Web enabled business to business computer system for rental car services
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Accused Products
Abstract
An Internet enabled, business-to-business computerized transaction system is disclosed in its preferred embodiment for use in providing rental car services for high volume users and comprises an Internet web portal through which the high volume user may access an integrated business computer network for the rental vehicle service provider. The rental vehicle services provider computer network is configured to interconnect a geographically diverse plurality of branch offices, cataloguing their available rental vehicles and schedules for same as well as handling all transactional data relating to its business. The Internet web portal provides ubiquitous connectivity and portability for a multi-level business organization who regularly places high volumes of rental purchases with its business partner. Utilizing the method and apparatus of the present invention large volumes of rental transactions may be placed, monitored, altered during performance, and closed out with financial accounting and payment being made virtually without human intervention.
115 Citations
134 Claims
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1-46. -46. (canceled)
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47. A rental vehicle reservation management computer system for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computer system being configured to:
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(1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a purchaser computer, (2) accept input from the purchaser computer over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) create a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to a plurality of replacement vehicles for a plurality of vehicles undergoing repair at a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized number of days, and (4) provide at least one report for display on the purchaser computer through a provided GUI screen, the at least one report comprising details about the plurality of rental vehicle reservations including sorted data therefor that identifies at least one selected from the group consisting of (1) the repair facilities where the vehicles are undergoing repair, (2) the authorized number of days for the plurality of rental vehicle reservations, and (3) a number of days behind for rental vehicle reservations that have been open for more than the authorized number of days, the number of days behind being calculated as a difference between the number of authorized days for an open rental vehicle reservation and a number of days that that rental vehicle reservation has been open. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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61. A method for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the method comprising:
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(1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a purchaser computer, (2) accepting input from the purchaser computer over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) creating a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to a plurality of replacement vehicles for a plurality of vehicles undergoing repair at a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized number of days, and (4) providing at least one report for display on the purchaser computer through a provided GUI screen, the at least one report comprising details about the plurality of rental vehicle reservations including sorted data therefor that identifies at least one selected from the group consisting of (1) the repair facilities where the vehicles are undergoing repair, (2) the authorized number of days for the plurality of rental vehicle reservations, and (3) a number of days behind for rental vehicle reservations that have been open for more than the authorized number of days, the number of days behind being calculated as a difference between the number of authorized days for an open rental vehicle reservation and a number of days that that rental vehicle reservation has been open. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75)
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76. A rental vehicle reservation management computer system for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computer system being configured to:
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(1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers, (2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) create and manage a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized number of days, (4) determine whether any of the rental vehicle reservations have been open beyond the authorized number of days;
(5) determine a number of days behind with respect to the authorized number of days for any rental vehicle reservations that are determined to have been open beyond the authorized number of days; and
(6) provide a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising the determined number of days behind for a plurality of the rental vehicle reservations. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82)
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83. A method for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the method comprising:
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(1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers, (2) accepting input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) creating and managing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized number of days, (4) determining whether any of the rental vehicle reservations have been open beyond the authorized number of days;
(5) determining a number of days behind with respect to the authorized number of days for any rental vehicle reservations that are determined to have been open beyond the authorized number of days; and
(6) providing a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising the determined number of days behind for a plurality of the rental vehicle reservations. - View Dependent Claims (84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90)
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91. A computer system for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computer system being configured to:
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(1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers, (2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) create and make a plurality of transactional changes to a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized number of days, (4) determine whether any of the rental vehicle reservations have been open beyond the authorized number of days;
(5) determine a number of days behind with respect to the authorized number of days for any rental vehicle reservations that are determined to have been open beyond the authorized number of days; and
(6) provide a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising the determined number of days behind for a plurality of the rental vehicle reservations. - View Dependent Claims (92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97)
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98. A method for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the method comprising:
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(1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers, (2) accepting input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) creating and making a plurality of transactional changes to a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized number of days, (4) determining whether any of the rental vehicle reservations have been open beyond the authorized number of days;
(5) determining a number of days behind with respect to the authorized number of days for any rental vehicle reservations that are determined to have been open beyond the authorized number of days; and
(6) providing a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising the determined number of days behind for a plurality of the rental vehicle reservations. - View Dependent Claims (99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105)
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106. A rental vehicle reservation management computer system for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computer system being configured to:
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(1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers, (2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) create and manage a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized number of days, and (4) provide a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising the authorized number of days for a plurality of the rental vehicle reservations. - View Dependent Claims (107)
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108. A method for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the method comprising:
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(1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers, (2) accepting input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) creating and managing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized number of days, and (4) providing a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising the authorized number of days for a plurality of the rental vehicle reservations. - View Dependent Claims (109)
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110. A rental vehicle reservation management computer system for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computer system being configured to:
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(1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers, (2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) create and manage a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, and (4) provide a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising details about the repair facilities where the third parties'"'"' vehicles are undergoing repairs. - View Dependent Claims (111)
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112. A method for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the method comprising:
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(1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers, (2) accepting input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) creating and managing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, and (4) providing a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising details about the repair facilities where the third parties'"'"' vehicles are undergoing repairs. - View Dependent Claims (113)
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114. A rental vehicle reservation management computer system for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computer system being configured to:
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(1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers, (2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) create and manage a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, and (4) provide a repair facility callback list for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen. - View Dependent Claims (115)
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116. A method for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the method comprising:
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(1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers, (2) accepting input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) creating and managing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, and (4) providing a repair facility callback list for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen. - View Dependent Claims (117)
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118. A rental vehicle reservation management computer system for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computer system being configured to:
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(1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers, (2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) create and manage a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, and (4) provide a plurality of action item lists for display on the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen. - View Dependent Claims (119)
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120. A method for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the method comprising:
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(1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers, (2) accepting input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) creating and managing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, and (4) providing a plurality of action item lists for display on the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen. - View Dependent Claims (121, 122)
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123. A rental vehicle reservation management computer system for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the computer system being configured to:
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(1) provide a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers, each remote purchaser computer being operated by a user, (2) accept input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) create and manage a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each reservation having an associated user who handles management thereof, and (4) provide a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising a summary of rental vehicle reservations handled by at least one of the users. - View Dependent Claims (124)
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125. A method for processing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the method comprising:
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(1) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens for display over the Internet on a plurality of remote purchaser computers, each remote purchaser computer being operated by a user, (2) accepting input from the remote purchaser computers over the Internet and through the provided GUI screens, (3) creating and managing a plurality of rental vehicle reservations in response to the accepted input, wherein the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for a plurality of third party drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repair provided by a plurality of repair facilities, each reservation having an associated user who handles management thereof, and (4) providing a report for display on at least one of the remote purchaser computers through a provided GUI screen, the report comprising a summary of rental vehicle reservations handled by at least one of the users. - View Dependent Claims (126, 127)
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128. A method for creating and managing a rental vehicle reservation, the method comprising:
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(1) accessing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens over the Internet, the accessed GUI screens being configured to establish a link to a rental vehicle software program on a remote computer system, (2) inputting first data to the remote computer system over the Internet and through an accessed GUI screen, the inputted first data for use by the remote computer system when executing the rental vehicle software program to create a rental vehicle reservation with a rental vehicle service provider on behalf of a third party driver, each rental vehicle reservation having an authorized number of days, (3) inputting second data to the remote computer system over the Internet and through an accessed GUI screen, and (4) responsive to the second data inputting step, receiving at least one report for display, the at least one report comprising details about the plurality of rental vehicle reservations including data therefor that identifies at least one selected from the group consisting of (1) the repair facilities where the third parties'"'"' vehicles are undergoing repairs, (2) the authorized number of days for the plurality of rental vehicle reservations, and (3) a number of days behind for rental vehicle reservations that have been open for more than the authorized number of days, the number of days behind being calculated as a difference between the number of authorized days for an open rental vehicle reservation and a number of days that that rental vehicle reservation has been open. - View Dependent Claims (129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134)
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Specification