Email Attendant for Direct Two-Way Communication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Email messaging systems lack a direct two-way communication link between users and specific individuals, similar to automated attendants in voice telecommunication systems, which limits interactive functionality.
Innovation Solution
An email messaging system that allows users to establish a two-way email communication session by sending a first email to a general corporate address, receiving a response with a menu to select an individual user, and then initiating a direct email messaging session with that user, using an email attendant to manage and filter messages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If email messaging systems use a general corporate email address for communication, then users can establish initial contact with the corporation, but the system lacks the ability to establish direct two-way communication links between users and specific individuals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an email attendant as an intermediary component that mediates between the general corporate email address and individual user mailboxes. The attendant receives incoming emails, processes them through a menu-driven interface to identify the intended recipient, and automatically forwards the message to the appropriate individual. This intermediary mechanism enables direct two-way communication without requiring users to know individual email addresses, thus resolving the contradiction between adaptability and system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the corporate email communication process into distinct functional stages: initial receipt at the general address, intermediate processing through the email attendant with menu options, and final delivery to individual users. This segmentation allows the system to maintain a simple general address interface while implementing complex routing logic in the background, thereby improving interactive capability without proportionally increasing user-facing complexity.
2Ease of operation
If the email system implements automated menu-based user selection, then direct communication sessions can be established, but the messaging process requires multiple interaction steps
Solution Approach 1:
The email attendant performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring menu options with all possible recipient selections before the user arrives. When an email is received, the system immediately presents the pre-prepared menu, allowing the user to quickly select their intended recipient without navigating through complex interfaces or providing detailed information. This preliminary preparation significantly reduces the time required to establish communication while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the email attendant sends confirmation messages to verify user selections and provides real-time status updates about message routing. This feedback loop ensures that users can quickly confirm their intent and receive immediate confirmation that their message is being routed correctly, reducing uncertainty and minimizing the overall time required to establish direct communication sessions.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the system routes emails through an email attendant, then user privacy is protected by hiding individual addresses, but the communication pathway becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The email attendant serves as a privacy-protecting intermediary that sits between external users and internal corporate email addresses. It receives all incoming communication at the general corporate address, processes routing decisions, and forwards messages to individual users without exposing their personal email addresses to external parties. This intermediary approach maintains simple external interfaces while implementing privacy protection, effectively decoupling the complexity from the user-facing side of the system.
Data Source
AI summary
A first email message is received from a first user communication endpoint. In one embodiment, the first email message is addressed to a general email messaging address for a corporation. In response to receiving the first email message from the first user communication endpoint, a second email message is sent to the first user communication endpoint. The second email message is used to identify a way to select an individual user of the plurality users. For example, the second email message may have a menu with a list of users. A third email message is received from the first user communication endpoint. The third email message identifies the individual user of the plurality of users. A fourth email message is sent that allows the first user communication endpoint and a user communication endpoint of the selected individual user to establish an email messaging session.