US006094681A
`6,094,681
`(114) Patent Number:
`United States Patent 55
`
`
`Shaffer et al. Jul. 25, 2000 [45] Date of Patent:
`
`[54] APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR
`AUTOMATED EVENT NOTIFICATION
`
`Primary Examiner—MehmetB. Geckil
`
`[57]
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`[75]
`
`Inventors: Shmuel Shaffer, Palo Alto; William
`A method and system for automatically providing remote
`Joseph Beyda, Cupertino, both of Calif.
`notification of a locally detected event includes receiving
`[73] Assignee: Siemens Information and
`Communication Networks, Inc., Boca data and analyzing the content of the data usingadatafilter
`
`Raton, Fla.
`of a computer. The data filter is configured to detect an
`indication of a predetermined event within the data. If the
`event
`is detected,
`the data filter activates a local event
`indicator associated with the computer. An event indicator
`monitor determines whether a user response is initiated
`within a configurable time interval after activation of the
`t
`indicator.
`If th
`‘tor
`determi
`that
`event
`indicator.
`€ monitor
`determines
`that no user
`response is initiated within the configurable time interval,
`the monitor transmits an establish-connection message to a
`control program. The control program responds to the
`establish-connection message by accessing an event notifi-
`cation message from a database which indicates access
`numbers of the remote communication devices to which to
`
`[21] Appl. No.: 09/053,212
`;
`Filed:
`[22]
`Mar.31, 1998
`[51]
`Int. Cl.” see eeeeeeeeaeneeeeeeeseneeeeeneenesseseeeeeee see ees GO6F 15/173
`
`709/224; 709/206; 709/207
`[52]
`[58] Field of Search occ 709/224, 207,
`709/206, 227, 223; 710/17, 18; 714/39,
`47, 51; 379/93.24
`
`[56]
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`11/1985 Toy wiseeccccsssecseseseeserseseeeseneeses 179/2
`8/1993 Record etal.
`.. 395/650
`.. 395/700
`6/1996 Record et al.
`....
`8/1997 Ahlberg et al. ees 455/414
`
`2/1998 Lawson et al. wee 395/200.33
`
`4,554,418
`5,327,684
`5,530,868
`5,657,372
`5,721,825
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`2 213 889
`3/1998 Canada .
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`“A Value-Added Service with Brains” by R. Gareiss, vol.
`24, No. 1, Jan. 1, 1995, pp. 66,68, 70.
`“Portable Speech—Activated, Electronic Mail System”; IBM
`Technical Disclosure Bulletin, vol. 38, No. 7, Jul. 1, 1995,
`pp. 537-538.
`
`the event notification message. Communication
`transmit
`links are established to the remote communication devices
`
`and the event notification message is transmitted to the
`devices. The data filter is capable of analyzing data included
`in web page updates transmitted to a web browser of the
`.
`.
`computer, e-mail messages, scheduling updates and requests
`transmitted to an electronic calendar of the computer, and
`scheduling reminders transmitted by the electronic calendar.
`
`11 Claims, 3 Drawing Sheets
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 25, 2000
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`Sheet 1 of 3
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`6,094,681
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 25, 2000
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`Sheet 2 of3
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 25, 2000
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`Sheet 3 of 3
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`6,094,681
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`Pre-
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`6,094,681
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`1
`APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR
`AUTOMATED EVENT NOTIFICATION
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`The invention relates generally to a system and method
`for event notification over a telecommunications network
`and, more particularly, the invention relates to automatic
`notification of a locally detected remote event overa tele-
`communications network.
`
`DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
`
`Computing devices, such as work stations and personal
`computers, have come to occupy a more central role as
`communication devices with the increasing inter-
`connectivity provided by networks such as the Internet and
`local area networks (LANs). E-mail enables users to trans-
`mit and receive text messages andto attach data files within
`these messages. Push technology associated with the World
`Wide Web of the Internet enables a user to subscribe to a
`service which automatically transmits to the user updates of
`particular web sites. For instance, a user might subscribe to
`a push service which provides regular updates of stock
`prices. Each time the stock prices are updated at a particular
`website, or after a selected period of time, the user receives
`updated information.
`A personal computer is also often used to support an
`electronic calendar. A user is able to enter meetings and
`appointments into computer memory, and the calendarsoft-
`ware automatically provides reminders of upcoming sched-
`uled events. A computer can also be equipped for voice-
`over-data network telephony, such as internet protocol (IP)
`telephony. Moreover,
`the IP-telephony enabled computer
`can be equipped with a messaging function, so that the
`computer allows a caller to leave a voice messageif the user
`is unavailable to take a call.
`
`Each of these communication technologies can be con-
`figured to alert a user that information has been received or
`that an attempt has been madeto establish a communication
`link. When an e-mail messageis received, the computer can
`be configured to beep to indicate receipt of the message.
`Alternatively, a visual indicator such as a flashing icon, can
`be made to appear on a screen of the computer to indicate
`that a message has been received. In the electronic calendar
`example, the electronic calendar can be configured to pro-
`vide a local reminder of an upcoming eventby activating an
`audio signal and displaying a visual reminder on the com-
`puter screen. However,if the user is away from the computer
`when the event occurs, the user will not receive notification
`of the event. This is especially troublesome if the event is
`urgent, for instance, a rescheduling message for a critical
`meeting.
`USS. Pat. No. 5,721,825 to Lawson et al. describes a
`system and method for global event notification in a dis-
`tributed computer environment. A local event registry iden-
`tifies local event consumers who should be notified when an
`event occurs. A global eventregistry identifies which remote
`servers should be notified of the event, so that event con-
`sumers supported by the remote servers can also be notified
`of the event. When the event occurs, a local server accesses
`both the local event registry to determine which local event
`consumers to notify and the global event registry to deter-
`mine which remote servers require notification. Although
`the Lawson et al.
`invention is effective for its intended
`
`purpose of providing global eventnotification, the invention
`does not solve the problem of remote event notification of a
`user who is determined to be locally unavailable to receive
`notification.
`
`2
`What is needed is a system and method for remote user
`notification of an event when the user is determined to be
`
`unavailable to locally receive notification.
`
`SUMMARYOF THE INVENTION
`
`A method and system for providing automatic event
`notification to a locally unavailable user of a telecommuni-
`cations system include providing computers with a datafilter
`for analyzing content of received data (i.c., messages) to
`determineif the data includes an indication of occurrence of
`a predetermined event. The data filter communicates with an
`event indicator associated with the computer to provide a
`visual alert upon detection of the predetermined event by the
`data filter. An event indicator monitor is connected to the
`
`event indicator to determine whether the user is locally
`available to receive an event notification. If a specified
`action is not taken by the user of the computer within a
`configurable time interval following an activation of the
`event indicator,
`the event indicator monitor generates an
`establish-connection message that is configured to access a
`system capability to transmit a notification to a remote
`communication device.
`
`In one embodimentof the system, a server is connected on
`a data network to control remote notification capability of
`the system. The server includes a control program config-
`ured to trigger a notification sequence in responseto receiv-
`ing the establish-connection message from the event indi-
`cator monitor. The sequence is executed by the control
`program to establish a telecommunications link to a
`remotely located communication device. A transmitter asso-
`ciated with the server transmits an event notification to a
`specified remotely located communication device (e.g., a
`user-specified telephone or pager) via the telecommunica-
`tions link. Preferably,
`the event notification includes an
`identification of the message contentofinterest to a notified
`user.
`
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`In a preferred embodiment, the messages received by the
`computer include web page updates received by a router
`associated with a web server on the World Wide Webofthe
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`Internet. For example, the computer may be subscribed to a
`push service provider which provides scheduled updates of
`stock prices. The data filter is configured to search the
`content of updates and to detect a predetermined eventin the
`web page updates, such as a drop in stock X below a certain
`price, for example $50 per share. Upon receiving a web page
`update,
`the data filter determines whether the update
`includes data reflecting a drop in stock X below $50 per
`share. If the data filter detects this event,
`the data filter
`activates the event indicator associated with the computer,
`triggering a local notification alert (e.g., an icon appears on
`a computer screen). The event indicator monitor determines
`whether the user of the computer is locally available by
`monitoring whether a specified responsive action occurs
`within a configurable time interval after activation of the
`event
`indicator (e.g., depressing a specific key of a
`keyboard). If the indicator is not deactivated within the
`configurable time interval, the monitor transmits the appro-
`priate establish-connection messageto the server.
`The server accesses the remote notification capability of
`the system in responseto the establish-connection message.
