic messages transmitting from said local server through said telephone line for storing said messages in said telephonic electronic message apparatus whereby said electronic messages may be received and stored without requiring a human operation.

22. The electronic message communication system of claim 21 wherein:
said telephonic electronic message apparatus includes a registration trigger means and an automatic registration dial-up means for automatically sending a plurality of identification messages to said local server for registration upon an actuation of said registration trigger means; and said local electronic message server includes a registration processing means for receiving said plurality of identification messages for processing a registration Of said telephonic electronic message apparatus in said local server.

23. The electronic message communication system of claim 21 wherein:
said telephonic electronic message apparatus includes an auto collect triggering means and an collect dial-up means for automatically sending a plurality of auto collect messages to said local server upon an actuation of said auto collect trigger means; and said local electronic message server includes an auto collect processing means for receiving and responding to said plurality of auto collect messages for automatically sending a plurality of electronic messages to said telephonic electronic message apparatus.

24. The electronic message communication system of claim 21 wherein:
said local electronic message server includes an message priority processing means for checking a priority of each of said electronic messages and for sending each of said electronic messages to said telephonic electronic message apparatus according to said priority.

25. The electronic message communication system of claim 21 wherein:
said local electronic message server includes a storage capacity processing means for checking a storage capacity of said telephonic electronic message apparatus and for sending said electronic messages thereto according to said storage capacity whereby a message overflow of said telephonic electronic messages apparatus may be prevented.

26. The electronic message communication system of claim 22 wherein:
said automatic registration dial-up means provided for automatically sending a plurality of said identification messages including a telephone number, a machine number and a user password.

27. A method for sending and receiving electronic mail messages over an interconnected network of computers where one of said interconnected computers is configured to receive mail messages having a particular domain address, said configured computer electronically connected to one or more mail servers each designated for a particular geographical region and each electronically connected to one or more electronic mail messaging devices each having a particular address within said domain address for receiving electronic mail messages addressed to said particular address, wherein each of said devices contains dedicated electronic circuitries for sending, receiving, and storing electronic mail messages, said method comprising the steps of:
receiving one or more electronic mail messages each addressed to a particular address within said domain address;
determining the mail server for delivering each of the electronic mail messages in accordance to their respective particular addresses;
packaging the electronic mail messages for a mail.

server into a mailbag for delivery;
sending said mailbag to said mail server;
unpackaging said mailbag and recontructing the electronic mail messages from said mailbag at said mail server; and delivering each of the electronic mail messages to the corresponding electronic mail messaging devices.