Filtered peer-to-peer business communication in a distributed computer environment

• US 20050004804A1
• Filed: 01/28/2002
• Published: 01/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blue Yonder Group, Inc. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: i2 Technologies US Incorporated (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: English, Jason R.
• Granted Patent: US 7,386,459 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/103 Workflow collaboration or project management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0257 User requested
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0611 Request for offers or quotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks

Abstract

A method for filtered peer-to-peer business communication in a distributed computer environment includes accessing offers associated with one or more offerors and requests associated with one or more requestors, each offer and each request including a set of filter components. Filter components of offers are compared with corresponding filter components of requests to determine whether one or more offers match one or more requests. A match is determined between an offer and a request if the filter components of the offer match the corresponding filter components of the request. In response, at least a matching portion of the offer and request is replicated and communicated to both the offeror associated with the offer and the requestor associated with the request to provide filtered peer-to-peer communication between the offeror and requestor.

Claims

1. A system for filtered peer-to-peer business communication in a distributed computer environment, comprising:

a server system operable to access offers associated with one or more offerors and requests associated with one or more requestors, each offer and each request comprising a plurality of filter components, the server system operable to compare filter components of offers with corresponding filter components of requests to determine whether one or more offers match one or more requests, the server system comprising;

a source router operable to compare source components of one or more offers with a source component of a request to determine whether the source components of the offers match the source component of the request, the source component of each offer comprising information concerning a source of the offer and one or more source requirements for any matching requests, the source component of the request comprising source information concerning a source of the request and one or more source requirements for any matching offers;

a relevancy sorter operable to compare properties components of the one or more offers with a properties component of the request to determine whether the properties components of the offers match the properties component of the request, the properties component of each offer comprising information concerning content-related properties of a message being communicated using the offer and one or more content-related property requirements for any matching requests, the properties component of the request comprising information concerning content-related properties of a message being communicated using the request and one or more content-related property requirements for any matching offers;

a bandwidth gate operable to compare detail components of the one or more offers with a detail component of the request to determine whether the detail components of the offers match the detail component of the request, the detail component of each offer comprising one or more transmission-related characteristics of the offer and one or more transmission-related characteristic requirements for any matching requests, the detail component of the request comprising one or more transmission-related characteristics of the request and one or more transmission-related characteristic requirements for any matching offers; and

a channel selector operable to compare audience components of the one or more offers with an audience component of the request to determine whether the audience components of the offers match the audience component of the offer, the audience component of each offer comprising information concerning the intended audience for the offer and one or more audience requirements for any matching requests, the audience component of the request comprising information concerning the intended audience of the request and one or more audience requirements for any matching offers;

the server system operable to;

determine a match between an offer and the request if the filter components of the offer match the corresponding filter components of the request;

replicate at least a matching portion of the offer and request; and

communicate the replicated portion of the offer and request to both the offeror associated with the offer and the requestor associated with the request to provide filtered peer-to-peer communication between the offeror and requestor.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the filter components of an offer or request each comprise one or more fields:

the source component of an offer or request comprising one or more of the following;

a time field indicating the date and time the offer or request was generated, a type field specifying a transmission type of the offer or request, a source field specifying any registries associated with the offeror or requestor, an identity field specifying an identity of the offeror of requestor, and a first address field referencing an external information source for further source information;

the properties component of an offer or request comprising one or more of the following;

a protocol field specifying a protocol for the offer or request, a language field specifying a language for the offer or request, a properties field specifying one or more tagged meta-properties of the offer or request, a priority field specifying priorities for the meta-properties of the offer or request, and a second external address field referencing an external information source for further properties information;

the detail component of an offer or request comprising one or more of the following;

a platform field specifying one or more platform-specific tags for the offeror or requestor, a bandwidth field specifying any connection requirements for the offer or request, a size field specifying a size of the offer or request, a detail field setting a default number of meta-properties that will be displayed to a requestor or offeror, an order field specifying the order in which meta-properties will be displayed to a requestor or offeror, and a third external address field referencing an external information source for further detail information; and

the audience component of an offer or request comprising one or more of the following;

