SYSTEM FOR PROVDING SERVICES IN REAL-TIME OVERTHE INTERNET
First Claim
1. A system of matching customers and service providers, facilitating communications between said customers and service providers, and keeping track of said communications for billing purposes, the system comprising:
- a communications link between a customer computer and a controller computer, said communications link providing the customer computer with access to a database maintained on the controller computer, said database generating and transmitting to the customer computer a list of service providers corresponding to search criteria provided by said customer computer;
said list of service providers comprising each listed service provider'"'"'s present state of availability for purposes of providing one-to-one, voice-based services;
said controller computer responding to said customer'"'"'s selection of a service provider from said list of service providers by initiating a communications link between said customer and said selected service provider;
said controller computer changing said selected service provider'"'"'s said present state of availability to reflect when said communications link is initiated and to reflect when said communications link is terminated;
said controller computer tracking the length of time during which said communications link between said customer and said service provider is maintained; and
said controller computer billing process to secure payment from said customer for maintaining said communications link on a per unit of time basis.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is a service provider/customer matching system designed to provide customers with real-time indication of each service provider'"'"'s state of availability and telephony connectivity. In a preferred embodiment, the invention includes a web site, which stores, updates, and displays service provider information. A customer would, upon accessing this web site, conduct a search for a particular type of service provider and be able to tell immediately if one or more service providers matching the search criteria were available at that moment to provide services. After the customer selected a service provider, the customer would have the option of viewing more detailed information about the service provider, sending a message to the service provider if the service provider is not immediately available, or initiating a telephone conversation with the service provider if he or she is on call and available. While the call is taking place, the customer would accrue charges on a per minute basis. The service provider would later receive all or part of the accrued charges for that call.
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Citations
43 Claims
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1. A system of matching customers and service providers, facilitating communications between said customers and service providers, and keeping track of said communications for billing purposes, the system comprising:
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a communications link between a customer computer and a controller computer, said communications link providing the customer computer with access to a database maintained on the controller computer, said database generating and transmitting to the customer computer a list of service providers corresponding to search criteria provided by said customer computer;
said list of service providers comprising each listed service provider'"'"'s present state of availability for purposes of providing one-to-one, voice-based services;
said controller computer responding to said customer'"'"'s selection of a service provider from said list of service providers by initiating a communications link between said customer and said selected service provider;
said controller computer changing said selected service provider'"'"'s said present state of availability to reflect when said communications link is initiated and to reflect when said communications link is terminated;
said controller computer tracking the length of time during which said communications link between said customer and said service provider is maintained; and
said controller computer billing process to secure payment from said customer for maintaining said communications link on a per unit of time basis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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Specification