Visually indicating a calendar event among different time zones

• US 9,444,882 B2
• Filed: 10/23/2013
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Oral, Tolga, Schirmer, Andrew L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Anya, Charles E
• Application Number:
  US14/061,753
• Publication Number:
  US 20140075340A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,056 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2477 Temporal data queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1093 Calendar-based scheduling for persons or groups
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

A calendared event may be visually indicated. A proposed time for the calendared event can be identified and each of a plurality of event participants can be associated with the calendared event. For each of the participants, a local time of the participant that corresponds to the proposed time for the calendared event can be identified and displayed.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for visually indicating a calendared event, comprising:

displaying a plurality of time tables, respectively, for a plurality of event participants associated with the calendared event;

displaying, associated with a time table for a first of the event participants, a first time difference indicator;

displaying, associated with a time table for a second of the event participants, a second time difference indicator;

displaying, associated with the first time difference indicator and the second time difference indicator, an association indicator;

for each of the event participants, identifying a local time block, of the event participant, that corresponds to a proposed time block for the calendared event, wherein the first time difference indicator indicates a time difference between the local time block of the first event participant and an event time reference, the second time difference indicator indicates a time difference between the local time block of the second event participant and the event time reference, the association indicator visually associates the first time difference indicator to the second time difference indicator, and the event time reference is a time of the calendared event in a time zone of a predetermined entity;

in response to determining that the association indicator has been moved, changing the proposed time; and

resending an event invitation message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein

the predetermined entity is an event coordinator.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein

the predetermined entity is a user to which the plurality of time tables is being displayed.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising

displaying, associated with one of the event participants, an availability indicator.

5. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-usable storage medium having stored therein computer-usable program code for visually indicating a calendared event,

the computer-usable storage medium is not a transitory, propagating signal per se,

the computer-usable program code, which when executed by a computer hardware system, causes the computer hardware system to perform;

displaying a plurality of time tables, respectively, for a plurality of event participants associated with the calendared event;

displaying, associated with a time table for a first of the event participants, a first time difference indicator;

displaying, associated with a time table for a second of the event participants, a second time difference indicator;

displaying, associated with the first time difference indicator and the second time difference indicator, an association indicator;

for each of the event participants, identifying a local time block, of the event participant, that corresponds to a proposed time block for the calendared event, wherein the first time difference indicator indicates a time difference between the local time block of the first event participant and an event time reference, the second time difference indicator indicates a time difference between the local time block of the second event participant and the event time reference, the association indicator visually associates the first time difference indicator to the second time difference indicator, the event time reference is a time of the calendared event in a time zone of a predetermined entity;

in response to determining that the association indicator has been moved, changing the proposed time; and

resending an event invitation message.

6. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein

the predetermined entity is an event coordinator.

7. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein

the predetermined entity is a user to which the plurality of time tables is being displayed.

8. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein the computer-usable program code further causes the computer hardware system to perform

displaying, associated with one of the event participants, an availability indicator.

9. A computer hardware system configured to visually indicate a calendared event, comprising:

at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to initiate and/or perform;

displaying a plurality of time tables, respectively, for a plurality of event participants associated with the calendared event;

displaying, associated with a time table for a first of the event participants, a first time difference indicator;

displaying, associated with a time table for a second of the event participants, a second time difference indicator;

displaying, associated with the first time difference indicator and the second time difference indicator, an association indicator; and

for each of the event participants, identifying a local time block, of the event participant, that corresponds to a proposed time block for the calendared event, wherein the first time difference indicator indicates a time difference between the local time block of the first event participant and an event time reference, the second time difference indicator indicates a time difference between the local time block of the second event participant and the event time reference, the association indicator visually associates the first time difference indicator to the second time difference indicator, and the event time reference is a time of the calendared event in a time zone of a predetermined entity;

in response to determining that the association indicator has been moved, changing the proposed time; and

resending an event invitation message.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein

the predetermined entity is an event coordinator.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein

the predetermined entity is a user to which the plurality of time tables is being displayed.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to initiate and/or perform

displaying, associated with one of the event participants, an availability indicator.