Patent · US Expired

Method and system for converting computer mail messages using an extensible set of conversion routines

US5627997A · kind A · utility

54Cited by
14References
30Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 7, 1994
Grant dateMay 6, 1997
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 7, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L9/40
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method and system for converting the format of computer mail messages using a dynamic set of conversion routines is provided. In a preferred embodiment, a message format conversion engine uses an updatable registry to access an extensible set of available conversion routines. The registry contains selection information and invocation information for each of the available conversion routines. The selection information in each case describes the classes of messages that the conversion routine is potentially capable of converting. The invocation information comprises information necessary to invoke the conversion routine. When a message is submitted to the conversion engine, the engine reads the selection information stored in the registry. The engine then uses the read selection information to select one of the available conversion routines likely to be capable of converting the message. The engine reads the invocation information stored in the registry for the selected conversion routine and uses it to invoke the selected conversion routine to convert the format of the message. In a further preferred embodiment, the conversion engine invokes the selected conversion routine in two …

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.