US6898569B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for advanced scheduling and messaging system
Assignee: Ashbourne Technologies LLC
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Filing: 1998-06-02
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Granted: 2005-05-24
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Expires: 2018-06-02
Abstract
Abstract A method and apparatus provide an advanced scheduling and messaging system in which information about an appointment is received from a user. Information about an attendee associated with the appointment, including attendee notification information, is also received. When it is determined that the user will be late for the appointment, an attendee notification message is automatically generated using the attendee notification information. Appointment time information and appointment location information can also be received by the scheduling system along with user location information. It can then be determined if the user will be late for the appointment based on the user location information, the appointment location information, the appointment time information and a time associated with the user location information.
Inventors
- 👤 Pradeep K. Bansal
- 👤 Carroll W. Creswell
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 10:44
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06Q; G06Q10/00; G06Q10/10; G06Q10/109; G06Q10/06; G06Q10/063; G06Q10/0631; G06Q10/06311; G06Q10/063116; G06Q10/1093; H; H04; H04L; H04L51/00; H04L51/21; H04L51/222; H04L67/00; H04L67/50; H04L67/60; H04L67/62; H04L69/00; H04L69/30; H04L69/32; H04L69/322; H04L69/329
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 40
Claim 1
Independent Claim
115 words
A method for managing a scheduling system, comprising the steps of: receiving information about an appointment from a user; receiving information about an attendee associated with the appointment, including attendee notification information; determining meeting status information; automatically generating an attendee notification message using the attendee notification information based on the meeting status information; and receiving a response to the attendee notification message from an attendee, the response changing the time of the appointment, wherein the meeting status information indicates if the user will be late for the appointment, said step of automatically generating an attendee notification message is performed when the meeting status indication information indicates that the user will be late for the appointment.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
115 words
A method for managing a scheduling system, comprising the steps of: receiving information about an appointment from a user; receiving information about an attendee associated with the appointment, including attendee notification information; determining meeting status information; automatically generating an attendee notification message using the attendee notification information based on the meeting status information; and receiving a response to the attendee notification message from an attendee, the response changing the time of the appointment, wherein the meeting status information indicates if the user will be late for the appointment, said step of automatically generating an attendee notification message is performed when the meeting status indication information indicates that the user will be late for the appointment.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the attendee notification information is a telephone number and said step of generating is performed by generating an audio message.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the attendee notification information is an electronic mail address and said step of generating is performed by generating an electronic mail message.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein said step of determining is based on information received from a computer through a communication network.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 4 wherein said steps of receiving can be performed from multiple access devices.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein said step of determining is based on information received from a telephone through a communication network.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein said step of determining is based on information received from a wireless device through a communications network.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
65 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the information about the appointment includes appointment time information and appointment location information, and wherein said step of determining comprises: receiving user location information; and deciding if the user will be late for the appointment based on the appointment time information, the appointment location information, the user location information and a time associated with the user location information.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
61 words
The method of claim 8 , wherein said step of deciding comprises: calculating a travel distance based on the appointment location information and the user location information; calculating a time of arrival based on the time associated with the user location information, the travel distance and a travel velocity; and comparing the calculated time of arrival with the appointment time information.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 9 , further comprising the steps of: receiving map information from a mapping database; and adjusting the travel distance based on the appointment location information, the user location information, and the map information.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method claim 9 , further comprising the steps of: receiving environment information; and adjusting the travel velocity based on the environment information.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 9 , wherein said step of comparing is performed by comparing the calculated time of arrival with the appointment time information and a predetermined fixed period of time.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of: sending the attendee notification message to the attendee.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 13 , wherein the response received from the attendee to the attendee notification message changes the information about the appointment.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the response from the attendee can be received by page, facsimile or e-mail.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
99 words
A scheduling system, comprising: a scheduler database for storing information about an appointment and information about an attendee associated with the appointment, including attendee notification information; and a scheduling unit coupled to said scheduler database and configured to determine if a user will be late for the appointment, said scheduling unit being further configured to (i) send an attendee notification message to the attendee using the attendee notification information when the user will be late for the appointment, and (ii) receive a response from the attendee to the attendee notification message, the response changing the time of the appointment.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
99 words
A scheduling system, comprising: a scheduler database for storing information about an appointment and information about an attendee associated with the appointment, including attendee notification information; and a scheduling unit coupled to said scheduler database and configured to determine if a user will be late for the appointment, said scheduling unit being further configured to (i) send an attendee notification message to the attendee using the attendee notification information when the user will be late for the appointment, and (ii) receive a response from the attendee to the attendee notification message, the response changing the time of the appointment.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
118 words
An article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions adapted to be executed by a processor, the instructions which, when executed, define a series of steps to manage a scheduling system, cause a series of steps to be performed, said steps comprising: receiving information about an appointment from a user; receiving information about an attendee associated with the appointment, including attendee notification information; determining if the user will be late for the appointment; sending an attendee notification message to the attendee using the attendee notification information when the user will be late for the appointment, and receiving a response from the attendee to the attendee notification message, the response changing the time of the appointment.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
118 words
An article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions adapted to be executed by a processor, the instructions which, when executed, define a series of steps to manage a scheduling system, cause a series of steps to be performed, said steps comprising: receiving information about an appointment from a user; receiving information about an attendee associated with the appointment, including attendee notification information; determining if the user will be late for the appointment; sending an attendee notification message to the attendee using the attendee notification information when the user will be late for the appointment, and receiving a response from the attendee to the attendee notification message, the response changing the time of the appointment.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
82 words
