GB2544521A - Methods, systems and user devices for scheduling communications - Google Patents

Methods, systems and user devices for scheduling communications Download PDF

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GB2544521A
GB2544521A GB1520429.0A GB201520429A GB2544521A GB 2544521 A GB2544521 A GB 2544521A GB 201520429 A GB201520429 A GB 201520429A GB 2544521 A GB2544521 A GB 2544521A
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user
information
information associated
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Hickman Louise
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Nudgu Ltd
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Nudgu Ltd
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    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04MTELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M1/00Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
    • H04M1/72Mobile telephones; Cordless telephones, i.e. devices for establishing wireless links to base stations without route selection
    • H04M1/725Cordless telephones
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/10Office automation; Time management
    • G06Q10/109Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q50/00Information and communication technology [ICT] specially adapted for implementation of business processes of specific business sectors, e.g. utilities or tourism
    • G06Q50/10Services
    • G06Q50/22Social work or social welfare, e.g. community support activities or counselling services
    • GPHYSICS
    • G16INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION FIELDS
    • G16HHEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
    • G16H40/00ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices
    • G16H40/20ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
    • GPHYSICS
    • G16INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION FIELDS
    • G16HHEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
    • G16H40/00ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices
    • G16H40/60ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices for the operation of medical equipment or devices
    • G16H40/67ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices for the operation of medical equipment or devices for remote operation
    • GPHYSICS
    • G16INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION FIELDS
    • G16HHEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
    • G16H80/00ICT specially adapted for facilitating communication between medical practitioners or patients, e.g. for collaborative diagnosis, therapy or health monitoring
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04LTRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L51/00User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04LTRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L51/00User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
    • H04L51/21Monitoring or handling of messages
    • H04L51/226Delivery according to priorities
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04MTELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M1/00Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
    • H04M1/72Mobile telephones; Cordless telephones, i.e. devices for establishing wireless links to base stations without route selection
    • H04M1/724User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
    • H04M1/72448User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions
    • H04M1/72451User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions according to schedules, e.g. using calendar applications

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Abstract

A scheduling system receives a first communication from a first user device. A remote second user device is identified using one or more processor devices and using identification information. A time for initiating a second communication to the second user device is determined using time information. The sending of the second communication is initiated by the scheduling device instructing a communication system, at the said time, to send the second communication to the second user device. The second communication comprises alert information. In turn, the scheduling system receives response information associated with the receiving of the second communication by the second user device. The scheduling device then sends a third communication to the first user device, the third communication comprising information associated with the response information. Thus, it relates to a reminder system using at least three parts a software module (e.g. smartphone app) that is used by the first user; a scheduling system comprising a scheduler module and a database; a communication system (a telephone system interconnect).

Description

Methods, scheduling systems and user devices for scheduling communications
Field of the invention
The present invention is the field of communication with user devices, in particular scheduling communications to be sent to a user device.
Background
Every 3 seconds, someone in the world develops dementia. By 2050 it is estimated that 131 million people in the world will have dementia, making it one of the most significant global social economic health crises of the 21st century. Dementia is a collective term which describes a set of symptoms that can include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem solving or language. Most people with dementia wish to continue living independently in their own homes for as long as possible. For this to happen safely, carers of those with dementia may need to ensure that the sufferer has: regular home visits, equipment that can detect falls and a verbal link to a support team if they are in difficulty; and a reminder system for prompting to take meals, medication and for health appointments.
The market for the first three items is well established. The current reminder systems fall into three broad groups.
Offline reminder devices. These are programmed with audible or a voice recording for one-off or recurring reminders. From a carers perspective these are complex to program and cannot be remotely programmed. There is no notification to the carer as to whether reminders are being acknowledged. From a sufferer’s perspective they are an unfamiliar device, need batteries to function and can be mislaid easily.
Reminder Apps for Smartphones or Tablets. These are for sufferers who own these devices. For sufferers who cannot easily adopt technology these are not suitable as they often left un-charged. Some need the sufferer to have internet connectivity, either through WiFi or a GSM SIM. Either of these connectivity options are expensive and can have support issues (ADSL routers sometimes need to be reset, GSM coverage maybe available in some rooms in a home but not others). There is no notification to the carer as to whether reminders are being acknowledged.
Reminder websites. These allow the carer to set a reminder using a website or a mobile-device friendly website. The reminder is delivered to a home land line phone. The message is most often a synthesised computer voice (text to speech). As the app is not native (i.e. not an iOS or Android app) it is not as intuitive to use some of the controls. There is no notification to the carer as to whether reminders are being acknowledged.
Often people with dementia find they can only use devices they have used already for decades (early experiences form strong neurological connections which is why a person with dementia may recall an event from 20 years ago but not from 2 days ago). Reminders that are delivered in an actors or a computer synthesised voice can cause more confusion. Often having to travel long distances to provide care, carers need the ability to remotely set or change reminders.
Summary
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for scheduling a communication to be sent to a remote user device, the method comprising the steps of: receiving, at a scheduling system, one or more first communications from a first user device, the first user device being remote from the scheduling system; the said first communications comprising: alert information associated with a first user input; identification information associated with a second user input; time information associated with a third user input; identifying, using one or more processor devices, a second user device using the identification information; the second user device being remote from the scheduling system; determining, using said one or more processor devices, a time for initiating a second communication to the second user device using the time information; initiating the sending of the second communication by instructing a communication system, at the said time, to send the second communication to the second user device; the second communication comprising the alert information; receiving response information associated with the receiving of the second communication by the second user device; sending a third communication from the scheduling system to the first user device, the third communication comprising information associated with the response information.
The first aspect may be modified in any suitable way as disclosed herein including but not limited to any one or more of the following.
The method may be configured such that the communication system is remote from the scheduling system, the scheduling system being configured to send a communication to the communication system instructing the communication system to send the second communication to the second user device.
The method may be configured such that the communication sent from the scheduling system to the communication system is via the internet.
The method may be configured such that the communication system comprises a Voice over Internet Protocol, VoIP, system.
The method may be configured such that the VoIP system is configured to send the second communication via a Public Switched Telephone Network, PSTN, to the second user device.
The method may be configured such that the response information comprises delivery status information.
The method may be configured such that the delivery status information comprises any one or more of: information associated with the second communication being received by a user of the further user device; information associated with the second communication not being received by a user of the further user device; information associated with the second communication being received by an automated answering system associated with the second user device.
The method may be configured such that the scheduling system receives the response information from the communication system.
The method may comprise the steps of: analysing the response information using a first set of rules; determining, based on the analysis, whether to re-initiate the sending of the second communication to the second user device.
The first set of rules may be any of, but not limited to any one or more of the following examples.
In one example, a threshold value is used wherein a task associated with the second communication is provided with a priority value and wherein the priority value is compared to the threshold value to determine if the second communication should be re-sent. The same comparison may additionally or alternatively be used to determine a recurrence time interval for re-sending the second communication.
Another example may be comparing the last time of sending the second communication to a specific time value and determining whether to resend the second communication based on whether or not the next resent second communication would be before or after the specific time value. For example, a specific time value of 9pm is used to signify the typical bed-time of the end user of the second user device; if the next sending of the second communication is after this time then this communication is stopped or delayed until a further specific time period indicating that the said end user will have awoken.
The method may be configured such that determining whether to re-initiate the sending of the second communication comprises determining a further time for reinitiating the sending of the second communication.
The method may be configured such that analysing the response information further comprises using data associated with response information associated with one or more previous communications initiated by the scheduling system.
The method may comprise the steps of: analysing the response information using a second set of rules; sending the third communication based upon the analysis.
The rules may be any suitable rules, for example, comparing a characteristic of the response to a set of predetermined actions, for example determining, from the response, a measure of the responding user’s well-being and comparing the measure to a predefined list of actions (such as the type of third communication to be sent (e.g. email/SMS), the frequency of repeat of the third communication, the volume of an audio message played upon receipt of the third communication).
The method may be configured such that the third communication comprises information based on the analysis.
The method may comprise the step of: determining a communication transmission method for the third communication based on the said analysis.
The method may be configured such that the communication transmission method is chosen from any one or more of: email; SMS; a telephone call.
The method may comprise the steps of storing the response information on a memory device.
The method may be configured such that the response information comprises data associated with a vocal response of a responding user receiving the second communication.
The method may be configured such that the data associated with a vocal response comprises a recording of the responding user’s voice.
The method may further comprise the step of analysing the vocal response data to determine a characteristic associated with the responding user receiving the second communication.
The method may be configured such that the characteristic is associated with a medical state of the said responding user.
The method may further comprise the step of determining the said characteristic using further information from any one or more of: pre-stored information associated with the responding user; pre-stored information resulting from one or more previous vocal response analyses; other stored vocal response data associated with the responding user.
The method may be configured such that the first user input comprises a voice message, the information associated with the first user input comprising a recording of the said voice message.
The method may be configured such that the first user input comprises information associated with a pre-recorded media file.
The method may be configured such that the second user input comprises identification information associated with communicating with the further user device.
The method may be configured such that the identification information comprises a phone number associated with the further user device.
The method may be configured such that the time information comprises a time value or time period.
The method may be configured such that the time information comprises a selection of a time value or time period from a list stored in the scheduling system.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable medium comprising computer readable instructions configured to give effect to the method as described in the first aspect, optionally including any one or more of the above presented options.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a scheduling system for scheduling a communication to be sent to a remote user device, the scheduling system comprising: one or more receiver devices configured to receive one or more first communications from a first user device, the first user device being remote from the scheduling system; the said first communications comprising: alert information associated with a first user input; identification information associated with a second user input; time information associated with a third user input; a processor device configured to: identify a second user device using the identification information; the second user device being remote from the scheduling system; determine a time for initiating a second communication to the second user device using the time information; initiate the sending of the second communication by instructing a communication system, at the said time, to send the second communication to the second user device; the second communication comprising the alert information; wherein, at least one of the said receiver devices is further configured to receive response information associated with the receiving of the second communication by the second user device; one or more transmitter devices configured to send a third communication from the scheduling system to the first user device, the third communication comprising information associated with the response information.
The third aspect may be modified in any suitable way as disclosed herein including but not limited to any one or more of the options provided above for the first aspect.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a user device configured to; receive, in any order: a first user input: a second user input; a third user input; send one or more first communications to a scheduling system remote from the first user device: the said first communications comprising: alert information associated with a first user input; identification information associated with a second user input; time information associated with a third user input; wherein the scheduling system, upon receiving the said first communications, configured to: identify a second user device based upon the identification information; initiate the sending of a second communication to the second user device, the second communication comprising alert information associated with the first user input and sent at a time associated with the time information; receive a third communication from the scheduling device, the third communication comprising information associated with the receiving of the second communication by the second user device.
The fourth aspect maybe modified in any suitable way as disclosed herein including but not limited to any one or more of the following.
The user device may be configured such that the second user input is received by the user device.
The user device may be configured such that the third user input comprises time information.
The user device may be configured such that the first user input is received by the first user device.
The user maybe configured such that the first user input comprises a voice message, the information associated with the first user input comprising a recording of the said voice message.
The user device may be configured such that the third communication comprises response information associated with any one or more of: the second communication being received by a user of the second user device: the second communication not being received by a user of the second user device: the second communication being received by a computer system.
The user device may be configured such that the third user input comprises identification information associated with communicating with the second user device.
The user device may be configured such that the third user input comprises a phone number associated with the second user device.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for operating a user device, the method comprising the steps of: receiving, at a first user device, in any order: a first user input: a second user input; a third user input; sending, from the first user device, one or more first communications to a scheduling system remote from the first user device: the said first communications comprising: alert information associated with a first user input; identification information associated with a second user input; time information associated with a third user input; wherein the scheduling system, upon receiving the said first communications, configured to: identify a second user device based upon the identification information; initiate the sending of a second communication to the second user device, the second communication comprising alert information associated with the first user input and sent at a time associated with the time information; receiving, at the first user device, a third communication from the scheduling system, the third communication comprising information associated with the receiving of the second communication by the second user device.
The fifth aspect may be modified in any suitable way as disclosed herein including but not limited to any one or more of options presented above for the fourth aspect.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable medium comprising computer readable instructions configured to give effect to the method as described in the fifth aspect, optionally including any one or more of the above presented options.
Brief description of the drawings
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figures 1 and 2 show and example of a system presented herein;
Figure 3 shows an example of a method as presented herein.
Detailed description
There is presented a method for scheduling a communication to be sent to a remote user device. The method is exemplified in the process 200 shown in figure 3.
The method comprises the step of receiving 202, at a scheduling system, one or more first communications from a first user device, the first user device being remote from the scheduling system. The said first communications comprising: alert information associated with a first user input; identification information associated with a second user input and time information associated with a third user input. The method further comprises the step of identifying 204 a second user device using one or more processor devices and the using the identification information. The second user device is remote from the scheduling system. The method further comprising the step of determining 206, using said one or more processor devices, a time for initiating a second communication to the second user device using the time information. The method further comprises the step of initiating 208 the sending of the second communication by instructing a communication system, at the said time, to send the second communication to the second user device. The second communication comprises the alert information. The method further comprises the step of receiving 210 response information associated with the receiving of the second communication by the second user device. The method further comprising the step of sending 212 a third communication from the scheduling system to the first user device, the third communication comprising information associated with the response information.
The method may be embodied upon/within one or more software modules, which may be recorded upon a computer readable medium such as a memory device. The said method may be executed by a scheduling system.
There is also presented a user device configured to; receive, in any order: a first user input: a second user input; a third user input. The user device is further configured to send one or more first communications to a scheduling system remote from the first user device. The said first communications comprising: alert information associated with a first user input; identification information associated with a second user input; time information associated with a third user input. The scheduling system, upon receiving the said first communications is configured to identify a second user device based upon the identification information and initiate the sending of a second communication to the second user device. The second communication comprising alert information associated with the first user input and sent at a time associated with the time information. The user device further configured to receive a third communication from the scheduling device, the third communication comprising information associated with the receiving of the second communication by the second user device.
The method and user device may be modified or configured according to any features/configurations or components described herein.
One use of the methods, systems and user devices described herein is to give carers of loved ones with dementia or other health/medical conditions the ability to remotely set reminders as part of a multi-layered approach to allow that person to live independently at home. Other layers outside of this service may be care visits, fall detection systems and inroom emergency communications to a care helpline. Other uses of the system/method/user devices may also be envisaged and therefore the said system/method/user devices presented herein are not necessarily limited to carer -sufferer scenarios.
In one example, the method and system described herein provides a reminder solution. The components, configurations and features of this example maybe modified according to any other components, configurations and features described herein, including those presented in any other examples described herein. The reminder solution uses at least three parts. These parts include, but are not limited to: A) a software module (also referred to in this example and elsewhere herein as the ‘native smartphone app’ or ‘app’), that is used by the first user (also referred to herein as a ‘carer’ or a ‘carer-subscriber’); B) a scheduling system comprising a scheduler module and a database; C) a communications system such as, but not limited to a telephone system interconnect. Typically, the software module runs on a first user device such as a communications device with a user interface having the ability to input data and record audio information, such as but not limited to a smart phone or tablet. The system may be used by a plurality of users. The scheduling system maybe connectable to a plurality of user devices and/or a plurality of communication systems.
An example of a carer using the system may be the carer using the app, on his smartphone, to record a voice message associated with a particular task that the carer want a target end user to perform. For example, if the target end user is the carer’s mother, the carer may, through the app, record the message ‘Hi mum, please don’t forget to take your blood pressure tablets’. Through the app, the carer identifies a further user device associated with the target end user, for example his mother’s PSTN phone number at her house. Though the app, the carer also selects a time and optionally a date to have the message sent to his mother’s phone. The carer may also select whether the reminder should be successfully delivered once or be a part of a limited or unlimited recurring reminder. When the carer first logs into the app, he may be asked for a password or go through some other security verification procedure to access an account that enables the carer to use the system. The account is preferably a collection or set of linked information associated with one or more users that is stored on the database in the scheduling system. Other users may be associated with the account or be provided with access to the account.
The scheduling system receives the voice message, choice of phone number and the chosen delivery time from the smartphone. These may be termed the ‘parameters’. The system stores at least the desired delivery time and recorded voice message and may store the target number. Alternatively the target number may already be stored upon the scheduling system, wherein upon receiving the communication from the smartphone, the scheduling system stores the delivery time and recorded message and links them to the pre-stored target phone number. In this example, the information sent from the carer’s phone to the scheduling system may indicate other information associated with the target end user (such as the person’s name) wherein the scheduling system in turn cross references that information on a database to obtain the phone number. At the scheduled time, the scheduling system then sends a further communication to the telephone system interconnect instructing the interconnect to call the end user (i.e. the carer’s mother) and deliver the pre-recorded voice message.
Preferably the telephone system interconnect generates data associated with the receiving of the call and sends this back to the scheduling system. The scheduling system may use this information in any number of ways including, but not limited to: sending a notification back to the carer to inform them of the message delivery status (for example, message received by user, message not received by user, message received by answerphone), determining a further delivery time to deliver the same or another message to the same end user. When determining a further delivery time, the scheduling system may use other information in conjunction with the data associated with the receiving of the call. For example, the scheduling system may access diaries stored locally or remotely to determine whether the end user will be available to receive the further message delivery.
The first user device may be any device comprising a processor and communication apparatus (such as a transmitter, receiver or transceiver) for sending and receiving communications to/from the scheduling system. The processor is configured to execute one or more processing steps to: receive information from a user via a user input device, generate data for sending to a scheduling system (also referred to herein as a ‘scheduler’).
The communication sent by the communications system to the second user device may be termed herein as an alert communication. One or more alert communications are sent to the second user device based at least upon: A) the time information/parameter entered by the user operating the first user device; and, B) alert information associated with one or more user inputs provided by the user of the first user device.
The alert information is output to the second user using the second user device. The second user device may act as a hub for receiving the communication (also referred to as a ‘reminder’) and, in turn, output the alert information via one or more remote devices, for example a remote speaker, for example one wirelessly connected to the second user device).
The second user device may be, but not limited to, any of a phone, computer device or media device such as a TV.
The one or more user inputs used to generate the alert information output to the second user may be any one or more of: a voice message, a text message, a choice of a data file such as a media file (for example pre-recorded audio file).
The alert information may be any one of: recording of the first user’s voice; a text to voice recognition output of text input from the user; a video or audio file.
The time that the scheduling system chooses to initiate the process for sending a communication to the second user device (i.e. the time it sends instructions to the communications system to send a communication to the second user device) may be also referred to herein as scheduling data, time data or time value. This time data may be any of a single time value, a single time period (having different start and end time values), a plurality of single time values or time period. Time data may be derived or generated from one or more sources of time information (also referred to as scheduling information).
Time information can be any of, but not limited to, the following.
Information directly input into the first user device by one or more users.
Data associated with information input into the first user device by the user and processed to generate the data. This processing can use other sources of information. Scheduling information may be used by itself or with one or more of the other scheduling information to generate scheduling data.
Information typed in by user on the first user device, recorded by the user device, recorded by a separate recording device wherein the recording is input to the user device or scheduling system.
Information input to the scheduling device from a further device, the further device may be used to send time information such as information associated with the user of the second user device. For example, any one or more of: user information associated with a user of the second user device, this may be calendar information, prescription information.
One example of further time information sources is doctor’s appointment time for the second user. This time information may either be uploaded from the second users own electronic calendar or from the doctors calendar. If the appointment clashes with the desired time information provided for by the first user of the first user device, the scheduling system calculates timing data for sending the alert communication that does not clash with the doctor’s appointment.
Time information sources may also be information: other time scheduling information from another user. For example, multiple siblings using the system putting in the same request for an alert communication, the scheduler compares the requests and if a similar request exists, prompts the user to cancel one of the reminders. The scheduling system may compare both reminder requests to other scheduling information, choose which is the most appropriate alert message to send based on the time information already associated with each request, and automatically delete the least appropriate reminder. A single reminder account may be generated that multiple users can access, via user devices, to generate message alerts. Within the account, one or more tasks may exist such as taking a particular medicine. A user may review the task list and identify if any other user has entered an alert message associated with that task. An account may be associated with a single user (such as a carer) and/or a plurality of users. The account may be configured such that only account holders may receive communications initiated by or received from the scheduling system.
Time information maybe generated/retrieved by receiving the identifier (such as a phone number) for the second user device: use the identifier to retrieve information in a remote database (either directly via the user device or via the scheduler) to establish other scheduling information associated with a user associated with the second user device and determining an appropriate sending time based upon the retrieved ‘other’ scheduling information.
The scheduling system communicates with the communication system. The communication system receives data from the scheduling system via one or more communications. These communications may be direct or through one or more further devices. In some examples the scheduling system sends communications to the communication system via the internet.
The communication system maybe part of the scheduling system or maybe remote from it. If remote, the communication system may be an application environment operating over a network of computer device such as a cloud based application.
Two or more devices configured to act together as a combined scheduling apparatus. The scheduling system include a communication device to transmit and receive communications between other devices/systems such as the aforementioned communication system
Different communication technology and methods may used for sending/receiving communications between the first user device and the scheduling system; the scheduling system and the communication system; and between the communication system and one or more second user devices. For example any of the communications maybe any of but not limited to: Voice over IP (VoIP), mobile radio communications, SMS, MMS, Bluetooth ®, Public switched telephone network (PSTN).
The response data associated with the receiving of the communication from the communication system by the second user device, may be used to determining a further delivery time for any of: the same communication or a subsequent similar communication to the same user of the second user device; a further separate communication sent to the same second user device associated with a different task. This may be accomplished by any one or more of: comparing one or more delivery data status information associated with the same task; comparing other information associated with the end user.
In the above examples example, the scheduling system preferably hosts one or more computer programs or comprises dedicated firmware configured to give effect to the steps performed by the scheduler module. The programs may be run on one or more suitable processing devices such as a server. Preferably, the scheduling system comprises one or more hosted applications.
The telephone system interconnect can be any suitable system that can receive one or more communications from the scheduling system and, upon receiving and processing this communication, send a further communication to a second user device such as a landline telephone. The telephone system interconnect is preferably a third party cloud based service (such as www.twiiio.com) that offers programmatic connection to user devices such as a smartphone or a PSTN phone. Preferably, the telephone system interconnect is configured to provide programmatic connection to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) for the purpose of at least making phone calls to and optionally, receiving phone calls from, one or more user devices.
The software module (also referred to as an ‘app’) on the first user device allows a carer to schedule a one off or recurring alert communications (also referred to herein as a ‘reminder’) to a further user device and check the delivery status of the reminder. The further user device maybe associated with an end user such as someone known to the first user using the app, for example the user’s parent.
The app may be configured such that the first user is authenticated before, during or after using the app to send a reminder, preferably before. The app may allow the carer to choose and manage their service tariff / subscription to use the system described herein. The app may allow scheduled reminders to be viewed and edited prior to delivery.
The app may allow for the creation of a single or repeat reminder.
The app may provide an interface that allows the subscriber (also referred to as a ‘first user’) to perform any one or more of, but not limited to, the following actions: a) define a text label that is useful for differentiating one reminder from another reminder; b) define the date and time for one-off reminders; c) define the day of week and time for recurring reminders; d) choose a destination phone number, which can be chosen from their phone’s contact list or entered using the phone keypad; e) record a spoken message by operating an animated button on the app that allows the sender to see how much remaining time they have for the message that they are recording, using the first user device’s microphone; f) submit the reminder to the scheduling system;
Furthermore, the app may be configured to perform any one or more of, but not limited to, the following actions: g) display the delivery status of a reminder after the scheduled delivery time. The status indicates whether the reminder call was listened to by a human (in full or in part), connected to an answering service, not answered or not delivered (out of service number). h) offer the option to receive notification of undelivered messages via alternative methods, such as SMS, phone or email. i) display whether the recipient provided an acknowledgement to the call using their phone key pad. j) offers the option of receiving voice confirmations from the recipient either via a normal phone call, or by delivering the message to the app for playback at a later time. k) allow for confirmation messages to be saved to memory of the first user device. l) provide the option for setting alert preferences to be played to the first user upon receiving delivery status information (audio, vibrate or any other form supported by the first user device). Alerts may be set for any level of received response (e.g. for missed calls, but not for accepted calls)
The app may also provide for any one or more of the following: a) the app user can agree to terms from affiliated care providers via the app b) the app user can be offered pre-scoped care visits from a local registered care provider via the app c) the app user can link a playlist from a music streaming service (such as Spotify ®), or upload a music (or other audio file) from the smartphone for delivery with a reminder. Then at a scheduled time the uploaded file or selected track from the playlist can be delivered via a phone call. It is known that listing to familiar music from their past can improve a dementia sufferer’s mood and social interaction. This option is therefore is a way of providing the music without a local music player which the recipient may not remember to use.
The scheduling system maybe a geographically resilient platform based in the cloud.
The scheduling system may perform any one or more of, but not limited to, the following actions: a) encrypt, using encryption means, such as encryption software modules, any of the communications or parts of the communications sent and received by the scheduling system. b) store encrypted credentials of first users and/or end users and their account status; c) store encrypted reminder entries; d) receive recorded voice (or other audio) messages (which may be received as one or more audio files) recorded from an app on the first user device using different codecs (e.g. AAC for iOS and mp3 for Android) and normalise them for onward connection to the PSTN interconnection provider. Normalisation may include any of, but not limited to, changing the file format of the recorded message, truncating the length of the audio message to a predetermined length, setting the volume of the recording to playback to the user (sufferer) of the end user device. e) request a call to be made to the destination number (associated with the sufferer’s user device) at the scheduled time via a RESTful web API to an external Voice Over IP provider (which is an example of one type of‘communication system’ described elsewhere herein) chosen based on business rules. The content of the message may be a distinctive tone or other audible signal that will let a user receiving the call (e.g. person with dementia) know that it is a message and not a two-way call, followed by the recorded message and / or audio track. The said business rules may be any of, but not limited to: current or past connectivity between the scheduling system and the communication system; the volume of communications traffic currently being handled by the communications system. f) schedule the redelivery of unanswered reminder calls at recurring times after the initial message was unanswered. This may be, for example, at a successive time periods or a periods calculated based on other information such as the end users diary entries. The number of recurrences may be limited to a threshold value, for example, the recurrence may be every 5 minutes for a pre-set number of times so that recipients know they do not have to rush from another room to get to the call in time. g) notify the first user, via the app of their first user device, as to whether the reminder was received by a human (and whether it was listened to in full or in part), a machine or not at all. This may be achieved using any suitable technology of method such as using voice signalling and ambient audio characteristics when a reminder call is answered. h) detect whether the recipient has provided acknowledgment of the reminder (for example by pressing a key on their keypad) and notifies the sender of this via the app on the first user device. i) accept a voice response to the reminder from the recipient (who is using the end user device receiving the reminder) and forwards this to the fist user’s subscriber’s smartphone application or as a phone call. j) notifiy the first user when more than a pre-agreed number of the same reminders have been unanswered. The notification method may be selected by the first user via the app on the first user device and maybe any of the following: a. Notification via the app (for example a smartphone app) b. SMS message c. Email d. Automated message via phone call k) determine a measure of wellness by analysing the voice response to a message compared to baseline responses. l) analyse call metrics, such as time it takes for the end user to answer and time of day, to calculate an indication of wellness, a problem, or to develop dynamic delivery preferences.
Figures 1 and 2 show an example of a system 2 as presented herein. Both Figures 1 and 2 show the components of the system together with an example of the communications between components. The example shown in these figures and described below maybe modified/adapted according to other configurations or features of the system described elsewhere herein.
Figure 1 shows the communication between the first user device 4 and the scheduling system 6 that is used when the user types an input into the first user device 4 to set a reminder to be sent to a second (or further) user device 14.
Figure 2 shows the same components as Figure 1, but shows the communications between components starting from when the scheduling system 6 initiates a communication to be sent to the second user device 14 and ending with the subsequent communication that is sent back to the first user device 4 to tell the first user operating the first user device 4 the delivery status of the communication that has recently been sent to the second user device 14. The examples of the communications between the different components of the system may be modified in any suitable way described herein including in any other examples.
In Figure 1, the first user or carer enters information into the first user device 4 using a smartphone app. When interacting with the smartphone app, the user may request a new reminder. A reminder is a type of task that can be set using the system described herein. The user may also enter a text label associated with that task, for example a short piece of text reminding the carer or anyone else using the system, and able to access and view the reminders, what this reminder is actually about. An example could be “mum’s blood pressure tablets”. The user enters other information associated with the time scheduling of the communication to be sent to the further user device 14. This information may include, in this example, date, time and recurrence (if any) of the sending of an alert communication wherein the initiation of process to send the alert communication is done by the scheduling system 6. Additionally or alternatively the user may select an event from a source of events such as the user’s diary held on the first user device 4. The fist user also selects a destination phone number associated with the second user device 14. This may be selected in any suitable way including choosing a contact number from a list provided by software on the first user device 4 or a list provided on a database or other memory device on the scheduling system 6. The user may alternatively type the destination in number directly into the first user device. The user also uses the app to record a spoken message intended to be played back to the end user using the second user device 14 when the end user (or sufferer) receives the scheduled communication from the communication system. The spoken message maybe recorded and then uploaded into the app. An example of how the message is recorded would be the operator pressing an animated button on the app interface that allows the first user to see how much remaining time they have for the message that they are recording. Typically the user would use a built-in microphone on the first user device 4 to record the message. The user may review the spoken message that has been recorded before choosing to send the reminder request to the scheduling system 6.
After all the data and information has been input by the user into the app, the user then confirms/initiates the app to send the information to the scheduling system 6. This may be done in any suitable way including over the internet 8 as shown in Figure 1 via the arrows 102. Additionally or alternatively, the communication between the first user device 4 and the scheduling system 6 may be done directly using other communication transmission systems and methods.
The scheduling device 6 (referred to in this example as a ‘back-end system’), in this example, it is hosted on a cloud computing environment such as Microsoft Azure ®, Amazon ® web services or Google ® cloud.
The services may be located in one or more geographically dispersed data centres. In principle, any suitable back-end system may be used including a scheduling system that is run by software and hardware located in a single device such as a server.
In the example shown in figures 1 and 2, the back-end system comprises the following sub components; A) a virtual network which connects the components within the cloud computing environment between data centres and to the internet 8, B) a database which stores relational data such as user account information, reminder message parameters, reminder history wherein such information and data may be encrypted to protect the user’s data and information from unwanted third parties, C) a memory storage means for storing unstructured data such as recorded reminders and recorded responses resulting from reminders being sent to the second user device 14, D) a virtual machine, which is an environment for a back-end controlling software application that uses shared resources in the cloud such as virtual memory and hard drives, wherein this virtual machine application handles messaging within the back-end systems and to the smart phone reminder application and the remote communication systems such as the Voice over IP providers; E) a scheduling module (or ‘scheduler’) which performs efficient scheduling of reminders to the communication system 10. The scheduling system may be configured to arrange a plurality of reminder messages to be sent within time periods and/or at time values that minimise processor usage within the scheduling system.
Once the communication 102 has been received by the scheduling system 6 from the first user device 4, the controlling application running the virtual machine may parse certain parameters to ensure they are within expected pre-set limits or do not exceed relevant thresholds. Such checking of parameters may be: the length of the recorded voice message, the date and time set by the user for the message to be sent, or checking whether or not the entered phone number for the end user device 14 is a valid number. The controlling application in the scheduling system 6 may authenticate the user, for example by the user optionally entering a user name or password or by identifying other information on the smartphone that was sent along with the parameters in the communication 102. The controlling application stores the reminder parameters in a database such as an SQL database. The controlling application also provides the scheduler with at least some of the parameters so that the reminder is invoked / initiated at the correct day and time in the future. In one example, the controlling application may convert the reminder media file from AAC audio compression and encoding to MP3 audio compression and encoding. The media file (whether it is an AAC audio compression and encoding or a MP3 audio compression and encoding) is saved in the memory storage means as previously described.
At the time to deliver the reminder, the scheduler module invokes the controlling application in the virtual machine. The controlling application determines the destination number for the reminder (such as an e.164 number). The controlling application may use a set of rules to determine the most suitable voice over IP (VOIP) provider to use to send the reminder to the second user device 14. The controlling application creates an MP3 encoded file joining a selected jingle with the reminder media file. The controlling application includes a representational state transfer (REST), an application program interface (API) of the selecting VOIP provider passing the destination e.164 number and the joined MP3 encoded media file. The passing of this information is shown by arrows 104 in Figure 2. The communication system 10 (which in this example is a VOIP provider) receives the call to the REST API wherein, in turn, a phone call is set up over a further network to the user device 14. This further network maybe a public switched telephone network (PSTN). This communication is shown by arrows 106 in Figure 2. If the call is answered by the second user device 14, and a media path is established then the joined MP3 encoded media file is streamed to the second user device 14. In this example, the second user device 14 is a phone. The audio channel from the second user device 14 is monitored by the VOIP provider.
Based on the audio characteristics a determination is made whether the call has been answered by human or by an automated computer service such as an answering service. This monitoring and information being passed to the VOIP provider is shown in arrows 108 which again occurs through the PSTN 12 shown in Figure 2. The VOIP provider then in turn sends this delivery status information back to the scheduling system 6.
This transmission is shown by the arrows 110 in Figure 2.
On notification of the delivery status via the virtual network, the controlling application in the scheduling system stores information about the call in the SQL database that can be later used for analytical purposes. Based on the delivery status, the control application uses a further set of rules to determine whether it should be placed in a queue again and if so, determine an appropriate delay before re-sending. This delay may be determined, adapted or modified based on information determined from analytics from one or more previous pieces of information received back from the VOIP provider. The control application may determine which first user device/s may need to be notified. For example, multiple user devices may need to be notified if for example many users share responsibility for caring for the user of the second user device 14.
The controller application may also determine, using a set of rules, whether an escalated notification and/or alternative communication to users of one or more user devices is required using a further communication system such as email, SMS or a phone call. Therefore, the scheduling system 6 may determine the type of communication method used to send a communication back to the one or more first user devices based on one or more pieces of information such as frequency of unanswered calls and, analysis of the words spoken by the person answering the call using a speech detect converter and, for example, searching for particular key word such as help. This communication back to the one or more first user devices may include delivery status information and/or other information associated with the user of the second user device (such as a warning message calculated from analysing a plurality of information sources and/or a plurality of voice responses by the user of the second user device).
The controller application may invoke a sequence of steps to process and analyse voice recording of a user answering the call via the second user device 14. The voice recording, for example may be a recording from the carer’s mother receiving the call 106 using a second user device 14. The controller application may retrieve the recording from the VOIP provider and save it on the storage means in the back end system. This voice recording of the second user answering the call 106 maybe accessed and retrieved by the first user using the smartphone application on the first user device 4. The voice recording maybe analysed, using any appropriate means such as a voice-text converter, to calculate a wellness quotient of the person answering the call 106. This wellness quotient may also be based upon other data such as past data recorded for the same person answering reminder calls on the second user device 14. The message delivery status information is passed back to the first user device 4 as shown by the arrows 112 in Figure 2.
If the first user device is a device (such as a smart phone or tablet) comprising a processor, memory and operating software, then on receiving the delivery status from the Back-End System via the internet, a notification may be passed to the smartphone operating system’s notification system to behave in a manner that the user has set in preferences. This may be any output signal such as but not limited to audio, vibration or any other form supported by the first user device.
The notification may be added to a list in a Notifications screen of the Smartphone Reminder Application showing if the call was answered by a human (in full or in part), connected to an answering service, not answered or not delivered (out of service number).
Any of the processing devices, systems, and/or remote devices described herein may comprise one or more electronic devices. An electronic device can be, e.g., a computer, e.g., desktop computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, minicomputer, mainframe, multiprocessor system, network computer, e-reader, netbook computer, or tablet. The electronic device can be a smartphone or other mobile electronic device.
The computer can comprise an operating system. The operating system can be a realtime, multi-user, single-user, multi-tasking, single tasking, distributed, or embedded. The operating system (OS) can be any of, but not limited to, Android ®, iOS ®, Linux ®, a Mac operating system, a version of Microsoft Windows ®. The systems and methods described herein can be implemented in or upon computer systems. Equally, the processing device may be part of a computer system.
Computer systems can include various combinations of a central processor or other processing device, an internal communication bus, various types of memory or storage media (RAM, ROM, EEPROM, cache memory, disk drives, etc.) for code and data storage, and one or more network interface cards or ports for communication purposes. The devices, systems, and methods described herein may include or be implemented in software code, which may run on such computer systems or other systems. For example, the software code can be executable by a computer system, for example, that functions as the storage server or proxy server, and/or that functions as a user's terminal device. During operation the code can be stored within the computer system. At other times, the code can be stored at other locations and/or transmitted for loading into the appropriate computer system. Execution of the code by a processor of the computer system can enable the computer system to implement the methods and systems described herein.
The computer system, electronic device, or server can also include a central processing unit (CPU), in the form of one or more processors, for executing program instructions. The computer system, electronic device, or server can include an internal communication bus, program storage and data storage for various data files to be processed and/or communicated. The computer system, electronic device, or server can include various hardware elements, operating systems and programming languages. The electronic device, server or computing functions can be implemented in various distributed fashions, such as on a number of similar or other platforms.
The devices may comprise various communication capabilities to facilitate communications between different devices. These may include wired communications (such as electronic communication lines or optical fibre) and/or wireless communications. Examples of wireless communications include, but are not limited to, radio frequency transmission, infrared transmission, or other communication technology. The hardware described herein can include transmitters and receivers for radio and/or other communication technology and/or interfaces to couple to and communicate with communication networks.
An electronic device can communicate with other electronic devices, for example, over a network. An electronic device can communicate with an external device using a variety of communication protocols. A set of standardized rules, referred to as a protocol, can be used utilized to enable electronic devices to communicate. A network can be a small system that is physically connected by cables or via wireless communication (a local area network or “LAN”). An electronic device can be a part of several separate networks that are connected together to form a larger network (a wide area network or “WAN”).
Other types of networks of which an electronic device can be a part of include the internet, telecom networks, intranets, extranets, wireless networks, and other networks over which electronic, digital and/or analog data can be communicated.
The methods and steps performed by components described herein can be implemented in computer software that can be stored in the computer systems or electronic devices including a plurality of computer systems and servers. These can be coupled over computer networks including the internet. The methods and steps performed by components described herein can be implemented in resources including computer software such as computer executable code embodied in a computer readable medium, or in electrical circuitry, or in combinations of computer software and electronic circuitry. The computer-readable medium can be non-transitory. Non-transitory computer-readable media can comprise all computer-readable media, with the sole exception being a transitory, propagating signal. Computer readable media can be configured to include data or computer executable instructions for manipulating data. The computer executable instructions can include data structures, objects, programs, routines, or other program modules that can be accessed by a processing system Computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, non-volatile storage media in various forms (e.g., optical, magnetic or semiconductor storage media, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk), volatile media (e.g., dynamic memories) and carrier waves that can be used to transfer such formatted data and/or instructions through wireless, optical, or wired signalling media, transmission media (e.g., coaxial cables, copper wire, fibres optics) or any combination thereof.
The terms processing, computing, calculating, determining, or the like, can refer in whole or in part to the action and/or processes of a processor, computer or computing system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulate and/or transform data represented as physical, such as electronic, quantities within the system's registers and/or memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the system's memories, registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices. Users can be individuals as well as corporations and other legal entities. Furthermore, the processes presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer, processing device, article or other apparatus. An example of a structure for a variety of these systems will appear from the description herein. Embodiments are not described with reference to any particular processor, programming language, machine code, etc. A variety of programming languages, machine codes, etc. can be used to implement the teachings as described herein.
An electronic device can be in communication with one or more servers. The one or more servers can be an application server, database server, a catalog server, a communication server, an access server, a link server, a data server, a staging server, a database server, a member server, a fax server, a game server, a pedestal server, a micro server, a name server, a remote access server (RAS), a live access server (LAS), a network access server (NAS), a home server, a proxy server, a media server, a nym server, network server, a sound server, file server, mail server, print server, a standalone server, or a web server. A server can be a computer.
One or more databases (for example the database 6) can be used to store information from an electronic device. The databases can be organized using data structures (e.g., trees, fields, arrays, tables, records, lists) included in one or more memories or storage devices.

Claims (37)

  1. Claims
    1. A method for scheduling a communication to be sent to a remote user device, the method comprising the steps of: receiving, at a scheduling system, one or more first communications from a first user device, the first user device being remote from the scheduling system; the said first communications comprising: alert information associated with a first user input; identification information associated with a second user input; time information associated with a third user input; identifying, using one or more processor devices, a second user device using the identification information; the second user device being remote from the scheduling system; determining, using said one or more processor devices, a time for initiating a second communication to the second user device using the time information; initiating the sending of the second communication by instructing a communication system, at the said time, to send the second communication to the second user device; the second communication comprising the alert information; receiving response information associated with the receiving of the second communication by the second user device; sending a third communication from the scheduling system to the first user device, the third communication comprising information associated with the response information.
  2. 2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the communication system is remote from the scheduling system, the scheduling system being configured to send a communication to the communication system instructing the communication system to send the second communication to the second user device.
  3. 3. A method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the communication sent from the scheduling system to the communication system is via the internet.
  4. 4. A method as claimed in claims 2 or 3 wherein the communication system comprises a Voice over Internet Protocol, VoIP, system.
  5. 5. A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein the VoIP system is configured to send the second communication via a Public Switched Telephone Network, PSTN, to the second user device.
  6. 6. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the response information comprises delivery status information.
  7. 7. A method as claimed in claim 6 wherein the delivery status information comprises any one or more of: information associated with the second communication being received by a user of the further user device; information associated with the second communication not being received by a user of the further user device; information associated with the second communication being received by an automated answering system associated with the second user device.
  8. 8. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein scheduling system receives the response information from the communication system.
  9. 9. A method as claimed in any preceding claim comprising the steps of: analysing the response information using a first set of rules; determining, based on the analysis, whether to re-initiate the sending of the second communication to the second user device.
  10. 10. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein determining whether to re-initiate the sending of the second communication comprises determining a further time for re-initiating the sending of the second communication.
  11. 11. A method as claimed in claims 9 or 10 wherein analysing the response information further comprises using data associated with response information associated with one or more previous communications initiated by the scheduling system.
  12. 12. A method as claimed in any preceding claim comprising the steps of: analysing the response information using a second set of rules; sending the third communication based upon the analysis.
  13. 13. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the third communication comprises information based on the analysis.
  14. 14. A method as claimed in claims 12 or 13 comprising the steps of: determining a communication transmission method for the third communication based on the said analysis.
  15. 15. A method as claimed in claim 14 wherein the communication transmission method is chosen from any one or more of: email; SMS; a telephone call.
  16. 16. A method as claimed in any preceding claim comprising the steps of storing the response information on a memory device. ly. A method as claimed in claim 16 wherein the response information comprises data associated with a vocal response of a responding user receiving the second communication.
  17. 18. A method as claimed in claim 17 wherein the data associated with a vocal response comprises a recording of the responding users voice.
  18. 19. A method as claimed in claims 17 or 18 further comprising the step of analysing the vocal response data to determine a characteristic associated with the responding user receiving the second communication.
  19. 20. A method as claimed in claim 19 wherein the characteristic is associated with a medical state of the said responding user.
  20. 21. A method as claimed in claims 19 or 20 further comprising the step of determining the said characteristic using further information from any one or more of: pre-stored information associated with the responding user; pre-stored information resulting from one or more previous vocal response analyses; other stored vocal response data associated with the responding user.
  21. 22. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the first user input comprises a voice message, the information associated with the first user input comprising a recording of the said voice message.
  22. 23. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the first user input comprises information associated with a pre-recorded media file.
  23. 24. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the second user input comprises identification information associated with communicating with the further user device.
  24. 25. A method as claimed in claim 24 wherein the identification information comprises a phone number associated with the further user device.
  25. 26. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the time information comprises a time value or time period.
  26. 27. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the time information comprises a selection of a time value or time period from a list stored in the scheduling system.
  27. 28. A computer readable medium comprising computer readable instructions configured to give effect to the method as claimed in any of claims 1-27.
  28. 29. A scheduling system for scheduling a communication to be sent to a remote user device, the scheduling system comprising: I) one or more receiver devices configured to receive one or more first communications from a first user device, the first user device being remote from the scheduling system; the said first communications comprising: alert information associated with a first user input; identification information associated with a second user input; time information associated with a third user input; II) a processor device configured to: identify a second user device using the identification information; the second user device being remote from the scheduling system; determine a time for initiating a second communication to the second user device using the time information; initiate the sending of the second communication by instructing a communication system, at the said time, to send the second communication to the second user device; the second communication comprising the alert information; wherein, at least one of the said receiver devices is further configured to receive response information associated with the receiving of the second communication by the second user device; III) one or more transmitter devices configured to send a third communication from the scheduling system to the first user device, the third communication comprising information associated with the response information.
  29. 30. A user device configured to; I) receive, in any order: a first user input: a second user input; a third user input; II) send one or more first communications to a scheduling system remote from the first user device: the said first communications comprising: alert information associated with a first user input; identification information associated with a second user input; time information associated with a third user input; wherein the scheduling system, upon receiving the said first communications, configured to: identify a second user device based upon the identification information; initiate the sending of a second communication to the second user device, the second communication comprising alert information associated with the first user input and sent at a time associated with the time information; III) receive a third communication from the scheduling device, the third communication comprising information associated with the receiving of the second communication by the second user device.
  30. 31. A user device as claimed in claim 30 wherein the second user input is received by the user device.
  31. 32. A user device as claimed in any of claims 30-31 wherein the third user input comprises time information.
  32. 33. A user device as claimed in any of claims 30-32 wherein the first user input is received by the first user device.
  33. 34. A user device as claimed in any of claims 30-33 wherein the first user input comprises a voice message, the information associated with the first user input comprising a recording of the said voice message.
  34. 35. A user device as claimed in any of claims 30-34 wherein the third communication comprises response information associated with any one or more of: the second communication being received by a user of the second user device: the second communication not being received by a user of the second user device: the second communication being received by a computer system.
  35. 36. A user device as claimed in any of claims 30-35 wherein the third user input comprises identification information associated with communicating with the second user device.
  36. 37. A user device as claimed in claim 36 wherein the third user input comprises a phone number associated with the second user device.
  37. 38. A method for operating a user device, the method comprising the steps of: receiving, at a first user device, in any order: a first user input: a second user input; a third user input; sending, from the first user device, one or more first communications to a scheduling system remote from the first user device: the said first communications comprising: alert information associated with a first user input; identification information associated with a second user input; time information associated with a third user input; wherein the scheduling system, upon receiving the said first communications, configured to: identify a second user device based upon the identification information; initiate the sending of a second communication to the second user device, the second communication comprising alert information associated with the first user input and sent at a time associated with the time information; receiving, at the first user device, a third communication from the scheduling device, the third communication comprising information associated with the receiving of the second communication by the second user device. 39· An apparatus substantially as shown and/or described herein with reference to any one or more of Figures 1-2 of the accompanying drawings.
GB1520429.0A 2015-11-19 2015-11-19 Methods, systems and user devices for scheduling communications Withdrawn GB2544521A (en)

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