Abstract:
A system and method of publicizing a schedule of upcoming events over the Internet. Visitors to an events website are able to browse various schedules of upcoming events, called events pages, publicize by the entities that are sponsoring the events. Furthermore, such visitors may become a subscriber of one or more events pages that he/she has an interested in. Once the visitor becomes a subscriber, he/she may receive automatic notification via e-mail when the events page(s) that he/she has subscribed to is/are updated or changed. Additionally, if the subscriber has a commercially available Internet-linked calendar or obtains a subscriber calendar, this invention allows such subscribers to automatically update their Internet-linked calendar or subscriber calendar to comprise the events contained in the events page(s) they have subscribed to.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention generally relates to event publishing notification. More particularly, this invention relates to a novel system and method that publishes and notifies individuals of events over the Internet and automatically updates personal calendars of individuals interested in such publicized events. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Organizers of events, such as, meetings, conferences, and seminars, for example, have increasingly utilized the Internet to notify their intended participants of these events. It is not uncommon for event organizers to announce events via e-mail. Typically, upon receiving information regarding an event of interest, individuals manually input such events into their personal calendars. For example, many individuals utilize the calendar feature of the well known e-mail application, Microsoft® Outlook™, to keep track of such events. 
     For busy individuals, the manual entry of noteworthy events maybe inconvenient, time consuming, tedious, and prone to errors. In addition, entered events may be difficult to update or modify if the events get rescheduled or canceled. 
     Thus, what is needed is a method and system that enables individuals to automatically update their personal calendars with events of interest as well as allow event organizers to publicize and forward event-related information. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate the invention, and together with the description, explain the objects, advantages, and principles of the invention. In the drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is a conceptual block diagram depicting an event publishing system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram depicting features of a Calendar Web Server in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram depicting features of a Publisher Calendar Server in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram depicting features of a Publish Server in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram depicting features of a Subscriber Calendar Locator in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram depicting features of a Subscriber Calendar Web Server in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram depicting features of a Subscriber Calendar Server in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and 
     FIGS. 8A-8C are flow charts illustrating a process in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments are possible and modifications may be made to the embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the following detailed description is not meant to limit the invention. Rather the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims. 
     FIG. 1 presents a conceptual overview of the event publishing system  150 , constructed and operative in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As indicated in FIG. 1, system  150  incorporates an Event Publisher  20 , which uses Internet access device  100  to access the Internet  110 . Event Publisher  20  may be any entity that utilizes system  150  to publicize events. The Internet access device  100  may comprise a desktop personal computer, a laptop personal computer, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) or a Windows CE device. Other devices may be employed as long as they have the capability to access and “surf” the Internet using an Internet browser. Internet access device  100  accesses the Internet via data link  10 . Data link  10  may be a telephone line, dedicated computer connection, a satellite connection, a cellular telephone network connection, or any other data connection capable of accessing the Internet. 
     Event Publisher  20  may access and communicate with Calendar Web Server  101  using an Internet browser. Calendar Web Server  101  may be configured to store, manage, and permit access to events and is linked to the Internet  110  via data link  8 . As stated above with respect to data link  10 , data link  8  may be a telephone line, a dedicated computer connection, a satellite connection, a cellular telephone network connection, or any other data connection capable of accessing the Internet. Calendar Web Server  101  may also include software to restrict access to other entities of system  150 . 
     Calendar Web Server  101  may be linked to Publisher Calendar Server  102 . Publisher Calendar Server  102  stores Events Page  112 , which corresponds to Event Publisher  20 . Events Page  112  may comprise a list of events that Event Publisher  20  desires to publicize to a specific group or to the general public. Events Page  112  may also contain information regarding each event, such as description of the event, location and direction to the location of the event, etc. Event Publisher  20  may employ Publish Server  103  to update Events Page  112  and may do so by adding or deleting events, changing the schedule of events, adding and/or editing the information pertaining to the events stored on Events Page  112 , etc. As indicated in FIG. 1, Publisher Calendar Server  102  and Publish Server  103  are linked to the Calendar Web Server  101  via data link  1  and data link  2 , respectively. 
     Publisher Calendar Server  102  is linked to Publish Server  103  via data link  3 . Data links  1 - 3  may be configured in accordance with well-known protocols, such as, HTTP (Hyper Text Transport Protocol) or TCP (Transport Control Protocol). Event Publisher  20  may restrict access to Events Page  112  stored in the Publisher Calendar Server  102  to a specific group of persons or entities called subscribers. Calendar Web Server  101  may be configured to deny access to any non-subscriber if Event Publisher  20  has restricted access to Events Page  112  to his subscribers only. Each subscriber may enter a user identification, assigned by Event Publisher  20 , and a password, individually chosen by each subscriber, before the Calendar Web Server  101  will grant access to a restricted events page. A subscriber&#39;s user identification may be his e-mail address. Both Event Publisher  20  and Event Publisher&#39;s  20  subscribers may view the Events Page  112  stored in the Calendar Web Server  102 . However, only Event Publisher  20  may access the Publish Server  103  to update the Events Page. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, Events Page  112  is a restricted events page. However, depending on the events that Event Publisher  20  desires to publicize, Event Publisher  20  may allow the general public to access Events Page  112  by designating Events Page  112  as an unrestricted events page. In such a case, Calendar Web Server  101  will allow the public to access Events Page  112  without requiring a valid user identification and password to be entered. The public may browse all of the unrestricted events pages stored in the Publisher Calendar Server  102 . 
     After Event Publisher  20  updates Events Page  112 , Event Publisher  20  activates Publish Server  103  to forward an update message signal to Subscriber Calendar Locator  104 , via Calendar Web Server  101  and the Internet  110 , respectively. As such, Event Publisher  20  directs Subscriber Calendar Locator  104  to update the personal calendars of his Automatic subscribers and to notify his Automatic and Non-Automatic subscribers of his updated Events Page  112  via e-mail. Subscriber Calendar Locator  104  may determine whether each of Event Publisher&#39;s  20  subscribers are Automatic or Non-Automatic subscribers. 
     Returning to FIG. 1, system  150  further includes Subscriber Calendar Web Server  106 , which manages and controls access to Subscriber Calendar Server  107 . Subscriber Calendar Server  107  is linked to the Subscriber Calendar Web Server  106  via data link  4 . Data link  4  is configured as an HTTP or TCP link. Subscriber Calendar Web Server  106  is linked to the Internet  110  by data link  6 . As noted above with respect to data links  8 ,  10 , data link  6  may be a telephone line, a dedicated computer connection, a satellite connection, a cellular telephone connection, or any other data connection. 
     Subscriber Calendar Server  107  stores Subscriber Calendar  117 . Subscriber Calendar  117  is a personal calendar that represents the daily, weekly, monthly or yearly schedules of Subscriber  25 . Each subscriber maintains his own personal calendar. In this example, Subscriber  25  maintains a personal calendar that is stored in Subscriber Calendar Server  107 . However, Subscriber  25  may utilize a commercially available Internet-linked calendar such as Microsoft® Outlook™ or Yahoo® Calendar in conjunction with this invention. 
     Subscriber  25  may access Subscriber Calendar  117 , stored on the Subscriber Calendar Server  107 , using an Internet access device  105 . Internet access device  105  may be configured much like any of the devices described above for Internet access device  100 . The only difference between Internet access device  105  and Internet access device  100  is that the former is used by Subscriber  25  and the latter is used by Event Publisher  20 . Internet access device  105  is linked to the Internet via data link  4 . Much like links  10 ,  8  and  6 , data link  4  may be a telephone line, a dedicated computer connection, a satellite connection, a cellular telephone connection, or any other data connection. 
     Using the Internet browser associated with Internet access device  105 , Subscriber  25  may access the Subscriber Calendar Web Server  106 . After entering his user identification and password, Subscriber  25  may access Subscriber Calendar  117  stored in the Subscriber Calendar Server  107 , after entering his user identification and password. Subscriber  25  may then edit and update his Subscriber Calendar  117  by manually entering information associated with events of interest to him. However, the information associated with the events listed on the updated Events Page  112  may be automatically added to Subscriber Calendar  117 . Subscriber&#39;s  25  Subscriber Calendar  117  may be updated with information pertaining to Event Page  112  without any manual operation by Subscriber  25 . For example, upon receiving updated Events Page  1112 , information from Publish Server  103 , Subscriber Locator  104  locates Subscriber Calendar  117 . 
     Subscriber data pertaining to each Subscriber  25  is stored in Subscriber Calendar Server Locator  104 . The subscriber data includes the location and type of personal calendar each subscriber utilizes, and whether each subscriber is an Automatic or a Non-Automatic subscriber. Each Subscriber  25  may utilize a personal calendar stored on the Subscriber Calendar Server  107  or may utilize a commercially available Internet-linked calendar, such as Microsoft® Outlook™ or Yahoo® Calendar, for example. 
     After successfully locating Subscriber Calendar  117 , an update message signal, corresponding to the updated data, is transferred from Subscriber Calendar Locator  104  to the Internet  110  via data link  12 , and then to Subscriber Web Calendar Server  106  via data link  6 . Subscriber Calendar Web Server  106  will transfer the update message signal corresponding to the updated data to the Subscriber Calendar Server  107 . 
     Subscriber Calendar Server  107  comprises a storage device which stores a plurality of Subscriber Calendars associated with a plurality of subscribers. The update message signal includes data identifying Subscriber Calendar  117  as the personal calendar to be updated. The update message signal also includes commands instructing Subscriber Calendar Web Server  106  to update Subscriber Calendar  117 . Subscriber Calendar Web Server  106  may update Subscriber Calendar  117 , stored in Subscriber Calendar Server  107 , by adding, deleting, and editing dates and information pertaining to the Event Publisher&#39;s  20  updated Events Page  112 . 
     If Subscriber  25  utilizes a commercially available Internet-linked calendar, and not one stored on the Subscriber Calendar Server  107 , Subscriber Calendar Server  107  may convert the update message signal into a format that corresponds to the type of personal calendar Subscriber  25  is utilizing. Server  107  will forward an update message signal to Subscriber&#39;s  25  commercially available Internet-linked calendar, via Server  106  and the Internet  110 , respectively, to update the subscriber&#39;s calendar in accordance with the updated Events Page  112 . 
     FIG. 2 illustrates the main components of Calendar Web Server  101 . Calendar Web Server  101  comprises CPU  300  that is linked to the Internet  110  via data link  8 . CPU  300  is linked to and controls the operations of Authentication device  301 , Publish Server Interface  302 , and Subscriber Account Application. CPU  300  receives a data signal corresponding to the commands of Event Publisher  20 , Subscriber  25 , or a non-subscribing member of the public who is visiting a Publisher Calendar website. Calendar Web Server  101  controls and operates the Publisher Calendar website. The Publisher Calendar website displays links to unrestricted events pages that non-subscribing members of the general public may access. The website may also contain links for Subscriber  25  and Event Publisher  20  to access restricted events pages. 
     The Publisher Calendar website may comprises a link (e.g. HTTP) inviting non-subscribing visitors to become subscribers to unrestricted events pages and activating accounts for subscribers who have access to restricted events pages. After activating (e.g., clicking on the link), Subscriber Account Application  303  enables CPU  300  to display instructions for activating a new subscriber account and enables CPU  300  to activate the new subscriber&#39;s account. Each restricted and unrestricted events page comprises a link for Non-Automatic subscribers to update their personal calendar utilizing the Calendar Update Operation as described below. Subscriber Account Application  303  enables CPU  300  to initiate the Calendar Update Operation. 
     Subscriber Account Application  303  comprises Wallet application software, which may be downloaded as a step of setting up a new subscriber account. Preferably, Subscriber  25  downloads Wallet application software. The Wallet application maintains and stores personal and user data pertaining to Subscriber  25 . Data maintained by the Wallet application may include, for example, user name, address, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, user authentication information for authenticating the user to different web servers/applications, credit card information, brand of Internet-linked commercial calendar being utilized, whether Subscriber  25  desires to be an Automatic or Non-Automatic subscriber, Internet address of Internet-linked commercial calendar, and/or Subscriber Calendar  117 . 
     Upon being installed in the Subscriber&#39;s  25  Internet access device  105 , the Wallet application instructs the central processing unit (CPU) in Internet access device  105  to forward the subscriber data to Subscriber Calendar Server Locator  104 . The subscriber data will be store in Subscriber Calendar Server Locator  104 . 
     Authentication device  301  verifies whether the user identification and password entered by Subscriber  25  and Event Publisher  20  are valid. If the user identification and password entered by Subscriber  25  is valid, Authentication device  301  will allow Subscriber  25  access to Publisher Calendar Server  102  via data link  1 . If the user identification and password entered by Event Publisher  20  is valid, Authentication device  301  will allow Event Publisher  20  access to Publish Server interface  302 , which is linked to Authentication device  301 . 
     FIG. 3 illustrates the main components of Publisher Calendar Server  102 . Publisher Calendar Server  102  comprises Publish Server Interface  402 , which is linked to Publish Server  103  via data link  3 . Publish Server Interface  402  allows the Publish Server  103  and Publisher Calendar Server  102  to exchange information. Publish Server Interface  402  may be linked to Persistent store  401 , which is a memory device such as a hard drive, that stores a plurality of events pages belonging to a plurality of event publishers. Persistent store  401  is also linked to Calendar Web Server interface  403 . Calendar Web Server Interface  403  enables Publisher Calendar Server  102  and Calendar Web Server  101  to exchange information. Calendar Web Server interface  403  may be linked to Calendar Web Server  101  via data link  1 . 
     FIG. 4 illustrates the main components of Publish Server  103 . Publish Server  103  comprises Event Publisher Application device  501 , which may be linked to Calendar Web Server  104  via data link  2 . Event Publisher Application device  501  is further linked to and controls the operations of Events Page Template  502 , Calendar Web Server Interface  503 , and Subscriber Calendar Locator interface  504 . 
     Event Publisher Application device  501  allows Event Publisher  20  to view and edit his Events Page  112 , which is stored in Persistent Store  401 . Event Publisher Application device  501  also allows Event Publisher  112  to create new events pages if so desired. Event Publisher Application device  501  is linked to Publisher Calendar Server  102  via data link  3  as well as being linked to Event Page Template  502 . Event Page Template  502  contains a plurality of events page templates, which Event Publisher  112  may use to alter the appearance of Events Page  112  or to create and design new events pages. 
     Calendar Web Server interface  503  and Subscriber Calendar Locator interface  504  may both be linked to Event Publisher Application device  501 . Calendar Web Server Interface  503  enables Event Publisher Application device  501  to exchange information with Calendar Web Server  101 . Subscriber Calendar Locator interface  504  enables Event Publisher Application device  501  to transfer a data signal corresponding to the updated Events Page  112  or a new events page created by Event Publisher  20  to Subscriber Calendar Locator  104 , via Server  101  and the Internet  110 , respectively. 
     FIG. 5 illustrates the main components of Subscriber Calendar Locator  104 . Subscriber Calendar Locator  104  comprises CPU  600 , which may be linked to the Internet  110  via data link  12 . CPU  600  may also be linked to, and controls, the operations of Persistent Store  601 , Calendar Web Server Interface  602 , Subscriber Calendar Web Server Interface  603 , Subscriber Wallet interface  604 , Collaborative Filtering Engine  605  and Email Interface  606 . 
     As noted above, Persistent Store  601  may be a memory device, such as a hard drive, wherein information pertaining to Subscriber  25  and Event Publisher  20  is stored. Calendar Web Server interface  602  enables the Subscriber Calendar Locator  104  to communicate with Publisher Web Server  102  via Calendar Web Server  101 . Calendar Web Server Interface  602  receives an update message signal corresponding to new and updated event pages from Calendar Web Server  102 . Subscriber Calendar Web Server Interface  603  enables Subscriber Calendar Locator  104  to exchange information with the Subscriber Calendar Web Server  106 . Subscriber Calendar Web Server Interface  603  transmits update message signals corresponding to new or updated event pages to Subscriber Calendar Web Server  106 . Subscriber Wallet Interface  604  enables Subscriber Calendar Locator  104  to communicate with Subscriber&#39;s  25  wallet application software to retrieve subscriber&#39;s  25  profile information. 
     Collaborative Filtering Engine  605  maintains historical and statistical data of Subscriber&#39;s  25  activities when using system  150 . For example, the types of events that Subscriber  25  has an interest in is stored in Collaborative Filtering Engine  605 . This information is used for such purposes as to predict the types of event pages Subscriber  25  may have an interested in, and to bring these event pages to the attention of Subscriber  25 . Engine  605  also maintains demographic information with respect to Subscriber  25 , which may be used for marketing purposes. 
     Email Interface  606  enables Subscriber Calendar Locator  104  to forward e-mail notification to subscribers. Automatic subscribers may receive e-mail notifying them that their personal calendars have been automatically updated in accordance with an updated event page. Non-automatic subscribers may receive e-mail notifying them that an event page that they have an interest in has been updated. Furthermore, all subscribers may receive e-mail notifying them of unrestricted event pages they do not subscribe to, but may have an interest in. 
     FIG. 6 illustrates the main components of Subscriber Calendar Web Server  106 . Subscriber Calendar Web Server  106  comprises CPU  700 , which is linked to the Internet  110  via data link  6 . CPU  700  is linked to and controls the operations of Authentication Device  701  and Subscriber Calendar Server interface  702 . Authentication Device  701  enables Subscriber Calendar Web Server  106  to authenticate that the received update message signal is from the Subscriber Calendar Locator  104 . Subscriber Calendar Server interface  702  enables Subscriber Calendar Web Server  106  to forward the received signal to Subscriber Calendar Server  107 . Subscriber Calendar Server Interface  702  is linked to Subscriber Calendar Server  107  via data link  4 . 
     FIG. 7 illustrates the main components of Subscriber Calendar Server  107 . Subscriber Calendar Server  107  comprises CPU  800 , which is linked to and controls the operations of Subscriber Calendar Web Server interface  801 , Persistent store  802 , and Commercial Calendar interface  803 . CPU  800  is also linked to Subscriber Calendar Web Server  106  via data link  4 . 
     Subscriber Calendar Web Server interface  801  enables Subscriber Calendar Server  107  to receive the update message signal corresponding to updated Events Page  112  from Subscriber Calendar Locator  104  via Subscriber Calendar Web Server  106 , and updates Subscriber Calendar  117  stored in Persistent Store  802 . Subscriber Calendar Web Server interface  801  sends a confirmation message signal back to Subscriber Calendar Locator  104 , via Subscriber Calendar Web Server  106 , confining that Subscriber Calendar  117  has been updated. 
     If Subscriber  25  utilizes an Internet-linked calendar, such as Microsoft® Outlook™ or Yahoo® Calendar, CPU  800  forwards the update message signal, corresponding to updated Event Page  112 , to Commercial Calendar interface  803 . Commercial Calendar Interface  803  configures the received signal to correspond to the Internet-linked calendar utilized by Subscriber  25 . Commercial Calendar Interface  803  transmits the configured signal to the Internet-linked personal calendar utilized by Subscriber  25 , via Server  106  and the Internet  110 , directing the corresponding server to edit the Internet-linked calendar in accordance with updated Events Page  112 . 
     FIGS. 8A,  8 B are flow diagrams depicting process  250  effected by system  150 . As indicated in FIG. 8A, Event Publisher  20 , in block B 200 , accesses the Internet via Internet access device  110 . Upon successfully accessing the Internet, Event Publisher  20 , in block B 201 , accesses the Calendar Web Server  101  using an Internet browser. 
     In block B 202 , Event Publisher  20  accesses Publisher Calendar Server  102 . This may be achieved by Event Publisher  20  entering a user identification and password to identify himself. In block B 203 , Event Publisher  20  updates Events page  112 . 
     After the update of Events page  112 , process  250 , in block B 204 , determines whether Subscriber  25  is an Automatic subscriber. If Subscriber  25  is a Non-Automatic subscriber, process  250  proceeds to block B 205 , where Non-Automatic e-mail is forwarded to Subscriber  25 . After block B 205 , process  250  terminates. 
     However, if Subscriber  25  is an Automatic subscriber, process  250  proceeds to block B 206  (FIG.  8 B), where Automatic e-mail is forwarded to Subscriber  25 . Both Non-Automatic and Automatic e-mail outline the changes in the updated Events Page  112  and are routed to the updated Events Page  112 . Automatic e-mail additionally informs Subscriber  25  that his personal calendar has been automatically updated to reflect Event Publisher&#39;s  20  updated Events Page  112 . 
     Returning to FIG. 8B, Publish Server  103 , in block B 207 , forwards an update message signal, which includes updated Events Page  112  stored on the Publisher Calendar Server  102 , through the Internet  110  via data link  8 , to Subscriber Calendar Locator  104 . As noted above, Subscriber Calendar Locator  104  may be linked to the Internet via data link  12 . 
     After forwarding the update message signal, Subscriber Calendar Locator  104 , in block B 208 , locates Subscriber Calendar  117  pertaining to Subscriber  25 , and updates Subscriber Calendar  117 , in block B 209 . After block B 209 , process  250  terminates. 
     FIG. 8C is a flow diagram depicting process  255 . Process  255  represents a Calendar Update Operation, which is performed when Subscriber  25  is a Non-Automatic subscriber, to update Subscriber Calendar  117  or a commercially available Internet-linked calendar, with respect to updated Events Page  112 . In block B 210 , Subscriber  25  accesses Calendar Web Server  101  through the Internet  110  using Internet access device  105 . 
     In block B 211 , Subscriber  25  enters his user identification and password to view Events Page  112 , and/or any other Events Page that he is authorized to access. Additionally, Subscriber  25  may view any unrestricted Events Pages that are accessible to the general public. 
     After viewing Events Page  112  and/or any other Events Page that are accessible to Subscriber  25 , Subscriber  25 , in block B 212 , decides whether to update his Subscriber Calendar  117  to include information pertaining to the events on any or all of the events pages he has viewed. If Subscriber  25  does not desire to update Subscriber Calendar  117 , then process  255  terminates. 
     However, if Subscriber  25  desires to update Subscriber Calendar  117 , Subscriber  25 , in block B 213 , initiates the Calendar Update Operation. The Calendar Update Operation is initiated by clicking on the Calendar Update link displayed on the events pages. Process  255  then proceeds to block B 207  of process  250  to complete the Calendar Update Operation. 
     The foregoing description of the present invention provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible consistent with the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.