4110 results about "Electronic communication" patented technology

A system for conducting promotional campaigns for multiple types of electronic communications devices. The promotional campaigns may include advertising and marketing campaigns involving the use of one or more of surveys, interactive games, contests, sweepstakes, location-based promotions, and tie-ins with brick-and-mortar outlets. The invention provides a process for (1) creating a promotional campaign, (2) simultaneously publishing the promotional campaign to users via a plurality of types of electronic communications devices, and (3) making the results of the promotional campaign available to the creator of the promotional campaign via communications devices of the creator's choice. Users of the system select the types of advertising and marketing campaigns in which they would be interested in participating. User-provided demographic, location, user preferences, device permissions settings and other user profile information enables creators of promotional campaigns to precisely direct those campaigns to receptive audiences and precisely monitor the success of those campaigns.

Various methods, systems and apparatus for associating fictitious user identities (e.g. screen names, user names, email addresses, handles, etc.) used in electronic communications (e.g. over the internet or mobile network via instant messenger, e-mail, social networks, ecommerce, auction websites, etc.) with real personal information (e.g. the true identity of an individual such as their name, address, credit score, driving record, mobile number, etc.) are disclosed. One such method may include discovering, verifying and storing real personal information, associated with fictitious user identities and email addresses. The method may further include allowing a remote user or service to submit a fictitious user identity and a query requesting real-user information associated with the submitted fictitious user identity. In one possible embodiment, a targeted-advertising service may utilize real user information, associated with a fictitious user name, to target advertisements at the user of the fictitious user name.

Coupling of anodic electrochromic compounds by a covalent bond or a bridge link which provides for electronic communication between the coupled electrochromic compounds results in coupled electrochromic compounds which exhibit greater stability as well as electrochromic activity that differs from the monomeric electrochromic compounds. Extension of the absorption spectrum into the near-infrared region of the spectrum is frequently observed. The coupled electrochromic compounds are highly suitable for use in electrochromic media used to produce electrochromic devices.

A system is disclosed for integrated electronic mail, voice mail, and fax mail messaging. A common message format is defined for use by an electronic mail service and a telecommunications service so electronic mail messages that may include voice and fax mail attachments may be exchanged between the services. Message senders and receivers may choose from a variety of filter and forward options that allow them to manage their communications and specify a preference for receiving messages at the electronic mail or telecommunications service. Forwarding and conversion of messages is performed automatically. The options are used to define a set of rules to be applied to inbound and outbound messages so that messages are sent and received in accordance with the preferences of the senders and receivers.

A system and method for managing electronic communications more effectively utilizes electronic communications. The method assigns a prioritization score and category to each electronic communication so that a user can more effectively manage the communications. The user interacts with a graphical user interface to effectively manage electronic communications. The system arranges and displays the electronic communications according to prioritization scores and categories, and includes interactive modules to override a system assigned prioritization scores and assign any score or category the user selects. The method also measures productivity of users as a function of at least three different metrics, a decision-making metric; a communication metric; and a processing metric, and takes into account prioritization scores and the amount of time it takes users to effectively utilize the electronic communications. The method also generates reports of the productivity of individual users, and the productivity of relationships between multiple users of electronic communications.

A system and method for translation of electronic communications automatically selects and deploys specialized dictionaries based upon context recognition and other factors. Software tools can be employed for continual dictionary enhancement. The invention can accept speech and text inputs and can be used to translate electronic mail, instant messages, chat, SMS messages, electronic text and word processing files, Internet web pages, Internet search results, and other textual communications for a variety of device types, including wireless devices. In one embodiment, language pairs are automatically determined in real-time.

A method of and apparatus for providing tunable gas injection in a plasma processing system (10, 10′). The apparatus includes a gas injection manifold (50) having a pressurizable plenum (150) and an array of adjustable nozzle units (250), or an array of non-adjustable nozzles (502, 602), through which gas from the plenum can flow into the interior region (40) of a plasma reactor chamber (14) capable of containing a plasma (41). The adjustable nozzle units include a nozzle plug (160) arranged within a nozzle bore (166). A variety of different nozzle units are disclosed. The nozzle plugs are axially translatable to adjust the flow of gas therethrough. In one embodiment, the nozzle plugs are attached to a plug plate (154), which is displacable relative to an injection plate (124) via displacement actuators (170) connecting the two plates. The displacement actuators are controlled by a displacement actuator control unit (180), which is in electronic communication with a plasma processing system control unit (80). The gas flow into the chamber interior region is preferably controlled by monitoring the pressure in the plenum and in the chamber and adjusting the nozzle units accordingly. Where the nozzle units are not adjustable, a portion of the nozzles are sized to a first flow condition, and another portion of the nozzles are sized to a second flow condition.

Methods and systems for selecting a payment source for use in making a mobile financial payment utilizing a mobile device such as a mobile telephone (cellphone) or wireless connected personal digital assistant (PDA). A mobile financial transaction system (MFTS) is coupled for electronic communications with one or more financial service providers with which the user maintains one or more accounts, and also for wireless communications with mobile devices. The mobile device displays information corresponding to accounts available to the user as a payment source for use in connection with making a payment using the mobile device. The user selects a payment source for making a payment. The mobile device generates a mobile payment instruction comprising information corresponding to the payment and a selected payment source. The mobile payment instruction is wirelessly communicated to the MFTS. The MFTS generates an MFTS payment instruction that includes an amount, information corresponding to the identified payee, and information indicating the selected payment source. The MFTS payment instruction is communicated to the payment instruction recipient, which effects the payment utilizing the selected payment source.

The present invention determines which messages to display in message threads to a user. An electronic communication device receives and stores numerous SMS messages transported through an SMS network, but the SMS messages are sent without explicit linking information such as a previous message or subject line. A threading module applies threading rules to determine which messages to correlate into an SMS message thread through implicit link information. The threading rules thread outgoing messages sent in response to an incoming message from a user, or incoming messages where a previous outgoing message was sent to the user. An SMS application displays threads in a user interface and indicates messages threads with an icon in one view, and displays an expanded message thread in another view.

The present invention provides a remote notification device in electronic communication with a user's personal communication device that alerts the user that the personal communication device is receiving an incoming telecommunications signal. A user who is not in operable contact with the communication device is alerted to the incoming call, message, or page by the remote notification device, which is in operable contact with the user, and alerts the user with a suitable indication (e.g., visual, audible, and/or tactile). The remote notification device preferably permits the user to not alter his or her desired appearance in social situations. The remote notification device is easily concealable or integral to an article of clothing, piece of jewelry, piercing, or accessory that the user desires to wear or carry independent of the desire to be notified of incoming calls, messages, or pages.

A system is disclosed for integrating electronic mail, voice mail, and fax mail in a universal mailbox. Message receivers may access their messages with a telephone or a computer regardless of the communication medium used by the message sender. Using a telephone, message receivers may playback voice mail, redirect fax mail, and "listen" to e-mail through a text-to-speech conversion process. Using a computer and modem, message receivers may playback voice mail, view fax mail, and read e-mail by accessing the universal mailbox via connection software. Message senders and receivers may choose from a variety of filter and forward options that allow them to manage their communications via the universal mailbox. Forwarding and conversion of messages is performed automatically. The options are used to define a set of rules to be applied to inbound and outbound messages so that messages are sent and received in accordance with the preferences of the senders and receivers.

Methods and systems for obtaining real time account balance information for a plurality of financial accounts maintained at one or more financial service providers utilizing a mobile device such as a mobile telephone (cellphone) or wireless connected personal digital assistant (PDA). A mobile financial transaction system (MFTS) is coupled for wireless communications with a mobile device of a user and is also coupled for electronic communication with one or more financial service providers with which the user maintains one or more accounts. The mobile device stores a cached account balance representative of the balance in each account as of a particular date. The MFTS communicates with financial service providers to obtain updated account balance information for a user's accounts. The updated account balance information is wirelessly communicated to a user's mobile device. In response to receipt of updated account balance information from the MFTS, the mobile device displays updated account balance information corresponding to the plurality of user accounts.

Methods and systems for detecting suspicious electronic communications, such as electronic mail (email) messages containing, originated or purportedly originated from misspelled and/or deliberately misleading addresses, are provided. According to one embodiment, an electronic communication, such as an electronic mail (email) message, is scanned to determine whether the electronic communication contains one or more suspicious addresses or represents a suspicious traffic pattern. If the electronic communication is determined to contain one or more suspicious addresses or is determined to represent a suspicious traffic pattern, then the electronic communication is handled in accordance with an electronic communication security policy associated with suspicious electronic communications. For example, an event may be logged, the electronic communication may be dropped or quarantined, the communication may be tagged as spam or possible phishing and/or an end user may be alerted to the existence of the one or more suspicious addresses.

A communication method allows members of an affinity group to obtain up-to-date information concerning the status of other members of the affinity group. Each member of the affinity group is provided with a communication device for communicating with other members. The communication device includes a memory for storing member status information. When the status of one member in the affinity group changes, a status update message is sent from the member whose status has changed to other members of the affinity group. When a status update message is receiving from other members, the status information data contained in the message is used to update the member status information stored in memory.

Text is entered into an electronic communications device by means of a keypad having a number of keys, each key representing a plurality of letters and/or character sequences, entered text is displayed on a display on the device. Possible character sequences corresponding to an activated key sequence are generated. These are compared with a stored vocabulary comprising character sequences representing words as well as word stems occurring in a given language. Those stored character sequences that match the possible character sequences are pre-selected and a number of these are presented in a separate graphical object arranged predominantly on the display.

A system for analyzing driving performance data is provided. The system and method include one or more devices in electronic communication with a network, the one or more devices including one or more sensors for obtaining raw data associated with operation of a vehicle by a driver. A driving performance engine in electronic communication with the device, the driving performance engine generates one or more granular driving events by defining values of one or more driving parameters by associating the one or more driving parameters to the raw data, compares the one or more granular driving events with one or more similar previous driving events of the driver or other drivers having similar driving parameters and values thereof, normalizes the one or more granular driving events of the driver based on the comparison, and processes the one or more granular driving events using the driving performance engine and one or more statistical models to calculate a performance or risk value for the driver.