COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM AND METHOD
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of using a communications network comprising:
- detecting the presence of a particular visitor at a particular page of a web site;
transmitting an indicator to a selected display whereupon transmission of a return message to be presented to that visitor can be initiated; and
transmitting the return message to that visitor for viewing.
9 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Transactions carried out using a communications network are facilitated by systems and methods which enable representatives of a marketing party to initiate private, one-on-one communications with potential buyers. When a potential buyer expresses an interest in particular goods or services by logging onto a web site a unique identifier can be assigned to that visitor. A representative can be alerted to the presence of the visitor. Being aware of the visitor enables the representative to initiate interactive communications with the visitor. The progress of the visitor through the pages of the site can be tracked to assess the effectiveness of the site.
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Citations
44 Claims
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1. A method of using a communications network comprising:
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detecting the presence of a particular visitor at a particular page of a web site;
transmitting an indicator to a selected display whereupon transmission of a return message to be presented to that visitor can be initiated; and
transmitting the return message to that visitor for viewing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 7, 8, 9)
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- 4. A method as in clam 3 which includes transferring a responsive reply back to the visitor substantially on a real-time basis.
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10. A method of communicating with an individual who has logged onto a communication network comprising:
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presenting at least a part of an information sequence, displayable in part, and including one or more pages that may be displayed at various times in response to commands entered by the individual;
detecting when the individual is viewing a page;
tracking the progress of the individual through a plurality of pages which are in part presentable graphically;
storing the tracking information;
transmitting, from another site, a selected communication to be presented to the individual to facilitate interaction with the page being displayed for the individual;
enabling the individual to form a responsive message; and
transmitting the responsive message to the another site for reviewing and in real-time, carrying out an interactive information interchange between the individual and the another site.
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11. A method of facilitating interactive communications using a network comprising:
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selecting at least one page containing displayable information and commands for implementing a display;
incorporating additional commands, which when the page is to be displayed at a requesting site, provide information to another site;
displaying the selected page in response to a user'"'"'s request; and
initiating a bidirectional information interchange, on the page being displayed, using the provided information. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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16. An information sequence, in part displayable for a viewer, comprising:
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a text sequence to be displayed;
a sequence of display controlling commands combined with the displayable text; and
a sequence of tracking commands, combined with the displayable text whereby information pertaining to text being presented to a viewer can be presented, substantially in real-time, at a displaced location for tracking the text being presented to the viewer.
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21. A multi-processor communication system comprising:
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a visitor client;
a visitor server, coupled at least intermittently to the visitor client for transferring information therebetween whereby a visitor using the visitor client and the visitor server can request a selected file, specified by the visitor;
a monitoring client;
a monitoring server, coupled at least intermittently to the monitoring client, for transferring information therebetween wherein the servers can communicate via a common network, whereby a representative using the monitoring client and the monitoring server can initiate an interactive real-time information interchange with the visitor and wherein the visitor can reply thereto on a one-on-one basis. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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26. A method for using a computer to enable a web site representative to observe in real-time a web site usage profile of any one of a plurality of web site visitors and proactively to engage the visitor in a one-to-one, real-time conversation, comprising:
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recording information about each visitor'"'"'s usage of the respective web site including a list of the web pages the visitor has viewed and the amount of time spent on each, a unique visitor'"'"'s address, a status indicator showing whether the visitor has been previously engaged by another representative, the total time the visitor has spent on the web site, and a unique identifier for each visitor;
displaying to a group of representatives the above information for the visitors to all or a selected portion of the web site in real-time;
enabling any one of a plurality of representatives to select any one of a plurality of visitors to engage in a private one-to-one conversation; and
proactively engaging the visitor so chosen in a one-to-one conversation without any action on the visitor'"'"'s part.
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31. An apparatus enabling a web site representative to observe a real-time web site usage profile of any one of a plurality of web site visitors and proactively engage a selected visitor in a one-to-one, real-time conversation, comprising:
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a storage device; and
a processor connected to the storage device wherein the storage device includes a program for controlling the processor; and
wherein the processor interacts with the program to record information about each web site visitor'"'"'s usage of the web site including at least a list of the web pages the visitor has viewed and the amount of time spent on each, a unique visitor'"'"'s address, a status indicator showing whether the visitor has been previously engaged by another representative, the total time the visitor has spent on the web site, and a unique identifier for each visitor. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 39)
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36. A method for using a computer to observe a real-time web site usage profile of any one of a plurality of web site visitors, to compare that profile with a number of predefined web usage profiles which are associated with lists of actions to be performed upon a pattern, to determine if the visitor'"'"'s usage profile matches any one of these predefined profiles, and to automatically perform the action associated with the matched usage profiles, comprising:
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storing a number of predefined web site usage profiles;
storing and associating a list of actions with each predefined usage pattern;
recording information about each web site visitor'"'"'s usage of the web site including, but not limited to, a list of web pages the visitor has viewed and the amount of time spent on each, the visitor'"'"'s address, a status indicator showing whether the visitor has been previously engaged by another representative, the total time the visitor has spent on the web site, and a unique identifier for each visitor;
comparing the above information with each predefined usage profiles and their associated actions; and
executing the associated action list upon a successful match between the visitor'"'"'s usage pattern and the predefined usage pattern.
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38. An apparatus for observing a real-time web site usage profile of any one of a plurality of web site visitors, to compare that profile with a number of predefined web usage profiles which are associated with lists of actions, to determine if the visitor'"'"'s usage profile matches any of these predefined profiles, and to automatically perform the action associated with the matched usage profiles;
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a storage device; and
a processor connected to the storage device;
the storage device storing;
a number of predefined web site usage patterns;
a list of actions associated with each predefined usage pattern;
a program for controlling the processor; and
wherein the processor is operative with the program to record information about each web site visitor'"'"'s usage of the web site including, some or all of a list of the web pages the visitor has viewed and the amount of time spent on each, a status indicator showing whether the visitor has been previously engaged by another representative or not, the total time the visitor has spent on the web site, and a unique identifier for each visitor and wherein the program includes commands for comparing the above information with each predefined usage profile and executing the associated action list upon a successful match between the visitor'"'"'s usage pattern and the predefined usage pattern.
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40. A method of analyzing visitor movements through a plurality of related files comprising:
tracking viewing paths of a plurality of viewers of the files;
analyzing the tracking information and identifying selected file sequences which exhibit a greater incidence of viewing paths than other sequences.- View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43)
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44. A method of identifying a visitor at a web site comprising:
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detecting the presence of an individual visitor at the site;
determining the visitor'"'"'s IP address; and
assigning a unique identifier to the visitor in addition to the visitor'"'"'s IP address.
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Specification