Method and apparatus for remote interaction with and configuration of a WAN-based knowledge base

• US 20010010058A1
• Filed: 02/21/2001
• Published: 07/26/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Determine, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sanjay Mittal
• Inventors: Mittal, Sanjay
• Granted Patent: US 6,460,077 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A system for selling products and services over the Internet, or other wide area network, comprises a knowledge base and a knowledge base configurator both executing on a network-connected server hosted by the enterprise offering products and/or services. A GUI user interface application is downloaded from the server to any platform used by a client wishing to purchase products or services. Having downloaded the user interface, the client can manipulate the configurator over a data link between the client'"'"'s station and the server to configure the knowledge base to define products and/or services to be orders, and can complete orders. A preferred implementation is with the server as an enterprise-hosted server connected to the Internet, and clients as users connected typically through Internet Service Providers to the Internet.

Claims

1. A method for configuring a knowledge-based object model located at a server platform from a client platform via a data network, comprising steps of:

(a) providing the object model and a configurator at the server platform;

(b) transporting, from the server platform to the client platform, a GUI user-interface application capable of manipulating the configurator over the data network; and

(c) invoking the GUI user-interface application at the client platform by a client, and using the GUI user-interface application to configure the object model at the server from the client platform.

2. The method of

claim 1

wherein the GUI user-interface application is a Java-based applet.

3. The method of

claim 1

wherein the server platform is a first Internet-connected computer and the client platform is a second Internet-connected computer.

4. The method of

claim 1

wherein the GUI user-interface application is a WEB-browser plug-in.

5. The method of

claim 3

wherein the client platform connects to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

6. The method of

claim 1

wherein the server platform is hosted by an enterprise, and the client uses the downloaded GUI user-interface application to configure the object model to select and order a product or service offered by the enterprise.

7. A system for selling products and services from a computerized server in a wide area network, comprising:

a knowledge base stored at or accessible to the server;

a configurator executable at the server platform to configure the knowledge base;

a GUI user-interface application capable of manipulating the configurator over the data network, executable on a client platform connected to the server platform by a data link;

wherein a client uses the GUI user-interface application over the data link to manipulate the configurator to configure the knowledge base.

8. The system of

claim 7

wherein the GUI user-interface application is a Java-based applet.

9. The system of

claim 7

wherein the server platform is a first Internet-connected computer and the client platform is a second Internet-connected computer.

10. The system of

claim 9

wherein the GUI user-interface application is a WEB browser plug-in.

11. The system of

claim 9

wherein the client platform connects to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

12. The system of

claim 7

wherein the server platform is hosted by an enterprise, and the client uses the downloaded GUI user-interface application to configure the object model to select and order a product or service offered by the enterprise.