Automated transaction processing system and approach
First Claim
1. A transaction-processing system for facilitating transactions involving merchant offerings among parties including buyers and sellers, aspects of each common transaction being characterized by transaction-based documents that are respectively provided by different parties to the common transaction, the system comprising:
- a transaction databank having a plurality of anchor locations, each anchor location for storing a plurality of transaction-profile attributes that correspond to a transaction; and
a computer arrangement adapted to;
for each common transaction, identify attributes that define the common transaction, the identified attributes being carried by respective transaction-based documents as respectively provided from the different parties to the common transaction, the different parties to the common transaction having different party-identifying attributes;
assign an anchor identification (ID) to each common transaction for which attributes carried by respective transaction-based documents have been identified;
for each common transaction, use the identified attributes to construct a plurality of transaction-profile attributes in a particular one of the anchor locations identified by the anchor ID; and
in response to another transaction-based document carrying transaction-profile attributes for a particular one of the anchor locations, use the constructed transaction-profile attributes in the particular anchor location to advance progress toward completion of the common transaction for the particular anchor location.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Transaction processing is facilitated using an approach for automatically grouping transaction-based documents as a function of matching data in the documents. In one example embodiment of the present invention, data from selected attribute fields in transaction-based documents is parsed as the documents are received at a transaction processor. When data in selected attribute fields from two or more documents match, the transaction processor automatically groups the documents having matching data under a particular anchor identification code defined as a function of the match. Upon receipt of one or more other transaction-based documents, the transaction processor advances progress towards completion of the common transaction to which the documents apply. With this approach, predefined data (e.g., a purchase order number) need not necessarily be included with a particular transaction document in order to group the document with another document belonging to the same common transaction.
129 Citations
44 Claims
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1. A transaction-processing system for facilitating transactions involving merchant offerings among parties including buyers and sellers, aspects of each common transaction being characterized by transaction-based documents that are respectively provided by different parties to the common transaction, the system comprising:
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a transaction databank having a plurality of anchor locations, each anchor location for storing a plurality of transaction-profile attributes that correspond to a transaction; and
a computer arrangement adapted to;
for each common transaction, identify attributes that define the common transaction, the identified attributes being carried by respective transaction-based documents as respectively provided from the different parties to the common transaction, the different parties to the common transaction having different party-identifying attributes;
assign an anchor identification (ID) to each common transaction for which attributes carried by respective transaction-based documents have been identified;
for each common transaction, use the identified attributes to construct a plurality of transaction-profile attributes in a particular one of the anchor locations identified by the anchor ID; and
in response to another transaction-based document carrying transaction-profile attributes for a particular one of the anchor locations, use the constructed transaction-profile attributes in the particular anchor location to advance progress toward completion of the common transaction for the particular anchor location. - 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)
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27. A transaction-processing system for facilitating transactions involving merchant offerings among parties including buyers and sellers, aspects of each transaction being characterized by transaction-based documents, the system comprising:
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a transaction databank having a plurality of anchor locations, each anchor location for storing a plurality of transaction-profile attributes that correspond to a common transaction; and
a computer arrangement adapted to;
parse attribute fields from at least two incoming documents and, in response to finding matching information in selected ones of the parsed attribute fields, automatically identify the at least two incoming documents as belonging to a common transaction, generate a new anchor identification number as a function of the data in the parsed attribute fields, store data from the parsed attribute fields in an anchor location in the transaction databank and identify the anchor location with the new anchor identification number; and
in response to another transaction-based document carrying data in attribute fields matching data in selected ones of the attribute fields stored in the anchor location identified with the new anchor identification number, use the data stored in the attribute fields and in the other transaction-based document to process payment for the common business transaction - View Dependent Claims (28)
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29. In an environment of multiple parties to a transaction, a transaction terminal for processing transaction information related to a transaction between one of the parties and another one of the parties, the transaction terminal being configured and arranged to:
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compare attribute values of transaction-based documents and identify common attribute values between at least two of the transaction-based documents;
define an anchor identification (ID) as a function of the identified common attribute values, the anchor ID being used to identify a new transaction;
label the at least two transaction-based documents with the anchor ID and store the labeled transaction-based documents in a database; and
in response to receiving another transaction-based document having attribute values that match attribute values in at least one of the at least two of the transaction-based documents, use the stored transaction-based documents and the other transaction-based document to advance progress toward completion of the transaction.
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30. In an environment of multiple parties to a transaction, a transaction terminal for processing transaction information related to a transaction between one of the parties and another one of the parties, the terminal being adapted to:
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compare elements of transaction-based documents and identify common elements between at least two of the transaction-based documents;
compare the common elements with stored profile information associated with the one and the other one of the parties; and
define an anchor identification (ID) with the identified common elements and the profile information, the anchor ID being used to identify a new transaction.
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31. A method for facilitating transactions involving merchant offerings among parties including buyers and sellers, aspects of each common transaction being characterized by transaction-based documents that are respectively provided by different parties to the common transaction, the method comprising:
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for each common transaction, identifying attributes that define the common transaction, the identified attributes being carried by respective transaction-based documents as respectively provided from the different parties to the common transaction, the different parties to the common transaction having different party-identifying attributes;
assigning an anchor identification (ID) to each common transaction for which attributes carried by respective transaction-based documents have been identified;
for each common transaction, using the identified attributes to construct a plurality of transaction-profile attributes in a particular anchor location of a transaction databank having a plurality of anchor locations and identifying the particular anchor location with the anchor ID; and
in response to another transaction-based document carrying transaction-profile attributes for a particular one of the anchor locations, using the constructed transaction-profile attributes in the particular anchor location to advance progress toward completion of the common transaction for the particular anchor location. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A transaction-processing system for facilitating transactions involving merchant offerings among parties including buyers and sellers, aspects of each common transaction being characterized by transaction-based documents that are respectively provided by different parties to the common transaction, the system comprising:
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means for storing a plurality of transaction-profile attributes that correspond to a transaction;
means, for each common transaction, for identifying attributes that define the common transaction, the identified attributes being carried by respective transaction-based documents as respectively provided from the different parties to the common transaction, the different parties to the common transaction having different party-identifying attributes;
means for assigning an anchor identification (ID) to each common transaction for which attributes carried by respective transaction-based documents have been identified;
means, for each common transaction, for using the identified attributes to construct a plurality of transaction-profile attributes in a particular one of the anchor locations identified by the anchor ID; and
means, responsive to another transaction-based document carrying transaction-profile attributes for a particular one of the anchor locations, for using the constructed transaction-profile attributes in the particular anchor location to advance progress toward completion of the common transaction for the particular anchor location.
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Specification