CALENDAR EXPAND GRID

• US 20110173221A1
• Filed: 01/13/2010
• Published: 07/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Vincent, Benjamin Richard, Ahiakpor, Michael James
• Application Number:
  US12/686,605
• Publication Number:
  US 20110173221A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/769
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting

Abstract

A system and methods for enabling a mobile device to display multiple calendar views. In particular, a system allows a mobile device to switch between an agenda view, an expanded calendar view and a collapsed busy time view. Temporary free time records and event summary records are provided to the mobile device receiving input from the mobile device to view a calendar displaying the free time the user has within a selected day. Event records associated with the user for the selected day are identified in a database. The system determines remaining time slots in the selected day that are not associated with a scheduled event. A temporary free-time record is generated for each such time slot. Temporary event summary records are generated representing consecutively scheduled and solo events. The temporary free-time records and temporary event summary records are delivered to the mobile device.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for enabling a mobile device to display a calendar view displaying free time within a day of the week consisting of a plurality of time slots, comprising:

(a) receiving input from the mobile device indicating that a user of the mobile device wants to view a calendar displaying the free time the user has within a selected day;

(b) identifying event records associated with the calendar for the selected day, wherein the event records are stored in a database;

(c) determining remaining time slots associated with the selected day that are not associated with a scheduled event;

(d) automatically generating a temporary free-time record for each time slot determined in step (c);

(e) automatically generating one or more temporary event summary records representing the events identified in step (b); and

(f) delivering the temporary free-time records generated in step (d) and the temporary event summary records generated in step (e) to the mobile device.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein step (e) of generating one or more temporary event summary records comprises:

when two or more events records are identified in step (b) that represent consecutively scheduled events, generating a single temporary event summary record representing the consecutively scheduled events.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein step (e) of generating one or more temporary event summary records comprises:

for each event record identified in step (b) representing a solo event, generating a single temporary event summary record representing the solo event.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a free time slot associated with each free-time record in a calendar user interface; and

displaying a condensed busy time slot associated with each busy time record generated in step (e) in a calendar user interface.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein step (a) of receiving input comprises:

electronically receiving a request from the mobile device for event records associated with the user, wherein the event records are stored in a database.

6. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the step of generating a single temporary event summary record representing the two or more consecutive events comprises:

identifying a first event record and a second event record representing a first event followed by a second event, the first and second event records each having a start time and an end time; and

generating a temporary event summary record, the temporary event summary record having a start time of the first event record and an end time of the second event record.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the temporary event summary record further includes the number of events represented by the event summary record.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a new event record from the mobile device; and

storing the new event record in the database.

9. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the new event record is generated by the mobile device when a free time slot displayed by the mobile device selected by the user, the free time slot displayed in the mobile device is based on a free-time record delivered in step (f).

10. A method for delivering calendar events records to a mobile device, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving a request from a mobile device for a condensed busy time view of a selected day;

(b) identifying one or more calendars associated with the user;

(c) obtaining event records associated with each of the one or more calendars identified in step (b) for the selected day, wherein each event record is stored in a database;

(d) generating a temporary free time record for each time slot of the selected day not associated with an event record obtained in step (c);

(e) generating temporary event summary records based on the event records obtained in step (c); and

(f) delivering the temporary free time records generated in step (d) and the temporary event summary records generated in step (e) to the mobile device.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein step (b) of identifying one or more calendars comprises:

determining a unique identifier associated with the user; and

identifying one or more calendars associated with the unique identifier.

12. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein step (a) of receiving a request from a mobile device comprises:

receiving a request from a web browser of the mobile device.

13. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein step (d) of generating a temporary free time record for each time slot of the selected day not associated with an event record comprises:

determining a start time and end time for each event record obtained in step (c);

generating a temporary one-hour free time record for a time slot following an event associated with an event record that has an end time at the top of an hour; and

generating a temporary thirty-minute free time record for a time slot following an event associated with an event record that has an end time at the bottom of an hour.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein step (e) of generating temporary event summary records comprises:

determining two or more event records for consecutively scheduled events, each event record having a start time and an end time;

generating a single temporary event summary record having the start time of the earliest event and an end time of the latest event;

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein consecutively scheduled events are a first event and a second event with less than thirty minutes between the end time of the first event and the begin time of the second event.

16. A system for enabling a mobile device, displaying an agenda view of a day in a calendar user interface, to display the free time remaining within the day, comprising:

a web server for receiving a request from the mobile device to view the free time remaining within the day;

a calendar application server configured to;

(a) identify first and second event records associated with the agenda view being displayed by the mobile device, wherein the first and second event records include a start time and a stop time;

(b) determine free time slots associated with the selected day that do not overlap in time with the first and second event records identified in step (a);

(c) for each free time slot determined in step (b), automatically generate a temporary free-time record;

(d) automatically generate one or more temporary event summary records based on the event records identified in step (a); and

(e) deliver the temporary free-time records generated in step (c) and the temporary event summary records generated in step (d) to the mobile device; and

a calendar database for storing the first and second event records.

17. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the calendar application server determines free time slots associated with the selected day by:

determining a start time and a stop time for the first and second event records;

identifying the start time of the next time slot based on the stop time of the first event record;

determining a length of time of the next time slot based on when the next time slot begins; and

determining whether the second event record overlaps in time with the next time slot.

18. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein the calendar application server generates a temporary free-time record by:

when the second event record does not overlap in time with the next time slot, generate a temporary free-time record associated with the next time slot.

19. The system as recited in claim 18, wherein the calendar application server determines a length of time of the next time slot based on when the next time slot begins by:

when the next time slot begins at the bottom of an hour, generate a temporary free-time record representing a thirty-minute time slot; and

when the next time slot begins at the top of an hour, generate a temporary free-time record representing a one-hour time slot.

20. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the calendar application server generates one or more temporary event summary records by:

determining two or more event records for consecutively scheduled events, each event record having a start time and an end time; and

generating a single temporary event summary record having the start time of the earliest event and an end time of the latest event.