Location and time sensitive wireless calendaring

• US 8,452,632 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2012
• Issued: 05/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zhou, Gaiye, Perrella, Ronald, Menon, Jai
• Primary Examiner(s): LOFTIS, JOHNNA RONEE
• Application Number:
  US13/405,473
• Publication Number:
  US 20120158448A1
• Time in Patent Office: 456 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7.19
• US Class Current: 705/7.19
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063116 Schedule adjustment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06314 Calendaring for a resource
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1093 Calendar-based scheduling for persons or groups
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1095 Meeting or appointment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A computer-implemented method provides location-sensitive and time-sensitive calendaring to a wireless device, such as a cell phone, pager, PDA, etc. A user'"'"'s calendar is maintained with a number of appointments, start times and end times for the appointments, meeting place and a list of attendees for the appointments. When the present time reading is within a predetermined minimum of a meeting start time of an appointment of a calendar user, the location of the user is determined based on the location of the wireless device. The location of the meeting place is also determined. Using historical data (of the user or others), the estimated time of arrival of the user at the meeting place is determined. If the estimated time of arrival is after the meeting start time, then a late message may be sent to the user and/or to the other meeting attendees.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

calculating, by a server, estimated times of arrival of multiple wireless communication devices at a location of an appointment, as a start time of the appointment approaches, based upon respective locations and velocities of the wireless communication devices, wherein the respective locations of the wireless communication devices are received by the server responsive to a roll call request sent from the server to the wireless communication devices;

determining, by the server, that one of the estimated times of arrival is after the start time of the appointment; and

rescheduling the appointment, by the server, in response to determining that the one of the estimated times of arrival is after the start time of the appointment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating the estimated times of arrival at the appointment location is further based upon historical data.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the historical data comprises time stamps, corresponding to the locations of the wireless communication devices, and corresponding location coordinates for each wireless communication device, and the estimated times of arrival at the appointment location are calculated based upon differences between the time stamps corresponding to the locations of the wireless communication devices and a time stamp corresponding to the appointment location.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the historical data comprises a historical commute time from the location of each wireless communication device to the appointment location.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the historical commute time from the location of each wireless communication device to the appointment location is based on average commute times from the location of each wireless communication device to the appointment location.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing, from the server, a notification to one of the wireless communication devices indicating a start time of the rescheduled appointment.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating the estimated times of arrival is further based upon an indication of a mode of transportation of each of the wireless communication devices.

8. A tangible computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

calculating estimated times of arrival of multiple wireless communication devices at location of an appointment, as a start time of the appointment approaches, based upon respective locations and velocities of the wireless communication devices, wherein the respective locations of the wireless communication devices are received from the wireless communication devices responsive to a roll call request to the wireless communication devices;

determining that one of the estimated times of arrival is after the start time of the appointment; and

rescheduling the appointment in response to determining that the one of the estimated times of arrival is after the start time of the appointment.

9. The tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the estimated times of arrival are further calculated based upon historical data.

10. The tangible computer readable storage medium claim 9, wherein the historical data comprises time stamps, corresponding to the locations of the wireless communication devices, and corresponding location coordinates for each wireless communication device, and the estimated times of arrival at the appointment location are calculated based upon differences between the time stamps corresponding to the locations of the wireless communication devices and a time stamp corresponding to the appointment location.

11. The tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the historical data comprises a historical commute time from the location of each wireless communication device to the appointment location.

12. The tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the historical commute time from the location of each wireless communication device to the appointment location is based on average commute times from the location of each wireless communication device to the appointment location.

13. The tangible computer readable storage medium claim 8, wherein the estimated times of arrival are further calculated based upon an indication of a mode of transportation of each of the wireless communication devices.

14. A device, comprising:

a processor;

a memory, in communication with the processor, the memory having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

calculating estimated times of arrival of multiple wireless communication devices at a location of an appointment as a start time of the appointment approaches, based upon respective locations and velocities of the wireless communication devices, wherein the respective locations of the wireless communication devices are received from the wireless communication devices responsive to a roll call request sent to the wireless communication devices;

determining that one of the estimated times of arrival is after the start time of the appointment; and

rescheduling the appointment in response to determining that the one of the estimated times of arrival is after the start time of the appointment.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein calculating the estimated times of arrival at the appointment location is further based upon historical data.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the historical data comprises time stamps, corresponding to the locations of the wireless communication devices, and corresponding location coordinates for each wireless communication device, and the estimated times of arrival at the appointment location are calculated based upon differences between the time stamps corresponding to the locations of each wireless communication device and a time stamp corresponding to the appointment location.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein the historical data comprises a historical commute time from the location of each wireless communication device to the appointment location.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the historical commute time from the location of each wireless communication device to the appointment location is determined based on average commute times from the location of each wireless communication device to the appointment location.

19. The device of claim 14, wherein a notification is provided to one of the wireless communication devices indicating a start time of the rescheduled appointment.

20. The device of claim 14, wherein calculating the estimated times of arrival at the appointment location is further based upon an indication of a mode of transportation of each of the wireless communication devices.