Multiple criteria buying and selling model

Abstract :-

A multiple criteria buying and selling system and method is provided. A seller initially establishes a deal structure for a product, which provides seller defined selling criteria information relating to the purchasing of the product, such as volume per unit price, quality, delivery time and warranty information. A buyer will be able to review a list of deals if the seller's selling criteria matches a buyer defined buying criteria. The deal structure is preferably set up so as to provide buyers with both price and non-price criteria information that the buyer's would consider important in a purchase of the type of product being offered by the seller. The deal structure is electronically made available to potential buyers of the product. For example, the deal structure may be displayed on an Internet site.

 

Claims :-

Self-service system for selling travel-related services or products

• Abstract :-

In a self-service system of selling travel-related services or products by means of an interactive travel service system functioning like a travel agent, to simplify the search process by the system and the decision process by the user, the user is first queried as to travel knowledge, such as whether the user is a first-time visitor or is otherwise familiar with the travel destination, and as to personal attribute such as family orientation, age and preference for airlines, lodgings, car rental companies, price range and lifestyle. In accordance with the travel knowledge and attributes inputted electronically by the user, one or more recommendations or a whole listing will be presented for selection by the user. To simplify the process, the user is asked to input the relevant dates and the inventory database is searched so that only available choices will be presented. The system is particularly advantageous for self-service method of selling travel-related services or products such as local tour attractions, local bookings, car rental bookings, local or intrastate tour packages, airline tickets, out-of-state tour packages, cruises, optional tours or cruises, and other shopping options.

 

 

Claims :-

1. A self-service method of selling services or products related to local visitor attractions of a destination area by means of an interactive electronic travel service system functioning like a travel agent, comprising the steps of:

initiating two way communication between a user and the system;

querying the user as to whether the user has travel knowledge of said destination area;

providing to the user who is a first time visitor and who is not familiar with the destination area information concerning attractions usually preferred by first time visitors;

supplying choices of different local visitor attractions for selection to the user who is a repeat visitor and to the user who is a first time visitor after the providing step; and

closing a sale and confirming a reservation for the selected local visitor attraction(s) made by the user.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying a daily planner and calendar on a display screen for the user to input dates for said local visitor attractions.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising querying the user for input data concerning number of persons in a party, and name(s) for which a reservation for said services or products is to be made and recording name(s) inputted by the user.

4. The method of claim 1, said confirming step including displaying a confirmation on a display screen with dates, itemized cost and total cost of the purchase made by the user.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

accepting payment for the attraction(s) selected by the user; and

delivering one or more value voucher(s) for the paid attraction(s) to the user.

6. A self-service method of selling tours outside of a local area by means of an interactive electronic travel service system functioning like a travel agent, comprising the steps of:

initiating two way communication between a user and the system;

asking the user to select a destination;

requesting the user to select a pricing category from a number of pricing categories for tours to a destination selected by the user;

displaying information on tour packages outside of a local area;

displaying a calendar on a display screen for the user to select departure and return dates for said tour;

querying the user for selection of lodging and/or car rental;

closing a sale and confirming a reservation for the tour with the lodging and/or car rental selected by the user;

wherein said querying step queries the user as to whether the user is a first time visitor and whether the user is familiar with the selected destination, and said querying step further comprises:

providing all available lodging at the selected destination when the user indicates that the user is a repeat visitor or is familiar with the selected destination, and providing one or two suggested choices for lodging when the user indicates that the user is a first time visitor or is unfamiliar with the selected destination.

7. A self-service method of selling cruises by means of an interactive electronic travel service system functioning like a travel agent, comprising the steps of:

initiating two way communication between a user and the system;

asking the user to select a cruise destination, a travel season and length of cruise desired;

qualifying the user for input data on cruise travel knowledge, price range, lifestyle and age information; and

recommending at least one particular cruise in response to the input data.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising providing an audiovisual presentation on said recommended cruise(s).

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising initiating two way communication between the user and a travel agent following the presentation to assist the user in making a decision to close a sale.

