Generating meeting requests and group scheduling from a mobile device

• US 6,370,566 B2
• Filed: 04/10/1998
• Issued: 04/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Whitney, Dave, Discolo, Anthony, Alam, Salim, Ulrich, Bryce, Skorupa, Scott, Ferrell, John I., Vargas, Garrett R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh, Ayaz
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Philip B.
• Application Number:
  US09/058,679
• Publication Number:
  US 20010054072A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,460 Days
• Field of Search: 709/106, 709/206, 709/201, 709/227, 709/216, 709/10, 709/203
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/0225 User interface arrangements, e.g. keyboard, display; Interfaces to other computer systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting

Abstract

The present invention includes a mobile device which provides the user with the ability to schedule a meeting request from the mobile device itself. The mobile device creates an object representative of the meeting request and assigns the object a global identification number which uniquely identifies the object to other devices which encounter the object. In addition, the mobile device in accordance with one aspect of the present invention provides a property in the object which is indicative of whether the meeting request has already been transmitted. In this way, other devices which encounter the meeting request are capable of identifying it as a unique meeting request, and of determining whether the meeting request has already been transmitted, in order to alleviate the problem of duplicate meeting request transmissions.

Claims

1. A mobile device, comprising:

an object store;

an application program configured to maintain objects on the object store;

a user input mechanism configured to receive user input information;

a synchronization component configured to synchronize individual objects stored on the object store with remote objects stored on a remote object store;

a communications component configured to communicate with a remote device containing the remote object store; and

wherein the application program is further configured to generate a meeting object and an electronic mail scheduling request object based on the user input information.

2. The mobile device of claim 1 wherein the application program is configured to generate the meeting object with a global identifier property uniquely identifying the meeting object among a plurality of other objects.

3. The mobile device of claim 2 wherein the application program is configured to generate the meeting object with a time stamp indicative of a relative time when the meeting object was created and wherein the application program generates the electronic mail scheduling request object with the time stamp.

4. The mobile device of claim 3 wherein the application program comprises:

a first application program configured to generate the meeting object based on the user input information; and

a second application program configured to generate the electronic mail meeting request object.

5. The mobile device of claim 1 wherein the application program further comprises:

a contacts application program configured to maintain objects on the object store indicative of contact information wherein the contact information includes address information indicative of a fully qualified electronic mail addresses for individuals identified by the contact information; and

wherein the application program is configured to obtain the fully qualified electronic mail address of potential attendees identified by the contact information by interaction with the contacts application program.

6. The mobile device of claim 1 wherein the application program is configured to generate the meeting object and the electronic mail scheduling request object such that properties of the objects are compatible with at least a second application program associated with the remote object store and different from the application program.

7. The mobile device of claim 1 wherein the application program is configured to receive a data stream indicative of a textual phrase describing the meeting object, to parse the data stream into sections and place the sections in corresponding fields of a preselected template containing the fields, the preselected template being associated with the textual phrase received.

8. The mobile device of claim 7 wherein the preselected template is created by arranging the fields in an order, the order being based on a specific locality.

9. A method of operating a mobile device, comprising:

providing a first object store on the mobile device;

providing a first application program on the mobile device;

maintaining objects in the first object store with the first application program;

intermittently synchronizing the objects in the first object store with objects in a remote object store;

receiving user input information indicative of a meeting request;

generating a meeting object with the first application program such that at least some of the user input information defines properties in the meeting object;

generating an electronic mail meeting request object based on the information in the meeting object; and

storing the meeting object and the electronic mail scheduling request object in the first object store for transmission.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein synchronizing comprises:

coupling the mobile device to a computing device having the remote object store;

synchronizing objects in the first data store with objects in the remote data store; and

transmitting the electronic mail scheduling request object from an electronic mail transport on the computing device.

11. The method of claim 9 and further comprising:

providing an electronic mail transport on the mobile device; and

transmitting the electronic mail scheduling request object through an electronic mail transport on the mobile device.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein providing an electronic mail transport on the mobile device comprises:

providing a plurality of electronic mail transports on the mobile device; and

selecting one of the plurality of electronic mail transports through which the electronic mail scheduling request objects are to be transmitted.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein generating a meeting object comprises:

assigning the meeting object a global identifier which uniquely identifies the meeting request relative to other objects.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein generating a meeting object further comprises:

assigning the meeting object a time stamp indication indicating a time when the scheduling object was created; and

wherein generating the electronic mail meeting request object includes assigning the electronic mail meeting request object the time stamp indication.

15. The method of claim 14 and further comprising:

receiving response objects;

correlating the response objects with the meeting object on the mobile device based on the global identifier and the time stamp indication; and

updating a response status associated with the meeting object based on the response objects received.

16. The method of claim 15 and further comprising:

synchronizing the response status with the remote object store.

17. A data transmission system, comprising:

a first computing device including;

a first data store configured to store objects;

a user input mechanism; and

a first application program configured to receive user input information from the user input mechanism, create a first object based on the user input information and store the first object on the first data store;

a synchronization manager configured to synchronize objects in the first data store with objects in a second data store;

a second computing device including;

the second data store, the second data store being configured to store objects; and

a second application program configured to access the second data store and create an electronic mail scheduling object based on the first object being synchronized to the second data store from the first data store;

an electronic mail transport; and

wherein the second application program is configured to transmit the electronic mail scheduling objects with the electronic mail transport.

18. The system of claim 17 and further comprising:

a third computing device including;

a third data store configured to store objects; and

a third application program configured to access the third data store, to receive electronic mail scheduling objects from the second computing device and to store the electronic mail scheduling objects on the third data store.

19. The system of claim 18 and further comprising:

a fourth computing device including;

a fourth data store; and

a fourth application program configured to access the fourth data store and store objects on the fourth data store; and

wherein the synchronization manager is configured to synchronize objects in the third and fourth data stores.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the synchronization manager comprises:

a first synchronization manager on at least one of the first and second computing devices; and

a second synchronization manager on at least one of the third and fourth computing devices.

21. The system of claim 17 wherein the first object comprises a meeting object and wherein the electronic mail scheduling object comprises an electronic mail meeting request object.

22. The system of claim 17 wherein the first computing device comprises a mobile device.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein the first application program comprises a scheduling program and wherein the second application program comprises an electronic mail application program.