Microsoft patents system to allow overlapping meetings in same room
This patent describes a scheduling system that allows a user to book a conference room for a long block of time and then schedule smaller, specific meetings within that same block. Instead of rejecting the smaller bookings because the room is already reserved, the system accepts them and notifies the attendees of the specific sub-meetings.
In the filing’s own words
The disclosed techniques are directed to a system that manages use scenarios implementing and managing deliberate overlapping meetings conference calls. For example, an executive may organize hybrid meetings by scheduling an all-day meeting, e.g., 9 AM to 5 PM, in a conference room, and also scheduling multiple sub-meetings with and joined by different attendees by coming to the conference room and/or joining from conference calls. For example, first sub-meetings may be scheduled from 9 AM to 11 AM and scheduled for the same conference room as the all-day meeting. Instead of rejecting the request to reserve the conference room for the sub-meeting, which in existing systems would occur because of the reservation set by the all-day meeting, the system accepts the request to reserve the conference room for the sub-meeting. The system also notifies all invitees of each sub-meeting of the conference room reservation.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A method, for execution on a data processing system, for reconciling a meeting conflict caused by overlapping meetings assigned to a meeting room, the method comprising: storing, in a reservation data structure in the memory, a first reservation record for a first meeting associated with a resource identifier for the meeting room and a first time period; storing, in the reservation data structure, a second reservation record for a second meeting associated with the resource identifier and a second time period; determining, by executing a resource comparison operation using the resource identifier of the reservation data structure, that the second meeting includes the identifier for the same meeting room identified in the first meeting; determining, by executing a time-interval comparison operation on the first time period and second time period, that the second time period of the second meeting overlaps at least the portion of the first time period of the first meeting; identifying a scheduling conflict in response to determining that the second meeting includes the resource identifier for the same meeting room as the first meeting and in response to determining that the second time period of the second meeting overlaps at least the portion of the first time period of the first meeting; in response to identifying the scheduling conflict, determining that the first meeting and the second meeting are arranged by a user or a delegate of the user; reconciling the conflict in response to determining that the first meeting and the second meeting are both arranged by the user or a delegate of the user, wherein the reconciliation includes: allocating, by executing a modification operation on the reservation data structure, the meeting room for the first meeting and the second meeting, wherein the allocation restricts the meeting room from being scheduled by other users other than the user or a delegate of the user, and communicating a confirmation of a reservation for the meeting room to invitees included in the first meeting and the second meeting for display of the confirmation.
Facts
- Company
- Microsoft (Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC)
- Official title
- Enhanced automation of conflict reconciliation for overlapping meetings with the same room
- Patent number
- US12737730B2
- Application number
- 18759651
- Filed
- Jun 28, 2024
- Granted
- Sep 15, 2026
- Inventors
- 3
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
G06Q 10/1093 Physics & computingG06Q 10/02 Physics & computingMore from Microsoft in AI & software
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.