Electronic document provision to an online meeting

• US 9,461,834 B2
• Filed: 04/22/2010
• Issued: 10/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ferlitsch, Andrew Rodney
• Primary Examiner(s): Tiv, Backhean
• Application Number:
  US12/765,777
• Publication Number:
  US 20110264745A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,357 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/219
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation

Abstract

A system and method are presented for providing electronic documents to online meeting participants. The method schedules a first online meeting between network-connected computer devices. A meeting server establishes a repository for the first online meeting. The meeting server receives an electronically formatted document sent to a first communication address assigned to the first online meeting repository, and stores the document in the first online meeting repository. A first computer device is able to log into the meeting server and access the document from the first online meeting repository at a time prior to, during, or after the first online meeting. Likewise, the meeting server is able to store a document received prior to, during, or after the meeting.

Claims

1. In a system of connected communication devices, a method for providing electronic documents to online meeting participants, the method comprising:

a meeting server establishing an online meeting repository for a first online meeting, where the first online meeting is exclusively assigned to a first URL address;

the meeting server receiving an electronically formatted document sent to a first email address associated with the first online meeting;

storing the document in the online meeting repository;

without a requirement of participating in the first online meeting, a first computer device logging into the meeting server via the first email address; and

,

in response to logging in via the first email address, the first computer device accessing the document, received via the first email, from the online meeting repository.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein accessing the document includes the first computer device accessing the document at a time selected from a group consisting of prior to, during, and after the first online meeting.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein accessing the document includes the first computer device accessing the document while participating in the first online meeting;

and,

the method further comprising;

the first computer device presenting the document into the first online meeting.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the document sent to the first email address includes receiving the document prior to beginning the first online meeting.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein receiving the document prior to beginning the first online meeting includes:

a second computer device receiving an invitation to the first online meeting with the first email address coded into the invitation; and

,

the second computer device sending the document to the first email address when accepting the invitation.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the document sent to the first email address includes:

the first computer device sending a document request to a second computer device, not participating in the first online meeting, for the document; and

,

the second computer device sending the document to the first email address.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein sending the request to the second computer device for the document includes:

the first computer device sending the document request with the first email address coded into the request; and

,

the second computer device sending the document to the first email address when responding to the document request.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein sending the document request to a second computer device includes the first computer device sending the document request while participating in the first online meeting.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein sending the document request to a second computer device includes sending a document request reminder to the second computer device, if the document is not received within a predetermined period of time.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein establishing the online meeting repository for the first online meeting, where the first online meeting is exclusively assigned to the first URL address, includes the meeting server temporarily assigning the first email address, exclusively associated with the first online meeting.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein establishing the online meeting repository for the first online meeting, where the first online meeting is exclusively assigned to the first URL address, includes:

the meeting server establishing a permanent first email address associated with a plurality of online meetings; and

,

the meeting server assigning an identifier to the first online meeting, where the identifier is selected from a group consisting of a meeting PIN, the Internet Protocol (IP) address of a computer device participating in the first online meeting, a meeting title, a name designated as the first online meeting host, and a URL associated with the first online meeting.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein establishing the online meeting repository for the first online meeting, where the first online meeting is exclusively assigned to the first URL address, includes the meeting server temporarily assigning the first URL address, exclusively associated with the first online meeting.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein establishing the online meeting repository for the first online meeting, where the first online meeting is exclusively assigned to the first URL address, includes:

the meeting server establishing a permanent first URL address associated with a plurality of online meetings; and

,

the meeting server assigning an identifier to the first online meeting, where the identifier is selected from a group consisting of a meeting PIN, the Internet Protocol (IP) address of a computer device participating in the first online meeting, a meeting title, a name designated as the first online meeting host, and a URL associated with the first online meeting.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the document sent to the first email address includes receiving the document from a computer device having email communication capabilities, but not having Internet access.

15. The method of claim 1 receiving the document sent to the first email address includes receiving the document from a computer device not having access to the first online meeting.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein establishing the repository for the first online meeting includes the meeting server establishing a plurality of categories associated with the first online meeting;

and,

the method further comprising;

subsequent to receiving the document, the meeting server associating the document with one of the first online meeting categories.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein associating the document with one of the first online meeting categories includes the meeting server performing an operation on a document request, returned with the received document, the operation selected from a group consisting of parsing a document request for keywords associated with categories and recognizing an embedded category identifier in the document request.

18. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

scheduling a recurring first online meeting comprising a first meeting segment and a second meeting segment; and

,

wherein receiving the document sent to the first email address includes receiving a document requested in response to a first meeting segment action item.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein scheduling the first online meeting includes scheduling the second meeting segment in response to receiving the document.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the document sent to the first email address includes:

a second computer device receiving a message selected from a group consisting of a document request and an invitation to the first online meeting; and

,

the second computer device sending the document to the first email address with an electronically formatted note including comments related to the document;

wherein storing the document in the online meeting repository includes storing the document and the note, with a link to the note; and

,

wherein accessing the document from the first online meeting repository includes accessing the document and the note.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein accessing the document includes a second computer device accessing the document while participating in the first online meeting;

and,

the method further comprising;

the second computer device presenting the document into the first online meeting.

22. An electronic document provision system or online meetings, the system comprising:

a meeting server having a repository for a first online meeting having a first URL address, the meeting server receiving an electronically formatted document sent to a first email address assigned to the first online meeting, at a time selected from a group consisting of prior to, during, and after the first online meeting, and storing the document in the online meeting repository; and

,

a network-connected first computer device logging into the meeting server via the first email address and, without the requirement of participating in the first online meeting, accessing the document from the online meeting repository at a time selected from a group consisting of prior to, during, and after the first online meeting.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein the first computer device accesses the document while participating in the first online meeting, and presents the document into the first online meeting.

24. The system of claim 22 further comprising:

a second computer receiving an invitation to the first online meeting with the first email address coded into the invitation, and sending the document to the first email address when accepting the invitation.

25. The system of claim 22 further comprising:

a second computer device, not participating in the first online meeting receiving a document request from the first computer device, and sending the document to the first communication address.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein the second computer receives the document request with the first email address coded into the request.

27. The system of claim 22 wherein the meeting server temporarily assigns the first email address, exclusively associated with the first online meeting.

28. The system of claim 22 wherein the meeting server establishes a permanent first email address associated with a plurality of online meetings, and assigns an identifier to the first online meeting, where the identifier is selected from a group consisting of a meeting PIN, an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a computer device participating in the first online meeting, a meeting title, a name designated as the first online meeting host, and a URL associated with the first online meeting.

29. The system of claim 22 wherein the meeting server establishes a plurality of categories associated with the first online meeting, and subsequent to receiving the document, associates the document with one of the first online meeting categories.

30. The system of claim 22 wherein the meeting server accepts a recurring first online meeting schedule comprising a first meeting segment and a second meeting segment, and receives the document requested in response to a first meeting segment action item.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the meeting server, in response to receiving the document, performs an action selected from a group consisting of scheduling the second meeting segment and sending a request to the meeting organizer to schedule the second meeting segment.