Notification to absent teleconference invitees

• US 8,204,196 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2008
• Issued: 06/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GOTO Group Incorporated (LogMeIn, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: O'Sullivan, Patrick J., Stern, Edith H., Weir, Robert C., Willner, Barry E.
• Primary Examiner(s): SMITH, CREIGHTON H
• Application Number:
  US12/146,321
• Publication Number:
  US 20090323916A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,455 Days
• Field of Search: 379/202.01, 379/203.01, 370/260, 709/204
• US Class Current: 379/202.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/14 Delay circuits; Timers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5009 Adding a party to an existing conference
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/565 relating to time schedule aspects

Abstract

A method includes receiving an indication of an elapsed time since a scheduled teleconference meeting start and attendance of the teleconference meeting, determining from the indication whether to issue a notification to an absent invitee of the teleconference meeting, and selectively issuing the notification to the absent invitee.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving an indication of at an elapsed time since a scheduled teleconference meeting start and current attendance at said teleconference;

determining from said indication and a grace period rule whether to issue a notification to an absent invitee of said teleconference, wherein different grace period rules are applied to different absent invitees of said teleconference; and

selectively issuing said notification to said absent invitee based on the determination.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said notification comprises at least one of:

an instant message, an email message, a telephone call, a text message to a mobile device, and a recorded audio message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said notification is issued to said absent invitee by a system configured to host said teleconference meeting.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising joining said absent invitee to said teleconference meeting through a device with which said absent invitee receives said notification.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said notification is issued to said absent invitee via a designated contact of said absent invitee.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining from said notification whether to issue said notification to said absent invitee comprises determining whether said elapsed time is greater than a set grace period.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining from said notification whether to issue said notification to said absent invitee comprises determining whether said absent invitee is designated as a mandatory participant in said teleconference meeting.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying at least one participant in said teleconference meeting.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said determining from said notification whether to issue said notification to said absent invitee comprises determining whether a specific number of invitees have joined said teleconference meeting.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said determining from said notification whether to issue said notification to said absent invitee comprises determining whether a specific group of invitees have joined said teleconference meeting.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising alerting at least one participant in said teleconference meeting that said notification has been issued to said absent invitee.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising prompting present participants of said teleconference meeting to decide whether to continue said teleconference meeting.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein prompting said present participants of said teleconference meeting to decide whether to continue said teleconference meeting comprises conducting an electronic poll of said present participants.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising prompting participants of said teleconference meeting to reschedule said teleconference meeting.

15. A teleconference system comprising:

a plurality of conferencing devices; and

a conferencing service module communicatively coupled to said conferencing devices;

wherein said conferencing service module is configured to determine if an invitee of a teleconference meeting is absent and issue a notification to said invitee in response to a predetermined set of conditions being met said conditions comprising different rules applying to different invitees of the teleconference meeting.

16. The teleconference system of claim 15, wherein said conferencing service module is communicatively coupled to at least one of:

a computing device of said absent invitee, a computing device of an assistant of said absent invitee, a telephone of said absent invitee, a telephone of an assistant of said absent invitee, a personal electronic device of said absent invitee, and a personal electronic device of an assistant of said absent invitee.

17. The teleconference system of claim 15, wherein said conferencing devices comprise at least one of:

telephones, personal computers, video cameras, screens, microphones, and speakers.

18. The teleconference system of claim 15, wherein said predetermined set of conditions comprise at least one of:

a predetermined amount of elapsed time from a scheduled teleconference meeting start, a predetermined number of participants in said teleconference meeting, and a specific predetermined group of participants in said teleconference meeting.

19. A computer program product for teleconferencing, the computer program product comprising:

a computer usable storage medium having computer usable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code comprising;

computer usable program code configured to receive an indication of at least one of an elapsed time since a scheduled teleconference start and attendance of said teleconference;

computer usable program code configured to determine from said indication and a grace period rule whether to issue a notification to an absent invitee of said teleconference, wherein difference grace period rules are applied to different absent invitees of said telelconference; and

computer usable program code configured to issue said notification to said absent invitee based on the determination.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein said notification comprises at least one of:

an instant message, an email message, a telephone call, a text message to a mobile device, and a recorded audio message.