`The server or computer includes the telephone number(s) for
`one or more user-specified remote communication devices.
`These devices might include a wireless pager, a wireless
`telephone, a wired telephone, and/or a personal digital
`assistant (PDA). If the notification protocol requires a com-
`munication link to an alpha-numeric pager or a PDA,a text
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`message generator is utilized to construct an event notifica-
`tion text messagethat includesthe identification of the event
`of interest. If the protocol requires a connection to a tele-
`phoneor a voice messaging service associated with a pager,
`a text-to-speech converter converts the text message into a
`speech format. The server establishes the connections to
`whichever devices are indicated in the protocol, and the
`transmitter transmits the message via the communication
`link. In alternative embodiments, the data received by the
`computer for content-analysis by the data filter are e-mail
`messages or electronic calendar scheduling messages.
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for providing
`automatic remote notification of a locally detected event.
`FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of
`the system for providing automatic remote eventnotification
`of a locally detected event.
`FIG. 3 is a process flow of a method for providing
`automatic remote notification of a locally detected event
`utilizing the system shownin FIGS. 1 or 2.
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`The first computer 10 includesa datafilter 16 configured
`to parse through data received via the Internet and the
`remote LAN 54 to determine whether a predetermined event
`is included in the received data. For example, the datafilter
`may execute keyword searches for descriptors in the con-
`tents of received messages. An event indicator 18 connected
`to the datafilter 16 1s responsive to detection of the event by
`the datafilter 16. An event indicator monitor 20 monitors the
`event indicator to determine whether a user of the first
`
`computer 10 is locally available to receive notification of
`occurrence of the event. An electronic calendar program 13
`allows a user of the computer 10 to store and retrieve
`scheduling information from memory 15. A text generator
`22 is used to generate an event notification text message
`which is stored in memory 15 of the computer. An ethernet
`card 17 enablesthe first computer 10 to transmit and receive
`data.
`
`The server 12 includes a control program 30 configured to
`access the remote eventnotification capability of the system
`and to access information from the database 14. A digital
`
`The webserver 53 is enabled for providing a push service
`in whichlocally supported websites and/or remotely located
`websites are monitored to determine when updates occur.
`Subscribers to the push service, such as the first computer
`10, are automatically provided with updates of preselected
`websites upon detection of the updates by the web server 53
`or at user-configurable times. For example, the user of the
`computer 10 might subscribe to a push service provided by
`the web server 53 which transmits scheduled updates of
`prices of selected stocks.
`The data filter 16 can be configured to parse through
`content of stock price web updates for specific information,
`such as the price of stock X falling below $50 pershare. If
`the data filter 16 identifies such data,
`the data filter 16
`With reference to FIG. 1, a system for automatically
`activates the event indicator 18 to provide local notification
`providing remote notification of a locally detected event
`of the occurrence of the event (stock X<$50/share) at the
`includes a computing device 10 such asafirst personal
`first computer 10. The event indicator 18 can be configured
`computer, or a workstation located on a data network 11
`to produce an audio signal, such as a beep, together with an
`such as a first local area network (LAN). A server 12 is
`icon displayed on a computer screen (not shown) to indicate
`located on the first LAN 11 and is enabled to establish
`that stock X has dropped below the $50 threshold.
`telecommunications links to remotely located communica-
`Alternatively, the screen might simply display the web page
`tion devices throughafirst central office 36 and a second
`update so that, regardless of which application the computer
`central office 38. The first central office 36 supports an
`10 is running, the web page update is displayed on at least
`analog telephone 46 and the second central office 38 sup-
`a portion of the computer screen. The event indicator 18 is
`ports an ISDN telephone 48. The second central office 38 is
`configured to be deactivated upon execution of a predeter-
`also connected to a wireless base station 40, which provides
`mined response by the user within a predetermined time
`signaling to a wireless pager 42, a personal digital assistant
`interval. For instance, if the user strikes any key on the
`(PDA) 43, and a wireless cellular phone 44. A database 14,
`keyboard within ten seconds of activation, the event indi-
`cator 18 is deactivated.
`which is accessible to the server 12, stores an event notifi-
`The event indicator monitor 20 monitors the event indi-
`cation protocol. A text-to-speech converter 34 converts
`cator 18 to determine whether the user deactivates the
`specified event notification messages to a speech format. A
`router 50 is located on the first LAN 11, which enables the
`indicator 18 within the predetermined time interval. If the
`monitor determines that
`the indicator 18 has been
`computer 10 to communicate with a first remote computer
`56 via an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and a second
`deactivated, the monitor takes no further action, because it
`remote computer 58 located on a remote LAN 54 and to
`is apparent that the user has received the stock price update
`access a web server 53 of the World Wide Web via the ISP
`information. If the indicator 18 is not deactivated within the
`52.
`predetermined time interval,
`the monitor 20 accesses an
`event notification text message from the local memory 15
`and causes the text message to be transmitted to the control
`program 30 of the server 12 together with an establish-
`connection message. The establish-connection message
`includes the content of interest (e.g., “stock X<$50/share”)
`and includes an identifier for the first computer 10.
`The text message is assembled by the text generator 22.
`The text generator 22 can assemble the text of the message
`either at the pre-configured direction of a user or through
`communication with the data filter 16. In the first instance,
`the user constructs the message during configuration of the
`computer 10 for detection of a particular event by using a
`keyboard (not shown) associated with the computer 10 to
`enter the message. The text generator 22 responds to the
`entry made by the user by storing the message in the
`memory 15 with a message identifier, which is also com-
`municated to the event indicator monitor 20. The monitor 20
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`6,094,681
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`4
`signal processor 24 converts digital signals into a format
`compatible for processing by an analog communication
`device. The server 12 further includes a basic rate interface
`(BRI) card 26 to establish connections over the ISDN and to
`transmit voice information and data over ISDN connections.
`A modem 28 enables the server 12 to establish telephonic
`connections via the first central office 36 and to transmit
`voice information and data over
`those connections.
`Alternatively, an ethernet card 32 is accessed to transmit and
`receive data over the first LAN 11.
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`for
`associates the identifier with the particular event,
`instance stock X price below $50 per share, which the data
`filter 16 is configured to detect. If the monitor 20 determines
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`6,094,681
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`5
`that the user is unavailable to locally receive notification of
`the event,
`the monitor 20 uses the message identifier to
`access the appropriate eventnotification message from local
`memory 15 for transmission to the control program 30.
`Alternatively,
`the text generator 22 can be configured to
`communicate with the data filter 16 to receive a portion of
`the web update within which the data filter 16 has detected
`the event. The text generator 22 constructs an elemental
`event notification message based on the received portion of
`the web page update.
`The control program 30 accesses the event notification
`protocol assignedto the first computer 10 from the database
`14 using the first computer identifier. The event notification
`protocol provides instructions to the control program, indi-
`cating the remotely located communication devices which
`are to receive an event notification message. The event
`protocol might instruct the control program 30 to transmit
`the message to the pager 42, the PDA 43, the cellular phone
`44, and the ISDN phone48. Other possible communication
`devices which can receive an event notification message
`include the analog telephone 46 and the first and second
`remote computers 56 and 58.
`The pager 42, if it is an alpha-numeric pager, the PDA 43,
`and the first and second remote computers 56 and 58 are
`enabled to receive and display alpha-numeric messages.
`However, the analog telephone 46 and the cellular phone 44
`are equipped to receive speech messages, not text messages.
`The control program 30 utilizes the text-to-speech converter
`34 to convert the text message to a speech format suitable for
`transmissionto the analog telephone 46 or the cellular phone
`44,if the event notification protocol indicates that the event
`notification message must be transmitted to these devices.
`The server 12 utilizes the BRI card 26 to establish a
`
`connection via the second central office 38. The analog
`modem 28 and the DSP 24 are utilized to establish a
`connection via the first central office 36.
`If the event
`notification protocol requires that the notification message
`be transmitted to either the first or second remote computers
`56 and 58 via e-mail, the server utilizes the ethernet card 32
`to transmit the e-mail via the router 50.
`
`The first computer 10 can also be configured to analyze
`e-mail it receives to determine if the content of the e-mail
`includes an indication of a predetermined event. The user
`can configure the data filter 16 to process received e-mails
`to determine if the received e-mail was transmitted from a
`
`particular individual. If the user is expecting an urgent
`e-mail message from a particular individual, for instance an
`important client, the user configures the data filter 16 to
`recognize e-mails transmitted from the client’s e-mail
`address. Alternatively, the datafilter 16 can be configured to
`analyze the text of e-mail messages to determine whetherthe
`e-mail contains certain keywords associated with a subject
`of interest. The push technology described above can also
`utilize e-mail as a method for transmitting the web page
`updates. The data filter 16 analyzes the e-mail content to
`determine whether the predetermined event is included in
`the e-mail in the same manner as if the web update were
`transmitted to the computer’s web browser 19.
`The data filter 16 can also analyze messages associated
`with the electronic calendar 13. The messages can be either
`scheduling updates or requests received from a remote
`device, such as the first remote computer 56 or a scheduling
`reminder generated by the electronic calendar 13 to locally
`notify the user of an upcoming appointment.In thefirst case,
`the scheduling update/request message transmitted from the
`first remote computer 56 is analyzed by the datafilter 16 to
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`determineif it includes the predetermined event in the same
`manneras the e-mail messages or the web page updates are
`analyzed. The analysis can focus on the sender identity or
`the subject matter of the update/request text. In the case of
`the scheduling reminder message locally generated by the
`electronic calendar 13, the data filter 16 does not have to
`perform a detailed analysis of the message. Arrival of the
`scheduling reminder message is itself the predetermined
`event. It has already been determined that the user requires
`the scheduling reminder, so the data filter 16 activates the
`event indicator 18 automatically upon receipt of the sched-
`uling reminder.
`The operation of the event notification system described
`aboveis not significantly affected by the format of the data
`received by the first computer 10. Whether the data is in the
`format of a web page update directed to the browser 19, an
`e-mail message, or an electronic calendar message, the data
`filter 16 determines whether the event has occurred, the
`event indicator 18 and the monitor 20 cooperate to deter-
`mineif the user is locally available to receive notification of
`the event, and the server 12 performsthe remote notification
`if the user is determined to be locally unavailable.
`With reference to FIG. 2, an alternative embodiment of
`the eventnotification system merges the server function into
`the first computer 10, so that the computer 10 performsall
`of the operations of the system. The computer 10 is located
`on the LAN 54 andis able to communicate with the first and
`
`second remote computers 56 and 58 in the same manneras
`in FIG. 1. In addition to the event detection and local
`notification functions enabled by the datafilter 16, the event
`indicator 18, and the event indicator monitor 20, the com-
`puter 10, the control program 30, database 14, text-to-speech
`converter 34, DSP 24, modem 28 and the BRIcard enable
`the computer 10 to perform the remote notification as well.
`Referring to FIG. 3, a method for automatically providing
`remote event notification upon determination that the useris
`locally unavailable to receive notification includes designat-
`ing at least one event as being of interest in step 59 and
`receiving a data transmission in step 60. As previously
`discussed, the transmission can include an e-mail message,
`a web page update directed to the browser 19 of the
`computer 10, a scheduling messagedirected to the electronic
`calendar 13, or a scheduling reminder message generated by
`the electronic calendar 13. The datais transmitted to the data
`
`filter 16, which has been configured to detect a predeter-
`mined event, for instance an e-mail message transmitted
`from a particular address. In step 62,
`the data filter 16
`analyzes the content of the data to determine in step 64
`whether the data includes the event. Continuing with the
`e-mail example above, the data filter 16 determines whether
`the transmission is an e-mail message, and if it is an e-mail
`message, whether it was transmitted from the address in
`question. Although the data filter 16 has been described as
`analyzing data for a single event, it should be understood
`that the datafilter 16 can be configured to detect or recognize
`multiple events. The data filter 16, when configured to
`perform an analysis of data for multiple events, performs the
`analysis for each event, one at a time, until the data filter 16
`has screened all of the events.
`
`If a first predetermined eventis not detected, in step 66 the
`data filter 16 determines if any other events are of concern.
`If no events remain, the data filter 16 takes no further steps.
`If other events remain, the data filter returns to step 62 and
`analyzes the data to determineif it includes a second event.
`If a predetermined event
`is detected,
`the data filter 16
`activates the event indicator 18 in step 68. Activation of the
`event indicator 18 can include activating an audio alarm
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`7
`and/or displaying a visual icon which indicates the occur-
`rence of an event.
`The event indicator monitor 20 monitors the event indi-
`
`6,094,681
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`8
`to detect an indication of an occurrence of one of said
`designated events.
`2. Amethod for providing automatic remote notification
`of a locally detected event comprising the steps of:
`cator 18 to determine in step 70 if a user response is
`designating at least one eventas beingof interest to a first
`registered within a configurable time interval after activation
`user of a data network;
`of the event
`indicator 18. The user response can be a
`monitoring specified user-intended messages received via
`keystroke of the computer keyboard (not shown) within ten
`said data network for conveying message information
`seconds of activation of the indicator 18, which disables the
`to said first user;
`indicator 18. If the monitor 20 detects the user response
`electronically analyzing content of said specified mes-
`within ten seconds, the monitor 20 takes no further steps
`sages to determine whether said contentis indicative of
`because deactivation of the indicator 18 demonstrates that
`occurrence of one of said designated events;
`the user is locally available to receive the eventnotification.
`determining whethersaid first user is available to receive
`If no response is detected within the configurable time
`an automated event notification at a specified local
`interval, the monitor 20 transmits an establish-connection
`communication device on said data network if said
`message to the control program 30. The control program 30
`contentof one of said specified user-intended messages
`accesses the eventnotification protocol from the database 14
`is determined to be indicative of occurrence of one of
`in step 72 to determine to which remote communication
`said designated events;
`devices to transmit an event notification message.
`automatically establishing a telecommunicationslink to a
`Based onthe event notification protocol accessed from the
`specified remote user communication device in
`database 14, the control program 30 determines in step 74
`response to a determination that said first user is
`unavailable to receive said automated event notification
`whether the message must be converted to a speech-
`formatted message.
`If the only remote communication
`at said specified local communication device; and
`devices to be contacted are enabled for receiving and dis-
`transmitting said automated event notification to said
`playing text messages, then the message does not need to be
`specified remote user communication device via said
`reformatted. On the other hand, if one of the communication
`telecommunications link;
`wherein said step of monitoring said user-intended specified
`devices is not enabled to display text messages, such as the
`messages includes receiving a scheduling message associ-
`pager 42,
`then the control program utilizes the text-to-
`ated with an electronic calendar, said analyzing step includ-
`speech converter 34 to convert the message to a speech
`ing determining whether content of said scheduling message
`format in step 76. In step 77, a communication link to the
`includes an indication of one of said designated events.
`pager 42 is established. Once the notification message has
`3. A method for providing automatic remote notification
`been converted to a speech format, the server 12 transmits
`of a locally detected event comprising the steps of:
`the message to the pager 42 in step 78. If the notification
`designating at least one eventas beingof interest to a first
`protocol indicates that a speech-formatted message is not
`user of a data network;
`necessary, then the server 12 establishes a communication
`link in step 79 and transmits the text message to the remotely
`monitoring specified user-intended messages received via
`located communication device, such as the remote computer
`said data network for conveying message information
`56 and 58 or the PDA 43 in step 80.
`to said first user;
`Whatis claimedis:
`electronically analyzing content of said specified mes-
`1. A method for providing automatic remote notification
`sages to determine whether said contentis indicative of
`of a locally detected event comprising the steps of:
`occurrence of one of said designated events;
`designating at least one event as being of interest toafirst
`determining whethersaid first user is available to receive
`user of a data network;
`an automated event notification at a specified local
`communication device on said data network if said
`monitoring specified user-intended messages received via
`said data network for conveying message information
`contentof one of said specified user-intended messages
`is determined to be indicative of occurrence of one of
`to said first user;
`electronically analyzing content of said specified mes-
`sages to determine whether said contentis indicative of
`occurrence of one of said designated events;
`determining whethersaid first user is available to receive
`an automated event notification at a specified local
`communication device on said data network if said
`contentof one of said specified user-intended messages
`is determined to be indicative of occurrence of one of
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`said designated events;
`automatically establishing a telecommunicationslink to a
`specified remote user communication device in
`response to a determination that said first user is
`unavailable to receive said automated event notification
`
`at said specified local communication device; and
`transmitting said automated event notification to said
`specified remote user communication device via said
`telecommunications link;
`wherein said step of monitoring said specified user-intended
`messages includes receiving a web page update from a web
`server on the World Wide Web, said analyzing step including
`executing a search of data content of said web page update
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`60
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`65
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`said designated events;
`automatically establishing a telecommunicationslink to a
`specified remote user co