a groups field specifying one or more groups of requestors or offerors to which the offer or request is intended, a parties field specifying one or more requestors or offerors for which the offer or request is intended, a state field specifying an allowed state for a requestor or offeror, a proximity field specifying a required proximity for a requestor or offeror, a specificity field indicating an audience specificity for the offer or request, an urgency field specifying the urgency of the offer or request, and a fourth external address field referencing an external information source for further audience information.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the server system is operable to compare the filter components of the offer and request at a plurality of checkpoints, the source router performing a first checkpoint, the relevancy sort performing a second checkpoint, the bandwidth gate performing a third checkpoint, and the channel selector performing a fourth checkpoint.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the offers comprise half data sets;

the requests comprise half data sets; and

the server system is operable to complete a half data set of an offer with a corresponding half data set of a matching request and to complete a half data set of a request with a corresponding half data set of a matching offer.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the server system is operable to give priority to the filter components of a request according to the order in which the filter components appear in the request in determining whether offers match the request or in determining the order in which to present matching offers to the requestor.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the message associated with the offer or request is located external to the offer or request and is referenced in one or more filter components of the offer or request.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein an offer comprises an offer of information and a request comprises a request for information.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein an offeror with respect to an offer can also be a requestor with respect to a request.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein offerors, requestors, and the server system operate at locations geographically remote from one another.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the server system provides language translation services, the server system operable to:

translate filter component data of a request to an appropriate language in order to determine a match between the request and one or more offers; and

if a match is determined, translate at least a portion of the filter component data of the request to a language specified in the filter component data of the matching offer for communication to the offeror associated with the matching offer.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a dynamic user interface (UI) associated with an offeror or requestor, the dynamic UI when associated with an offeror operable to display content dynamically determined according to settings in offers from the offeror and filter component data of matching requests received by the offeror, the dynamic UI when associated with a requestor operable to display content dynamically determined according to settings in requests from the requestor and filter component data of matching offers received by the requestor.

12. A first message packet used for filtered peer-to-peer communication in a distributed computer environment, the first message packet being associated with an offeror or a requestor and intended for communication to a requestor or offeror, respectively, the first message packet comprising a plurality of filter components that can be compared with corresponding filter components of second message packets to determine whether one or more second message packets match the first message packet, the first message packet comprising:

a source component that can be compared to source components of second message packets to determine whether the source component of the first message packet matches the source components of one or more second message packets, the source component of each message packet comprising information concerning a source of the message packet and one or more source requirements for any matching message packets;

a properties component that can be compared to properties components of second message packets to determine whether the properties component of the first message packet matches the properties components of one or more second message packets, the properties component of each message packet comprising information concerning content-related properties of a message being communicated using the message packet and one or more content-related property requirements for any matching message packets;

a detail component that can be compared to detail components of second message packets to determine whether the detail component of the first message packet matches the detail components of one or more second message packets, the detail component of each message packet comprising one or more transmission-related characteristics of the message packet and one or more transmission-related characteristic requirements for any matching message packets; and

an audience component that can be compared to audience components of second message packets to determine whether the audience component of the first message packet matches the audience components of one or more second message packets, the audience component of each message packet comprising information concerning the intended audience of the message packet and one or more audience requirements for any matching message packets;

where at least a portion of the first message packet matching a corresponding portion of the second message packet can be;

replicated if a match is determined between the first message packet and a second message packet based on a comparison of their filter components; and

communicated to both the offeror and the requestor to provide filtered peer-to-peer communication between the offeror and requestor.

13. The first message packet of claim 12, wherein the filter components of the message page each comprise one or more fields:

the source component of the first message packet comprising one or more of the following;

a time field indicating the date and time the first message packet was generated, a type field specifying a transmission type of the first message packet, a source field specifying any registries associated with the offeror or requestor of the first message packet, an identity field specifying an identity of the offeror of requestor of the first message packet, and a first address field referencing an external information source for further source information;

the properties component of the first message packet comprising one or more of the following;

a protocol field specifying a protocol for the first message packet, a language field specifying a language for the first message packet, a properties field specifying one or more tagged meta-properties of the first message packet, a priority field specifying priorities for the meta-properties of the first message packet, and a second external address field referencing an external information source for further properties information;

the detail component of the first message packet comprising one or more of the following;

a platform field specifying one or more platform-specific tags for the offeror or requestor of the first message packet, a bandwidth field specifying any connection requirements for the first message packet, a size field specifying a size of the first message packet, a detail field setting a default number of meta-properties that will be displayed to a requestor or offeror of a matching second packet, an order field specifying the order in which meta-properties will be displayed to a requestor or offeror of a matching second packet, and a third external address field referencing an external information source for further detail information; and

the audience component of the first message packet comprising one or more of the following;

a groups field specifying one or more groups of requestors or offerors to which the first message packet is intended, a parties field specifying one or more requestors or offerors for which the first message packet is intended, a state field specifying an allowed state for a requestor or offeror of a matching second packet, a proximity field specifying a required proximity for a requestor or offeror of a matching second packet, a specificity field indicating an audience specificity for the first message packet, an urgency field specifying the urgency of the first message packet, and a fourth external address field referencing an external information source for further audience information.

14. The first message packet of claim 12, wherein the filter components of the first message packet can be compared with filter components of second message packets at a plurality of checkpoints, a comparison of source components being performed at a first checkpoint, a comparison of properties components being performed at a second checkpoint, a comparison of detail components being performed at a third checkpoint, and a comparison of audience components being performed at a fourth checkpoint.

15. The first message packet of claim 12, wherein:

the first message packet comprises a half data set;

the second message packets comprise half data sets; and

the half data set of the first message packet can be completed with a corresponding half data set of a matching second message packet.

16. The first message packet of claim 12, wherein the message associated with the message packet is located external to the message packet and is referenced in one or more filter components of the message packet.

17. The first message packet of claim 12, wherein an offer comprises an offer of information and a request comprises a request for information.

18. A method for filtered peer-to-peer business communication in a distributed computer environment, comprising:

accessing offers associated with one or more offerors and requests associated with one or more requestors, each offer and each request comprising a plurality of filter components;

comparing filter components of offers with corresponding filter components of requests to determine whether one or more offers match one or more requests, the comparison of filter components comprising;

comparing source components of one or more offers with a source component of a request to determine whether the source components of the offers match the source component of the request, the source component of each offer comprising information concerning a source of the offer and one or more source requirements for any matching requests, the source component of the request comprising source information concerning a source of the request and one or more source requirements for any matching offers;

comparing properties components of the one or more offers with a properties component of the request to determine whether the properties components of the offers match the properties component of the request, the properties component of each offer comprising information concerning content-related properties of a message being communicated using the offer and one or more content-related property requirements for any matching requests, the properties component of the request comprising information concerning content-related properties of a message being communicated using the request and one or more content-related property requirements for any matching offers;

comparing detail components of the one or more offers with a detail component of the request to determine whether the detail components of the offers match the detail component of the request, the detail component of each offer comprising one or more transmission-related characteristics of the offer and one or more transmission-related characteristic requirements for any matching requests, the detail component of the request comprising one or more transmission-related characteristics of the request and one or more transmission-related characteristic requirements for any matching offers; and

comparing audience components of the one or more offers with an audience component of the request to determine whether the audience components of the offers match the audience component of the offer, the audience component of each offer comprising information concerning the intended audience for the offer and one or more audience requirements for any matching requests, the audience component of the request comprising information concerning the intended audience of the request and one or more audience requirements for any matching offers;

determining a match between an offer and the request if the filter components of the offer match the corresponding filter components of the request;

replicating at least a matching portion of the offer and request; and

communicating the replicated portion of the offer and request to both the offeror associated with the offer and the requestor associated with the request to provide filtered peer-to-peer communication between the offeror and requestor.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the filter components of an offer or request each comprise one or more fields:

the source component of an offer or request comprising one or more of the following;

a time field indicating the date and time the offer or request was generated, a type field specifying a transmission type of the offer or request, a source field specifying any registries associated with the offeror or requestor, an identity field specifying an identity of the offeror of requestor, and a first address field referencing an external information source for further source information;

the properties component of an offer or request comprising one or more of the following;

a protocol field specifying a protocol for the offer or request, a language field specifying a language for the offer or request, a properties field specifying one or more tagged meta-properties of the offer or request, a priority field specifying priorities for the meta-properties of the offer or request, and a second external address field referencing an external information source for further properties information;

the detail component of an offer or request comprising one or more of the following;

a platform field specifying one or more platform-specific tags for the offeror or requestor, a bandwidth field specifying any connection requirements for the offer or request, a size field specifying a size of the offer or request, a detail field setting a default number of meta-properties that will be displayed to a requestor or offeror, an order field specifying the order in which meta-properties will be displayed to a requestor or offeror, and a third external address field referencing an external information source for further detail information; and

the audience component of an offer or request comprising one or more of the following;

a groups field specifying one or more groups of requestors or offerors to which the offer or request is intended, a parties field specifying one or more requestors or offerors for which the offer or request is intended, a state field specifying an allowed state for a requestor or offeror, a proximity field specifying a required proximity for a requestor or offeror, a specificity field indicating an audience specificity for the offer or request, an urgency field specifying the urgency of the offer or request, and a fourth external address field referencing an external information source for further audience information.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the filter components of the offer and request are compared at a plurality of checkpoints, a comparison of source components being performed at a first checkpoint, a comparison of properties components being performed at a second checkpoint, a comparison of detail components being performed at a third checkpoint, and a comparison of audience components being performed at a fourth checkpoint.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein:

the offers comprise half data sets;

the requests comprise half data sets; and

the method further comprises completing a half data set of an offer with a corresponding half data set of a matching request and completing the corresponding half data set of the matching request with the half data set of the offer.

22. The method of claim 18, further comprising giving priority to the filter components of a request according to the order in which the filter components appear in the request in determining whether offers match the request or in determining the order in which to present matching offers to the requestor.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the message associated with the offer or request is located external to the offer or request and is referenced in one or more filter components of the offer or request.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein an offer comprises an offer of information and a request comprises a request for information.

25. The method of claim 18, wherein an offeror with respect to an offer can also be a requestor with respect to a request.

26. The method of claim 18, wherein offerors and requestors operate at locations geographically remote from one another and from the location at which their filter components are compared.

27. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

translating filter component data of a request to an appropriate language in order to determine a match between the request and one or more offers; and

if a match is determined, translating at least a portion of the filter component data of the request to a language specified in the filter component data of the matching offer for communication to the offeror associated with the matching offer.

28. The method of claim 18, further comprising using a dynamic user interface (UI) associated with a requestor to display content dynamically determined according to settings in requests from the requestor and filter component data of matching offers received by the requestor.

29. Software for filtered peer-to-peer business communication in a distributed computer environment, the software being embodied in computer-readable media and when executed operable to:

access offers associated with one or more offerors and requests associated with one or more requestors, each offer and each request comprising a plurality of filter components;

compare filter components of offers with corresponding filter components of requests to determine whether one or more offers match one or more requests, the comparison of filter components comprising;

comparing source components of one or more offers with a source component of a request to determine whether the source components of the offers match the source component of the request, the source component of each offer comprising information concerning a source of the offer and one or more source requirements for any matching requests, the source component of the request comprising source information concerning a source of the request and one or more source requirements for any matching offers;

comparing properties components of the one or more offers with a properties component of the request to determine whether the properties components of the offers match the properties component of the request, the properties component of each offer comprising information concerning content-related properties of a message being communicated using the offer and one or more content-related property requirements for any matching requests, the properties component of the request comprising information concerning content-related properties of a message being communicated using the request and one or more content-related property requirements for any matching offers;

comparing detail components of the one or more offers with a detail component of the request to determine whether the detail components of the offers match the detail component of the request, the detail component of each offer comprising one or more transmission-related characteristics of the offer and one or more transmission-related characteristic requirements for any matching requests, the detail component of the request comprising one or more transmission-related characteristics of the request and one or more transmission-related characteristic requirements for any matching offers; and

comparing audience components of the one or more offers with an audience component of the request to determine whether the audience components of the offers match the audience component of the offer, the audience component of each offer comprising information concerning the intended audience for the offer and one or more audience requirements for any matching requests, the audience component of the request comprising information concerning the intended audience of the request and one or more audience requirements for any matching offers;

determine a match between an offer and the request if the filter components of the offer match the corresponding filter components of the request;

replicate at least a matching portion of the offer and request; and

communicate the replicated portion of the offer and request to both the offeror associated with the offer and the requestor associated with the request to provide filtered peer-to-peer communication between the offeror and requestor.

30. The software of claim 29, wherein the filter components of an offer or request each comprise one or more fields:

the source component of an offer or request comprising one or more of the following;

a time field indicating the date and time the offer or request was generated, a type field specifying a transmission type of the offer or request, a source field specifying any registries associated with the offeror or requestor, an identity field specifying an identity of the offeror of requestor, and a first address field referencing an external information source for further source information;

the properties component of an offer or request comprising one or more of the following;

a protocol field specifying a protocol for the offer or request, a language field specifying a language for the offer or request, a properties field specifying one or more tagged meta-properties of the offer or request, a priority field specifying priorities for the meta-properties of the offer or request, and a second external address field referencing an external information source for further properties information;

