The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 13, 2009
Filed:
Mar. 31, 2004
Christopher Hoang Doan, Austin, TX (US);
Liliana Orozco, Del Valle, TX (US);
Christopher Hoang Doan, Austin, TX (US);
Liliana Orozco, Del Valle, TX (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
The present invention provides a method, apparatus, and computer instructions for automatic e-mail response interruption based on user activity. An e-mail message having an 'interrupt' type designation is sent from an originator, and directed to one or more recipients. The receiving e-mail client filters incoming messages and determines whether an e-mail contains an interrupt designation. If an interrupt designation is found, the e-mail client automatically displays content of the interrupt e-mail and any pending actions required of the recipient in a forefront position in the user interface, such as through a popup window. This content display may be valid until the recipient has responded to or completes the pending action specified in the e-mail. The present invention also analyzes the sender-recipient relationship to determine if the sender has the authority to issue an interrupt e-mail to the particular recipient. This authority may be predicated on user settings or an external list, such as a corporate directory.