System and method for scheduling conference resources

• US 7,693,734 B2
• Filed: 09/17/2004
• Issued: 04/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Christenson, Steven L., Pirzada, Shamim S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sterrett; Jonathan G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHOI, PETER H
• Application Number:
  US10/944,357
• Publication Number:
  US 20060062367A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,027 Days
• Field of Search: 705/8
• US Class Current: 705/7.19
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1095 Meeting or appointment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/565 relating to time schedule aspects

Abstract

A method for scheduling conference resources is provided, that includes receiving a request for a conference reservation. The request may include the identities of a plurality of proposed participants, a proposed start time, and at least one fixed resource criterion. In accordance with a particular embodiment of the present invention, a projected location of at least one of the proposed participants is automatically calculated. The projected location may be a location at which the at least one of the proposed participants is expected to be at approximately the proposed start time. The method may also include automatically calculating a projected location of at least one invitee of the conference. In accordance with this embodiment, the projected location of the at least one invitee may be used to select an optimal one of a plurality of fixed resources, that match the at least one fixed resource criterion.

Claims

1. A computerized method for identifying conference resources, comprising:

receiving, at a computerized interface being operable to receive a request for a conference reservation, the request including the identities of a plurality of proposed participants, a proposed start time, and at least one bandwidth-enabled conference resource criterion, the plurality of proposed participants comprising a conference coordinator and at least one conference invitee, the proposed start time comprising a proposed date and a proposed time, wherein the conference resources, including bandwidth-enabled conference resources, are classified as either fixed conference resources or moveable conference resources;

accessing maintained resource data comprising current location and availability of each of said resources; and

communicating the request for a conference reservation to a processor, the processor operable to;

automatically calculate a projected location of the conference coordinator (“

conference coordinator projected location”

) based on presence location information, the conference coordinator projected location comprising a location at which the conference coordinator is expected to be at approximately the proposed start time;

automatically calculate a projected location of the at least one conference invitee (“

conference invitee projected location”

) based on presence location information, the conference invitee projected location comprising a location remote from the conference coordinator projected location at which the at least one conference invitee is expected to be at approximately the proposed start time;

select an optimal one of a plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources for the conference coordinator (“

conference coordinator bandwidth-enabled conference resource”

) from an inventory of bandwidth-enabled conference resources that are available at the proposed start time that matches the at least one bandwidth-enabled conference resource criterion and the calculated conference coordinator projected location, the inventory of bandwidth-enabled conference resources including fixed conference resources and movable conference resources;

select an optimal one of a plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources for the conference invitee (“

conference invitee bandwidth-enabled conference resource”

) from the inventory of bandwidth-enabled conference resources that are available at the proposed start time that matches the at least one bandwidth-enabled conference resource criterion and the calculated invitee coordinator projected location; and

determine the amount of bandwidth available between the selected optimal conference coordinator bandwidth-enabled conference resource and the selected optimal conference invitee bandwidth-enabled conference resource based on the bandwidth capacity of said resources to accommodate communications between the conference coordinator and the conference invitee.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the presence location information is determined from RFID information integrated into a security badge of the conference coordinator or the conference invitee.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the conference coordinator bandwidth-enabled conference resource comprises the one of the plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources that is nearest to the conference coordinator projected location.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the conference invitee bandwidth-enabled conference resource comprises the one of the plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources that is nearest to the conference invitee projected location.

17. The method of claim 1, the plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources being selected from the group consisting of:

telephones, computers running telephony software, video monitors, cameras, IP phones, cell phones.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the fixed conference resources comprise conference rooms.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the presence location information comprises projected schedule information of the conference coordinator or the conference invitee.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein the presence location information is collected from a mobile, cellular, or IP phone or personal computer of the conference coordinator or the conference invitee.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein the presence location information compromises information regarding electronic equipment that was last used by the conference coordinator or the conference invitee.

37. The method of claim 1, wherein the presence location information comprises a status indicator published by the conference coordinator or the conference invitee.

5. A system for identifying conference resources, comprising:

an interface being operable to;

receive a request for a conference reservation, the request including the identities of a plurality of proposed participants, a proposed start time, and at least one bandwidth-enabled conference resource criterion, the plurality of proposed participants comprising a conference coordinator and at least one conference invitee, the proposed start time comprising a proposed date and a proposed time, wherein the conference resources, including bandwidth-enabled conference resources, are classified as either fixed conference resources or moveable conference resources; and

access maintained resource data comprising current location and availability of each of said resources; and

a processor being operable to;

automatically calculate a projected location the conference coordinator (“

conference coordinator projected location”

) based on presence location information, the conference coordinator projected location comprising a location at which the conference coordinator is expected to be at approximately the proposed start time;

automatically calculate a projected location of the at least one conference invitee (“

conference invitee projected location”

) based on presence location information, the conference invitee projected location comprising a location remote from the conference coordinator projected location at which the at least one conference invitee is expected to be at approximately the proposed start time;

select an optimal one of a plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources for the conference coordinator (“

conference coordinator bandwidth-enabled conference resource”

) from an inventory of bandwidth-enabled conference resources that are available at the proposed start time that matches the at least one bandwidth-enabled conference resource criterion and the calculated conference coordinator projected location, the inventory of bandwidth-enabled conference resources including fixed conference resources and movable conference resources;

select an optimal one of a plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources for the conference invitee (“

conference invitee bandwidth-enabled conference resource”

) from the inventory of bandwidth-enabled conference resources that are available at the proposed start time that matches the at least one bandwidth-enabled conference resource criterion and the calculated conference invitee projected location; and

determine the amount of bandwidth available between the selected optimal conference coordinator bandwidth-enabled conference resource and the selected optimal conference invitee bandwidth-enabled conference resource based on the bandwidth capacity of said resources to accommodate communications between the conference coordinator and the conference invitee.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the presence location information is determined from RFID information integrated into a security badge of the conference invitee or the conference coordinator.

11. The system of claim 5, wherein the conference coordinator bandwidth-enabled conference resource comprises the one of the plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources that is nearest to the conference coordinator projected location or nearest to the conference invitee projected location.

12. The system of claim 5, wherein the conference invitee bandwidth-enabled conference resource comprises the one of the plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources that is nearest to the conference invitee projected location.

18. The system of claim 5, the plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources being selected from the group consisting of:

telephones, computers running telephony software, video monitors, cameras, IP phones, cell phones.

22. The system of claim 5, wherein the fixed conference resources comprise conference rooms.

26. The system of claim 5, wherein the presence location information comprises projected schedule information of the conference coordinator or the conference invitee.

30. The system of claim 5, wherein the presence location information is collected from a mobile, cellular, or IP phone or personal computer of the conference coordinator or the conference invitee.

34. The system of claim 5, wherein the presence location information compromises information regarding electronic equipment that was last used by the conference coordinator or the conference invitee.

38. The system of claim 5, wherein the presence location information comprises a status indicator published by the conference coordinator or the conference invitee.

7. A system for identifying conference resources, comprising:

means for receiving a request for a conference reservation, the request including the identities of a plurality of proposed participants, a proposed start time, and at least one bandwidth-enabled conference resource criterion, the plurality of proposed participants comprising a conference coordinator and at least one conference invitee, the proposed start time comprising a proposed date and a proposed time, wherein the conference resources, including bandwidth-enabled conference resources, are classified as either fixed conference resources or moveable conference resources;

means for accessing maintained resource data comprising current location and availability of each of said resources;

means for automatically calculating a projected location of the conference coordinator (“

conference coordinator projected location”

) based on presence location information, the conference coordinator projected location comprising a location at which the conference coordinator is expected to be at approximately the proposed start time;

means for automatically calculating a projected location of the at least one conference invitee (“

conference invitee projected location”

) based on presence location information, the conference invitee projected location comprising a location remote from the conference coordinator projected location at which the at least one conference invitee is expected to be at approximately the proposed start time;

means select an optimal one of a plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources for the conference coordinator (“

conference coordinator bandwidth-enabled conference resource”

) from an inventory of bandwidth-enabled conference resources that are available at the proposed start time that matches the at least one bandwidth-enabled conference resource criterion and the calculated conference coordinator projected location, the inventory of bandwidth-enabled conference resources including fixed conference resources and movable conference resources;

means select an optimal one of a plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources for the conference invitee (“

conference invitee bandwidth-enabled conference resource”

) from an inventory of bandwidth-enabled conference resources that are available at the proposed start time that matches the at least one bandwidth-enabled conference resource criterion and the calculated conference invitee projected location; and

means for determining the amount of bandwidth available between the selected optimal conference coordinator bandwidth-enabled conference resource and the selected optimal conference invitee bandwidth-enabled conference resource based on the bandwidth capacity of said resources to accommodate communications between the conference coordinator and the conference invitee.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the presence location information is determined from RFID information integrated into a security badge of the conference invitee or the conference coordinator.

13. The system of claim 7, wherein the conference coordinator bandwidth-enabled conference resource comprises the one of the plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources that is nearest to the conference coordinator projected location or nearest to the conference invitee projected location.

14. The system of claim 7, wherein the conference invitee bandwidth-enabled conference resource comprises the one of the plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources that is nearest to the conference invitee projected location.

19. The system of claim 7, the plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources being selected from the group consisting of:

telephones, computers running telephony software, video monitors, cameras, IP phones, cell phones.

23. The system of claim 7, wherein the fixed conference resources comprise conference rooms.

27. The system of claim 7, wherein the presence location information comprises projected schedule information of the conference coordinator or the conference invitee.

31. The system of claim 7, wherein the presence location information is collected from a mobile, cellular, or IP phone or personal computer of the conference coordinator or the conference invitee.

35. The system of claim 7, wherein the presence location information compromises information regarding electronic equipment that was last used by the conference coordinator or the conference invitee.

39. The system of claim 7, wherein the presence location information comprises a status indicator published by the conference coordinator or the conference invitee.

9. An apparatus comprising:

a computer readable medium having stored logic such that when executed by a processor is operable to;

receive a request for a conference reservation, the request including the identities of a plurality of proposed participants, a proposed start time, and at least one bandwidth-enabled conference resource criterion, the plurality of proposed participants comprising a conference coordinator and at least one conference invitee, the proposed start time comprising a proposed date and a proposed time, wherein the conference resources, including bandwidth-enabled conference resources, are classified as either fixed conference resources or moveable conference resources;

access maintained resource data comprising current location and availability of each of said resources;

automatically calculate a projected location the conference coordinator (“

conference coordinator projected location”

) based on presence location information, the conference coordinator projected location comprising a location at which the conference coordinator is expected to be at approximately the proposed start time;

automatically calculate a projected location of the at least one conference invitee (“

conference invitee projected location”

) based on presence location information, the conference invitee projected location comprising a location remote from the conference coordinator projected location at which the at least one conference invitee is expected to be at approximately the proposed start time;

select an optimal one of a plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources for the conference coordinator (“

conference coordinator bandwidth-enabled conference resource”

) from an inventory of bandwidth-enabled conference resources that are available at the proposed start time that matches the at least one bandwidth-enabled conference resource criterion and the calculated conference coordinator projected location, the inventory of bandwidth-enabled conference resources including fixed conference resources and movable conference resources;

select an optimal one of a plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources for the conference invitee (“

conference invitee bandwidth-enabled conference resource”

) from the inventory of bandwidth-enabled conference resources that are available at the proposed start time that matches the at least one bandwidth-enabled conference resource criterion and the calculated conference invitee projected location; and

determine the amount of bandwidth available between the selected optimal conference coordinator bandwidth-enabled conference resource and the selected optimal conference invitee bandwidth-enabled conference resource based on the bandwidth capacity of said resources to accommodate communications between the conference coordinator and the conference invitee.

10. The apparatus of claim 9,

wherein the presence location information is determined from RFID information integrated into a security badge of the conference invitee or the conference coordinator.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the conference coordinator bandwidth-enabled conference resource comprises the one of the plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources that is nearest to the conference coordinator projected location or nearest to the conference invitee projected location.

16. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the conference invitee bandwidth-enabled conference resource comprises the one of the plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources that is nearest to the conference invitee projected location.

20. The apparatus of claim 9, the plurality of bandwidth-enabled conference resources being selected from the group consisting of:

telephones, computers running telephony software, video monitors, cameras, IP phones, cell phones.

24. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the fixed conference resources comprise conference rooms.

28. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the presence location information comprises projected schedule information of the conference coordinator or the conference invitee.

32. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the presence location information is collected from a mobile, cellular, or IP phone or personal computer of the conference coordinator or the conference invitee.

36. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the presence location information compromises information regarding electronic equipment that was last used by the conference coordinator or the conference invitee.

40. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the presence location information comprises a status indicator published by the conference coordinator or the conference invitee.