Patent ID: 8503994

Claim:
An automated reply system for automatically replying to incoming communications to wireless mobile communication devices while the wireless mobile communication devices are moving in conformance with one or more predetermined criteria, the automated reply system comprising: a communication module configured to receive auto reply settings for each of the wireless mobile communication devices, including for each wireless mobile communication device: an auto reply setting indicative of whether an automated reply should be sent in response to incoming communications to the wireless mobile communication device while the wireless mobile communication device is moving in conformance with the one or more predetermined criteria; and an auto reply exclusion setting identifying one or more sources whose incoming communications to the wireless mobile communication device should not receive the automated reply; an auto reply module configured to automatically provide a reply communication to each incoming communication to each of the wireless mobile communication devices for which an automated reply has been established, but not to incoming communications from the one or more sources when dictated by the auto reply exclusion setting, the reply communication only being provided while the wireless mobile communication device is moving in conformance with the one or more predetermined criteria; and a communication deferral module configured to defer the delivery of incoming communications for which an automated reply has been established, including those from the one or more sources, regardless of the auto reply exclusion setting, until the wireless mobile communication device to which the communications are sent is no longer moving in conformance with the one or more predetermined criteria, wherein: the auto replies designated to be sent by the auto reply settings are sent during the deferral of the incoming communications, and the predetermined criteria for initiating the automated reply includes when the wireless mobile communication device is moving in excess of a first predetermined speed and the predetermined criteria for ending the automated reply includes when the wireless mobile communication device is no longer moving in excess of a second predetermined speed that is lower than the first predetermined speed.