10. A method of selling optional tours and other travel-related services and products on cruise ships by means of an interactive electronic travel system functioning like a travel agent, comprising the steps of:

initiating two-way communication between a user and the system;

providing to the user data and choice of said services or products, said data including information concerning ports of call for said services or products;

qualifying the user for preferences and/or attributes;

receiving said input data and searching a database for said desired services or products available during said ports of call; and

closing a sale for optional tours and other travel-related services and products.

11. The method of claim 10, said confirming step including displaying a confirmation on a display screen with ports of call, itemized cost and total cost of the purchase made by the user.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

accepting payment for optional tours and other travel-related services and products selected by the user;

delivering at least one value voucher for paid optional tours and other travel-related services and products to the user.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising two-way communicating between the ships and regional reservation centers to link the kiosks located on board the ships to the regional reservation centers and to travel-related service providers on shore.

Description :-

MICROFICHE APPENDIX Attached herewith as part of this application is a microfiche appendix entitled "Self-Serve Tours 1.0" dated Monday, Nov. 6, 1995, including 2 sheets and 169 frames. This microfiche appendix sets forth in detail how the flow charts of this application are implemented

Electronic online commerce card with transactionproxy number for online transactions  :-

ABSTRACT :-

1. An online commerce system facilitates online commerce over a public network using an online commerce card. The "card" does not exist in physical form, but instead exists in digital form. The online commerce card is issued electronically to a customer by an issuing institution. The issued card is assigned a permanent customer account number that is maintained on behalf of the customer at the issuing institution to remove the risk of the number being lost or s stolen. When the customer desires to conduct an online transaction, the customer asks the issuing institution to issue a transaction number for a single transaction. The issuing institution generates a temporary transaction number and associates it with the permanent account number in a data record. The customer receives the transaction number and submits that number to the merchant as a proxy for the customer account number. The transaction number looks like a real card number and the merchant handles the transaction number in the same manner as any regular credit card number. When the merchant submits an request for authorization, the issuing institution recognizes the number as a transaction number for an online commerce card. The issuing institution references the customer account number, using the transaction number as an index, and processes the authorization request using the real customer account number in place of the proxy number. Once the authorization request is processed, the issuing institution once again exchanges the transaction number for the customer account number and sends an authorization reply back to the merchant under the transaction number.

CLAIMS :-

We claim:

1. A method for facilitating online commerce, comprising the following steps:

issuing an electronic commerce card to a customer during a registration phase, the commerce card having a permanent number associated therewith to identify the customer; and

during an online commerce transaction phase, issuing a proxy number that is associated with the permanent number for use in an online commerce transaction in place of the permanent number on the commerce card.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the issuing steps comprise issuing permanent and proxy numbers that are formatted with an equal number of digits.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the issuing steps are performed online.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of issuing the commerce card comprises the step of supplying to the customer a signed digital certificate and software code that supports a user interface button that invokes a user interface for requesting the proxy number.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of issuing the proxy number comprises the step of issuing a proxy number having a finite period of time within which the proxy number can be used.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of using the proxy number during the online commerce transaction.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein prior to the step of issuing an electronic commerce card, the method comprises the following additional steps:

initiating, from the customer, a request for the commerce card from an issuing authority; and

downloading software code to the customer to assist in a card registration process.

8. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein prior to the step of issuing an electronic commerce card, the method comprises the following additional steps:

initiating, from the customer, a request for the commerce card from an issuing authority;

supplying a preliminary identifier to the customer; and

using the preliminary identifier to request a certificate from the issuing authority, the certificate being part of the commerce card.

9. A method as recited in claim 8, wherein the step of issuing the commerce card comprises the step of supplying to the customer a signed digital certificate and software code that supports a user interface button that invokes a user interface for requesting the proxy number.

10. A graphical user interface embodied on a computer-readable medium that presents the user interface button as recited in claim 9.

11. An electronic commerce card embodiment on a computer-readable medium that is created as a result of the steps in the method as recited in claim 1.

12. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps in the method as recited in claim 1.

13. A computer programmed to perform the steps in the method as recited in claim 1.

14. A method for registering for an online commerce card, comprising the following steps:

initiating, at the customer, a request for an online commerce card application;

downloading software code to the customer to assist in completing the card application;

submitting the application for the commerce card from the customer to the issuing authority; supplying a preliminary customer identifier to the customer;

submitting a request for a certificate from the issuing authority, the request including the preliminary customer identifier to identify the customer;

associating a customer account number with the customer; and

downloading a signed digital certificate from the issuing authority to the customer, the signed digital certificate comprising part of the commerce card.

15. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein the supplying step comprises the step of providing the preliminary customer identifier to the customer through means other than online transmission.

16. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein the step of submitting the request for a certificate comprises the following steps:

composing a public key;

generating a private key that is associated with the public key; and

submitting a request for certificate that includes the public and private keys.

17. A method as recited in claim 16, further comprising the step of using the signed digital certificate and the private key as a password for communication between the customer and issuing authority.

18. A method as recited in claim 14, further comprising downloading to the customer software code that supports a user interface button to invoke a user interface for facilitating commerce transactions.

19. A graphical user interface embodied on a computer-readable medium that presents the user interface button as recited in claim 18.

20. Computer-readable media resident at the customer and the issuing authority having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps in the method as recited in claim 14.

21. A method for utilizing an online commerce card in conducting online commerce transactions between a customer and a merchant, the commerce card having a permanent customer number associated therewith to identify the customer, comprising the following steps:

submitting a request for a proxy number from the customer to an authority;

generating the proxy number at the authority;

associating the proxy number with the permanent customer number;

issuing the proxy number to the customer; and

sending the proxy number, rather than the permanent customer number, to the merchant to commence the online commerce transaction.

22. A method as recited in claim 21, further comprising the following steps:

generating a request that comprises a password unique to the customer;

digitally signing the request at the customer;

submitting the digitally signed request from the customer to the authority; and

authenticating the customer from the digitally signed request.

23. A method as recited in claim 21, further comprising the step of displaying the proxy number returned from the authority.

24. Computer-readable media resident at the customer and the authority having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps in the method as recited in claim 21.

25. A computer-implemented method for handling a request for an online commerce transaction number that can be used by a customer in conducting an online commerce transaction, comprising the following steps:

generating a transaction number;

associating the transaction number with a customer number that identifies the customer; and

transmitting the transaction number to the customer for use as a proxy for the customer number during the online commerce transaction.

26. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 25, wherein the associating step comprises the step of creating a record in a database, the record linking the transaction number to the customer number.

27. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 25, further comprising the step of assigning an expiration time to the transaction number that specifies when the transaction number expires.

28. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps in the computer-implemented method as recited in claim 25.

29. A computer programmed to perform the steps in the computer-implemented method as recited in claim 25.

30. At an authority responsible for authorizing an online commerce transaction involving payment by an electronically transmitted account number, a computer-implemented method for handling an authorization request to honor the account number and accept payment, comprising the following steps:

determining whether the authorization request involves a permanent customer account number or a transaction number that is used as a proxy for the customer account number;

in an event that the authorization request involves a transaction number, performing the following steps:

using the transaction number to cross-reference to an associated customer account number;

substituting the associated customer account number in place of the transaction number; and

processing the authorization request using the associated customer account number.

31. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 30, further comprising the step of accessing a database containing customer account numbers and using the transaction number as an index to the database for locating the associated customer account number.

32. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 30, wherein after the processing step, the method further comprising the following steps:

substituting the transaction number in place of the customer account number; and

replying to the authorization request using the transaction number in lieu of the customer account number.

33. A computer-implemented method as recited in claim 30, further comprising the step of adjusting an account associated with the customer account number to reflect the payment made in the online commerce transaction.

34. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps in the computer-implemented method as recited in claim 30.

35. A computer programmed to perform the steps in the computer-implemented method as recited in claim 30.

36. A method for facilitating online commerce, comprising the following steps:

(A) conducting a registration phase between a customer and an issuing authority comprising the following steps:

(1) initiating, at the customer, a request for an online commerce card application;

(2) downloading software code to the customer to assist in completing the card application;

(3) submitting the application for the commerce card from the customer to the issuing authority;

(4) supplying a preliminary customer identifier to the customer;

(5) submitting, from the customer, a request for a certificate from the issuing authority, the request including the preliminary customer identifier to identify the customer; and

(6) associating a customer account number with the customer; and

(7) downloading a signed digital certificate from the issuing authority to the customer and software code that supports a user interface button to invoke a user interface for facilitating online commerce transactions, the signed digital certificate and user interface button forming the online commerce card having the customer account number associated therewith;

(B) utilizing the online commerce card to conduct an online commerce transaction phase between the customer and a merchant comprising the following steps:

(1) submitting a request to use the commerce card from the customer to the issuing authority;

(2) generating a transaction number;

(3) associating the transaction number with the customer account number; and

(4) transmitting the transaction number to the customer for use as a proxy for the customer account number during the online commerce transaction;

(5) sending the transaction number, rather than the permanent customer number, to the merchant to commence the online commerce transaction;

(C) conducting a payment authorization phase at the issuing authority in response to receiving an authorization request from the merchant to honor the transaction number and accept payment, comprising the following steps:

(1) identifying the authorization request as involving a transaction number that is used as a proxy for the customer account number;

(2) using the transaction number to cross-reference to the associated customer account number;

(3) substituting the associated customer account number in place of the transaction number;

(4) processing the authorization request using the associated customer account number;

(5) substituting the transaction number in place of the customer account number; and

(6) replying to the merchant using the transaction number in lieu of the customer account number.

37. A system for facilitating online commerce, comprising:

a customer computing unit resident at a customer site, the customer computing unit being configured with an online commerce card for use in online commerce transactions, the online commerce card being associated with a customer account number;

an authority computing system resident at an authority site, the authority computing system having a database to hold the customer account number, the authority computing system being configured to generate a transaction number, associate the transaction number with the customer account number in the database and electronically issue the transaction number to the customer computing unit;

the customer computing unit being configured to use the transaction number in an online commerce transaction with a merchant; and

the authority computing system being configured to receive from the merchant an authorization request for approval of the transaction number, the authority computing system using the transaction number to cross-reference in the database the associated customer account number and to process the authorization request with the customer account number.

38. A system as recited in claim 37, wherein the customer account and transaction numbers are formatted with an equal number of digits.

39. A system as recited in claim 37, wherein the authority computing system assigns an expiration term to the transaction number so that the transaction number is not valid after the expiration term elapses.

40. A system for issuing online commerce cards used in online commerce transactions, comprising:

a customer account manager to establish a customer account number for a customer and to associate the customer account number to a digital certificate that is unique to the customer, the digital certificate being in embodied in an electronically transmittable form which can be downloaded to the customer for use as an online commerce card;

a transaction number generator to generate a transaction number for an online commerce transaction in which the customer desires to engage; and

the customer account manager being configured to associate the transaction number with the customer account number, the transaction number being embodied in an electronically transmittable form which can be downloaded to the customer so that the customer can use the transaction number in the online commerce transaction as a proxy for the customer account number.

41. A software program embodied on a computer-readable medium incorporating the system as recited in claim 40.

42. In an online commerce system, a system for handling an authorization request to approve an electronically transmittable number, comprising:

a transaction number identifier to identify the number as a transaction number that is used as a proxy for a customer account number; and

a customer account manager to cross-reference the customer account number using the transaction number and to substitute the transaction number for the customer account number for further processing.

43. A system as recited in claim 42, wherein the customer account manager is configured to reverse substitute the transaction number back for the customer account number after the processing.

44. A software program embodied on a computer-readable medium incorporating the system as recited in claim 42.

45. An electronically realizable commerce card embodied on a computer-readable medium comprising:

a first data field to hold a permanent customer account number having N digits and a predefined format that is recognized as an acceptable card number format;

a second data field to hold a temporary transaction number that serves as a proxy for the customer account number, the transaction number having the N digits and the format identical to the customer account number; and

wherein the first and second data fields are related to associate the customer account number with the transaction number.