U.S. patent application number 11/748489 was filed with the patent office on 2007-09-13 for time zone management.
This patent application is currently assigned to PALMSOURCE, INC.. Invention is credited to Eric Lapuyade, Regis Nicolas, Jeff PARRISH.
Application Number | 20070214188 11/748489 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38015844 |
Filed Date | 2007-09-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070214188 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lapuyade; Eric ; et
al. |
September 13, 2007 |
TIME ZONE MANAGEMENT
Abstract
A time zone management system and method for a date-book like
application. A user can associate a time zone with an event or
appointment, especially on a palmtop computer. The event can be
associated with the time zone by selecting the time zone as an
attribute from a details menu, or other suitable user interface
mechanism or other mechanism. The user can select a display time
zone, and all events to be displayed are translated to the display
time zone to be displayed on the palmtop computer.
Inventors: |
Lapuyade; Eric; (Clapiers,
FR) ; Nicolas; Regis; (Jacou, FR) ; PARRISH;
Jeff; (Lattes, FR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BERRY & ASSOCIATES P.C.
9255 SUNSET BOULEVARD
SUITE 810
LOS ANGELES
CA
90069
US
|
Assignee: |
PALMSOURCE, INC.
1188 East Arques Avenue
Sunnyvale
CA
94085
|
Family ID: |
38015844 |
Appl. No.: |
11/748489 |
Filed: |
May 15, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
09940321 |
Aug 27, 2001 |
7219109 |
|
|
11748489 |
May 15, 2007 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 ;
707/999.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/109 20130101;
Y10S 707/951 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
707/200 |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/30 20060101
G06F017/30 |
Claims
1. A method of management of time zone information in a calendar
application, comprising: storing an event associated with a block
of time; storing a time zone attribute associated with the event;
establishing a display time zone for display of events; translating
the block of time associated with the event from the stored time
zone to the display time zone; and displaying the event as
occurring at the translated block of time.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation application of
application Ser. No. 09/940,321, entitled "TIME ZONE MANAGEMENT,"
filed Aug. 27, 2001, to be issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,219,109,
assigned to the assignee of the present application. The subject
matter in the above-identified co-pending and commonly owned
application(s) are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates generally to the field of computer
programs implementing date-book like applications. More
particularly, this invention relates to a time zone management
method and apparatus particularly suitable for a palmtop
computer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] As the components required to build a computer system have
reduced in size, new categories of computer systems have emerged.
One of the new categories of computer systems is the "palmtop"
computer system. A palmtop computer system is a computer that is
small enough to be held in the hand of a user and can be
"palm-sized." Most palmtop computer systems are used to implement
various Personal Information Management (PIM) applications such as
an address book, a daily organizer (i.e., a date-book like
application) and electronic notepads, to name a few.
[0004] Among the most popular features of such palmtop computers is
the daily organizer which operates on the palmtop computer and
synchronizes to a similar application on a user's desktop computer.
Such applications of the palmtop computer have made managing
appointments and events easier and more convenient for many users.
However, rapid advances in communication and travel have caused
many people to commonly have dealings with associates all over the
world. This makes management of an event calendar more challenging
due to the need to operate across multiple time zones. Heretofore,
the date-book functions of computer applications in general
including palmtop computers has been inadequate to deal with the
problems associated with maintaining a calendar of events occurring
in multiple time zones.
[0005] Consider for example the following situations:
[0006] 1. You are in France and schedule an appointment for a phone
call with someone in California. You both want to deal with the
same time and time zone to create the appointment, but still see at
what time this will translate in your own local time zone.
[0007] 2. You are in France and schedule an appointment for a phone
call with someone in California while you will be in Tokyo (or may
be you don't even know where you will be at the appointment time).
You want to use the California time to set the appointment, and see
it displayed in your local time, even if you have changed time zone
since you set it.
[0008] 3. You are in France, and schedule a meeting with someone in
California, but this meeting will take place in Tokyo. You both
want to be able to use Tokyo time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present invention relates generally to methods and
apparatus for time zone management, particularly with palmtop
computers. Objects, advantages and features of the invention will
become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of
the following detailed description of the invention.
[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, a time zone
management system and method for a date-book like application lets
a user associate a time zone with an event or appointment,
especially on a palmtop computer. The event can be associated with
the time zone by selecting the time zone as an attribute from a
details menu, or other suitable user interface mechanism or other
mechanism. The user can select a display time zone, and all events
to be displayed are translated to the display time zone to be
displayed on the palmtop computer. This provides many advantages
including simplifying the use of the palmtop computer across time
zones so that events can be entered directly in a particular remote
time zone, but displayed in another time zone of the user's
choosing.
[0011] In one embodiment consistent with the present invention, a
method of management of time zone information in a calendar
application, includes storing an event associated with a block of
time; storing a time zone attribute associated with the event;
establishing a display time zone for display of events; translating
them block of time associated with the event from the stored time
zone to the display time zone; and displaying the event as
occurring at the translated block of time.
[0012] A palmtop computer having time zone information management,
consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention has a
programmed processor and a display. A calendar application runs on
the programmed processor to store an event associated with a block
of time, the calendar application further operating to store an
event time zone attribute associated with the event; store a
display time zone for display of events; translate the block of
time associated with the event from the stored time zone to the
display time zone; and means for displaying the event as occurring
at the translated block of time on the display.
[0013] A palmtop computer having time zone information management,
consistent with an embodiment of the present invention has a
programmed processor, a display and a user interface. A calendar
application runs on the programmed processor to store an event
associated with a block of time, the calendar application further
operating to: store an event time zone attribute associated with
the event; store a display time zone for display of events;
translate the block of time associated with the event from the
stored time zone to the display time zone; displaying the event as
occurring at the translated block of time in a daily time grid on
the display; wherein the display time zone is established by a user
selection from a display time zone user interface element forming
part of the user interface; wherein the event time zone is
established by a user selection from an event time zone user
interface element forming part of the user interface; wherein the
event time zone is established by a user selection from an event
time zone user interface element forming part of the user
interface.
[0014] The above summaries are intended to illustrate exemplary
embodiments of the invention, which will be best understood in
conjunction with the detailed description to follow, and are not
intended to limit the scope of the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The features of the invention believed to be novel are set
forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention
itself however, both as to organization and method of operation,
together with objects and advantages thereof, may be best
understood by reference to the following detailed description of
the invention, which describes certain exemplary embodiments of the
invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in
which:
[0016] FIG. 1 is an exemplary display of a daily view of a
date-book like event manager.
[0017] FIG. 2 is an exemplary display illustrating an extension of
the event manager that permits association of a time zone with an
event consistent with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 3 is an exemplary display illustrating selection of a
time zone for an event consistent with an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0019] FIG. 4 is an exemplary display showing an event that is
translated to a default time zone consistent with an embodiment of
the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 5 is an exemplary display showing selection of a
display time zone in an embodiment consistent with the present
invention.
[0021] FIG. 6 is an exemplary display showing an event in a
selected display time zone in an embodiment consistent with the
present invention.
[0022] FIG. 7 is an exemplary display showing a time zone change
alert consistent with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a computer system suitable for
hosting an application consistent with embodiments of the present
invention.
[0024] FIG. 9 is a flow chart depicting association of a time zone
with an event consistent with certain embodiments of the present
invention.
[0025] FIG. 10 is a flow chart depicting, selection of a display
time zone consistent with certain embodiments of the present
invention.
[0026] FIG. 11 is a flow chart depicting semiautomatic time zone
changes consistent with certain embodiments of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0027] In the following detailed description of the present
invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to
provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However,
it will be recognized by one skilled in the art that the present
invention may be practiced without these specific details or with
equivalents thereof. In other instances, well known methods,
procedures, components and circuits have not been described in
detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present
invention.
Notation and Nomenclature
[0028] Some portions of the detailed descriptions which follow are
presented in terms of procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing,
and other symbolic representations of operations on data bits that
can be performed on computer memory. These descriptions and
representations are the means used by those skilled in the data
processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their
work to others skilled in the art. A procedure, computer executed
step, logic block, process, etc., is here, and generally,
conceived-to be a self-consistent sequence of steps or instructions
leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical
manipulations of physical quantities.
[0029] Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the
form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored,
transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated in a
computer system. It has proven convenient at times, principally for
reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values,
elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.
[0030] It should be born in mind, however, that all of these and
similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical
quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these
quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from
the following discussions; .it is appreciated that throughout the
present invention, discussions utilizing terms such as "processing"
or "computing" or "translating" or "selecting" or "translating" or
"displaying" or "recognizing" or the like, refer to the action and
processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing
device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as
physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's
registers and memories into other data similarly represented as
physical quantities within the computer system memories or
registers or other such information storage, transmission or
display devices.
