AUTOMATIC APPOINTMENT SCHEDULER WITH HYBRID TIMELINE
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a processor configured to;
cause a display of a timeline capable of being used to schedule an appointment, said timeline comprising a contiguous portion and a non-contiguous portion,wherein the contiguous portion comprises two or more entries corresponding to two or more consecutive time frames, a first of said entries corresponding to a suggested time frame for scheduling a first of a plurality of new appointments,and wherein the non-contiguous portion only comprises an entry corresponding to a suggested time frame for scheduling respective remaining new appointments of the plurality of new appointments, and an entry corresponding to a time frame within which respective appointments of one or more previously-scheduled appointments has been scheduled, without comprising an entry that fails to correspond to either a suggested time frame for scheduling one of the plurality of new appointments or a time frame within which one of the one or more previously-scheduled appointments has been scheduled.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus, method and computer program product are provided for creating and displaying a hybrid timeline including a contiguous and a non-contiguous portion that may be used to schedule an appointment. The contiguous portion may include a time entry associated with each of several consecutive time periods during which one or more appointments may be scheduled. These time entries may include sufficient detail to enable a scheduler to schedule an appointment during a time slot within the corresponding time period. The non-contiguous portion may, in turn, include time entries associated with only relevant time periods associated with the party for whom an appointment is to be scheduled, spread over a larger amount of time and including less detail than the time entries of the contiguous portion. Together, the contiguous and non-contiguous portions may comprise a single timeline on which substantially all relevant events may be presented with time-sequential integrity intact.
46 Citations
24 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
a processor configured to; cause a display of a timeline capable of being used to schedule an appointment, said timeline comprising a contiguous portion and a non-contiguous portion, wherein the contiguous portion comprises two or more entries corresponding to two or more consecutive time frames, a first of said entries corresponding to a suggested time frame for scheduling a first of a plurality of new appointments, and wherein the non-contiguous portion only comprises an entry corresponding to a suggested time frame for scheduling respective remaining new appointments of the plurality of new appointments, and an entry corresponding to a time frame within which respective appointments of one or more previously-scheduled appointments has been scheduled, without comprising an entry that fails to correspond to either a suggested time frame for scheduling one of the plurality of new appointments or a time frame within which one of the one or more previously-scheduled appointments has been scheduled. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method comprising:
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generating a timeline capable of being used to schedule an appointment, said timeline comprising a contiguous portion and a non-contiguous portion, wherein the contiguous portion comprises two or more entries corresponding to two or more consecutive time frames, a first of said entries corresponding to a suggested time frame for scheduling a first of a plurality of new appointments, and wherein the non-contiguous portion only comprises an entry corresponding to a suggested time frame for scheduling respective remaining new appointments of the plurality of new appointments, and an entry corresponding to a time frame within which respective appointments of one or more previously-scheduled appointments has been scheduled, without comprising an entry that fails to correspond to either a suggested time frame for scheduling one of the plurality of new appointments or a time frame within which one of the one or more previously-scheduled appointments has been scheduled; and causing a display of the timeline. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A computer program product comprising at least one computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program code portions comprising:
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a first executable portion for generating a timeline capable of being used to schedule an appointment, said timeline comprising a contiguous portion and a non-contiguous portion, wherein the contiguous portion comprises two or more entries corresponding to two or more consecutive time frames, a first of said entries corresponding to a suggested time frame for scheduling a first of a plurality of new appointments, and wherein the non-contiguous portion only comprises an entry corresponding to a suggested time frame for scheduling respective remaining new appointments of the plurality of new appointments, and an entry corresponding to a time frame within which respective appointments of one or more previously-scheduled appointments has been scheduled, without comprising an entry that fails to correspond to either a suggested time frame for scheduling one of the plurality of new appointments or a time frame within which one of the one or more previously-scheduled appointments has been scheduled; and a second executable portion causing a display of the timeline. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification