Systems and methods for sharing messages among members of a user group in an internet protocol environment

Abstract

A IP telephony service allows customers to form user groups. Each user group can include multiple members, each of whom have their own telephony device. When a member of a user group sends a messages to another member of the user group, the message is posted to a group message board so that all members of the group can view the message. This could include sending information to each of the telephony devices for all members of the group so that each telephony device could display the message on a display screen. The displayed messages could also indicate who sent each message and to whom each message was directed. As a result, each member of the group can view messages passing back and forth between all members of the group.

1 . A method of presenting messages to members of a user group in an Internet Protocol (IP) environment, comprising:
 receiving a message from at least one member of a user group that includes a plurality of members, wherein the user group is identified by a group identifier; and   transmitting the message to a plurality of communication devices such that the communication devices can display the message on a display screen, each of the communication devices belonging to a member of the user group.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the group identifier is a telephone number. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the message is a SMS message. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the received SMS message is directed to the group identifier. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the received SMS message is received from a first member of the user group, and wherein the received SMS message is directed to a second member of the user group. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the received SMS message is addressed to a telephone number associated with the second member of the user group. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the received SMS message is addressed to an identifier associated with the second member of the user group. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of obtaining handling instructions that indicate how messages should be distributed to members of the user group, and wherein the transmitting step comprises transmitting the message to the plurality of communication devices based on the handing instructions. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the handling instructions indicate which members of the user group should receive a message, and wherein the transmitting step comprises transmitting the message to the communication devices of only those members that should receive the message. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the message is received from a first member of the user group, wherein the message is directed to a second member of the user group, and wherein the transmitted message allows the plurality of communication devices to display the message on a display screen with indications that the message was sent from the first member and that the message was directed to the second member. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the receiving and transmitting steps are repeated for a plurality of messages. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the transmitting step comprises sending information to the plurality of communication devices that allow the communication devices to simultaneously display a plurality of messages. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein at least one of the received messages is a reply message that was sent in reply to a previously received message. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the transmitting step comprises transmitting information that allows the communication devices to display a reply message immediately adjacent to the previously received message such that the reply message and the previously received message are visually tied to each other. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving and transmitting steps are repeated for a plurality of messages, and wherein the transmitting step comprises transmitting information that allows the communication devices to simultaneously display the plurality of messages. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising the step of obtaining handling instructions that indicate how messages should be distributed to members of the user group, and wherein the transmitting step comprises transmitting information to the plurality of communication devices based on the handing instructions. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the handling instructions indicate that some received messages are not to be sent to a first member of the user group, and wherein the transmitting step comprises transmitting the message to communication devices of all members of the group except the first member. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transmitting step comprises transmitting the message to a plurality of mobile communication devices, each of the mobile communication devices belonging to a member of the user group. 
     
     
         19 . A system for presenting messages to members of a user group in an Internet Protocol (IP) environment, comprising:
 means for receiving a message from at least one member of a user group that includes a plurality of members, wherein the user group is identified by a group identifier; and   means for transmitting the message to a plurality of communication devices such that the communication devices can display the message on a display screen, each of the communication devices belonging to a member of the user group.   
     
     
         20 . A system for presenting messages to members of a user group in an Internet Protocol (IP) environment, comprising:
 a receiving unit that receives a message from at least one member of a user group that includes a plurality of members, wherein the user group is identified by a group identifier; and   a transmitting unit that transmits the message to a plurality of communication devices such that the communication devices can display the message on a display screen, each of the communication devices belonging to a member of the user group.