IP Library Granted Patent US 11,159,476
Granted Patent B1
US 11,159,476 · App. 16/263,799 · Granted Oct 26, 2021

Methods and apparatuses for managing data integration between an external email resource and a group-based communication system

Inventors: Roland Schemers (Woodside, CA); James McPhail (San Francisco, CA); Matthew Wahl (San Francisco, CA); San Oo (San Francisco, CA)
Assignee: Slack Technologies, LLC
H04L51/36G06F16/245G06F40/205G06F40/30H04L51/063H04L51/24H04L51/26H04L61/307
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,159,476
App. No.
16/263,799
Granted
Oct 26, 2021
Kind
B1
Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatuses for programmatically managing email data integration between an external email resource associated with a group-based communication system user and a group-based communication system are provided herein.

Claims (74)

1. An apparatus for programmatically managing email data integration between an external email resource associated with a first group-based communication system user and a group-based communication system associated with an entity and configured to support a plurality of group-based communication system users associated with the entity,

said group-based communication system comprising:

a plurality of group-based communication interfaces, and

a plurality of group-based communication channels accessible via each of the group-based communication interfaces,

wherein each of the plurality of group-based communication system users may choose to join at least one of the plurality of group-based communication channels,

wherein each of the plurality of group-based communication channels is associated with at least one of a plurality of organization groups associated with the entity,

wherein each of the plurality of group-based communication channels includes a graph-based knowledge representation data structure applied to a group-based communication system data corpus that represents a user's associations to each of the plurality of group-based communication channels,

wherein at least one of the plurality of organization groups includes at least one of the plurality of group-based communication system users associated with the entity,

wherein the group-based communication system is a different type of communication than email,

the apparatus comprising:

at least one processor, and

at least one memory having computer coded instructions therein, with the computer coded instructions configured to, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

receive an external communication object from the external email resource, wherein the external email resource is associated with an email address,

wherein the email address is associated with a first group-based communication system user identifier,

wherein the first group-based communication system user identifier is associated with the first group-based communication system user;

parse the external communication object to identify external communication contextual data;

identify prioritization data by querying the group-based communication system data corpus, the group-based communication system data corpus comprising group-based communication messaging data, group-based communication channel data, and group-based communication work object data;

determine a prioritization score for the external communication object; and

in an instance where the prioritization score exceeds a prioritization score threshold, transmit the external communication object, received from the external email resource, to a client device associated with the first group-based communication system user identifier,

wherein the external communication object is renderable for display in a first user email message interface within at least one group-based communication interface of the plurality of group-based communication interfaces to allow the first group-based communication system user associated with the first group-based communication system user identifier to view the external communication object in the first user email message interface

wherein parsing the external communication object comprises:

generating a prioritization weight estimate for the prioritization data; and

determining the prioritization score for the external communication object based on the generated prioritization weight estimate and the external communication contextual data.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 ,

wherein the prioritization weight estimate is generated using a prioritization recommendation model.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the prioritization weight estimate comprises a plurality of topic-related weights for the prioritization data corresponding to a topic work graph determined from the group-based communication system data corpus.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the prioritization weight estimate comprises a plurality of user-related weights for the prioritization data corresponding to a user work graph determined from the group-based communication system data corpus.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the prioritization weight estimate further comprises a plurality of topic-related weights for the prioritization data corresponding to a topic work graph determined from the group-based communication system data corpus, and

wherein the at least one memory and the computer instructions are configured to, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to further:

store the plurality of user-related weights and the plurality of topic related weights in the group-based communication system data corpus.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer instructions are configured to, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to further:

receive feedback data regarding the prioritization score for the external communication object; and

modify a prioritization recommendation model using the feedback data.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the external communication contextual data comprises one or more of: email subject information, email sender information, email date and time information, email receiver information, email response indicator, calendar invite indicator, calendar invite response indicator, reminder information, or email detail information comprising text, images, audio, files, or work objects.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the work objects comprise one or more of: a file object, a call object, a task object, an event object, a message object, a notification object, or an email object.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer instructions are configured to, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to further:

transmit for rendering a user email message notification in at least one group-based communication interface of the plurality of group-based communication interfaces.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first user email message interface comprises an engageable email bot configured to receive user input.

11. A computer-implemented method for programmatically managing email data integration between an external email resource associated with a first group-based communication system user and a group-based communication system associated with an entity and configured to support a plurality of group-based communication system users associated with the entity,

said group-based communication system comprising:

a plurality of group-based communication interfaces, and

a plurality of group-based communication channels accessible via each of the group-based communication interfaces,

wherein each of the plurality of group-based communication system users may choose to join at least one of the plurality of group-based communication channels,

wherein each of the plurality of group-based communication channels is associated with at least one of a plurality of organization groups associated with the entity,

wherein each of the plurality of group-based communication channels includes a graph-based knowledge representation data structure applied to a group-based communication system data corpus that represents a user's associations to each of the plurality of group-based communication channels, and

wherein at least one of the plurality of organization groups includes at least one of the plurality of group-based communication system users associated with the entity,

wherein the group-based communication system is a different type of communication than email,

the method comprising:

receiving an external communication object from the external email resource, wherein the external email resource is associated with an email address,

wherein the email address is associated with a first group-based communication system user identifier,

wherein the first group-based communication system user identifier is associated with the first group-based communication system user;

parsing the external communication object to identify external communication contextual data;

identifying prioritization data by querying the group-based communication system data corpus, the group-based communication system data corpus comprising group-based communication messaging data, group-based communication channel data, and group-based communication work object data;

determining a prioritization score for the external communication object; and

in an instance where the prioritization score exceeds a prioritization score threshold, transmitting the external communication object, received from the external email resource, to a client device associated with the first group-based communication system user identifier,

wherein the external communication object is renderable for display in a first user email message interface within at least one group-based communication interface of the plurality of group-based communication interfaces to allow the first group-based communication system user associated with the first group-based communication system user identifier to view the external communication object in the first user email message interface

wherein parsing the external communication object comprises:

generating a prioritization weight estimate for the prioritization data; and

determining the prioritization score for the external communication object based on the generated prioritization weight estimate and the external communication contextual data.

12. The method of claim 11 ,

wherein the prioritization weight estimate is generated using a prioritization recommendation model.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the prioritization weight estimate comprises a plurality of topic-related weights, for the prioritization data corresponding to a topic work graph determined from the group-based communication system data corpus.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the prioritization weight estimate comprises a plurality of user-related weights, for the prioritization data corresponding to a user work graph determined from the group-based communication system data corpus.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

wherein the prioritization weight estimate further comprises a plurality of topic-related weights, for the prioritization data corresponding to a topic work graph determined from the group-based communication system data corpus,

storing the plurality of user-related weights and the plurality of topic related weights in the group-based communication system data corpus.

16. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

receiving feedback data regarding the prioritization score for the external communication object; and

modifying a prioritization recommendation model using the feedback data.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the external communication contextual data comprises one or more of: email subject information, email sender information, email date and time information, email receiver information, email response indicator, calendar invite indicator, calendar invite response indicator, reminder information, or email detail information comprising text, images, audio, files, or work objects.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the work objects comprise one or more of: a file object, a call object, a task object, an event object, a message object, a notification object, or an email object.

19. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

transmitting a user email message notification for rendering within at least one group-based communication interface of the plurality of group-based communication interfaces.

20. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first user email message interface comprises an engageable email bot configured to receive user input.

Assignments (5)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 18, 2023
From: SLACK TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
To: SALESFORCE, INC.
Reel/Frame 064642/0564 →
MERGER Recorded Jul 29, 2021
From: SLACK TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
To: SLACK TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
Reel/Frame 057475/0404 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT COLLATERAL AT REEL/FRAME NO. 49332/0349 Recorded Jul 19, 2021
From: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
To: SLACK TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Reel/Frame 057649/0882 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 9, 2020
From: SCHEMERS, ROLAND; MCPHAIL, JAMES; WAHL, MATTHEW; OO, SAN
To: SLACK TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Reel/Frame 052878/0112 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded May 30, 2019
From: SLACK TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 049332/0349 →