Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION 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
  • G06Q30/00—Commerce
  • G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F40/00—Handling natural language data
  • G06F40/10—Text processing
  • G06F40/166—Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
  • G06F40/174—Form filling; Merging

Definitions

• This invention relates to a system and method for enabling two or more parties jointly to fill in a form on computers linked to a computer network.
• users may often be required to fill in forms displayed on their computer screens and submit the forms to another computer.
• a customer may be required to enter details on a form obtained from a web-site of a vendor and submit the form to a computer of the vendor for subsequent processing to initiate the transaction.
• the forms used for such purposes are generated and stored electronically.
• a number of such forms may be stored on a single HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) page on a web-site accessible over the Internet.
• HTML Hypertext Markup Language
• the HTML page may contain programs embedded therein to activate certain functions related to the form. For example a page may contain a program which may be activated by a user pressing a button by pointing and clicking with a mouse, to enable the form to be submitted, or to access a help facility.
• a joint form-filling system for use on a computer network comprising a user's computer and an operator's computer, comprising: a form accessible by the user's computer and displayable thereon and a program associated therewith operable for creating a form state string comprising information entered on the form; an operator program operable for reading the form state string and generating a copy of the form for display on the operator's computer; and a control program operable for reading the form state string, receiving and recording updated form entries, and sending the updated entries to the user's computer and to the operator's computer for updating the forms displayed thereon, whereby a joint form filling conference is enabled.
• the updated form entries are entries made by a user of the user's computer or operator of the operator's computer on forms displayed thereon.
• the program embedded in the form comprises a hyperlink, activation thereof initiating communications in the joint form filling conference.
• the forms are accessible by the user from an Internet web-site.
• the network may further comprise a host computer, optionally a web server or intranet hub, the control program and an updated version of the form residing thereon.
• the form on the user's computer is operable to allow a user to close the form so that on subsequently reopening the form and activating the hyperlink the updated version of the form is received from the host computer and displayed on the user's computer.
• the operator's computer is operable to allow an operator to close the copy of the form so that on subsequently reopening the copy of the form the updated version of the form is received from the host computer and displayed on the operator's computer.
• the user's computer is further operable to send a completed form to a receiver computer linked to the network, which computer may be the website from which the form was accessed.
• a joint form-filling system for use on a computer network comprising a user's computer and an operator's computer, comprising: a form accessible by the user's computer for display thereon and a program associated therewith operable for creating a form state string comprising information entered on the form, for generating a proxy version of the form for display on the user's computer, and for updating the proxy version of the form displayed in response to updated form information received; an operator program operable for reading the form state string, for generating the proxy version of the form for display on the operator's computer, and for updating the proxy version of the form displayed in response to updated form information received; and a control program operable for reading the form state string, for polling the user's computer and the operator's computer for updated form information entered in either form, for sending the updated form information to the user's computer and operator's computer and for maintaining an updated version of the form.
• the proxy version of the form displayed on the user's computer and the operator's computer is generated by the control program, instructions being passed over the network.
• the program associated with the form comprises a hyperlink, activation thereof initiating communications in the joint form filling session.
• the network may further comprise a host computer, the control program and updated version of the form residing thereon.
• the operator program comprises computer code installed on the operator's computer.
• the operator program may be installed on the host computer, and comprise instructions passed to the operator's computer over the network.
• control program may be operable for reading the form state string, creating the proxy version of the form and initiating a joint form-filling session, while a communications program is operable for polling the user's computer and the operator's computer, for sending the updated form information to the user's computer and the operator's computer and for maintaining the updated version of the form.
• the network may further comprise a communications host computer for storing and running the communications program.
• An advantage of this aspect of the invention is that the user and operator may participate in an interactive form-filling session so that rapid and accurate form filling may be achieved.
• the system may have an associated means for activating a chat-line messaging communications system to allow the user and the operator to discuss possible entries for updating the form before these are entered.
• the network may be the Internet, the user's computer accessing the form by visiting a web-site and obtaining the form therefrom.
• the present invention further provides a method for a user of a user's computer and an operator of an operator's computer jointly to fill in a form on the user's computer, linked to a network comprising the user's computer, and the operator's computer, said method comprising the steps of: activating a program associated with the form; creating by way of the program a form state string comprising information already entered by the user; reading the form state string, generating a proxy version of the form and sending the proxy version of the form to the user's computer and the operator's computer; displaying the proxy version of the form on the user's computer and the operator's computer; entering by the user and/or the operator updated information in the proxy version of the form; polling the user's computer and operator's computer for updated form information and sending the updated form information to the user's computer and the operator's computer; and receiving and displaying the updated form information on the user's computer and the operator's computer.
• system and method of the present invention are not limited to a singular user and singular operator, but may be applied to a plurality of users or a plurality of operators jointly filling in a form.
• Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a computer network on which an embodiment of the joint form-filling system of the present invention may operate;
• Figure 2 shows a frameset containing a form as displayed on a computer screen in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG 3 is a flow diagram showing the steps that may be undertaken in operation of an embodiment of the present invention.
• a computer network 10 comprises a user's computer 12 linked to the Internet 14.
• a web-site 16, a receiver computer 18, a system host computer 20 and an operator's computer 22 are all also linked to the Internet 14.
• the web site 16 and receiver computer 18 may belong to a retail or service outlet operating a form-filling system, the user being a potential customer thereof and the form being a method of ordering goods or requesting provision of a service.
• the operator may be an employee of the retail or service outlet company, having a detailed knowledge of the form.
• the user browsing on the Internet 14 visits a web-site 16 and receives a form for filling in therefrom.
• the form is displayed in a frameset on the screen of the user's computer 12 and comprises fields where the user enters information.
• the user fills in the form by entering information into the fields and then submits the completed form.
• the user then sends the the completed form back to the web-site 16 or to the receiver computer 18, where it is processed for appropriate action or response.
• the form is a standard HTML form on an HTML page.
• a single HTML page may contain many forms.
• the HTML page further comprises a hyperlink, a Java Applet and some JavaScript code, activation of the hyperlink initiating communications in a joint form- filling conference.
• the communications are controlled by the Java Applet and use HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) to allow the system to work through firewalls and generally across any network where web browsing is allowed.
• HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol
• the conference is a series of events or actions carried out by the participating parties, which are recorded and stored on a computer — in this case the system host computer 20.
• the hyperlink may comprise a button displayed on the screen of the user's computer 12, which the user may press by pointing and clicking using a mouse, to initiate the joint form filling conference.
• Activation of the hyperlink causes the JavaScript code to capture the information already entered by the user together with form identification information (the URL - Uniform Resource Locator - of the HTML page containing the form) and a conference identifier, and to send the information to the system host computer 20.
• the system host computer 20 records the information and sends a request message to the operator's computer 22. The user then waits for an update from the conference, and during this time may leave the web-site 16 and re-visit it at a later time.
• the operator may then participate in the conference when they choose, by responding to the request.
• the system host computer 20 sends the form information to the operator's computer 22 and the form is displayed on the screen of the operator's computer 22.
• the operator may then make updates (changes or additions) to the fields in the form and operator's computer sends the updated form information back to the system host computer 20 for recording and storing.
• the system host computer 20 sends the updated form information to the user's computer 12 for display thereon.
• the user may then make further updates, the user's computer sending further updated form information to the system host computer for recording and storing.
• the system host computer 20 sends a message to the operator's computer 22 indicating that the conference is still in progress. If the user no longer requires assistance the form may be submitted to the web-site 16 or the receiver computer 18 for processing.
• a window 50 on a computer screen comprises a frameset 52, comprising a plurality of frames 54, 56.
• a frameset is an HTML document which generates a plurality of frames into which other HTML documents are loaded.
• the top frame 54 contains the HTML document containing the Java Applet and JavaScript code and the bottom frame 56 contains the form.
• the form includes fields 58 for the user to input information and buttons, 60, 62, to enable the user to select options or choices and buttons 64, 66 to enable the user to initiate actions.
• a second embodiment of the present invention permits joint form filling to be carried out by the user and the operator at the same time during an interactive session.
• the user receives a form contained in an HTML page from the website 16, which is displayed in a frameset 52 on the screen of the user's computer 12, and at step 102 commences filling in the form 56.
• the program embedded in the HTML page captures the information already entered by the user to create, at step 106, a form state string, and at step 108 sends the form state string , together with the URL of the HTML page to the system host computer 20.
• the system host computer 20 contains a control program, which reads the form state string at step 110 and at step 112 sends a message to the operator's computer 22.
• the message comprises a session request and the form state string.
• the operator's computer 22 receives the message, at step 1 14 the operator initiates the session and a further program on the operator's computer 22 generates a proxy version of the form and displays it in a frameset on the screen at step 116.
• the proxy version of the form contains all the information already entered by the user.
• the frameset contains JavaScript code which processes information entered in the form and a Java Applet program which controls the communications between the operator's computer and the host computer.
• a proxy version of the form is used so that the HTML page containing the form, the JavaScript code and Java Applet are loaded from the same domain (the host computer).
• the system host computer 20 sends a reply to the user's computer 12, which at step 120 generates the proxy version of the form from the form state string and displays the proxy form on the screen of the user's computer 12 in a new frameset 52 containing the same JavaScript code and Java Applet as in the frameset on the operator's computer.
• the operator makes updates to the information in the proxy form by entering information into the fields 58 in the proxy form displayed on the screen of the operator's computer 22.
• the system host computer 20 polls the operator's computer 22 for updated form information and at step 126 updates the form accordingly.
• the system host computer 20 sends updated form information to the user's computer 12, which at step 130 updates the proxy form on the user's computer 12.
• the user makes updates to the information in the proxy form.
• the system host computer 20 polls the user's computer 12 for updated form information and at step 126 updates the form accordingly.
• the system host computer 20 sends updated form information to the operator's computer 22 and at step 138 the further program updates the proxy form on the screen of the operator's computer 22.
• the system host computer 20 polls both the user's computer 12 and the operator's computer 22 once every second during a session.
• the control program keeps track of the updates and maintains an updated form so that there is only one version of the proxy form in existence at any time.
• the user may submit the form at step 140 by pressing the submit button 64.
• the program embedded in the HTML page on the user's computer 12 sends the completed form back to the web-site 16 or to the receiver computer 18 for processing.
• the programs that comprise the joint form-filling system herein described may be stored and run on any appropriate computer linked to the network.
• the system host computer may comprise two computers: a first operable to receive and read the request and form state state string (steps 108 and 110), send the session request message to the operator's computer (step 1 12) and send the reply to the user's computer (step 118); and a second operable to control the system communications, polling (steps 124 andl34) and updating (steps 126, 128 and 136).
• the first host computer sends the form state string to the second host computer at the start of the session.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
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• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Economics (AREA)
• Marketing (AREA)
• General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation (AREA)
• Game Theory and Decision Science (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Artificial Intelligence (AREA)
• Audiology, Speech & Language Pathology (AREA)
• Computational Linguistics (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=9902131

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

• 2000
  • 2000-10-28 GB GBGB0026402.8A patent/GB0026402D0/en not_active Ceased
• 2001
  • 2001-10-29 WO PCT/GB2001/004770 patent/WO2002035409A2/fr active Application Filing
  • 2001-10-29 AU AU2001295802A patent/AU2001295802A1/en not_active Abandoned

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