A method for managing a scheduling system, comprising the steps of: receiving information about an appointment, including appointment time information and appointment location information, from a user; receiving user location information; determining if the user will be late for the appointment based on the user location information, the appointment location information, the appointment time information and a time associated with the user location information; and receiving a response from an attendee of the appointment, the response changing the time of the appointment.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
82 words
A method for managing a scheduling system, comprising the steps of: receiving information about an appointment, including appointment time information and appointment location information, from a user; receiving user location information; determining if the user will be late for the appointment based on the user location information, the appointment location information, the appointment time information and a time associated with the user location information; and receiving a response from an attendee of the appointment, the response changing the time of the appointment.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
72 words
The method of claim 18 , wherein said step of determining comprises the steps of: calculating a travel distance between the appointment location and the user location based on the appointment location information and the user location information; calculating a time of arrival based on the time associated with the user location information, the travel distance and a travel velocity; and comparing the calculated time of arrival with the appointment time information.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 19 , further comprising the steps of: receiving map information from a mapping database; and adjusting the travel distance based on the appointment location information, the user location information, and the map information.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method claim 19 , further comprising the steps of: receiving environment information; and adjusting the travel velocity based on the environment information.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 21 , wherein the environment information is weather information.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 21 , wherein the environment information is traffic information.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 21 , wherein the environment information is airline information.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 18 , wherein the user location information is generated by a global positioning satellite receiver.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 18 , wherein the user location information is calculated from an automatic number identification number.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 18 , wherein the user location information is received through a communication network.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
102 words
A scheduling system, comprising: a scheduler database for storing information about an appointment, including appointment time information and appointment location information; location determination unit configured to output user location information; and a scheduling unit coupled to said scheduler database and said location determination unit, said scheduling unit being configured to (i) determine if a user will be late for the appointment based on the user location information, the appointment location information, the appointment time information and a time associated with the user location information (ii) receive a response from an attendee of the appointment, the response changing the time of the appointment.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
102 words
A scheduling system, comprising: a scheduler database for storing information about an appointment, including appointment time information and appointment location information; location determination unit configured to output user location information; and a scheduling unit coupled to said scheduler database and said location determination unit, said scheduling unit being configured to (i) determine if a user will be late for the appointment based on the user location information, the appointment location information, the appointment time information and a time associated with the user location information (ii) receive a response from an attendee of the appointment, the response changing the time of the appointment.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
87 words
An apparatus to manage a scheduling system, comprising: means for receiving information about an appointment, including appointment time information and appointment location information, from a user; means for receiving user location information; means for determining if the user will be late for the appointment based on the user location information, the appointment location information, the appointment time information and a time associated with the user location information; and means for receiving a response from an attendee of the meeting, the response changing the time of the appointment.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
87 words
An apparatus to manage a scheduling system, comprising: means for receiving information about an appointment, including appointment time information and appointment location information, from a user; means for receiving user location information; means for determining if the user will be late for the appointment based on the user location information, the appointment location information, the appointment time information and a time associated with the user location information; and means for receiving a response from an attendee of the meeting, the response changing the time of the appointment.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
121 words
An article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions adapted to be executed by a processor, the instructions which, when executed, define a series of steps to manage a scheduling system, said steps comprising: receiving information about an appointment, including appointment time information and appointment location information, from a user; receiving user location information; determining if the user will be late for the appointment based on the user location information, the appointment location information, the appointment time information and a time associated with the user location information; and receiving a response from an attendee of the appointment, the response changing the time of the appointment, if it is determined that the user will be late for the appointment.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
121 words
An article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions adapted to be executed by a processor, the instructions which, when executed, define a series of steps to manage a scheduling system, said steps comprising: receiving information about an appointment, including appointment time information and appointment location information, from a user; receiving user location information; determining if the user will be late for the appointment based on the user location information, the appointment location information, the appointment time information and a time associated with the user location information; and receiving a response from an attendee of the appointment, the response changing the time of the appointment, if it is determined that the user will be late for the appointment.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
128 words
An article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions adapted to be executed by a processor, the instructions which, when executed, define a series of steps to manage a scheduling system, said steps comprising: receiving information about an appointment, including appointment time information and appointment location information, from a user; receiving user location information; determining if the user will be late for the appointment based on the user location information, the appointment location information, the appointment time information and a time associated with the user location information; notifying an attendee of the appointment, if it is determined that the user will be late for the appointment; and receiving a response from the attendee, the response including a proposal for a new time for the appointment.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
128 words
An article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions adapted to be executed by a processor, the instructions which, when executed, define a series of steps to manage a scheduling system, said steps comprising: receiving information about an appointment, including appointment time information and appointment location information, from a user; receiving user location information; determining if the user will be late for the appointment based on the user location information, the appointment location information, the appointment time information and a time associated with the user location information; notifying an attendee of the appointment, if it is determined that the user will be late for the appointment; and receiving a response from the attendee, the response including a proposal for a new time for the appointment.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 31 wherein the recited steps are performed by a PDA.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2008-05-23 | 2008-11-22 | 2009-05-24 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2012-05-23 | 2012-11-22 | 2013-05-24 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2016-05-23 | 2016-11-22 | 2017-05-24 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |