U.S. patent application number 11/112621 was filed with the patent office on 2005-08-25 for electronic commerce using personal preferences.
Invention is credited to Tsai, Daniel E..
Application Number | 20050187786 11/112621 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34633097 |
Filed Date | 2005-08-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050187786 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tsai, Daniel E. |
August 25, 2005 |
Electronic commerce using personal preferences
Abstract
A system to enable a person to interact in both a physical world
and an electronic world is described. The system includes a server
that delivers news and information. The server includes a matching
process that matches information from a client with information
from other hosts that are also sending information to the server.
The matching process includes matching wrapper information from a
received capsule, the wrapper information including information
that determines the use of the information content of the capsule.
The system also includes a client user device. The client user
device includes a database of personal interests and a process that
either offers and/or requests services and information based on the
personal interests. The process includes a process to wrap content
with control information designating ownership of the content, the
time span the content is valid, and rules specifying how content is
to be matched.
Inventors: |
Tsai, Daniel E.; (Atkinson,
NH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FISH & RICHARDSON PC
225 FRANKLIN ST
BOSTON
MA
02110
US
|
Family ID: |
34633097 |
Appl. No.: |
11/112621 |
Filed: |
April 22, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11112621 |
Apr 22, 2005 |
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09668235 |
Sep 22, 2000 |
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6907465 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/26.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0601 20130101;
G06Q 30/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/001 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Claims
1-28. (canceled)
29. A method for conducting commerce where information and services
are provided to customers comprises: selectively activating
shareable database capsules from information contained in
personalized, shared databases, the shareable database capsules
comprising fields that have property characteristics of the
shareable capsule, including visibility and sharing settings, and a
content field that includes information to be shared or match with
other shareable database capsules; distributing the shareable
capsules over a network communications medium as matchable
capsules; matching the matchable capsules with other complementary
matchable capsules; and distributing an indication of the existence
of and results of a match of a pair of matchable capsules according
to visibility settings for the matched capsules.
30. The method of claim 29 wherein the shareable capsules include
information in the content field pertaining to offers or requests
for information or services.
31. The method of claim 29 wherein the visibility settings include
a setting of IN, OUT, BOTH, IN+, OUT+ and the method further
comprises: determining allowable combinations of visibility
settings of the matched capsules.
32. The method of claim 29 wherein the activation of shared items
is based upon a geographic location of the customer.
33. The method of claim 29 wherein the activation of shared items
is based upon the time of transmission of the shareable
capsule.
34. The method of claim 29 wherein the activation of shared items
is based upon personal and environmental conditions.
35. The method of claim 29 wherein the distribution of shared items
is directly between local wireless or wired devices.
36. The method of claim 29 wherein the distribution of shared items
is over the Internet.
37. The method of claim 29 wherein the property characteristics of
the capsules have transmittal sections.
38. The method of claim 29 wherein the property characteristics of
the capsules include ownership, location, life span, binding and
transmittal details.
39. The method of claim 29 wherein matching compares transmittal
and contents between capsules.
40. The method of claim 29 wherein matching screens visibility of
the existence of a request or offer.
41. The method of claim 29 wherein matching screens visibility of
the results of a request or offer.
42. The method of claim 29 wherein the capsule specifies the
allowable audience and hosts to conduct a match with.
43-54. (canceled)
55. A computer program product residing on a computer readable
medium, for conducting commerce where information and services are
provided to customers, the computer program product comprises
instructions to cause a computing device to: selectively activate
shareable database capsules from information contained in
personalized, shared databases, the shareable database capsules
comprising fields that have property characteristics of the
shareable capsule, including visibility and sharing settings, and a
content field that includes information to be shared or match with
other shareable database capsules; distribute the shareable
capsules over a network communications medium as matchable
capsules; match the matchable capsules with other complementary
matchable capsules; and distribute an indication of the existence
of and results of a match of a pair of matchable capsules according
to visibility settings in the matched capsules.
56. The computer program product of claim 55 wherein the visibility
settings include a setting of IN, OUT, BOTH, IN+, OUT+ and the
computer program product further comprises instructions to:
determining allowable combinations of visibility settings of the
matched capsules.
57. The computer program product of claim 55 further comprising
instructions to activate shared items based upon a geographic
location of the customer or the time of transmission of the
shareable capsule or upon personal and environmental
conditions.
58. The computer program product of claim 55 further comprising
instructions to match the property characteristics of the capsules
where the property characteristics of the capsules include
ownership, location, life span, binding and transmittal
details.
59. An apparatus, comprising: a computing processing device; a
memory for executing a computer program product; and the computer
program product, for conducting commerce where information and
services are provided to customers, the computer program product
comprises instructions to cause the computing device to:
selectively activate shareable database capsules from information
contained in personalized, shared databases, the shareable database
capsules comprising fields that have property characteristics of
the shareable capsule, including visibility and sharing settings,
and a content field that includes information to be shared or match
with other shareable database capsules; distribute the shareable
capsules over a network communications medium as matchable
capsules; match the matchable capsules with other complementary
matchable capsules; and distribute an indication of the existence
of and results of a match of a pair of matchable capsules according
to visibility settings in the matched capsules.
60. The apparatus of claim 59 wherein capsules include the
visibility settings of IN, OUT, BOTH, IN+, OUT+ and the computer
program product comprises instructions to: determine allowable
combinations of visibility settings of the matched capsules.
61. The apparatus of claim 59 wherein the computer program product
further comprises instructions to activate shared items based upon
a geographic location of the customer or the time of transmission
of the shareable capsule or upon personal and environmental
conditions.
62. The apparatus of claim 59 wherein the computer program product
further comprises instructions to match the property
characteristics of the capsules where the property characteristics
of the capsules include ownership, location, life span, binding and
transmittal details.
63. The apparatus of claim 59 wherein the computer program product
wherein instructions to match further comprise instructions to:
compare transmittal and content fields between capsules.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] This invention relates to electronic commerce.
[0002] Computers are often used to store and maintain databases.
Databases can be of many types. One type of database stores data in
tabular form, e.g., relational databases. Other databases include
hierarchical databases and flat-file structures that are similar to
a table or a spreadsheet. Another type of database is the so-called
object-oriented database.
[0003] The world-wide-web stores information in resources that can
be found through an address such as a uniform resource locator
(URL). Wireless devices are also known for use with the Internet.
Data exchange with wired of wireless devices involves transmission
of data via E-mail address or web pages. Such data transmission can
be secure, but data regarding personal preferences can be obtained
by host systems whether or not intended.
SUMMARY
[0004] According to an aspect of the present invention, a method of
notifying users of electronic services includes dynamically
matching custom information stored on distributed databases with
information that users hold in a user device on topics of
interest.
[0005] According to an additional aspect of the present invention,
a client device includes a computing device that executes computer
instructions and a database of personal interests. The client
device also includes a process that either offers and/or requests
services and information based on personal interests of a user. The
process includes a process to wrap content with control information
designating ownership of the content, the time span the content is
valid, and rules specifying how content is to be matched.
[0006] According to an additional aspect of the present invention,
a system to enable a person to interact in both a physical world
and an electronic world includes a server that delivers news and
information. The electronic world has virtual stores and enables
online interactions through wired and wireless networks. The system
also includes a client user device. The client user device includes
a database of personal interests and a process that either offers
and/or requests services and information based on the personal
interests. The process includes a process to wrap content with
control information designating ownership of the content, the time
span the content is valid, and rules specifying how content is to
be matched.
[0007] According to an additional aspect of the present invention,
a server system includes a matching process that matches
information from a client with information from other hosts that
are also sending information to the server. The matching process
includes matching wrapper information from a received capsule, the
wrapper information including information that determines the use
of the information content of the capsule.
[0008] According to an additional aspect of the present invention,
a method for conducting commerce where information and services are
provided to customers includes selectively activating shareable
database capsules from information contained in personalized,
shared databases. The method also includes distributing the
shareable capsules over a network communications medium as
matchable capsules, matching the matchable capsules with other
complementary matchable capsules and making the existence and
results of a match of a pair of matchable capsules visible only if
matched capsules have compatible visibility settings.
[0009] According to an additional aspect of the present invention,
a method for maintaining privacy in exchange of data includes
attaching a directional visibility flag to a request or offer for
information or services and distributing the request or offer. The
method also includes matching the visibility setting of a request
or offer to complementary items in a complementary one of the
request or offer. The method also includes processing the match in
accordance with the visibility specification to prevent any
information about the existence or results of the match from being
communicated to contrary to the visibility flags.
[0010] According to an additional aspect of the present invention,
a computer readable medium stores a data structure. The data
structure represents a shareable database capsule including a
content field that contains offers and requests for information and
services and a transmittal information field that contains
information to control the distribution, matching and privacy of
the sharing of the database capsule.
[0011] According to an additional aspect of the present invention,
a system includes a server that includes a matching process that
matches information from a client with information from other hosts
that are also sending information to the server. The matching
process includes a matching process to match wrapper information
from a received capsule, where the wrapper information includes
information that determines the use of the information content of
the capsule. The system also includes a client user device to
interact with the server device. The client user device includes a
database of personal interests and a process that either offers
and/or requests services and information based on the personal
interests. The process includes a process to wrap content with
control information designating ownership of the content, the time
span the content is valid, and rules specifying how content is to
be matched.
[0012] One or more aspects of the invention may have one or more of
the following advantages.
[0013] The invention connects people and electronic services by
dynamically matching custom information stored on distributed
databases. Users hold information on topics of interest. The
information can be accumulated and organized over time, produced or
collected from various sources and carried on a fixed computing
device, or portable computing device like a personal digital
assistant (PDA) or cell phone. People can specify interests in
hobbies, dining preferences, research topics, news, social and
cultural interests, personal information like clothing sizes, or
activities to participate in. Companies and other organizations can
supply information on products and services, useful facts, and
other information in response to requests for such information or
as a general broadcast of information.
[0014] The basic content of the information is wrapped with
information about its owner, the time span it will be valid, its
audience, what pieces of information are to be matched, what
information is to be filled in, and what other actions are to occur
if a match occurs. These data capsules can be expressed as small
fragments of information used to locate and obtain further
information.
[0015] This system is suited, in particular, to mobile computing
and communications situations because browsing, i.e., interacting
with a device in a changing mobile environment is highly limited.
Instead of browsing for information e.g., browsing the web, or
receiving preset data channels, users (mobile and fixed) specify
requests or offers for information and services by sharing pieces
of personalized databases. The information shared in the course of
interaction is shielded via privacy features.
[0016] The invention enables users to control publication and
dissemination of personal, e.g., profile information, thus
preventing hosts from knowing preferences ahead of time and
channeling information to the user. The invention enables users to
manage their own databases of information and specify or focus
information that is of interest. A user's temporal interest can be
related to a user's current physical location. Information is sent
to a matching process that tries to match the information with
information that a host provides. The matching process can be an
intermediary service or a peer-to-peer process. An intermediary
matching server or process can be controlled such that the host may
never see private information even though its been analyzed by the
intermediary.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an arrangement to interface a
virtual world to a physical world.
[0018] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an information sharing
process.
[0019] FIG. 3 is a diagram depicting client device screens.
[0020] FIG. 4 is a block diagram depicting a data distribution
scheme.
[0021] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of processing modules.
[0022] FIG. 6A is a diagram of a conceptual exchange capsule.
[0023] FIG. 6B is a diagram of an exchange data structure.
[0024] FIG. 6C is a diagram of the details of the exchange data
structure.
[0025] FIGS. 7-12 are diagrams depicting details and examples of
the data structure of FIG. 6.
[0026] FIG. 13 is a diagram depicting client device screens for
setting up capsule transmittal data.
[0027] FIG. 14A is a diagram depicting a plain text representation
of an exemplary capsule implemented.
[0028] FIG. 14B is a diagram depicting a plain text representation
of an exemplary capsule implemented in XML.
[0029] FIG. 15 is a flow chart of a match process.
[0030] FIGS. 16-18 are flowcharts depicting aspects of a matching
process.
[0031] FIG. 19 is a flow chart depicting details of a visibility
process.
[0032] FIG. 20 is a diagram of a privacy process.
DESCRIPTION
[0033] Referring to FIG. 1, an arrangement 10 to enable a person to
interact in both a physical world 12 and an electronic (virtual)
world 14 is shown. The physical world 12 contains stores, products,
machines, other people, offices, etc., generally 12a. The
electronic world 14 contains servers 15 that deliver news and
information, and provide virtual stores and an online presence for
the physical stores, products, machines, etc. The servers 15 also
provide interactions with people, through wired and wireless
networks.
[0034] A person occupies a location 17 in the physical world and
interacts with the virtual world 14 through a computer, a cell
phone or personal digital assistant (PDA) or other types of
electronic devices collectively referred to as a client device 16.
In some embodiments, portable, digital client devices 16 are used
to interface a person between virtual and physical worlds. In
arrangement 10, the client devices 16 contain a database that can
hold a person's preferences and interests. The database is stored
in computer readable form within the device 16. The electronic
world 14 offers information or services to the person. The device
16 includes an executable process 20 that associates these three
realms in a useful manner.
[0035] The wireless client device, e.g., a PDA 16a, is shown
connected in a network comprised of servers 24, desktop PCs 26,
networked appliances 31, wireless receiver servers 28, and smart
telephones 30. That is, the electronic world 14 includes wireless
and fixed servers 24, 26 and 28 on a network 29. The devices 16, if
wireless, have a wireless transmission 27 to the receiver servers
28, which are connected to the internet.
[0036] Each device 16, 24, 26, 28, etc. has shareable databases 36.
Each device 16, 24, 26, and 28, either offers and/or requests
services and information from others of the devices 16, 24, 26, and
28. Information capsules about each shared database are distributed
across the network to client wired and wireless devices 16. A
server 34 with a match process 32 is shown, although this process
can be run in any of the aforementioned devices.
[0037] Devices 16 that are local to a person's physical location
can communicate via close range bandwidths and protocols directly
or over a local network in a peer to peer or client server manner.
Devices 16 that connect into a global network can use standard
communications transmissions for such devices, e.g., Internet and
wireless Internet protocols.
[0038] The physical location 17 of the client device 16 (or
servers) can be part of the information that informs the device or
a matching process 32 on a matching server 34 what kind of services
are provided or are relevant to the person. For example, the
location of a wireless client maybe known as part of the standard
protocol for the device. Entities that comprise the physical
environment such as stores, hospital, library and so forth have
electronic presence also through servers 24 that exist in the
virtual world 14.
[0039] Stores, machines and other people also have a physical
location 17', as well as an electronic'presence. In this scenario,
the person's client device 16, via a communication process
(described below), shares information about the person's interests
and physical location, across the network 29. Instead of asking a
particular source for an answer, the request for information is
formed in a more general manner and matched to information offered
over the network 29. The responses may take into account the
person's physical location, time and context, and relate to items
in both physical and electronic realms.
[0040] The client device 16 has a small screen 40 that displays
topics of interest 41, a reply item of interest 42, with a small
map 42b to get to the place shown 42a. For example, a restaurant
whose physical location is at the same general location as the
person also has a server 24 that sends information to the display
40 on the client device 16.
[0041] The personal information that is stored on the client device
16 is communicated to the host telecommunications device 28. The
information can be stored in the client device 16 or could be
stored on a private server and host machines could query the
private server. A matching host 34 receives the communicated
information. The matching host includes a matching process 32 that
is coupled to the network 29.
[0042] Referring to FIG. 2, a process 70 of sharing information is
shown. Information is shared by composing 72 matchable items such
as offers or requests for information or services.
[0043] An offer or request is packaged 74 with parameters used to
control distribution and privacy of the information as it is
distributed among computers. The requests and offers are optionally
stored 76 in personalized databases containing other topics. Each
item within a collective can be selectively activated for sharing
based on time, location or other factors. Selected offers and
requests are actively distributed 80 into the computing
environment. This can be a local interaction between two local
devices or via a network. The offers and requests are collected by
a variety of machines and compared 82 with information contained
within these devices. A matching process 32 is conducted to match
corresponding and/or complementary offers and requests. Responses
84 for matched offers and requests are sent to parties based on
mutually compatible privacy and distribution settings.
[0044] As a result of matching 82, a process can be used to refine
83 a query back to the client or host/server systems until there is
a suitable match. For example, if asking for restaurants, a
refinement process can include sending a modified inquiry that
requests information by subtype of restaurant to reduce the answer
size.
[0045] Very private information can be handled via local sensing 78
instead of distribution. Once the information is matched and filled
either locally or remotely an adequate response is obtained 84. The
response can be transmitted and include information, a service, or
a referral. The response typically comes from the host. The
response is queued and results are displayed on the client device
16. Items within the databases are focused, i.e., selected based on
interests of the user expressed in the received capsule. The
selection process can be performed automatically through time and
location settings for any item. A client device 16 can share
focused items over via trusted hosts that perform comparisons, as
will be described below.
[0046] Referring to FIG. 3, content such as web pages, personal
data, notes etc. are accumulated and edited to make up one's
personalized content. For example, a person's database can have
topics 41 such as art exhibitions 41a, lunch preferences 41b,
travel plans 41c, social activities 41d, information on hobbies,
etc. In this example, the selected or activated topic "lunch",
expands to show collected information 42 on a matched restaurant
name, such as telephone number, specials, address, directions, etc.
Selecting the link to "reservations" can initiate a call to the
restaurant using a voice connection, or a data message to make a
reservation.
[0047] Matches for shared topics 41 are the result of content 44
that has shareable, matchable, and fillable elements. The topic
"Lunch" 41b has contents 44 that are tabular 45 with attributes 45a
and blank field values (i.e., slots) to fill 45b. In this example,
the content setup record with attribute "Place" and blank value
45c, is matched and shown as "Place: Dan's Sea Grill". Similarly,
the values for the attributes "Reservations" 45d, "Location" 45e,
"Hours" 45f, and "Specials" 45g are filled in and shown in the
match 42, with lines 45d', 45e', 45f', 45g' respectively.
[0048] A second example match 42' is shown with topic "Coffee for
friends" 41d. Whereas the match displayed for "Lunch" 41b is
tabular, with attributes and filled in values, the match shown for
42' is free form text 46, also with tagged values 46b filled in
46c.
[0049] Thus, referring back to FIG. 2, in this example, the topic
"Lunch" gets packaged 74 and submitted into a store of other
requests and offers. Within a matching process 32 offers and
requests are collected. These offers and requests may refer back to
other material such as on web sites. Whereas documents on web sites
are primarily for reading by people who visit and browse the site,
the offers and requests shown here are actively distributed 80
capsules that can be collected by a variety of machines and
compared within various contexts. These offers and requests can
come from servers belonging to electronic businesses or physical
businesses, or from people who likewise send or request information
to share. Unlike E-mail or other forms of messages, these capsules
do not have to be directed to a specific audience or request a
particular resource or product. There may be no match available at
a time (t1) but a match could occur at a later time (t2) within the
capsule's life span. Requests and offers shown may not be for
information but for a service that can be rendered or arranged
electronically.
[0050] The device 16a determines how and whether information is
transmitted. The information is collected and personalized to
specify information and services to request or offer. An offer or
request is sent 80 in a peer-to-peer or client-server environment.
Some information based on personalization in the client is sent
from the device 16a to the matching server 34. The information is
matched with a variety of different services from other hosts that
are also sending information to the server 34. The information sent
by the servers can either be in the physical area of the client or
they can be services that are generic services, which do not have a
physical presence in the physical location occupied 17 the
client.
[0051] Referring to FIG. 4, a person, a store, restaurant, museum,
tourist bureau 24e, and e-business each have shareable databases of
information and services 36 stored in their PDA 16 and host
computers 24a, 24b, 24c, 24d. The shareable data is sent a host's
34 matching process 32 for comparison.
[0052] Referring to FIG. 5 a participating device e.g., 16 can
include a sense process 90, an interpreter 92 and a relay process
94. The device can also include a response process 96 and a process
that can provide an optional array of services 98 such as to
connect on an online chat. The device 16 includes a matching engine
100 that conducts a matching process, a data store and retrieval
module 102, and a module to automatically focus 104 items in the
database based on context. Each device acts either as a host 32 to
other devices without such functionality 33 or as a peer 32'.
1TABLE 1 Entity Transmittal type Mode On (topic) Audience 1 Person
Requests Information Place to dine Restaurant, tour guide, friends
2 Person Requests Activity Meeting with co-worker My company 3
Person Requests Information Train schedule Transit authority 4
Person Requests Connection Conversation with friend Friend 5 Person
Offers Connection Conversation with friend Friend 6 Retail Store
Offers Information Products for sale Person 7 Retail Store Offers
Information Hours open Person 8 Retail Store Offers Information
Store location person 9 Company Offers Information Catalog of
products Person or company 10 Company Offers Information Services
available Person or company 11 Company Requests Transaction
Purchase of products Company 12 Museum Offers Information
Exhibitions Person 13 Restaurant Offers Information Menu Person 14
Restaurant Requests Activity reservation Person or company 15
Restaurant Offers Information Specials of the day Person 16
Restaurant Offers Information location Person 17 Bank Offers
Calculation Mortgage rate Person 18 Bank Offers Information
Accounts available Person or company 19 Credit card Offers
Transaction Credit purchase/sale Person or company company 20
Credit card Offers Information Promotional interest rate Person
company 21 News Offers Information Financial news Person
organization 22 News Requests Information Survey question Person
organization 23 Hotel Offers Information Rooms for the night Person
24 Hotel Requests Activity Room reservation person 25 Transit
Offers Information Train schedules anyone authority 26 Search
engine Offers Information Web page links Person
[0053] Examples of shared topics are shown in TABLE 1. These topics
are descriptive example listings within shared databases 36 owned
by people, stores, companies, museums, restaurants, and other
traditional 12a and electronic entities 14. Each shared topic is a
request or offer for information or service, on a particular topic
and for an audience. For example, a person may request information
on dining. In contrast, a person may also request to meet with a
co-worker. The first is a request for information, the second
example is a request for an activity to occur. Requests and offers
may be satisfied, i.e., matched with information and services from
sources that change with location or context. The specification of
audience, as will be described in detail later, is not limited to a
specific person, company or URL, but in general terms that can be
assigned during processing. In the present example, information on
dining may be filled by offers for information from restaurant
guides, newspapers, individual restaurants, and even personal
sources such as friends. The matches will depend on part on the
narrowness or broadness of the audience allowed. This is set by
each shared element's owner and is matched to a complementary
element if found. In such a situation, companies and other public
entities may target their information and services to a broad
audience or a very specific audience--such as tourists or shoppers,
while individuals may target their shared elements in a manner more
selective and personal manner.
[0054] Each shared offering or request, as exemplified in Table 1,
is a small expression that can persist over time and is collected
and disseminated electronically. As such, this data is an extension
of a person or organization into an electronic arena, to be
inspected 90, matched 100, stored 102 and relayed 94. Various
participants will make offerings and requests in varying degrees of
privacy. For example, the offering of a store sale is a public
announcement meant to reach a broad audience, while the interest of
a potential customer is a private inquiry. A potential customer may
even want to be totally anonymous and `window shop`. Privacy in
this system has many facets, including the privacy of identity, of
expressed interest, of transmission, information and processing.
Methods for controlling the privacy during such a sharing process
will be described below.
2TABLE 2 Dinner with 1.0 Person Requests Activity friends friends
1.1 Requests Information Popular places Restaurant to dine guide
1.2 Requests Information Cuisine friends preferences 1.3 Requests
Activity Reservation Restaurant
[0055] Table 2 shows how individual shared elements an be combined
to make a more complex `scenario`. For example, a person's request
for dinner with friends may break down to requests for information
about places to dine, types of cuisine preferred, and reservations.
These individual requests (or offers) may be directed to different
audiences and have other different traits, but act as a unit.
[0056] As shown in Table 3, various types of requests and offers
for information and services are shown.
3TABLE 3 Mode.backslash.Nature Request to Offer to Information
Request to receive Offer to provide information information such as
on a on topics. Sites and search topic or from a person or engines
could provide this organization. content. Transact Request to
perform a Offer to perform a transaction transaction between 2 or
between 2 or more parties, more parties resulting in a resulting in
a contractual contractual exchange. exchange. Connect Request to
connect to a Offer to connect to a service. service, such as a news
channel, discussion, or activity. Relay Request to relay Offer to
act as intermediary information across to relay information from
networks, to people, one party to another. machines across
gateways. Store Request to have Offer to provide storage of
information stored. information. Calculate Request to have a Offer
to perform a calculation. calculation performed. Other Request for
custom service. Offer for custom service.
[0057] For example, a shared capsule can offer information on a
topic with a request for information on a topic (request to receive
or offer to send). A shared capsule can also request to perform a
transaction or offer to perform a particular transaction--such as a
credit card transaction. The shared capsule can also offer a
request to connect to a person, or a discussion group or
organization or offer to satisfy this connection. The shared
capsule can also request to relay information or offer to perform
the associated service. The shared capsule can also offer or
request to have information (contained in the contents) stored, and
offer or request for a calculation to be performed.
[0058] The arrangement 10 uses the shared capsule for sharing
information and for matching requests and offers for information
and/or services. The arrangement 10 breaks down these activities
into small granular portions of information that can be acted on.
Beyond sharing information, the arrangement 10 can be used to find
an available computer to perform a calculation, or the best rate to
finance a purchase and sale transaction, or a server to store
information. Matching of requests and offers can be extended to the
matching of any set of elements. Requests and offers for
information and services is one example of a two-element
pairing.
[0059] Referring to FIG. 6A, the shareable capsule 120 contains
contents 122 and transmittal data 123 used to control the
distribution, matching and privacy of the sharing. The shareable
capsule 120 possesses the properties of opacity 120a, association
120b, and materiality 120c. Opacity or visibility is the degree to
which its ownership is identifiable, its contents are readable, the
processing of the data is visible, and the matching effect is made
known to participants. The association property is the matching of
the shared capsule's by its contents, location, active time
periods, permitted hosting, permitted processing, and matching of
categories and contexts. The materiality of the shared capsule
expresses whether the capsule is an offer of existing information
or service, or request for a desired information or service, and
its specific type.
[0060] Referring to FIGS. 6B and 6C, a data structure 120 that
represents a shareable `capsule` used to contain information shared
between devices is shown. The shareable capsule includes a wrapper
121 that encapsulates content information 122 with various
parameters that are used to facilitate sharing of information
content. These parameters include fields for specifying ownership
124, location 126, and life span 128 of the capsule represented by
the data structure 120. The data structure 120 also contains fields
for specifying binding rules 130 and specifications that determine
how the contents 122 can be associated with other information, how
a response is handled when returned 132, and transmittal details
134 on the nature of the capsule.
[0061] The wrapper 121 (collectively fields 123) can be read and
used without access to the content 122. The content 122 can be
encrypted separately from its wrapping to provide added security.
Individual parts of the wrapper 121 can also be encrypted
separately so that only particular audiences or hosts can use this
information. The ownership can be specified via a handle, to
provide anonymity to the owner except to a trusted provider. The
resolution of the handle can be made known only the trusted
provider.
[0062] The location information is useful for mobile purposes. The
data structure capsule is also encapsulated in information that
pertains to a transmission protocol e.g., TCP/IP, etc., used to
transmit the capsule to servers or other devices.
[0063] Referring to FIG. 7, a data structure 122 that represents
the shared capsule contents is shown with example data 122'. The
type of contents is "XML" 122a. The tags to be matched are listed
122b. The place-marks for contents that are to be filled during a
match are identified 122c. The tagged contents data is specified
122d.
[0064] Referring to FIG. 8, a data structure 124 that represents
ownership is shown with example data 124'. The primary host
specifies a host computer that represents the user. The ownership
type field specifies whether the named owner is a name, an email
address or a handle 124a. A handle is a name that masks the
identity of the owner and is known by the primary host 124c. The
data contained in the capsule is thereby disassociated with its
actual owner via the handle. In the example, the identifier type is
a handle. The identifier is a fictitious name known to resolve to
an actual client's name by the specified primary host. A user's
handle can be changed frequently and be resolved to its owner by
its trusted hosts.
[0065] Referring to FIG. 9, a data structure 126 that represents
location information is shown. The location information is useful
for mobile client devices. The user's current location can be
specified in a variety of ways, for example, by decreasing scale of
country, state, city, neighborhood, and street fields 126b. The
scope 126a is used to specify respondent location requirements. For
example, only respondents with a physical location presence may be
desired. Scope could also be within a micro area such as a room, or
within an office building, a city, state, country or global
bounds.
[0066] Referring to FIG. 10, within a client database, the life
span data structure 128 is used to test for automatic activation
and distribution. After distribution, the life scan of the shared
capsule specifies when the material is active or relevant. Thus,
the life span data structure 128 includes fields 128a-128e that
specify date created, expires, starts, ends, and repeat cycling
respectively. The time frame can be a period of time within each
day, for a range of days. Activities such as lunch or business
activities would fit into such repeating time periods.
[0067] Referring to FIG. 11, the binding data structure 128
specifies the audience 130a to which the content information is
directed. The audience field 130a can be very specific, such as one
person, or general such as anyone from a company. The audience can
further specify the hosts that can perform the matching process.
The audience 130b can also be specified generally by topic. For
example, the hierarchical topic "restaurants", and a sub topic
"seafood." A topic or topic hierarchy can be specified from a
particular source. The binding can also specify an audience not to
allow binding to. The match process is expected to honor the
audience specification of each capsule. The binding data structure
130 also includes fields for match rules 130b. Match rules 130b can
specify the quality of match that is acceptable, for individual
aspects of the wrapper and the content. For example, location can
require a precise match, preventing matches that are correct down
to the city but not to the street level, for example. The matching
server can be specified in priority, such as first in the local
(user) device and then using a trusted host. This can control the
security of the processing. The data structure 130 also includes a
field 130c for rules on how material is to be filled. For example,
only a summary of the contents may be filled and returned, or only
a heading. A privacy setting field 130d can include a visibility
setting, {IN, OUT, BOTH, IN+, OUT+} and an encryption setting. The
contents and parts of the wrapper can be selectively encrypted to
selectively protect its contents. A quick binding field 204e can
include agreed to identifiers between known parties that can be
used to signify that the item can be matched with minimal
evaluation of other information. This can be specified to allow or
deny matching with a particular audience with a particular id
without evaluation of other aspects of the capsule.
[0068] Referring to FIG. 12, the transmittal detailed information
data structure 134 has a mode field 134 that identifies the shared
data package as either a request or an offer. It further has a
field 134b that designates whether the mode is a request or an
offer to receive, send, connect, run, transact, relay or store or
calculate. The nature field is open to future modes via `other`.
The transmittal info further identifies the package via an
identifier field 134c. The identifier can include a thread id to
track a sequence within a set of information exchanges. A title
field 206d describes the request/offer.
[0069] Referring to FIG. 13, the setup of the shared capsule data
structure 120 is shown as a series of screens suitable for a small
computing device 50. The major setup components of the listed 51
for a particular topic 41. Some setup items are general to the
person while others are specific to a topic. The content setup 44
is shown here and described earlier in FIG. 4. The setup for owner
52, transmittal details 53, binding 54, location 55, life span 56
and respond 57 are shown as small device screens.
[0070] Referring to FIG. 14A, an example 120' of a plain text
representation of a shared capsule data structure 120 is shown. The
capsule begins with a transmittal specification 134'. The capsule
includes life span 128' and location fields 126'. The capsule also
includes binding 130' and content 122'fields. In this example, the
capsule 120' is an offer to send information. As such, parameters
in the binding field are set to reach as wide an audience as
possible, via the "Allow bind all." Furthermore, the visibility
setting, as will be described in detail later, is set to "Notify
OUT+." This visibility setting enables offering information outward
with the option to receive notices back of matches. The binding
further allows all hosts to be used for matching, and allows this
information to be relayed to other hosts. The topic binding
specifies sets of hierarchical topics that this information can
fall under. For example, the information can be included under
"restaurant" and also under "banquets". The content information
122' shown is specified as a "Fragment" as described below. The
data specifies in a concise notation, "Royal Panda" as an instance
of a Chinese restaurant with attributes such as the specialties and
links to reservation information. This content could as well be
represented in a tagged format such as HTML or XML, as shown in
FIG. 14B.
[0071] Referring to FIG. 15, the match process 160 proceeds to
evaluate the wrappers and process the contents of received
capsules. Under some circumstances, quick binding, as described
earlier in FIG. 11 204e, can allow skipping the individual matching
process 160a, life span 160c, transmittal 160d, binding 160e, and
audience 160f. Each match process 160a-160f can have its own
settings for using or not using particular aspects of the wrapper
101. If the evaluation of the wrapper produces an adequate match,
then the contents can be examined. The content matching 160g may
require subsequent interactions 160h to refine the content. If
there is material to supply and fill 160i, then filling is
performed. Filling of missing information can be requested
depending on the type of request.
[0072] Referring to FIG. 16, a process 240 to match content is
shown. Different types of offers and requests are matched and
processed accordingly. The content matching process 240 determines
242 content type and obtains 244 match and fills methods based on
content type. Thus, as shown, an information offer/request matches
246 content for request to receive information with an offer to
supply information. Similarly, a transaction offer/request matches
248 requests for transactions with an offer to process
transactions. Other processes 250-256 for connection, relay, store,
calculate, and so forth can be provided. Offers of information are
only relevant to requests for information, for example. The process
of matching requests and offers for information are elaborated
below. Custom specified offers and requests for information and
services can be specified beyond the ones shown.
[0073] Referring to FIG. 17, matching a request and offer to
provide information 246 proceeds dependent on the type of content.
The process 246 determines 246a the type of content and retrieves
246b corresponding match and fill methods. The process will have
different actions depending on the type of content. For tagged
content 247, such as HTML or XML, the process includes matching
term usage 247a, the tag structure 247b and the tagged contents
247c. This does not have to be as strict as an XML DTD (extended
markup language data type definition) validation, in order to
return a match. The process determines or identifies 247d requested
slotted areas to fill.
[0074] For tabular content 249, the process compares 249a the
database schema of the content. Since schemas from different
sources may be problematic, a flexible comparison of tables,
fields, and relationships may enable a mapping 249b in order to
satisfy some requests. The process will run 249c a query based on
the mapped schemas.
[0075] The content can also take the form of a fragment database
251, as described below. Such a database defines information as
fragmented objects, in terms of classifications, instance names,
attributes, values, actions, conditions and containers. The process
246 then evaluates 253 if the representation is su ted for sharing
and matching information.
[0076] Referring to FIG. 18, for content represented as a fragment
database, the content matching 251 proceeds by reading 251a match
rules, standardizing 251b terms and comparing primitives 251c.
Comparing primitives 251c includes matching classification
sequences, matching named items, matching memberships, i.e., parts
and subparts, matching roles between objects, and matching
activities. The general properties belonging to a classification
and particular properties belong to an instance can be matched.
[0077] Referring to FIG. 19, a set 270 of visibility methods are
shown. TABLE 4 depicts for one embodiment allowable matches of
visibility methods. In TABLE 4, "YES" entries are allowable
matches, whereas "NO" entries are prohibited matches. By conforming
to this visibility protocol, parties can share information and
services with user-selected visibility.
4TABLE 4 Internal.backslash.External IN IN+ OUT OUT+ BOTH IN NO NO
YES YES NO IN+ NO NO YES YES YES OUT YES YES NO NO NO OUT+ YES YES
NO NO YES BOTH NO YES NO YES YES
[0078] As shown in FIG. 19, selecting a visibility method includes
determining 272 what visibility method type to send and setting
that visibility value in the visibility field of a capsule to be
sent. A person who wants to `window shop` wants to receive
information 274. If such a person wants to be seen, the Notify IN+
setting is enabled 274b. Otherwise the Notify IN setting is enabled
274c, which indicates that the person does not want to be seen,
i.e., identity or presence being made known to a responder.
[0079] A store that wants to offer goods and services 276 to as
broad an audience as possible, would set 276b the visibility method
as "NOTIFY OUT." A store that wanted to know who would like to know
information about visitors would set 276c NOTIFY OUT+, to receive
information if available. If a store or person desired a mutual
exchange of information 278, a sent capsule would have the more
restricting NOTIFY BOTH visibility method set 278a. This method
would require an exchange of information.
[0080] The visibility setting for each shared data package can be
determined by its intended purpose. If the purpose is to receive
information and services, then the visibility is to be directed
IN-ward. If outside visibility is not permitted while receiving
information, then the visibility is set to "IN." If outside
visibility is needed in order to receive information, then
Visibility is set to "IN+."
[0081] If the purpose is to offer information and services, then
the visibility is to be directed OUT-ward. If no information needs
to be returned, i.e., the audience who receives such information is
not identified, then visibility is set to "OUT." If identification
of audience is desired if allowed, then visibility is set to
"OUT+." If an exchange is desired between multiple parties with
equal visibility, then visibility is set to "BOTH."
[0082] Referring to FIG. 20, a client device 16 has a shared
database 36 containing a capsule 120 with content 122 and
transmittal parameters 123. Some of this information is selectively
encrypted such as the contents 122. This capsule is distributed 80
to a primary host computer 24a. The primary host computer knows the
identity of the client device 16 user as "dan" and changes it to a
handle 124c "happyfrog" before disseminating the information. From
then on, the capsule's owner is shielded. The data is disseminated
and collected 82 by other host computers for comparison and
matching. Within a matching server 34 there is a matching process
32 that is trusted, i.e., performs matches without allowing
inspection of processing or results from outside the process 32. In
this example, the information from device 16 is matched with
another device 24b. A successful match is responded to 84 back to
the device 16, but not to the other user 24b in this example, based
on visibility rules as described in FIG. 22 and Table 4, as would
be the case for a visibility flag of IN.
[0083] Other embodiments are within the scope of the following
claims.
* * * * *