the detail component of an offer or request comprising one or more of the following;

a platform field specifying one or more platform-specific tags for the offeror or requestor, a bandwidth field specifying any connection requirements for the offer or request, a size field specifying a size of the offer or request, a detail field setting a default number of meta-properties that will be displayed to a requestor or offeror, an order field specifying the order in which meta-properties will be displayed to a requestor or offeror, and a third external address field referencing an external information source for further detail information; and

the audience component of an offer or request comprising one or more of the following;

a groups field specifying one or more groups of requestors or offerors to which the offer or request is intended, a parties field specifying one or more requestors or offerors for which the offer or request is intended, a state field specifying an allowed state for a requestor or offeror, a proximity field specifying a required proximity for a requestor or offeror, a specificity field indicating an audience specificity for the offer or request, an urgency field specifying the urgency of the offer or request, and a fourth external address field referencing an external information source for further audience information.

31. The software of claim 29, wherein the filter components of the offer and request are compared at a plurality of checkpoints, a comparison of source components being performed at a first checkpoint, a comparison of properties components being performed at a second checkpoint, a comparison of detail components being performed at a third checkpoint, and a comparison of audience components being performed at a fourth checkpoint.

32. The software of claim 29, wherein:

the offers comprise half data sets;

the requests comprise half data sets; and

the software is further operable to complete a half data set of an offer with a corresponding half data set of a matching request and complete the corresponding half data set of the matching request with the half data set of the offer.

33. The software of claim 29, further operable to give priority to the filter components of a request according to the order in which the filter components appear in the request in determining whether offers match the request or in determining the order in which to present matching offers to the requestor.

34. The software of claim 29, wherein the message associated with the offer or request is located external to the offer or request and is referenced in one or more filter components of the offer or request.

35. The software of claim 29, wherein an offer comprises an offer of information and a request comprises a request for information.

36. The software of claim 29, wherein an offeror with respect to an offer can also be a requestor with respect to a request.

37. The software of claim 29, wherein offerors, requestors, and software operate at locations geographically remote from one another.

38. The software of claim 29, further operable to:

translate filter component data of a request to an appropriate language in order to determine a match between the request and one or more offers; and

if a match is determined, translate at least a portion of the filter component data of the request to a language specified in the filter component data of the matching offer for communication to the offeror associated with the matching offer.

39. The software of claim 29, further operable to provide a dynamic user interface (UI) associated with a requestor to display content dynamically determined according to settings in requests from the requestor and filter component data of matching offers received by the requestor.

40. A system for filtered peer-to-peer business communication in a distributed computer environment, comprising:

means for accessing offers associated with one or more offerors and requests associated with one or more requestors, each offer and each request comprising a plurality of filter components;

means for comparing filter components of offers with corresponding filter components of requests to determine whether one or more offers match one or more requests, the comparison of filter components comprising;

comparing source components of one or more offers with a source component of a request to determine whether the source components of the offers match the source component of the request, the source component of each offer comprising information concerning a source of the offer and one or more source requirements for any matching requests, the source component of the request comprising source information concerning a source of the request and one or more source requirements for any matching offers;

comparing properties components of the one or more offers with a properties component of the request to determine whether the properties components of the offers match the properties component of the request, the properties component of each offer comprising information concerning content-related properties of a message being communicated using the offer and one or more content-related property requirements for any matching requests, the properties component of the request comprising information concerning content-related properties of a message being communicated using the request and one or more content-related property requirements for any matching offers;

comparing detail components of the one or more offers with a detail component of the request to determine whether the detail components of the offers match the detail component of the request, the detail component of each offer comprising one or more transmission-related characteristics of the offer and one or more transmission-related characteristic requirements for any matching requests, the detail component of the request comprising one or more transmission-related characteristics of the request and one or more transmission-related characteristic requirements for any matching offers; and

comparing audience components of the one or more offers with an audience component of the request to determine whether the audience components of the offers match the audience component of the offer, the audience component of each offer comprising information concerning the intended audience for the offer and one or more audience requirements for any matching requests, the audience component of the request comprising information concerning the intended audience of the request and one or more audience requirements for any matching offers;

means for determining a match between an offer and the request if the filter components of the offer match the corresponding filter components of the request;

means for replicating at least a matching portion of the offer and request; and

means for communicating the replicated portion of the offer and request to both the offeror associated with the offer and the requestor associated with the request to provide filtered peer-to-peer communication between the offeror and requestor.