Method and system for scheduling a meeting for a set of attendees via a special attendee

• US 7,865,387 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2002
• Issued: 01/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Mansour, Steve
• Primary Examiner(s): Boswell, Beth V
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATS, JUSTIN
• Application Number:
  US10/155,625
• Publication Number:
  US 20030220826A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,148 Days
• Field of Search: 705/9
• US Class Current: 705/7.16
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063116 Schedule adjustment for a person or group
• 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

Abstract

A group scheduling solution offers an organized and formalized solution to the time management problem in which the desired meeting includes one person who is difficult to schedule. In the inventive approach, a scheduling system is provided in which a hard-to-schedule attendee takes over responsibility for setting the start time of an event. In the invention, a workflow is provided, in which the organizer sends a request to the hard-to-schedule person. The request preferably contains the desired duration of the meeting. The request may contain a list of attendees, location, and other details. These requests are maintained in a queue for the hard-to-schedule person. Batching requests in a queue is a key feature of the invention. The hard-to-schedule person, or their proxy, can then review these requests and select a suitable time for the meeting, set this time in a meeting request, thereby causing an update to be sent back to the organizer and the other attendees, thus indicating the appointed time for the meeting. The organizer of the meeting can still update the meeting details, etc. However, any changes in the start time or the duration of the meeting must be made by the hard-to-schedule person or their proxy. The hard-to-schedule person can also decline the meeting entirely.

Claims

1. A method for scheduling a meeting for a set of attendees, wherein the set of attendees includes a special attendee and at least one additional attendee, the method comprising:

generating a meeting request from a meeting organizer, wherein the meeting request designates the special attendee as a recipient of the meeting request and wherein the meeting request does not specify meeting commencement information, the meeting commencement information comprising a start time and a date;

obtaining a selection by the special attendee of the meeting commencement information responsive to the meeting request, wherein the selection corresponds to acceptance of the meeting request and causes a calendar event to be placed on a calendar application of the special attendee;

causing transmission to the at least one additional attendee of an updated meeting request specifying the selected meeting commencement information, wherein the updated meeting request is acceptable by each at least one additional attendee to place a corresponding calendar event on a calendar application of the at least one additional attendee;

receiving a request for a modification, by the special attendee or a proxy of the special attendee, to the meeting commencement information, wherein the request comprises a change to the meeting commencement information that must be initiated by the special attendee or a proxy of the special attendee and cannot be initiated by the meeting organizer and the at least one additional attendee; and

causing transmission to the meeting organizer and the at least one additional attendee of a second updated meeting request comprising the change to the meeting commencement information,

wherein each of the steps is implemented by group scheduling software executed on a computer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising causing the meeting request to be displayed to the special attendee in a meeting request queue on a calendar application on a computer screen display.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising causing at least one calendar view to be displayed to the special attendee adjacent to the meeting request queue on a calendar application on a computer display screen, the at least one calendar view providing a reference to a set of scheduled meetings including the start time and date of each scheduled meeting.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the selection of the meeting commencement information comprises moving a graphical display object associated with the meeting request from the meeting request queue to another location on the computer display screen associated with the at least one calendar view to assign the meeting request to a date and a time.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising causing display of the updated meeting request in at least one schedule view on a calendar application on a computer display screen for each of the at least one additional attendee automatically upon selection of the meeting commencement information by the special attendee.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein causing the display of the updated meeting request occurs automatically in response to movement of the graphical display object associated with the meeting request from the meeting request queue to another location on the single computer display screen associated with the at least one calendar view to assign the meeting request to a date and a time.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the meeting request is to be displayed in the meeting request queue until the meeting commencement information is selected by the special attendee.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein causing transmission of an updated meeting request comprises automatically causing transmission of an updated meeting request in response to obtaining selection of the meeting commencement information by the special attendee.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the updated meeting request is automatically caused to be transmitted without further interaction from the meeting organizer.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the meeting request includes a duration of the meeting.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the meeting request includes an identification of the set of attendees designated to attend the meeting.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the meeting request includes a meeting agenda.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising causing the display of the updated meeting request in at least one schedule view on a calendar application on a computer display screen for each of the at least one additional attendee automatically upon selection of the meeting commencement information by the special attendee.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the special attendee is the only recipient of the meeting request.

15. In a messaging environment corresponding to a set of attendees, wherein the set of attendees includes a special meeting attendee and at least one additional meeting attendee, the at least one additional meeting attendee including a meeting organizer, a system comprising:

a computer executing group scheduling software, wherein upon execution of the group scheduling software, the computer is operable to;

generate a meeting request from the meeting organizer, wherein the meeting request designates the special attendee as a recipient of the meeting request and wherein the meeting request does not specify meeting commencement information, the meeting commencement information comprising a start time and a date;

obtain a selection by the special attendee of the meeting commencement information responsive to the meeting request, wherein the selection corresponds to acceptance of the meeting request and causes a calendar event to be placed on a calendar application of the special attendee;

cause transmission to the at least one additional attendee of an updated meeting request specifying the selected meeting commencement information, wherein the updated meeting request is acceptable by each at least one additional attendee to place a corresponding calendar event on a calendar application of the at least one additional attendee;

receive a request for a modification, by the special attendee or a proxy of the special attendee, to the meeting commencement information, wherein the request comprises a change to the meeting commencement information that must be initiated by the special attendee or a proxy of the special attendee and cannot be initiated by the meeting organizer and the at least one additional attendee; and

cause transmission to the meeting organizer and the at least one additional attendee of a second updated meeting request comprising the change to the meeting commencement information.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the computer is further operable to cause the distribution of the meeting request, wherein causing the distribution of the meeting request comprises causing the meeting request to be displayed to the special attendee in a meeting request queue on a calendar application on a computer screen display.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein causing the distribution of the meeting request further comprises causing at least one calendar display to be provided to the special attendee adjacent to the meeting request queue on a calendar application on a computer display screen, the at least one calendar view providing a reference to an available start time and an available date associated with the special attendee and the meeting request queue providing a reference to only a set of non-scheduled meeting requests.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the selection of the meeting commencement information comprises movement of a graphical display object associated with the meeting request from the meeting request queue to another location on the single computer display screen associated with the at least one calendar view to assign the meeting request to a date and a time.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein causing transmission of the updated meeting request comprises causing display of the updated meeting request in at least one schedule view on a computer display screen for each of the at least one additional attendee automatically upon selection of the meeting commencement information by the special attendee.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein causing the display of the updated meeting request occurs automatically in response to movement of the graphical display object associated with the meeting request from the meeting request queue to another location on the single computer display screen associated with the at least one calendar view to assign the meeting request to a date and a time.

21. The system of claim 16, wherein the meeting request is to be displayed in the meeting request queue until the meeting commencement information is selected by the special attendee.

22. The system of claim 15, wherein the computer is operable to cause transmission of the updated meeting request automatically in response to obtaining selection of the meeting commencement information by the special attendee.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the updated meeting request is automatically caused to be transmitted to the at least one additional attendee without further interaction from the meeting organizer.

24. The system of claim 15, wherein the meeting request includes a duration of the meeting.

25. The system of claim 15, wherein the meeting request includes an identification of the set of attendees designated to attend the meeting.

26. The system of claim 15, wherein the meeting request includes a meeting agenda.

27. The system of claim 15, wherein the special attendee is the only recipient of the meeting request.