Abstract:
A system and method for initiating calls via electronic calendar is disclosed. A call list is associated by a user to a particular time and day within the electronic calendar. When the particular day and time arrives, the call list is forwarded to a service which executes the call list, and subsequently contacts the members of the call list. The system may initially query the callees through a text messaging system to determine which callees are present, and then establish a telephone connection based on responses to the queries. Once a connection is established, the user and the members of the list are linked to a conference bridge.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/522,232, entitled “Call Initiation Via Calendar,” filed on Sep. 15, 2006, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,251,320 on Jul. 31, 2007, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/863,022, entitled “Call Initiation Via Calendar,” filed on Jun. 8, 2004, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,123,705 on Oct. 17, 2006, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/833,225, entitled “Call Initiation Via Calendar,” filed on Apr. 11, 2001, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,760,423 on Jul. 6, 2004. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates generally to telephone/computer networks and network systems, and more specifically to a system and method for providing call initiation and scheduling via an electronic calendar on a computer or wireless device. 
   BACKGROUND 
   With computer and communication technology advances over recent years, the need for effectively merging scheduling capabilities with communication capabilities has become great. While present calendar systems allow clients to draw information and schedules from their calendar, these systems are limited in their ability to facilitate communication between an individual and a group or list of callees. Clients requiring group meeting capabilities like teachers, managers, brokers, etc. have particular problems in arranging and executing calendar calls to lists of callees. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is a method and system for initiating calls via an electronic calendar. Particularly, the host client initiates a call through a communication network, wherein the electronic calendar associates a call list with the calendar. The calendar allows the client host to schedule a call on a particular day and time, where the associated list may be edited or updated automatically or manually, and can be stored in a local memory or in a network storage medium. The communication network receives the request from the host client and subsequently arranges communication with the other members from the call list electronically (audio, video, etc.). 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The following drawings illustrate various embodiments of the present invention. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates communication between a computer or hand-held device with the calendar. 
       FIG. 1A  illustrates communication between the browser and a calendar database. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates communication between a computer or hand-held device and the call list database. 
       FIG. 2A  illustrates communication between the browser and the list database. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates communication between the calendar logic and a list from the list database. 
       FIG. 4A  illustrates a host client incorporating a list into an on-screen calendar. 
       FIG. 4B  illustrates the host client communicating through the system to members of the call list. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a process for establishing a call list for a host client according to an embodiment of this invention. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a process for establishing multiple callees in a conference link. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 1  illustrates an embodiment of the invention, wherein a personal computer  120  or a hand-held device  130  is accessing a calendar ( 100  and  110 , respectively) on a local database. The computer or device may typically access the database through a resident browser  140 . The database may be a local hard drive or may be accessed through a network or LAN.  FIG. 1A  discloses the browser connecting through a network  150  to a calendar database  160 . 
   Similarly,  FIG. 2  discloses a personal computer  220  or a hand-held device  230  in communication with a call list ( 200  and  210 , respectively) on a local database. It is understood that the call list and calendar may be stored on the same medium, provided that sufficient memory is available. Likewise the list may also be accessed remotely through a network.  FIG. 2A  illustrates a list database  260  accessed through a browser  240  on a network  250 . Thus, for example, if a client manages a weekly meeting with staff, the client may obtain a list (or lists) of staff members from a database  260 , and store the staff list on a computer, network, or some portable device that can be accessed by the browser. This list may subsequently be modified or stored into permanent memory for future use. 
     FIG. 3  illustrates a class diagram wherein the calendar  300  contains logic to identify the month/day/year, as well as the hour/minute. The calendar may thus identify a specific time on a particular day where a list  310  will be associated with the calendar. Thus if a client has a weekly meeting with the sales group every Friday at 2:00 PM, the calendar may be configured to retrieve a sales group list ( 310 ), wherein the sales group list will be associated with the calendar for that time.  FIG. 4A  illustrates an embodiment where a client may obtain a list  400  and “drag”  410  that list onto a calendar  420  that appears on a screen. The dragged list will then be associated with the graphical representation of a particular day and/or time shown on the calendar. This feature may be executed on a computer screen or on a handheld device that provides dragging capabilities. 
     FIG. 4B  illustrates an embodiment of the invention where the client computer  430 ,  435  establishes communication with a call group  440 - 470 . Initially, the client retrieves and associates a list to the calendar (shown in  FIGS. 1-4A ) via a computer  430 , or some other processing device. The client also has a telephone  435  that is associated with the computer  430 . The telephone  435  may be separate from the computer  430 , or may alternately be integral to the computer or processing device  430 . Once the call list appears on the screen of the client in the calendar, the client may click on the list or calendar to initiate a call to the call group. Thus, once a call group list is activated through the calendar, the computer  430  communicates with the service  490 , which the establishes a connection with a communication network  480 . 
   The service  490  will preferably identify the caller, as well as the list of numbers that are to be called (the “callees”). Each of the callees  440 - 470  will then be contacted through the communication network  480 , wherein a group conference may subsequently be had. It is understood that the communication network  480  may be a conventional telephone network, or may also be a digital or digital/analog network that allows voice and/or image data to be transmitted (e.g., ISDN, WAP, etc.). The service  490  recognizes the client computer  430 , and places the remaining callee&#39;s  440 - 470  into the conference bridge. The service then notifies the client of a conference initiation and then proceeds to connect the remaining members of the call list (callee&#39;s) into the communication network, where all connected parties may interact with one another. Each of the participants may be notified of the conference call by a pre-recorded message or text or data message. 
     FIG. 5  illustrates in a flowchart how a host client establishes a calendar call list for a specific time on a calendar day. The host initially accesses the calendar  500 , which may reside in the host client&#39;s computer or on a network. Once the calendar appears on the host client&#39;s screen, the host client may then select and specify a day on the calendar  510  in which to conduct a call. Once the day is established, the host client may then select an appropriate time for that day  520 . After the time and day are established, the host client may then determine the callees that will be participating in the call. The callees can be manually entered into a call list and stored, or imported from pre-existing call lists that are stored in a storage medium, either locally or remotely. It is understood that, under the present invention, the host client may also manually type in a time and date as text, and have the text converted and inserted into the calendar software. Once the call list is accessed by the host client  530 , the call list may then be linked into the date and time selected in the calendar software  540 . Once the call list is linked to the calendar, the list will remain in the calendar until the scheduled time arrives. Thus, the calendar call list will be established  590 , providing no edits or updates are needed for the call list. However, if it is further determined that the call list requires editing  550  (i.e. the addition of deletion of callees from the list), the host client may retrieve the call list for such purposes. The editing may also occur automatically through a maintained personnel update  560 , or an auto call update  570 . For example, if a human resource department maintains and updates a personnel list of various departments, any updated personnel call lists may be automatically inserted or replaced with the call list initially chosen by the host client. Also, if a call history is maintained for the host client, the numbers previously dialed for a particular project, may automatically be inserted or replaced through the auto-call feature. Any additional updates desired by the host client may be also manually updated  580  by the host client. Once any updates ( 560 - 580 ) are completed, the calendar call list is established  590 . 
     FIG. 6  illustrates an embodiment of the call execution once the host client establishes a calendar call list. Once the managing algorithm identifies a specified time, the time/date calendar executes a call command for the call list  600 . The host client is then notified of the call execution  610 . The notification can come in the form of a text message, or may appear as a pre-recorded voice message on the host client&#39;s communication device (e.g., telephone, computer, wireless device, etc.). Furthermore, the call does not have to start automatically when the scheduled date and time occurs. The host can alternately set a preference that requires him or her to open the calendar and “click” on the meeting/call list in order to initiate the call. Nevertheless, once the host client is alerted to the group call, the host client may then choose to continue with the call  620 , wherein the calendar contacts the service  490 , instructing the service  490  to establish communication through the network  480  with the host&#39;s telephony device  435 . However, if the host client decides not to proceed with the call, the scheduled call is cancelled  630 , thus ending the call initiation. 
   Once the service is contacted  640 , the service then proceeds to contact (or redial) each member of the call list through the communication network  650 . An example of the communication scheme is illustrated in  FIG. 4B . The service queries each of the callees in the call list ( 650 - 653 ) to determine which callees are present for the call  660 . If the callee responds affirmatively, the callee is linked to the call bridge  690 , wherein the conference call is conducted. If the callee “opts out” of the call, or does not respond, the service may either terminate for the callee (if the callee “opts out”), or may continue to retry the callee in the background  670 . Thus, the callee may receive repeated queries by the service, until the callee responds. Again, the queries may appear as text messages, or as a pre-recorded voice message. Once the callee responds, he or she will then be linked into the conference bridge  690 , where the callee may join in to the conference currently in session. It is understood that the service may be instructed to run a limited amount of iterations before terminating the callee. For example, the service may be programmed to terminate after the callee fails to respond after five queries for callee presence. 
   It is understood that the discussion of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein. Thus, various alterations and modifications can be made to the present disclosure by one skilled in the art without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is also understood that the invention is equally applicable to computer systems, telephone systems, and wireless systems, and that additional features regarding the call lists, service contact, call execution, and callee connection may be implemented to increase the “user-friendliness” of the system.