Time Zone Management in Accordance with the Invention
[0031] While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many
different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be
described in detail specific embodiments, with the understanding
that the present disclosure is to be considered as an example of
the principles of the invention and not intended to limit the
invention to the specific embodiments shown and described. In the
description below, like reference numerals are used to describe the
same, similar or corresponding parts in the several views of the
drawings.
[0032] Turning now to FIG. 1, an exemplary date-book display 20
showing a daily view (contrasted to a weekly or monthly view) for a
selected date such as that which appears in version 3.0 the Palm
Operating System by Palm Computing, Inc, Santa Clara, Calif. The
date is shown in block 24 and the day of the week is shown in block
28. The time blocks in the day are illustrated as a grid having an
array of entries adjacent time blocks in a manner similar to that
used in conventional paper date books. In one embodiment, such as
that implemented in version 3.0 of the Palm Operating System from
Palm computing, Inc., the user enters dates directly into the
date-book application by selecting a time (by tapping the space to
the right of the time using a stylus on a touch sensitive
touch-screen that serves as a display and input device) and
entering a notation adjacent the time using a form of writing
designed for handwriting recognition called the "Graffiti.RTM."
alphabet (Graffiti is a registered trademark of Palm Computing,
Inc.). Text then appears adjacent the selected time. The time can
be refined and other attributes added by selection of "details"
button 34 (by tapping the button with the stylus). Thus, to enter
an appointment or event starting at 6:00 pm, the user taps the
space 38 adjacent the 6:00 pm indication and then enters the event
in a special area of the device designated for data entry.
[0033] FIGS. 2-7 generally illustrate an exemplary user interface
with various user interface elements including menus, .windows,
icons, buttons, data entry boxes, etc. that provide the user with
the ability to enter data and make selections consistent with
embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will
appreciate that there are many ways to provide user interfaces and
the exact user interface described herein should not be considered
limiting to the scope of the invention, but should be considered as
an illustrative example.
[0034] FIG. 2 illustrates an extension of the above event
management mechanism to account for events occurring in various
time zones. In this illustration, display 100 incorporates features
similar to that of display 20 and in general, the palmtop computer
implementing the present invention can carry out any or all of the
function of the currently available palmtop computers, such as the
Palm VII.TM. palmtop computer and others available from Palm
Computing, Inc. Display 100 also includes an indicator 104 of the
currently displayed time zone. Of course, those skilled in the art
will appreciate that the current display time zone (the time zone
associated with the current date-book application display--referred
to herein as the display time zone) can be indicated in other
manners than that shown.
[0035] In one exemplary embodiment, in order to enter an
appointment or event, the user taps the space adjacent the desired
time and then enters the event in a special area of the device
designated for data entry. In the example shown, an event 132
identified as "CONFERENCE CALL WITH YOSHIDA" has been entered and
stored in association with a time block starting at 6:00 pm and
ending at 7:00 pm. This event is still selected as indicated by the
shading of the "6:00" time indicator 116. In order to alter the
time zone or make other entries associated with the date and time,
the user can select the "details" button 120 (by tapping the button
with a stylus) to bring up an "EVENT DETAILS" menu 130. This menu
can be used in a conventional manner to add notes, alarms or other
attributes to the event. In accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention, this menu can also be used to change the time
zone associated with the event (the event time zone). The user can
select a default time zone as a device preference to prevent the
need to enter an event time zone unless it deviates from the
default time zone. This default time zone appears in block 136 and
will be associated with an event unless specifically changed by the
user.
[0036] In order to change the time zone associated with the
currently selected event, the user selects the "TIME ZONE" block
136 in the EVENT DETAILS menu (again, by tapping the block with a
stylus) to bring up a list of time zones in a "SELECT TIME ZONE"
menu 210 as illustrated in display 200 of FIG. 3. The user can then
select a time zone to be associated with the event. In this
illustrative example, the Tokyo time zone is selected as indicated
by shading of box 220. In one embodiment, selection of that event
time zone will then cause the selected time zone to be temporarily
reflected in the time zone display 104, but this is not to be
limiting, since the display time zone is managed in a separate
manner as will become apparent later. The list of time zones in
menu 210 may be a default list containing all possible world time
zones in one embodiment. In another embodiment, the menu may
contain only the most recently used time zones. In yet another
embodiment, the user can select an array of time zones to be
displayed during a setup procedure. Other variations are also
possible within the scope of the present invention.
[0037] Once a time zone has been associated with the event as
described above or using any suitable alternative for making such
an association, it is saved as an attribute associated with the
event. The user can display appointments and other events in any
display time zone and the appointment (event) times are translated
from the stored event time zone to the display time zone. This is
illustrated in display 400 of FIG. 4, wherein the display time zone
is the default time zone, which in this illustrative example is
Central European Time as shown in area 104. Displayed in Central
European Time, the event 112 is shifted in time by eight hours to
10:00 am as shown 410 so that the event can be readily understood
and coordinated with other events in the local time.
