Use's schedule management system

• US 6,687,678 B1
• Filed: 09/07/1999
• Issued: 02/03/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Furukawa, Tohru, Ohkaze, Ioshiharu, Yorimatsu, Fumio
• Primary Examiner(s): Hafiz, Tariq R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TARAE, CATHERINE MICHELLE
• Application Number:
  US09/390,270
• Time in Patent Office: 1,610 Days
• Field of Search: 705/8, 345/963
• US Class Current: 705/7.12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/963 Calendar or scheduling

Abstract

This schedule management system can flexibly cope with an exceptional change or deletion of a part of a schedule. In registering a routine schedule, a unique number (routine number) is added to a series of such schedules. The schedule so registered is so adapted to be able to change only the content of the schedule without changing the added routine number in changing individual schedule. Therefore, an exceptional schedule the content of which has been changed can be flexibly managed by being deleted/changed in a bundle together with other routine schedule, for example. A routine basic condition such as every other day and every Monday and a routine exceptional condition such as shifting down week end and holiday to next day can be set in the routine pattern.

Claims

1. A computer operated method of displaying schedule data on a schedule management apparatus having a display screen and an input device, said method comprising the computer performed steps of:

(a) receiving a user input including a schedule starting time, a schedule ending time for a plurality of events where certain but not all of the events form a series of periodically reoccurring events associated with at least one condition for establishing a plurality of dates one date for each of the events in the series to occur,

(b) generating and registering schedule data including a schedule starting time and a schedule ending time which are associated with a common routine number for the plurality of dates established by said condition,

(c) displaying on the display screen with all events arranged together in chronological order and identified by the routine number with schedule data for events which are established by the condition associated with said routine number distinctively presented from schedule data for events which is not established by the condition associated with the routine number, and

(d) providing a plurality of said conditions, at least one being a basic condition for establishing the periodicity of the dates to be established and at least another being an exceptional condition for excluding, from the plurality of dates certain dates selected by the basic condition.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the events are meeting, the periodicity of dates are at least one of the monthly, weekly or daily periods, and the certain dates are at least one of holidays, weekends, and vacation days.

3. The method of claim 1 including presenting schedule data for events established by the condition and those not established by the condition with different backgrounds.

4. A computer operated method of displaying schedule data on a schedule management apparatus having a display screen and an input device, said method comprising the computer performed steps of:

(a) displaying a schedule data input panel in response to an operators operation instructing a schedule input,

(b) receiving a user input including a schedule starting time, a schedule ending time for a series of periodically occurring events, a basic condition of a day on which each of the events in the schedule is set and an exceptional condition of a day on which each of the events in the schedule cannot be set in said schedule data input panel,

(c) calculating a plurality of setting dates corresponding to said basic condition of a proposed day for a setting date and said exceptional condition of a day on which a proposed setting date cannot be set,

(d) generating a routine number having a common value which is allocated to each of the schedule data of said plurality of setting dates,

(e) generating schedule data including a schedule starting time and a schedule ending time for each of said plurality of setting dates and storing them in association with said routine number, and

(f) displaying schedule data which is associated with said routine number distinctively from schedule data which is not associated with the routine number where both the associated and non-associated schedule data are displayed together in chronological order with the routine number.

5. A computer operated method of displaying schedule data on a schedule management apparatus having a display screen and an input device, said method comprising the computer performed steps of:

(a) receiving a user input including a schedule starting time, a schedule ending time for a series of periodically occurring events over a range of dates and a condition for establishing the days of the events of the series,

(b) generating and registering schedule data including a schedule starting time and a schedule ending time which are associated with a common-routine number for each of a plurality of dates determined by said condition,

(c) displaying schedule data which is associated with said routine number,

(d) obtaining information of a changed period in the range of dates and changed content in that changed period inputted by an operator,

(e) reregistering user schedule data with the changed content for the periodically occurring events included in said changed period and associated with the routine number,

(f) displaying the reregistered schedule data on the display screen so that it is distinguishable from other schedule data in a list where both the reregistered and other schedule data appear together in a single list in chronological order identified by the routine number, and

(g) providing a plurality of said conditions, at least one being a basic condition for establishing the periodicity of the dates to be established and at least another being an exceptional condition for excluding, from the plurality of dates certain dates selected by the basic condition.

6. The method of claim 5 including the step of not reregistering user schedule data not associated with the routine number or outside the changed period.

8. The method of claim 5 including displaying the reregistered schedule data with a different background than the other schedule data.

7. A schedule management apparatus having a display screen and an input device, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a schedule data input panel displayed in response to an operator'"'"'s operation instructing a schedule input for receiving a user input including a schedule starting time, a schedule ending time for a series of periodically occurring events to take place over a range of dates, a basic condition of a day on which each of the events in the schedule is set and an exceptional condition of a day on which in which each of the events in schedule cannot be set in said schedule data input panel,

(b) a routine number generating part for generating a routine number,

(c) a routine schedule data generating part for calculating a plurality of setting dates corresponding to said basic condition of a day on which the schedule is set and said exceptional condition of a day on which the schedule cannot be set, and generating schedule data including a schedule starting time and a schedule ending time for each of said plurality of setting dates,

(d) a display control part for displaying schedule data which is associated with said routine number distinctively from schedule data which is not associated with a routine number in a common list where all schedule data are listed chronologically,

(e) a user schedule data input panel for obtaining information of a changed period and a changed content inputted by an operator in the user schedule dates, and

(f) a control part for reregistering user schedule data including the changed content included in said obtained changed period and associated with the routine number.

9. A storage medium storing a schedule management program for displaying schedule data on a schedule management apparatus having a display screen and an input device, said program comprising:

(a) a program code instructing said schedule management apparatus to receive a user input including a schedule starting time for a plurality of events to take place over a period of time, a schedule ending time and a condition establishing a day on which certain events in the schedule is set,

(b) program code instructing said schedule management apparatus to generate and registering schedule data including a schedule starting time and a schedule ending time the certain events which are associated with a common routine number for each of a plurality of dates corresponding to said condition,

(c) program code instructing said schedule management apparatus to display schedule data which is associated with said routine number distinctively from schedule data which is not associated with the routine number in a list where all schedule data are arranged in a single chronological list identified by the one routine number, and

(d) providing a plurality of said conditions, at least one being a basic condition for establishing the periodicity of the dates to be established and at least another being an exceptional condition for excluding, from the plurality of dates certain dates selected by the basic condition.

10. A storage medium storing a schedule management program for displaying schedule data on a schedule management apparatus having a display screen and an input device, said program comprising:

(a) program code instructing said schedule management apparatus to display a schedule data input panel in response to an operator'"'"'s operation instructing a schedule input,

(b) program code instructing said schedule management apparatus to receive a user input including a schedule starting time, a schedule ending time for each of a plurality of events to occur over a period of time, a basic condition of a day on which each date of the schedule cannot be set and an exceptional condition of a day on which at least one date in the schedule cannot be set in said schedule data input panel,

(c) program code instructing said schedule management apparatus to calculate a plurality of setting dates corresponding to said basic condition of a day on which a schedule is set and said exceptional condition of a day on which a schedule cannot be set,

(d) program code instructing said schedule management apparatus to generate a routine number having a common value which is allocated to each of the schedule data of said plurality of setting dates,

(e) program code instructing said schedule management apparatus to generate schedule data including a schedule starting time and a schedule ending time four each of said plurality of setting dates and storing them in association with said routine number, and

(f) program code instructing said schedule management apparatus to display schedule data which is associated with said routine number distinctively from schedule data which is not associated with the routine number in a single list containing all schedule data arranged in chronological order and identified by the routine number.