Keeping working hours and calendar entries up-to-date

• US 8,494,890 B2
• Filed: 09/07/2012
• Issued: 07/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Doss, J. Smith, Kovales, Renee M., Pozefsky, Diane P., Sundstrom, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): BOYCE, ANDRE D
• Application Number:
  US13/606,844
• Publication Number:
  US 20130006690A1
• Time in Patent Office: 319 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7.18
• US Class Current: 705/7.18
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063114 Status monitoring or status determination for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed for keeping calendars up-to-date, whereby a person'"'"'s working hours, events, and actual availability are accurately reflected. In response to user-generated input and/or application-generated input, working hours can be updated and calendar events can be added to, deleted from, or changed on the user'"'"'s calendar. This makes it easy for users to keep calendars (including working hours) up-to-date and helps both people and applications that use calendar data. Profiles are preferably used to specify working hours, and a particular user may have one or more profiles available (including a default profile); the user can then easily select from among these profiles to update the working hours for a date/day, or a range of dates/days. Preferences may be associated with the profiles, providing a convenient way of isolating information that applies only to a particular set of working hours.

Claims

1. A computer program product for keeping scheduled working hours up-to-date for a user'"'"'s electronic calendar, the computer program product embodied on one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media and comprising computer-readable program code for:

receiving, for an electronic calendar application that provides an electronic calendar for a calendar user, a notification from a status-aware application, wherein;

the status-aware application is a non-calendar application;

the notification indicates a current status of the user as detected by the status-aware application;

the notification is sent from the status-aware application upon the status-aware application detecting that the user has started his work day; and

the current status as indicated by the notification comprises the user starting his work day; and

upon programmatically determining, from the received notification, that the current status of the user as detected by the status-aware application conflicts with scheduled working hours currently on the user'"'"'s electronic calendar, programmatically modifying the user'"'"'s currently-scheduled working hours on the user'"'"'s electronic calendar, responsive to the receiving, such that the user'"'"'s electronic calendar also reflects the current status of the user, wherein the programmatic modification comprises changing the user'"'"'s scheduled starting work hour to coincide with a time at which the notification is received.

2. A computer program product for keeping scheduled working hours up-to-date for a user'"'"'s electronic calendar, the computer program product embodied on one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media and comprising computer-readable program code for:

receiving, for an electronic calendar application that provides an electronic calendar for a calendar user, a notification from a status-aware application, wherein;

the status-aware application is a non-calendar application;

the notification indicates a current status of the user as detected by the status-aware application;

the notification is sent from the status-aware application upon the status-aware application detecting that the user has ended his work day; and

the current status as indicated by the notification comprises the user ending his work day; and

upon programmatically determining, from the received notification, that the current status of the user as detected by the status-aware application conflicts with scheduled working hours currently on the user'"'"'s electronic calendar, programmatically modifying the user'"'"'s currently-scheduled working hours on the user'"'"'s electronic calendar, responsive to the receiving, such that the user'"'"'s electronic calendar also reflects the current status of the user, wherein the programmatic modification comprises changing the user'"'"'s scheduled ending work hour to coincide with a time at which the notification is received.

3. A computer program product for keeping scheduled working hours up-to-date for a user'"'"'s electronic calendar, the computer program product embodied on one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media and comprising computer-readable program code for:

receiving, for an electronic calendar application that provides an electronic calendar for a calendar user, a notification from a status-aware application, wherein;

the status-aware application is an instant messaging application; and

the notification indicates a current status of the user as detected by the status-aware application; and

upon programmatically determining, from the received notification, that the current status of the user as detected by the status-aware application conflicts with scheduled working hours currently on the user'"'"'s electronic calendar, programmatically modifying the user'"'"'s currently-scheduled working hours on the user'"'"'s electronic calendar, responsive to the receiving, such that the user'"'"'s electronic calendar also reflects the current status of the user, wherein;

the instant messaging application sends one notification for the electronic calendar application when a user of the instant messaging application begins using the instant messaging application and the programmatically modifying then sets the starting work hour of the user, on the user'"'"'s electronic calendar, to match a time of receipt of the notification; and

the instant messaging application sends another notification for the electronic calendar application when the user of the instant messaging application stops using the instant messaging application and the programmatically modifying then sets the ending work hour of the user, on the user'"'"'s electronic calendar, to match a time of receipt of the notification.

4. A computer program product for keeping scheduled working hours up-to-date for a user'"'"'s electronic calendar, the computer program product embodied on one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media and comprising computer-readable program code for:

receiving, for an electronic calendar application that provides an electronic calendar for a calendar user, a notification from a status-aware application, wherein;

the status-aware application is an e-mail application; and

the notification indicates a current status of the user as detected by the status-aware application; and

upon programmatically determining, from the received notification, that the current status of the user as detected by the status-aware application conflicts with scheduled working hours currently on the user'"'"'s electronic calendar, programmatically modifying the user'"'"'s currently-scheduled working hours on the user'"'"'s electronic calendar, responsive to the receiving, such that the user'"'"'s electronic calendar also reflects the current status of the user, wherein;

the e-mail application sends one notification for the electronic calendar application when a user of the e-mail application begins using the e-mail application and the programmatically modifying then sets the starting work hour of the user, on the user'"'"'s electronic calendar, to match a time of receipt of the notification; and

the e-mail application sends another notification for the electronic calendar application when the user of the e-mail application stops using the e-mail application and the programmatically modifying then sets the ending work hour of the user, on the user'"'"'s electronic calendar, to match a time of receipt of the notification.

5. A computer program product for keeping scheduled working hours up-to-date for a user'"'"'s electronic calendar, the computer program product embodied on one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media and comprising computer-readable program code for:

receiving, for an electronic calendar application that provides an electronic calendar for a calendar user, a notification from a status-aware application, wherein;

the status-aware application is a portal page application; and

the notification indicates a current status of the user as detected by the status-aware application; and

upon programmatically determining, from the received notification, that the current status of the user as detected by the status-aware application conflicts with scheduled working hours currently on the user'"'"'s electronic calendar, programmatically modifying the user'"'"'s currently-scheduled working hours on the user'"'"'s electronic calendar, responsive to the receiving, such that the user'"'"'s electronic calendar also reflects the current status of the user, wherein;

the portal page application sends one notification for the electronic calendar application when a user of the portal page application begins using the portal page application and the programmatically modifying then sets the starting work hour of the user, on the user'"'"'s electronic calendar, to match a time of receipt of the notification; and

the portal page application sends another notification for the electronic calendar application when the user of the portal page application stops using the portal page application and the programmatically modifying then sets the ending work hour of the user, on the user'"'"'s electronic calendar, to match a time of receipt of the notification.