Method to facilitate a reply to electronic meeting invitation in an interactive multi-terminal system employing electronic calendars

• US 4,977,520 A
• Filed: 02/03/1988
• Issued: 12/11/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: McGaughey, Harry S. III, Torres, Robert J., Melkus, Lovie A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaw, Dale M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Phu K.
• Application Number:
  US07/151,859
• Time in Patent Office: 1,042 Days
• Field of Search: 340/721, 340/724, 340/723, 340/706, 340/825.55, 364/521, 364/518, 368/41, 368/29
• US Class Current: 715/753
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting

Abstract

An electronic calendaring method for use in a data processing system which includes a plurality of interactive terminals which are interconnected to permit an end user at each terminal to interchange information with each other and to maintain an electronic calendar. The method facilitates the reply process to an electronic invitation to attend a meeting that is issued by one of the end users by arranging for the system to advise the invitee that a meeting notice is available to review in the "In Box" of the terminal. The method causes a composite screen to be built which simultaneously displays the meeting details and the relevant section, i.e. a day of entries, of the owner'"'"'s calendar in a side by side format so that calendar entries are correlated to the meeting data and time. The composite display permits an interactive selection by the calendar owner end user of at least one option which can be either to accept the invitation and calendar the meeting or to reject the invitation. In either event a reply is automatically sent to the end user that issued the invitation and the invitee is returned to the task that was being processed when the initial message was received.

Claims

1. An electronic calendaring method for an information handling system which maintains electronic calendars for first and second end users and which comprises a plurality of interactive interconnected end user terminals, to facilitate the calendar entry and reply process by said first end user to an electronic invitation having schedule times issued by said second end user and received by said first end user, said method comprising the combination of the following steps:

(A) issuing said invitation to said first end user,

(B) displaying to said first end user a composite screen comprising the details of said invitation and a section of said first user'"'"'s calendar corresponding to said schedule times, said section being selected automatically by said system based on said times and in response to a request by said first user to said system to display said invitation, and

(C) providing to said second end user, a reply to said invitation, while said composite screen is being displayed in response to the interactive entry of data into said system by said first end user.

2. The method recited in claim 1 in which said invitation is to a meeting and said step of displaying said timing details includes the step of,

(A) displaying the date of said meeting and the start time of said meeting.

3. The method recited in claim 2 in which said step of displaying said section includes the further step of,

(A) showing the section of said calendar that correlates to the said date of said meeting and said start time of said meeting.

4. The method recited in claim 3 in which a first said end user terminal is assigned to said first end user including the further step of,

(A) providing to said first user at said first terminal while said first terminal is actively running a non-calendar program, a predetermined indication that said electronic meeting invitation that was issued by said second user has been received at said first terminal, and

(B) controlling said system to automatically display said composite screen in response to a predetermined operator interaction with said first terminal while said indication is displayed.

5. An electronic calendaring method for an information handling system which maintains electronic calendars for users of said system and which comprises a plurality of interactive interconnected end user terminals to facilitate for a first end user the reply process to an electronic invitation issued by a second end user to said first end user and facilitate entry of selected data contained in said invitation into the calendar of said first user, said method comprising the combination of the following steps:

(A) issuing said invitation to said first end user by said second end user,

(B) requesting on receipt of said invitation by said first end user the display of a composite screen comprising at least the timing details of said invitation and a section of said first user'"'"'s calendar determined automatically by said system from said timing details to assist said first user in responding to said invitation,

(C) displaying said composite screen at said first terminal in response to said step of requesting, and

(D) entering a reply to said invitation into said system.

6. An electronic calendaring method for an information handling system which maintains electronic calendars for first and second end users and which comprises a plurality of interactive interconnected end user terminals, to facilitate the calendar entry and reply process by said first end user to an electronic invitation to a meeting issued by said second end user and received by said first end user, and in which a first end user terminal is assigned to said first end user, said method comprising the combination of the following steps:

(A) issuing said invitation to said meeting to said first end user,

(B) displaying to said first end user a composite screen simultaneously illustrating the details of said invitation including the date and start time of said meeting, and a section of said first user'"'"'s calendar that correlates to said date and start time of said meeting as specified by said invitation.

(C) providing to said first user at said first terminal a predetermined indication that said electronic meeting invitation that was issued by said second user has been received at said first terminal,

(D) controlling said system to display said composite screen, including the step of listing at least one option that is selectable interactively by said first user to reply to said invitation,

(E) providing to said second end user, a reply to said invitation, while said composite screen is being displayed in response to the interactive entry of data into said system by said first end user.

7. The method recited in claim 6 in which said at least one option is to accept said invitation, including the further step of,

(A) updating said first user'"'"'s calendar automatically with said details of said meeting as displayed on said composite screen.

8. The method recited in claim 7 including the further step of,

(A) sending said reply with said system to said second user in response to said first user interactively selecting said at least one option.

9. The method recited in claim 8 in which a first application program is being run by said first user at the time said invitation is received, including the further steps of,

(A) interrupting said first application program to respond to said invitation, and

(B) returning said system to said first application program automatically after said step of updating is completed.

10. A method of assisting an operator of an interactive display terminal which is connectable to an information handling system, in responding to an electronic invitation sent to said operator at said terminal, said method comprising in combination,

(A) providing a calendar program for said system to maintain an electronic calendar for said operator, and for displaying to said operator, an electronic invitation to an event including timing details of said event,

(B) indicating to said operator with said terminal that an invitation to an event has been received, and

(C) displaying said invitation, in response to an interactive command from said operator to said terminal, along with a section of said operator'"'"'s calendar that was automatically selected by said system, based on said timing details of said event, whereby all the information available for said operator to respond to said received invitation is displayed concurrently to said operator.