Abstract:
A system and method integrate synchronous electronic (e.g., chat) communications with asynchronous electronic communications in the form of body-less electronic mail messages (emails). Body-less emails have a subject line but lack a message body capable of receiving message content. When converting a synchronous electronic communication into a body-less email, a processor places each text message of the synchronous electronic communication into the subject line of the body-less email. When converting a received body-less email into a synchronous electronic communication, the processor places each text message in the subject line of the body-less email into a chat format. A user can readily transition between asynchronous and synchronous communications.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation application claiming the benefit of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/734,920, filed Dec. 12, 2003, titled “Body-less email for asynchronous chat-like communications and email-chat integration”, the entirety of which U.S. patent application, is incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates generally to electronic mail and chat systems. More particularly, the invention relates to an electronic mail system and method for communicating chat-like electronic mail messages. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Electronic mail or email and chat are widespread software tools for communicating among computer users. Email enables users to communicate asynchronously, whereas chat communication occurs synchronously. On occasion, users are unable to engage in synchronous chat because one of the parties is not online or his computer system lacks chat capability. In such situations, the users may resort to email to conduct a chat-like conversation. When using email to conduct a chat, a user may type his brief message into the subject header, because chat messages are characteristically brief, leaving the body of the email message empty. Transmitting email messages without content, however, wastes bandwidth. Further, chats typically involve a series of many brief messages, which, when conducted with email messages, only increases the amount of bandwidth needed to carry email traffic with no content. Email messages also tend to remain for considerable periods in a user&#39;s mailbox, thus occupying local computer and server memory for what is, in effect, blank content. There is, therefore, a need for a system and method that can use email for chat-like communications can without the aforementioned disadvantages. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one aspect, the invention features a computer program product for communicating with a user of a processor-based device over a network. The computer program product comprises a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith. The computer readable program code comprises computer readable program code configured to convert a synchronous electronic communication into a body-less electronic mail message having a subject line and lacking a message body capable of receiving message content; and computer readable program code configured to place, in response to converting the synchronous electronic communication into a body-less electronic mail message, at least one text message transmitted as part of the synchronous communication into the subject line of the body-less electronic mail message. 
     In another aspect, the invention features a computer program product for communicating with a user of a processor-based device over a network. The computer program product comprises a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith. The computer readable program code comprises computer readable program code configured to convert a received synchronous electronic communication into a body-less electronic mail message having a subject line and lacking a message body capable of receiving message content; and computer readable program code configured to place each text message of the received synchronous electronic communication into the subject line of the body-less electronic mail message when converting the received synchronous electronic communication into the body-less electronic mail message; and computer readable program code configured to convert a received body-less electronic mail message into a synchronous electronic communication. 
     In yet another aspect, the invention features a computing system comprising a processor executing computer readable program code configured to convert a synchronous electronic communication into a body-less electronic mail message having a subject line and lacking a message body capable of receiving message content. The processor places, in response to converting the synchronous electronic communication into the body-less electronic mail message, at least one text message transmitted as part of the synchronous communication into the subject line of the body-less electronic mail message. 
     In still another aspect, the invention features a method of communicating with a user of a processor-based device over a network. The method comprises converting a synchronous communication into a body-less electronic mail message having a subject line and lacking a message body capable of receiving message content, and placing, in response to converting the synchronous communication, at least one text message transmitted as part of the synchronous communication into the subject line of the body-less electronic mail message. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and further advantages of this invention may be better understood by referring to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals indicate like structural elements and features in various figures. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram of a prior art electronic mail message having a message body. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram of a body-less electronic mail message of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an embodiment of an electronic mail system constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram of example of a display of a mailbox having a plurality of email messages including an mChat message, the entirety of the contents of the mChat message being displayed in a drop-down list. 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram of an example of a display of a mailbox having a plurality of email messages including an mChat message, the contents of the mChat message being partially displayed in a scrollable bar. 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram illustrating an example of converting between mChat message and chat conversation formats. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Users of computer systems or processor-based devices connected to a wired or wireless network can communicate with each other through chat-like electronic mail messages of the present invention, hereafter referred to as mail-chat or mChat messages. An integration of electronic mail (email) and chat, the present invention features techniques for translating between mChat and chat formats to enable users to switch between asynchronous and synchronous communication as their circumstances require. Thus, colleagues can benefit from the advantages of chat (i.e., informal, terse statements within the context of previous communications) in an asynchronous and persistent format provided by email. MChat messages generally reduce the communications bandwidth needed to transmit an email message over a network and the memory needed to store an email message on email server systems, local client computer systems, and hand-held devices (e.g., cell phones, personal digital assistants or PDAs). 
       FIG. 1  shows a view of an example of a prior art email message  10  having a “To” line  14 , a “Cc” line  18 , a “Subject:” line  22 , and a message body  26 , as presented to a user who is writing a message. In contrast,  FIG. 2  shows a view of an embodiment of an mChat message  40  of the invention. The mChat message  40  includes a “To” line  44 , an optional “Cc” line  48 , and a “Subject” line  52 . Unlike the prior art email message  10  of  FIG. 1 , the mChat message  40  lacks a message body and is referred to as “body-less” email message. Other terms for referring to mChat messages include “header-only” and “subject-line-only” email messages. In one embodiment, the mChat contains only the email header (including the subject line). This embodiment achieves optimal economies in message transmission and storage. In another embodiment, the mChat message  40  can carry attachments and support other text lines such as a “Bcc” line, in the same manner as conventional email. This richer embodiment preserves the chat-like message format and the inter-translatability to chat, and also allows the mChat to carry additional data or attachments for user tasks. 
       FIG. 3  shows an embodiment of a client system  50  constructed in accordance with the invention. The client system  50  can be any personal computer (e.g., 286, 386, 486, Pentium, Pentium II, Macintosh computer), Windows-based terminal, Network Computer, wireless device, information appliance, RISC Power PC, X-device, workstation, mini-computer, mainframe computer, cell phone, online gaming device such as Microsoft&#39;s XBOX™ or Sony&#39;s PLAYSTATION™, and personal digital assistant (PDA) or other computing device that has hardware  54  such as a display screen, one or more input devices (e.g., keypad, stylus, keyboard, mouse, touch-pad, and trackball), and a processor for executing application programs and sufficient persistent storage for storing such application programs and related information. One such application program is an electronic mail client program  58  of the invention. 
     The email client program  58  can be any proprietary email client program or any commercially available email client program, such as Lotus NOTES™ and Microsoft OUTLOOK™, modified to support mChat messaging of the invention. Embodiments of email programs constructed in accordance with the invention support mChat types of messages alone or in combination with conventional email messages. Optionally, another application program run by the client system  50  is a chat client program  60  (shown in phantom), which enables the user of the client system  50  to engage in synchronous communications with another chat user over the network  70 . As described in connection with  FIG. 6 , either program  58 ,  60  can launch the other when users desire to transition between asynchronous and synchronous communications. The email client program  58  and optional chat client program  60  run on an operating system  62 . Examples of operating systems supported by the client system  50  include Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, Windows XP, Windows CE, Macintosh, Java, LINUX, and UNIX. 
     The client system  50  also includes a network interface  66  for communicating over a network  70 . The network  70  can be a local-area network (LAN), a metro-area network (MAN), or wide-area network (WAN), such as the Internet or World Wide Web. Users of the client system  50  can connect to the network  70  through one of a variety of connections, such as standard telephone lines, LAN or WAN links (e.g., T1, T3), broadband connections (Frame Relay, ATM), and wireless connections (e.g., 802.11(a), 802.11(b), 802.11(g)). The email client program  58  communicates with an email server  74  located on the network  70 . Users of the client system  50  initiate and participate in chat-like electronic conversations using mChat messages over the network  70  with other users of mChat-enabled computing systems. 
     To generate a first mChat message of a mChat conversation, a user launches the email client program  58  on the local computing system  50 . When the user indicates to the email client program  58  an intention to generate a new mChat message, the email client program  58  displays by default an mChat message (similar to the mChat message  14  of  FIG. 2 ) or presents a menu to the user in which an mChat message is a selectable item. The user enters the email address of each recipient into the To and Cc lines,  44 ,  48 , types his message into the Subject line  52 , and sends the mChat message towards its destination. Because the mChat message  14  lacks a message body, it requires less bandwidth to be transmitted over the network  70 . 
     A recipient of the mChat message  14  can perpetuate the mChat conversation by responding. The recipient initiates a response by selecting a reply (e.g., to the sender only or to all recipients listed) or a forward operation presented by the mChat-enabled email program operating on the recipient&#39;s computing system. The mChat-enabled email client program recognizes that the type of email message being responded to is an mChat message, and, thus, produces a new mChat message in kind. Optionally, the recipient can choose to respond with a conventional email message instead of with an mChat message. 
     When first presented to the user generating the response, this new mChat message automatically includes the previous text message of the sender (located in the Subject line of that mChat message) within the Subject line of the new mChat message. At the beginning of the Subject line, the user adds her message, preferably leaving the text message of the sender in the Subject line after her message so that the entirety of the mChat conversation is in the Subject line. One embodiment permits the previous text message to be deleted, another embodiment does not. 
     Although individual chat messages are typically brief, chat conversations can become extensive. The email client program  58  statically or dynamically allocates sufficient memory to the Subject line  52  of the mChat message  14  to support the length of the mChat conversation. When each previous chat message (hereafter, chat entry) is preserved, the sequence of chat entries appears in the Subject line  52  in a Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) order (i.e., in a reverse temporal order). The email client program  58  preferably provides formatting for the sequence of chat entries that delineates between chat entries in the Subject line  52 . Optionally, the email client program  58  “signs” each entry of the mChat message with the identity of the author. 
     The particular formatting implemented by the email client program  58  to delineate between chat entries can vary without departing from the principles of the invention. In one embodiment, the email client program  58  adds a reply delimiter “RE:” before the immediately previous chat entry. An example using the reply delimiter to delineate between chat entries is illustrated by the text immediately below representing the Subject line contents of an mChat message. For a temporal reading of the mChat conversion below, chat entries are read from bottom to top. The most recent chat entry appears as the first line of text (or the top line) in the Subject line  52 . Note that the following example also uses carriage returns to delineate between chat entries so that each chat entry appears on a new line on a display. In one embodiment, the email client program  58  automatically embeds a carriage return after each chat entry to achieve this display formatting. In another embodiment, the mChat conversation appears on a single line, and the only delineation between chat entries are the reply delimiters. The Subject line  52  for one exemplary mChat conversation comprised of 5 mChat messages reads as follows:
     I&#39;ve set up the meeting for Tuesday at LOAM. Let me know if this is acceptable. &lt;d&gt;   Re: Any time Tuesday or Wednesday.—S.   Re: How about next week? &lt;d&gt;   Re: If you are talking about this week, then Thursday at 2 PM is my only possibility.—S.   Re: I am attempting to schedule a meeting to discuss the status of the project. Please send me your availability. Thanks, &lt;d&gt;   

     As another example, carets (&gt;), instead of reply delimiters, are used to delineate between chat entries. Illustrating this example with the same mChat conversation of the previous example, the email client program  58  adds another caret to each existing chat entry already in the message when a new chat entry is added to the mChat conversation. The Subject line  52  reads as follows:
     I′ve set up the meeting for Tuesday at LOAM. Let me know if this is acceptable. &lt;m&gt;   &gt;Any time Tuesday or Wednesday.—S.   &gt;&gt;How about next week? &lt;m&gt;   &gt;&gt;&gt;If you are talking about this week, then Thursday at 2 PM is my only possibility.—S.   &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;I am attempting to schedule a meeting to discuss the status of the project. Please send me your availability. Thanks, &lt;m&gt;   

     The preceding examples illustrate two of many techniques possible for delineating between chat entries. Other techniques include appending or prepending the identity of the author to the chat entry, numbering the entries, and inserting other special characters, visible or invisible (e.g., carriage return and new line). Another embodiment is to use no delimiters; this technique can rely on the reader to discern between chat entries. 
     Like conventional email messages, the email client program  50  displays mChat messages in a graphical mailbox view listing each email message in the mailbox. Each mChat message appears in the list as a single line item in the mailbox view (specifically, in the “inbox” folder of the mailbox for a new mChat message).  FIG. 4  shows an example embodiment of a mailbox view  100  displayed to the user listing those emails currently located in the user&#39;s inbox. Above the list of emails are column headings for identifying the sender  104 , the date  108 , the subject  112 , and the memory size  116  for each email message. The email client program  58  displays a default number of characters of the Subject line  52 . The user can change this default number, but the maximum width of the subject column  112  remains limited by the number of characters and other columns in a line item. MChat messages are identified by a particular icon or other identifier that appears in the same line item as that mChat message. Here, the identifier is “&lt; &gt;”, which appears before the subject line of each mChat message. 
     To read the contents of an mChat message, the user positions the cursor  120  over the subject field of the mChat message. In one embodiment, this “mouse-over” operation causes the contents of the Subject line  52  of the mChat message to be displayed in its entirety as, for example, a drop-down list  124  with the most recent chat entry on the top line of the list  124  and the history of previous chat entries appearing below the most recent chat entry. Depending upon the length of the mChat conversation, the contents of the Subject line covers the mChat message being read and possibly one or more of the other email messages in the view immediately below. Thus, the user reads the mChat conversation in its entirety while in the inbox view, without having to open the mChat message. (Double-clicking on the mChat message using the graphical input device (e.g., mouse), as is done regularly to open a conventional email message, in one embodiment produces no response for an mChat message. Another embodiment responds to the double-click operation by displaying the drop-down list  124 .) 
     In another embodiment, shown in  FIG. 5 , the mouse-over operation causes scrolling arrows  150 - 1 ,  150 - 2  (generally,  150 ) to appear at each end of the subject column  112  of that mChat message. By positioning the cursor  120  over the left or right arrow  150 , the user horizontally scrolls left or right, respectively, through the contents  124 ′ in the Subject line  52  of the mChat message. In another embodiment, the user drags the text in the subject column  112  with the cursor  120  to scroll horizontally through the contents  124 ′ in the left or right direction. In these embodiments, the number of characters that can be read at one time is limited to the width of the subject column  112 , but reading the mChat message does not occlude any other messages in the mailbox view. 
     Some devices for reading email, such as personal digital assistants or PDAs, do not have a cursor that can be graphically positioned over an mChat message line item. For such computing devices, the user employs the particular technique of the particular device for selecting an email message. Referring to PDAs, for example, the user positions a stylus over the mChat message line item in the mailbox view and with it presses the screen display. In another embodiment, the user moves the current “focus” of the device to the desired mChat message, and waits; after a brief interval (typically a half-second), the device begins to scroll the contents of the mChat message that is the current focus. 
     In one embodiment, the email client program  58  generates an alert event when an mChat message is received. For example, the alert can include a graphical window appearing on the user&#39;s graphical user interface, the window having conventional chat-like features. A message accompanying this window can indicate that the sending party may not be online, and thus unavailable to engage in chat. The email client program  58  produces this alert directly or invokes the chat client program  60  to produce it. 
       FIG. 6  shows an example of two-way conversions between mChat message and chat conversation formats. If a user so chooses, he can convert an asynchronous mChat message  14  into a synchronous chat  180 , or a synchronous chat  180  into an asynchronous mChat message  14 . For an asynchronous to the synchronous format conversion, upon the user&#39;s specific command, e.g., by clicking a graphical button or selecting an item in a pull down menu while the mChat message  14  is selected, the email client program  58  launches the chat client program  60 , reformats the contents of the Subject line  52  of the mChat message  14  into a chat format (e.g., by reordering the chat entries so that first chat entry in the list becomes the last and the last chat entry becomes the first and by inserting the author&#39;s name in front of each particular chat entry), and pastes the reformatted Subject line  52  contents into the chat window  180 . The chat window  180  then appears on the display screen of each chat participant. Provided each participant is online, they can resume their communications synchronously. 
     Conversely, if the participants currently engaged in a synchronous free-form chat want to continue their conversation asynchronously, either participant can cause the full contents of the chat to be converted into an mChat message. In this event, the chat server converts the contents of the chat conversation into the format of an mChat message (i.e., reversing the order of chat entries and inserting delimiters as described above), and pastes it into the Subject line  52  of the mChat message  14 . Optionally, the attribution associated with each chat entry in the chat conversation can be removed when converting from the chat format to the mChat message format. The mChat message  14  is then electronically mailed to each chat participant (now to become mChat participants). In another embodiment, the email server  74  sends the mChat message to the mChat participants. 
     The present invention may be implemented as one or more computer-readable software programs embodied on or in one or more articles of manufacture. The article of manufacture can be, for example, any one or combination of a floppy disk, a hard disk, hard-disk drive, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a flash memory card, an EEPROM, an EPROM, a PROM, a RAM, a ROM, or a magnetic tape. In general, any standard or proprietary, programming or interpretive language can be used to produce the computer-readable software programs. Examples of such languages include C, C++, Pascal, JAVA, BASIC, Visual Basic, and Visual C++. The software programs may be stored on or in one or more articles of manufacture as source code, object code, interpretive code, or executable code. 
     While the invention has been shown and described with reference to specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.