Generating combinations of offers and using action identifiers from the offers to obtain performance of combinations of actions
US6732361B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 28, 1999 |
| Grant date | May 4, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 28, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06Q10/025
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In obtaining performance of a combination of actions, such as in a coordination or scheduling application, combination data indicating a combination of two or more action types can be obtained. The combination data could, for each action type, identify a service that can be performed by a networked server to provide an instance of the action type. Combinations of offers can be generated, with the offers in each combination together offering the combination of action types indicated by the combination data. In generating the combinations, inquiries can be provided to the servers or other sources of actions, with an inquiry indicating an action type and requesting offers offering to perform an action and indicating an action identifier for the offered action. The action identifiers from the offers in any of the generated combinations can be used to obtain performance of that combination of actions. Search engine operations can generate the combinations of offers, and transaction engine operations can use the action identifiers to obtain performance. The services can have variables that can be instantiated, and two services can share one or more variables, making them interdependent. …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.