Method and system for scheduling activities
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for scheduling activities, comprising:
- receiving a request, from a user device, to book an appointment for an activity in a schedule,performing a check of a service region associated with the request;
performing a check on a no-later-than time included in the request;
performing a check on a no-sooner-than time included in the request;
subsequent to the performing the check of the service region, the performing the check on the no-later-than time, and the performing the check on the no-sooner-than time, providing, to the user device, a plurality of time slots as possible appointment choices for the appointment, whereintime slots in the plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices are available in the schedule for booking the activity;
locking the plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices to the user device, whereinthe locking makes the plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices unavailable for subsequent requests;
receiving a rejection of the plurality of time slots provided as possible appointment choices, whereinthe rejection is received from the user device;
in response to the rejection,unlocking the plurality of time slots, andproviding, to the user device, a substitute plurality of time slots as possible appointment choices for the appointment;
receiving, from the user device, a selection for one of the time slots in the substitute plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices;
unlocking all time slots in the substitute plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices other than the selected time slot, whereinthe unlocking the all time slots in the substitute plurality of time slots other than the selected time slot is performed in response to the receiving the selection, andthe unlocking the all time slots in the substitute plurality of time slots other than the selected time slot causes the unlocked time slots in the substitute plurality of time slots to become available for subsequent requests; and
booking the activity in the selected time slot by updating information stored in a computer memory device.
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Abstract
Techniques to schedule activities. In one method, a request to book an appointment for an activity in a particular schedule is initially received. In response, time slots available in the schedule for booking the activity are determined, and a set (all or a subset) of the time slots is provided as possible appointment choices. The time slots in the set are temporarily locked. A next set of time slots or more time slots may be requested (if the time slots provided are not acceptable or desirable), in which case additional time slots may be provided. Thereafter, a selection for one of the time slots is received. In response, the activity is booked in the selected time slot and previously locked time slots are released. The locked time slots may also be released if no selection is received after a particular amount of time.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for scheduling activities, comprising:
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receiving a request, from a user device, to book an appointment for an activity in a schedule, performing a check of a service region associated with the request; performing a check on a no-later-than time included in the request; performing a check on a no-sooner-than time included in the request; subsequent to the performing the check of the service region, the performing the check on the no-later-than time, and the performing the check on the no-sooner-than time, providing, to the user device, a plurality of time slots as possible appointment choices for the appointment, wherein time slots in the plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices are available in the schedule for booking the activity; locking the plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices to the user device, wherein the locking makes the plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices unavailable for subsequent requests; receiving a rejection of the plurality of time slots provided as possible appointment choices, wherein the rejection is received from the user device; in response to the rejection, unlocking the plurality of time slots, and providing, to the user device, a substitute plurality of time slots as possible appointment choices for the appointment; receiving, from the user device, a selection for one of the time slots in the substitute plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices; unlocking all time slots in the substitute plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices other than the selected time slot, wherein the unlocking the all time slots in the substitute plurality of time slots other than the selected time slot is performed in response to the receiving the selection, and the unlocking the all time slots in the substitute plurality of time slots other than the selected time slot causes the unlocked time slots in the substitute plurality of time slots to become available for subsequent requests; and booking the activity in the selected time slot by updating information stored in a computer memory device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A scheduling system comprising:
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a first local storage device; and an appointment booking system, coupled to the first local storage device and configured to receive a request to book an appointment for an activity in a schedule, perform a check of a service region associated with the request, perform a check on a no-later-than time included in the request, perform a check on a no-sooner-than time included in the request, provide a plurality of time slots as possible appointment choices for the appointment, subsequent to the perform the check of the service region, the perform the check on the no-later-than time, and the perform the check on the no-sooner-than time, wherein time slots in the plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices are available in the schedule for booking the activity, lock the plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices so that the plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices are unavailable for subsequent requests, receive a rejection of the plurality of time slots provided as possible appointment choices, in response to the rejection, unlock the plurality of time slots, and provide a substitute plurality of time slots as possible appointment choices for the appointment, receive a selection for one of the time slots in the substitute plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices, unlock, in response to the selection, all time slots in the substitute plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices other than the selected time slot so that the unlocked time slots in the substitute plurality of time slots are available for subsequent requests, and update a record in the first local storage device to book the activity in the selected time slot. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A computer program product, comprising:
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a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium; and instructions encoded on the computer-readable storage medium, wherein the instructions are executable by one or more processors to perform a method for scheduling activities, the method comprising; receiving a request to book an appointment for an activity in a particular schedule, performing a check of a service region associated with the request, performing a check on a no-later-than time included in the request, performing a check on a no-sooner-than time included in the request, subsequent to the performing the check of the service region, the performing the check on the no-later-than time, and the performing the check on the no-sooner-than time, providing a plurality of time slots as possible appointment choices for the appointment, wherein time slots in the plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices are available in the schedule for booking the activity, locking the plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices, wherein the locking makes the plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices unavailable for subsequent requests, receiving a rejection of the plurality of time slots provided as possible appointment choices in response to the rejection, unlocking the plurality of time slots, and providing a substitute plurality of time slots as possible appointment choices for the appointment, receiving a selection for one of the time slots in the substitute plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices, unlocking all time slots in the substitute plurality of time slots provided as the possible appointment choices other than the selected time slot, wherein the unlocking the all time slots in the substitute plurality of time slots other than the selected time slots is performed in response to the receiving the selection, and the unlocking the all time slots in the substitute plurality of time slots other than the selected time slots causes the unlocked time slots in the substitute plurality of time slots to become available for subsequent requests, and booking the activity in the selected time slot.
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Specification