Smart reminders

• US 20060218029A1
• Filed: 03/25/2005
• Published: 09/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Chin, Peter G.
• Granted Patent: US 7,925,525 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1095 Meeting or appointment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation

Abstract

Systems and methods for scheduling appointment reminders are based on multiple conditions including estimated travel time. An estimate of the time needed to travel between the user'"'"'s location and the location of the appointment cam be determined by retrieving location information from a global address list (GAL), a local address book of a calendaring application, from a map service, or other location determining technology. Users can subscribe to alert service to receive information regarding recent events such as traffic problems, flight delays, weather conditions, etc., which is then used in setting or modifying reminder times. Notifications can be generated for timing conflicts based on the estimated travel time. If the estimated travel time would require the user to leave a previous appointment early, or be late for a subsequent appointment, a notification can be generated to the user.

Claims

1. A method of reminding a user of an appointment, the method comprising:

determining a location associated with the user;

determining a location associated with the appointment;

determining a travel time between the locations associated with the user and appointment; and

determining a reminder time based at least in part on the travel time and an appointment time of the appointment.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising setting the reminder time to be during the user'"'"'s working hours previous to the appointment time if the appointment start time is outside of the user'"'"'s working hours.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising setting the reminder time to be during the user'"'"'s working hours previous to the appointment time if the determined reminder time would otherwise be outside of the user'"'"'s working hours.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising modifying the reminder time in response to information contained in an alert provided by an alerting service.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a location associated with the user further comprises accessing a global address list (GAL).

6. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a location associated with the user further comprises using a global positioning system (GPS).

7. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a location associated with the user further comprises accessing information from a source of map information.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a reminder time further comprises determining the reminder time using a predetermined lead-time in addition to the travel time.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising causing a notification to be issued in response to a determination that the travel time would cause a conflict with another appointment.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising causing a notification to be issued in response to a determination that the travel time would cause a conflict with another appointment.

11. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed perform operations implementing the method of claim 1.

12. A system to determine a time to send a reminder for an appointment, the system comprising:

a participant locator to determine locations of a user and an appointment;

a travel time estimator to determine an estimate of time needed to travel from the determined user location to the determined appointment location; and

a reminder time generator to determine a time at which a reminder notification is to be issued based on the estimated travel time.

13. The system of claim 12 further comprising an interface to a global address list (GAL) through which participant locator can access location information.

14. The system of claim 12 further comprising an interface to a global positioning system (GPS) through which participant locator can access location information.

15. The system of claim 12 further comprising an interface to a map service through which participant locator can access location information.

16. The system of claim 12 further comprising an interface to an alert service through which the reminder time generator can receive alert information that can affect the reminder time.

17. The system of claim 12 further comprising a working hours checker to determine whether the appointment starts within the user'"'"'s working normal hours.

18. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed perform operations implementing the system of claim 12.

19. A system for generate a reminder for an appointment, the system comprising:

means for determining locations of a user and an appointment;

means for estimating a time needed to travel from the determined user location to the determined appointment location;

means for determining a reminder time at which a reminder notification is to be issued based on the estimated travel time; and

means for notifying the user of the appointment at the reminder time.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the means for determining locations comprises means for accessing location information from one or more of a global address list (GAL), a global positioning system (UPS), a map service, a local map application, or a local address book.

21. The system of claim 19 means for setting the reminder time to be during the user'"'"'s working hours prior to the appointment if the appointment starts outside of the user'"'"'s working hours.