[0038] If the user wishes to change to another display time zone,
the user can select the time zone button 420 to bring up a "CURRENT
TIME ZONE" menu 515. The user can then adjust the display time zone
as desired. In this example, the current time zone (the display
time zone) can be changed to Tokyo time by selecting the TOKYO
block 525 from menu 515. This causes the display 500 to indicate
Tokyo time at 104 and shift the event 112 to 6:00 pm as illustrated
in display 600 of FIG. 6. Those skilled in the art will appreciate
that other events might also be scheduled in a particular day and
those events would similarly shift with selection of a new time
zone. In generally, the user can select a default time zone to
prevent the need to enter either a display or an event time zone
unless it deviates from the default time zone.
[0039] Time zones are commonly associated with a number of hours
difference (plus or minus) from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Thus, in
order to translate between two time zones, the difference between
the two time zones and GMT can simply be subtracted. For example,
Tokyo time is GMT+9 hours while Eastern U.S. Standard Time is GMT
-5 hours. Thus, to translate a time between these two time zones,
one simply subtracts so the difference is 14 hours. In many cases,
the date might also require correction in any time zone translation
and should be reflected in block 24.
[0040] In the event the current palmtop computer is able to receive
indications of a time zone change (e.g., from a wireless service
provider, a network or other communication), the display time zone
may be updated semi-automatically in accordance with an embodiment
of the present invention illustrated in connection with display 700
of FIG. 7. In this case, the palmtop computer receives an
indication that a time zone change has occurred and the user is
prompted by a simple window 712 appearing on the display that the
time zone may have changed. When it is detected that a time zone
may have changed, the system tries to determine the new local time
zone and display it as a part of the alert. In this illustrative
example, the window 712 indicates that the new time zone may be
Eastern U.S. as indicated by box 718. The user is offered the
opportunity to accept the new time zone as the display time zone.
The user can then either accept the offer by selecting button 724
or reject it by selecting button 730. If the displayed time zone is
incorrect, the user can simply tap the displayed time zone in box
718 to make a selection of a correct local time zone. This permits
the user to display any selected display time zone, even if it is
one outside the time zone that the user is currently in.
[0041] The current invention may be implemented as a computer
program running on a palmtop computer or other computer system. One
exemplary palmtop computer system is illustrated in FIG. 8. FIG. 8
illustrates circuitry of computer system 800 which includes an
address data bus 810 for communicating information, a central
processor 812 coupled with the bus for processing information and
instructions, a volatile memory 820 (e.g., random access memory
RAM) coupled with the bus 810 for storing information and
instructions for the central processor 812, and a non-volatile
memory 830 (e.g., read only memory ROM) coupled with the bus 810
for storing static information and instructions for the processor
812 computer system 800 also includes an optional data storage
device 836 (e.g., memory stick, SD memory, etc.) coupled with the
bus 810 for storing information and instructions. Device 836 can be
removable. As described above, system 800 also contains a display
device 840 coupled to the bus 810 for displaying information to the
computer user.
[0042] Also included in exemplary computer system 800 is an
alphanumeric input device 850 which in one implementation is a
handwriting recognition pad ("digitizer") having regions-forming
part of a touch sensitive display for data entry. Device 800 can
communicate information and command selections to the central
processor 812. System 800 also includes an optional cursor control
or directing device 856 coupled to the bus for communicating user
input information and command selections to the central processor
812. In one implementation, device 856 is a touch screen device
incorporated with the display. Device 856 is capable of registering
a position on the display screen where the stylus makes contact.
The display device utilized with the computer system 800 may be a
liquid crystal device, cathode ray tube (CRT), field emission
device (FED, also called flat panel CRT) or other display device
suitable for creating graphic images and alphanumeric characters
recognizable to the user. In one embodiment, the display is a flat
panel display.
[0043] Signal communication device 860, also coupled to bus 810,
can be a serial port for communicating with the palmtop computer's
cradle. Device 860 can also include an infrared communication port
and an interface to a radio frequency transmitter receiver
(transceiver) 870 to permit wireless communication using antenna
880.
[0044] The various operations described heretofore can, be
implemented as computer controlled processes stored as program
instructions that are carried out on programmed central processor
812. The operations described above can be broadly described by the
processes shown in FIGS. 9-1 I below.
[0045] With reference to FIG. 9, an exemplary process for a user
associating a time zone with an event is broadly depicted as
process 900 starting at 910. At 920, the user enters an event in
the appropriate location the time grid and then selects a time zone
at 930. In one embodiment, this is done by selecting a details
button to call up a time zone selection, and then selecting the
time zone from a time zone menu. Once the time zone is selected, it
is associated with the entry and the event is displayed in the
currently selected display time zone at 940. The process ends at
950.
[0046] With reference to FIG. 10, an exemplary process for a user
changing the display time zone is broadly depicted as process 1000
starting at 1010. At 1020, the user selects a time zone for the
display time zone. This may be accomplished by selecting a time
zone button from the user interface to produce a time zone menu or
using any other suitable user interface mechanism. At 1030, all
events to be displayed are translated to the display time zone. At
1040, the translated events are displayed in the current time zone.
The process ends at 1050.
[0047] With reference to FIG. 10, an exemplary process for
semi-automatically changing a display time zone is depicted as
process 1000 starting at 1010. At 1020 if no time zone information
has been received, the process waits. If time zone information is
received at 1120 and the time zone is new (i.e., different from the
current time zone) at 1125, the user is prompted to confirm a
change to a new time zone at 1130. If the time zone is not new at
1125, no action is taken and the process returns to 1120 to await
the next time zone information. If the user chooses not to confirm
the change at 1130, control again returns to 1120. If the user
confirms the change, the display time zone is changed at 1150 and
then control returns to 1120. Many variations of this process are
possible including omitting the confirmation by the user in the
event the time zone information is considered reliable. However, it
is preferable that there be a confirmation process since this
permits the user to select any desired time zone for any desired
purpose.
[0048] Elements of the various user interfaces not explicitly
discussed herein operate in a manner similar to that of
conventional elements as used in the Palm Operating System version
3.0.
[0049] With the invention described, the exemplary situations
discussed previously are readily handled as follows:
[0050] 1. You are in France and schedule an appointment for a phone
call with someone in California. You both want to deal with the
same time and time zone to create the appointment, but still see at
what time this will translate in your own local time zone. In this
case you simply decide on the common time zone and both parties use
this time zone for the event and display time zones.
[0051] 2. You are in France and schedule an appointment for a phone
call with someone in California while you will be in Tokyo. You
want to use the California time to set the appointment, and see it
displayed in your local time, even if you have changed time zone
since you set it. In this case you simply set the appointment using
California time as the event time and set the display time for the
current time zone you are in.
[0052] 3. You are in France and schedule a meeting with someone in
California, but this meeting will take place in Tokyo. You both
want to be able to use Tokyo time. In this case, both parties can
simply use Tokyo time for the event time. The time can be displayed
using the display time as Tokyo time.
[0053] Many other scenarios present themselves and can be handled
in a similar manner.
[0054] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the present
invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments
based upon use of a programmed processor. However, the invention
should not be so limited, since the present invention could be
implemented using hardware component equivalents such as special
purpose hardware and/or dedicated processors which are equivalents
to the invention as described and claimed. Similarly, general
purpose computers, microprocessor based computers,
micro-controllers, optical computers, analog computers, dedicated
processors and/or dedicated hard wired logic may be used to
construct alternative equivalent embodiments of the present
invention.
[0055] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the program
steps and associated data used to implement the embodiments
described above can be implemented using disc storage as well as
other forms of storage such as for example Read Only Memory (ROM)
devices, Random Access Memory (RAM) devices; optical storage
elements, magnetic storage elements, magneto-optical storage
elements, flash memory, core memory and/or other equivalent storage
technologies without departing from the present invention. Such
alternative storage devices should be considered equivalents.
[0056] The present invention, as described in embodiments herein,
is implemented using a programmed processor executing programming
instructions that are broadly described above in flow chart form
that can be stored on any suitable electronic storage medium or
transmitted over any suitable electronic communication medium.
However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the
processes described above can be implemented in any number of
variations and in many suitable programming languages without
departing from the present invention. For example, the order of
certain operations carried out can often be varied, additional
operations can be added or operations can be deleted without
departing from the invention. Error trapping can be added and/or
enhanced and variations can be made in user interface and
information presentation without departing from the present
invention. Such variations are contemplated and considered
equivalent.
[0057] While the invention has been described in conjunction with
specific embodiments, it is evident that many alternatives,
modifications, permutations and variations will become apparent to
those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description.
Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention embrace all
such alternatives modifications and variations as fall within the
scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *