US6085166A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Electronic calendar with group scheduling and asynchronous fan out method
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1998-06-19
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Granted: 2000-07-04
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Expires: 2018-06-19
Abstract
Abstract A system for scheduling time intervals for a plurality of users comprises a database, associated with one or more server means, for storing a profile for potential invitees of the system, the invitee profiles comprising user profiles wherein each user profile comprises information regarding available and unavailable times for that user. A remote workstation comprises a request generating system that is connected over a network to the server means and that generates a request for allocation of a time interval for one or more of the plurality of invitees. At the server, a busy time determination system gathers the profiles for the one or more requested invitees using asynchronous fan out requests to the one or more databases storing the profiles and determines whether those invitees are available during the requested time interval.
Inventors
- 👤 Steven Robert Beckhardt
- 👤 John Banks-Binici
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 02:56
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06Q; G06Q10/00; G06Q10/10; G06Q10/109; G06Q10/1093; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S715/00; Y10S715/961; Y10S715/963
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
144 words
A system for scheduling time intervals for a plurality of users comprising: database means, associated with one or more server means, for storing a profile for potential invitees of the system, the invitee profiles comprising user profiles wherein each user profile comprises information regarding available and unavailable times for that user; request generating means, connected over a network to the server means, for generating a request for allocation of a time interval for one or more of the plurality of invitees; busy time determination means for gathering the profiles for the one or more requested invitees using asynchronous fan out requests to the one or more databases storing the profiles, and for incrementally determining whether those invitees are available during the requested time interval as the profiles for each of said one or more requested invitees are gathered using said asynchronous fan out requests.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
144 words
A system for scheduling time intervals for a plurality of users comprising: database means, associated with one or more server means, for storing a profile for potential invitees of the system, the invitee profiles comprising user profiles wherein each user profile comprises information regarding available and unavailable times for that user; request generating means, connected over a network to the server means, for generating a request for allocation of a time interval for one or more of the plurality of invitees; busy time determination means for gathering the profiles for the one or more requested invitees using asynchronous fan out requests to the one or more databases storing the profiles, and for incrementally determining whether those invitees are available during the requested time interval as the profiles for each of said one or more requested invitees are gathered using said asynchronous fan out requests.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
20 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the asynchronous fan out requests request the profiles from the one or more servers.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system of claim 2, wherein the asynchronous fan out requests pass the profiles to the busy time determination means for determining whether those invitees are available without waiting for responses from the one or more servers.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
30 words
The system of claim 3, wherein the asynchronous fan out requests dynamically create at least one busy time file based on the responses received from the one or more servers.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
152 words
A system for scheduling time intervals for a plurality of users comprising: one or more databases, associated with one or more servers, which store a profile for potential invitees of the system, the invitee profiles comprising user profiles wherein each user profile comprises information regarding available and unavailable times for that user; one or more user workstations, connected over a network to the one or more servers, operating a calendaring system which permit a user to request allocation of a time interval for one or more of the plurality of invitees; and wherein the calendaring system gathers the profiles for one or more requested invitees using asynchronous fan out requests to the one or more databases storing the profiles and incrementally determines whether those invitees are available during the requested time interval as the profiles for each of said one or more requested invitees are gathered using said asynchronous fan out requests.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
152 words
A system for scheduling time intervals for a plurality of users comprising: one or more databases, associated with one or more servers, which store a profile for potential invitees of the system, the invitee profiles comprising user profiles wherein each user profile comprises information regarding available and unavailable times for that user; one or more user workstations, connected over a network to the one or more servers, operating a calendaring system which permit a user to request allocation of a time interval for one or more of the plurality of invitees; and wherein the calendaring system gathers the profiles for one or more requested invitees using asynchronous fan out requests to the one or more databases storing the profiles and incrementally determines whether those invitees are available during the requested time interval as the profiles for each of said one or more requested invitees are gathered using said asynchronous fan out requests.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
20 words
The system of claim 5, wherein the asynchronous fan out requests request the profiles from the one or more servers.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
35 words
The system of claim 6, wherein the asynchronous fan out requests pass the profiles to the calendaring system for determining whether those invitees are available without waiting for responses from the one or more servers.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
29 words
The system of claim 7, wherein the asynchronous fan out requests dynamically create at least one busy time file based on responses received from the one or more servers.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
147 words
A process for scheduling time intervals for a plurality of users connected over a network to a plurality of servers comprising: storing a profile for potential invitees of the system on one or more databases associated with one or more servers, the invitee profiles comprising user profiles wherein each user profile comprises information regarding available and unavailable times for that user; receiving a request for allocation of a time interval for one or more of the plurality of invitees from a remote workstation connected over a network to the one or more servers; gathering the profiles for the one or more requested invitees using asynchronous fan out requests to the one or more databases; and incrementally determining whether those invitees are available during the requested time interval as the profiles for each of said one or more requested invitees are gathered using said asynchronous fan out requests.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
147 words
A process for scheduling time intervals for a plurality of users connected over a network to a plurality of servers comprising: storing a profile for potential invitees of the system on one or more databases associated with one or more servers, the invitee profiles comprising user profiles wherein each user profile comprises information regarding available and unavailable times for that user; receiving a request for allocation of a time interval for one or more of the plurality of invitees from a remote workstation connected over a network to the one or more servers; gathering the profiles for the one or more requested invitees using asynchronous fan out requests to the one or more databases; and incrementally determining whether those invitees are available during the requested time interval as the profiles for each of said one or more requested invitees are gathered using said asynchronous fan out requests.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
23 words
The process of claim 9, wherein the step of gathering comprises the step of requesting the profiles from the one or more servers.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
40 words
The process of claim 10, wherein the step of gathering comprises the step of passing the profiles to the busy time determination means for determining whether those invitees are available without waiting for responses from the one or more servers.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
34 words
The process of claim 11, wherein the step of gathering further comprises the step of dynamically creating at least one busy time file based on the responses received from the one or more servers.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
184 words
A processor usable medium having processor readable code embodied therein for enabling group calendaring between a plurality of users on a system, the system comprising one or more databases, associated with one or more servers, which stores a profile for each potential invitee of the system, the invitee profiles comprising user profiles wherein each user profile comprises information regarding available and unavailable times for that user, the processor readable code in said processor usable medium comprising: processor readable code for causing a server to receive a request for allocation of a time interval for one or more of the plurality of invitees from a remote workstation connected over a network to the server; processor readable code for causing the server to gather the profiles for the one or more requested invitees by using asynchronous fan out requests to the one or more databases; and processor readable code for causing a processor to incrementally determine whether those invitees are available during the requested time interval as the profiles for each of said one or more requested invitees are gathered using said asynchronous fan out requests.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
184 words
A processor usable medium having processor readable code embodied therein for enabling group calendaring between a plurality of users on a system, the system comprising one or more databases, associated with one or more servers, which stores a profile for each potential invitee of the system, the invitee profiles comprising user profiles wherein each user profile comprises information regarding available and unavailable times for that user, the processor readable code in said processor usable medium comprising: processor readable code for causing a server to receive a request for allocation of a time interval for one or more of the plurality of invitees from a remote workstation connected over a network to the server; processor readable code for causing the server to gather the profiles for the one or more requested invitees by using asynchronous fan out requests to the one or more databases; and processor readable code for causing a processor to incrementally determine whether those invitees are available during the requested time interval as the profiles for each of said one or more requested invitees are gathered using said asynchronous fan out requests.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
21 words
The medium according to claim 13, wherein the asynchronous fan out requests request the profiles from the one or more servers.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
41 words
The medium according to claim 14, wherein the asynchronous fan out requests pass the profiles to the processor readable code for causing a processor to determine whether those invitees are available without waiting for responses from the one or more servers.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
30 words
The medium of claim 15, wherein the asynchronous fan out requests dynamically create at least one busy time file based on the responses received from the one or more servers.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-07-04 | 2004-01-03 | 2004-07-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-07-04 | 2008-01-03 | 2008-07-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-07-04 | 2012-01-03 | 2012-07-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |