The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 23, 2009
Filed:
Jul. 29, 2004
Bethany Lyn Kessen, Austin, TX (US);
Craig M. Lawton, Raleigh, NC (US);
Jonathan Andrew Lewis, Morrisville, NC (US);
Martin Thomas Moore, San Francisco, CA (US);
Jesse B. Overby, Iii, Raleigh, NC (US);
Christopher Andrew Peters, Pflugerville, TX (US);
Lorin Evan Ullmann, Austin, TX (US);
Bethany Lyn Kessen, Austin, TX (US);
Craig M. Lawton, Raleigh, NC (US);
Jonathan Andrew Lewis, Morrisville, NC (US);
Martin Thomas Moore, San Francisco, CA (US);
Jesse B. Overby, III, Raleigh, NC (US);
Christopher Andrew Peters, Pflugerville, TX (US);
Lorin Evan Ullmann, Austin, TX (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for sending a user's availability information to an instant messaging (IM) partner. A user predefines areas of the user's display and associates these predefined areas, or 'hotspots', with user defined messages. If the user is not available to immediately respond to an incoming message, the user may move the IM dialog window to a 'hotspot' in the display. Depending upon the user-defined message associated with the “hotspot”, the IM application generates an automated response indicating the user's availability to respond to the message, and sends the message to the IM partner. The user also may predefine and associate the user's IM status with a “hotspot”. Moving an IM dialog window into a “hotspot” automatically changes the user's status based on the associated “hotspot”. This change is communicated to only the particular IM dialog window partner while other IM partners are unaffected.