Appointment negotiation systems and methods

Abstract

A server for providing scheduling services to at least two remote devices includes a communications interface for transmitting scheduling options to the at least two remote devices and receiving user inputs from the at least two remote devices. The server further includes a processing circuit configured to manage scheduling services for the at least two remote devices. In one embodiment, the server provides scheduling services for two users, allowing the two users to schedule an appointment with each other. In another embodiment, the server provides scheduling services for a first user and a plurality of second users, allowing the multiple users to schedule an appointment with one another.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for providing a user interface on a display screen of a mobile device for appointment scheduling, the method comprising:
 receiving, by the mobile device, an appointment request including two or more possible appointment times for an appointment, wherein at least two of the two or more possible appointment times are on different days from each other;   displaying, in the user interface, a calendar showing a plurality of times for a day;   displaying, in the user interface on the calendar showing the plurality of times for the day, one or more possible appointment times of the two or more possible appointment times that are identified as being on the day, wherein each of the one or more possible appointment times is displayed as a corresponding selectable item in a corresponding time slot on the calendar that represents a time of the possible appointment time;   displaying, in an area of the user interface that is distinct from the calendar showing the plurality of times for the day, a corresponding selectable button for each of the two or more possible appointment times, wherein the corresponding selectable button for each of the two or more possible appointment times specifies at least a corresponding day for the possible appointment time;   receiving a selection of either a particular selectable item for one of the one or more possible appointment times displayed on the calendar or a particular selectable button for one of the two or more possible appointment times displayed in the area of the user interface that is distinct from the calendar; and   transmitting, from the mobile device, a reply to the appointment request indicating a selection from among the two or more possible appointment times based at least partially on the received selection of either the particular selectable item or the particular selectable button.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the corresponding selectable item for each of the one or more possible appointment times is displayed in the corresponding time slot on the calendar with a pattern indicating that it is a selectable time for the appointment.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the corresponding selectable item for each of the one or more possible appointment times is displayed in the corresponding time slot on the calendar with highlighting indicating that it is a selectable time for the appointment.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 displaying, along with the corresponding selectable item for each of the one or more possible appointment times displayed in the corresponding time slot on the calendar, an indicator of how many users have been invited to the appointment.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 displaying, along with the corresponding selectable item for each of the one or more possible appointment times displayed in the corresponding time slot on the calendar, pictures of one or more other users that have been invited to the appointment.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 displaying, along with the corresponding selectable item for each of the one or more possible appointment times displayed in the corresponding time slot on the calendar, an indicator of how many users have replied to the appointment request for the appointment.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 displaying, in a case where there are two or more appointments scheduled or tentative for a same particular time on the day, the calendar showing the plurality of times for the day with the particular time repeated in the display of the calendar for each of the two or more appointments.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 displaying at least two voting buttons when any of the selectable buttons for the two or more possible appointment times that are displayed in the area of the user interface that is distinct from the calendar are tapped.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 ,
 wherein the at least two voting buttons include three voting buttons for indicating one of at least three different statuses for the corresponding possible appointment time.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 displaying a particular button when any of the selectable buttons for the two or more possible appointment times that are displayed in the area of the user interface that is distinct from the calendar are tapped; and   displaying, when the particular button is tapped, a list of other users that have been invited to the appointment along with voting results of votes from the other users from among the two or more possible appointment times for the appointment.