Automatic remote communications session creation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10832223-B2
Application number	US-201715805899-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 7, 2017
Priority date	Nov 7, 2017
Publication date	Nov 10, 2020
Grant date	Nov 10, 2020

Abstract

Disclosed in some examples are methods, systems, and machine-readable media that reserve remote meeting resources and update meetings with remote meeting connection information in response to a user indicating an availability status that signifies that the user is away from a location of the meeting. In response to this indication, the system interfaces with the user's calendar and searches for in-person meetings for the period in which the user is out of the office. For in-person meetings that are found, the system may automatically schedule remote meeting resources for a remote meeting session and update in-person meetings with remote meeting connection information.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computing device, comprising:
a processor;
a memory, the memory comprising instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
determining whether an availability indication associated with a user is indicative of a future absence of the user from a determined location for a period of time;
responsive to determining that the availability indication is indicative of the absence of the user, interfacing with a data store comprising meeting data structure objects that are configured to describe in-person meetings and associated remote meetings and identifying a meeting data structure object that describes an in-person meeting that is associated with the user during the period of time; in person meeting being scheduled to occur after the determining whether an availability indication associated with a user is indicative of a future absence of the user;
determining whether the in-person meeting described by the identified meeting data structure object is associated with a remote meeting by parsing the identified meeting data structure object to identify an indicator of the remote meeting;
creating, in a communication server if the in-person meeting described by the identified meeting data structure object is not associated with a remote meeting, a remote meeting data structure object that is configured to provide remote access to a remote meeting session at a time and date of the in person meeting, the remote meeting data structure object comprising connection information that is configured to connect a remote device to the remote meeting session;
updating or replacing, in the communication server, the identified meeting data structure object by modifying the identified meeting data structure object in the calendar data store to include the remote meeting data structure object; and
causing the modified meeting data structure object to be communicated to at least one participant in the one in-person meeting.

2. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the operations of interfacing with the data store comprises communicating with a calendar server over the network using an API.

3. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the operations of parsing the identified meeting data structure object to identify an indicator of the remote meeting comprises:
parsing the identified meeting data structure object to identify connection information that is configured to connect one or more remote devices to the remote meeting session.

4. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the availability indication is received from a communications application executing on a computing device of the user, wherein the communications application includes at least one of: an email application, an instant messaging application, a voice communications application, or a video conferencing application.

5. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise receiving a request over a network for a status of the user from a productivity application, and, in response, returning a message indicating that the user is absent from the determined location.

6. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise notifying an organizer of the in person meeting that the in person meeting has been updated with the connection information as a result of the availability indication.

7. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein modifying the identified meeting data structure object in the data store to include the remote meeting data structure object comprises modifying the identified meeting data structure object to include an embedded control which, when activated, establishes a connection between a computing device of a user to the communications server to connect the computing device of the user to the remote meeting session.

8. A method comprising:
a computing device, performing operations comprising:
determining whether an availability indication associated with a user is indicative of a future absence of the user from a determined location for a period of time;
responsive to determining that the availability indication is indicative of the absence of the user, interfacing with a data store comprising meeting data structure objects that are configured to describe in-person meetings and associated remote meetings and identifying a meeting data structure object that describes an in-person meeting that is associated with the user during the period of time;
determining whether the in-person meeting described by the identified meeting data structure object is associated with a remote meeting by parsing the identified meeting data structure object to identify an indicator of the remote meeting;
creating, in a communication server if the in-person meeting described by the identified meeting data structure object is not associated with a remote meeting, a remote meeting data structure object that is configured to provide remote access to a remote meeting session at a time and date of the in person meeting, the remote meeting data structure object comprising connection information that is configured to connect a remote device to the remote meeting session;
updating or replacing, in the communication server, the identified meeting data structure object by modifying the identified meeting data structure object in the calendar data store to include the remote meeting data structure object; and
causing the modified meeting data structure object to be communicated to at least one participant in the in person meeting.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein interfacing with the data store comprises communicating with a calendar server over the network using an API.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein parsing the identified meeting data structure object to identify an indicator of the remote meeting comprises:
parsing the identified meeting data structure object to identify connection information that is configured to connect one or more remote devices to the remote meeting session.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein modifying the identified meeting data structure object in the data store to include the remote meeting data structure object comprises modifying the identified meeting data structure object to include an embedded control which, when activated, establishes a connection between a computing device of a user to the communications server to connect the computing device of the user to the remote meeting session.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the communication server relays communications between participants in the remote meeting session.

13. A device comprising:
means for determining whether an availability indication associated with a user is indicative of a future absence of the user from a determined location for a period of time;
responsive to determining that the availability indication is indicative of the absence of the user, means for interfacing with a data store comprising meeting data structure objects that are configured to describe in-person meetings and associated remote meetings and means for identifying a meeting data structure object that describes an in-person meeting that is associated with the user during the period of time;
means for determining whether the in-person meeting described by the identified meeting data structure object is associated with a remote meeting by parsing the identified meeting data structure object to identify an indicator of the remote meeting;
means for creating, in a communication server if the in-person meeting described by the identified meeting data structure object is not associated with a remote meeting, a remote meeting data structure objec

Assignees

• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc
• Intel Corp

Inventors

• Kumar Michael J
• Soni Shahil

Classifications

• G06Q10/1093 Primary

  Calendar-based scheduling for persons or groups · CPC title

• G06Q10/0631

  Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations · CPC title

• H04L65/1069

  Session establishment or de-establishment · CPC title

• H04L65/403

  Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences (data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15) · CPC title

• G06Q10/1095 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic