Patent · US Expired

Apparatus and method for providing multimedia messaging between disparate messaging platforms

US5974449A · kind A · utility

217Cited by
14References
7Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 9, 1997
Grant dateOct 26, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 9, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N2201/0068
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

The invention is an apparatus and method for receiving a message having a first format and for converting the message from the first format to a second format that is compatible for reception by a messaging interface having a destination address corresponding to an intended recipient. In the preferred embodiment, a computer system is used to receive and send messages between messaging interfaces and networks which may be dissimilar from each other. A variety of network interfaces is used to communicate with the networks and which may optionally have a first interface and a second interface for interfacing to a first and second network, respectively. The messages may optionally be presented through a web page. A forwarding program or equivalent may be used to forward subscriber messages to or from remote locations served by a remote computer system, enabling a messaging user to use the remote computer system as a local access point. A browser interface may be optionally used to control messages presented by the computer system on a real-time basis using hyperlink commands. The computer system may also be used in conjunction with: a recipient notification program or equivalent device…

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