System for and method of gathering complex structured information

• US 20070162455A1
• Filed: 12/30/2005
• Published: 07/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Walter Oney
• Original Assignee: Walter Oney
• Inventors: Oney, Walter
• Application Number:
  US11/322,979
• Publication Number:
  US 20070162455A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3329 Natural language query formulation or dialogue systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging

Abstract

A system, method and computer program product for gathering complex structured information in an automated manner is disclosed, which may be substituted for an in-person interview between a trained professional interviewer possessing complex domain knowledge and an untrained consumer of professional services. The method involves sequential downloads of encrypted smart forms from a server to a consumer'"'"'s computer, presentation of forms with contents tailored to the needs of the consumer as deduced from the consumer'"'"'s responses to previous forms, validation and interpretation of the consumer'"'"'s responses based on domain-specific and common-sense rules, a segregation of the consumer'"'"'s responses into pieces requiring varying degrees of confidential or expedited handling, and an encrypted upload of the resulting information to a server.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of gathering information from a user of a client computer, and a display device and input device operatively coupled to the client computer, comprising the steps of:

providing a collection of electronic forms, each including a display component instructing the client processor how to render text and input fields on the display device and an executable component for execution on the client computer that includes logic for validating captured user input field data and logic for applying domain knowledge to user response data;

requesting an electronic form be sent to the client computer;

transmitting an electronic form from the collection to the client computer in response to the request;

gathering response data from a user by rendering on the display text and input fields associated with the transmitted form, capturing field data input by the user in response to the rendered text and input fields, and validating the input field data, repeating this step if the validation reveals an user input error;

determining whether additional action is necessary at least in part by applying domain based knowledge to the gathered response data, and taking said actions if determined necessary; and

transmitting the user response data from the client computer to another computer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional action comprises requesting an additional electronic form from the collection and returning to the form transmitting step if another electronic form is required.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step is further based at least in part on previously gathered response data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the user response data is transmitted over a network.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional action comprises providing a selected portion of the response data to the another computer.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the rendered text and input fields are conditionally generated.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the rendered text and input fields are re-rendered with or without modification if an input error is revealed by the validation step.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising generating an error message with the re-rendered text and input fields.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of encrypting the user response data prior to transmission from the client computer.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the display component is comprised of HTML instructions.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the display component further comprises at least one HTML-compatible tag providing expanded functionality selected from the group consisting of tags for repeating text or fields, tags for conditionally displaying text or fields, tags for conditionally displaying error messages, and tags for populating a list of choices from a list not part of the HTML source code.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of separating the response data into at least one unprivileged or non-confidential part and at least one privileged or confidential part prior to prior to transmission from the client computer.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the gathered response data relates to professional services.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the response data is acquired over as many user sessions as the user desires, with interim data being stored in encrypted form between user sessions.

15. System for automating the gathering of information from a user, comprising:

a server to which a repository is operatively coupled;

a client computer operatively coupled to the server;

a collection of electronic forms stored on the repository, each electronic form including a display component instructing the client processor how to render text and input fields on a display operatively coupled to the client computer, and an executable component for execution on the client computer that includes logic for validating captured user input field data and logic for applying domain knowledge to user response data;

a form server application executing on the server and including logic for transmitting one or more forms from the collection in response to form requests; and

a client application executing on the client computer including logic for requesting forms from the form server application, and logic for parsing the display component and logic for executing the executable component of the transmitted one or more forms so as to;

gather response data from a user by rendering on the display text and input fields associated with the transmitted one or more forms, capturing field data input by the user in response to the rendered text and input fields, and validating the input field data, repeating this step if the validation reveals an user input error;

determine whether additional action is necessary at least in part by applying domain based knowledge to the gathered response data, and taking said actions if determined necessary; and

transmit the user response data from the client computer to another computer.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the executable component is comprised of a binary object file containing external references to locations in the client application and in the executable components of other forms from the collection.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the additional action comprises requesting an additional electronic form from the collection and returning to the form transmitting step if another electronic form is required.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the determining step is further based at least in part on previously gathered response data.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the user response data is transmitted over a network.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the additional action comprises providing a selected portion of the response data to the another computer.

21. The system of claim 15, wherein the client application further comprises logic for conditionally generating the rendered text and input fields.

22. The system of claim 15, wherein the client application further comprises logic for re-rendering the text and input fields with or without modification if an input error is revealed by the validation step.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the client application further comprises logic for generating an error message with the re-rendered text and input fields.

24. The system of claim 15, wherein the client application further comprises logic for encrypting the user response data prior to transmission from the client computer.

25. The system of claim 15, wherein the display component is comprised of HTML instructions.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the display component further comprises at least one HTML-compatible tag providing expanded functionality selected from the group consisting of tags for repeating text or fields, tags for conditionally displaying text or fields, tags for conditionally displaying error messages, and tags for populating a list of choices from a list not part of the HTML source code.

27. The system of claim 15, wherein the client application further comprises logic for separating the response data into at least one unprivileged or non-confidential part and at least one privileged or confidential part prior to prior to transmission from the client computer.

28. The system of claim 15, wherein the gathered response data relates to professional services.

29. The system of claim 15, wherein the client application further comprises logic for acquiring the response data over as many user sessions as the user desires, with interim data being stored in encrypted form between user sessions.

30. A computer program product encoded on one or more programmable storage devices, for use in a system including a client computer operatively coupled to a server, and a display device and an input device operatively coupled to the client computer, the computer program product executable by the client computer and server to perform instructions for automating the gathering of information from a user, comprising:

a collection of electronic forms, each including a display component instructing the client processor how to render text and input fields on the display device and an executable component for execution on the client computer that includes logic for validating captured user input field data and logic for applying domain knowledge to user response data;

code for requesting an electronic form be sent to the client computer;

a server application executing on the server for transmitting an electronic form from the collection to the client computer in response to the request;

a client application including code for parsing the display component and executing the executable component of the transmitted electronic form so as to;

gather response data from a user by rendering on the display text and input fields associated with the transmitted form, capturing field data input by the user in response to the rendered text and input fields, and validating the input field data, repeating this step if the validation reveals an user input error;

determine whether additional action is necessary at least in part by applying domain based knowledge to the gathered response data, and take said actions if determined necessary; and

transmit the user response data from the client computer to another computer.

31. The computer program product of claim 30, wherein the additional action comprises requesting an additional electronic form from the collection and returning to the form transmitting step if another electronic form is required.

32. The computer program product of claim 30, wherein the determining step is further based at least in part on previously gathered response data.

33. The computer program product of claim 30, wherein the additional action comprises providing a selected portion of the response data to the another computer.

34. The computer program product of claim 30, wherein the client application further comprises code for conditionally generating the rendered text and input fields.

35. The computer program product of claim 30, wherein the client application further comprises code for re-rendering the text and input fields with or without modification if an input error is revealed by the validation step.

36. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein the client application further comprises code for generating an error message with the re-rendered text and input fields.

37. The computer program product of claim 30, wherein the client application further comprises code for encrypting the user response data prior to transmission from the client computer.

38. The computer program product of claim 30, wherein the display component is comprised of HTML code.

39. The computer program product of claim 38, wherein the display component further comprises at least one HTML-compatible tag providing expanded functionality selected from the group consisting of tags for repeating text or fields, tags for conditionally displaying text or fields, tags for conditionally displaying error messages, and tags for populating a list of choices from a list not part of the HTML source code.

40. The computer program product of claim 30, wherein the client application further comprises code for separating the response data into at least one unprivileged or non-confidential part and at least one privileged or confidential part prior to prior to transmission from the client computer.

41. The computer program product of claim 30, wherein the gathered response data relates to professional services.

42. The computer program product of claim 30, wherein the client application further comprises code for acquiring the response data over as many user sessions as the user desires, with interim data being stored in encrypted form between user sessions.