DATA ASSOCIATION ENGINE FOR CREATING SEARCHABLE DATABASES

• US 20110010304A1
• Filed: 07/23/2008
• Published: 01/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: E2G2 Incorporated
• Original Assignee: E2G2 Incorporated
• Inventors: Chan Wong, David, Chan Wong, Frankie
• Application Number:
  US12/670,355
• Publication Number:
  US 20110010304A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/317
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0276 Advertisement creation

Abstract

A point-of-license data collection and indexing system comprises a form database, a business database, a data entry tool, a rules database, a data association engine, and a reporting tool. The data entry tool is configured to commence a data entry session and to receive data required to complete a business licensing form and non-license business data during the same session. The business database is configured to store the entered business data. The data association engine is configured to consult the rules engine and to determine associations between items of data stored in the business database to facilitate searching of the business database using a search engine. The reporting tool is configured generate reports based on the business database, to make the license business data accessible to a government, and to make the non-license business data accessible to the public using a search engine.

Claims

1. A point of license system, comprising:

at least one computer processor;

a memory;

a data transmission port;

a data reception port; and

a program stored at least in part in the memory which, when executed by the at least one computer processor, generates first output signals transmitted from the data transmission port to prompt a user to provide first business license data, the first business license data representing information useful for determining whether to issue a business license, the program responsive to first input signals received at the data reception port representative of the first business license data to generate second output signals transmitted from the data transmission port to prompt a user to provide first non-business license data, the first non-business license data indicative of at least one advertising decision made by the user.

2. The point of license system of claim 1, wherein the program is responsive to second input signals received at the data reception port representative of the first non-business license data to generate third output signals transmitted from the data transmission port to inform at least one advertiser about the at least one advertising decision made by the user.

3. The point of license system of claim 1, wherein the data transmission port and the data reception port are the same port.

4. A point of license system, comprising:

at least one computer processor;

a memory;

a data transmission port;

a data reception port; and

a program stored at least in part in the memory which, when executed by the at least one computer processor, generates first output signals transmitted from the data transmission port to prompt a user to provide first business license data, the first business license data representing information useful for determining whether to issue a business license, the program responsive to first input signals received at the data reception port representative of the first business license data to generate second output signals transmitted from the data transmission port to prompt a user to provide first non-business license data, the first non-business license data indicative of at least one sponsorship decision made by the user.

5. The point of license system of claim 4, wherein the sponsorship decision indicates whether the user will agree to sponsor an event or an organization.

6. The point of license system of claim 5, wherein the program is responsive to second input signals received at the data reception port representative of the first non-business license data to generate third output signals transmitted from the data transmission port to inform another party about the at least one sponsorship decision made by the user.

7. The point of license system of claim 4, wherein the data transmission port and the data reception port are the same port.

8. A point of license system, comprising:

at least one computer processor;

a memory;

a data transmission port;

a data reception port; and

a program stored at least in part in the memory which, when executed by the at least one computer processor, generates first output signals transmitted from the data transmission port to prompt a user to provide first business license data, the first business license data representing information useful for determining whether to issue a business license for a first business, the program responsive to first input signals received at the data reception port representative of the first business license data to generate second output signals transmitted from the data transmission port to prompt a user to provide first non-business license data, the first non-business license data indicative of at least one bid registration decision made by the user.

9. The point of license system of claim 8, wherein the bid registration decision indicates whether the user will agree to register the first business to receive information about items for which the first business may submit bids.

10. The point of license system of claim 9, wherein the program is responsive to second input signals received at the data reception port representative of the first non-business license data to generate and store data indicating that the first business is registered to receive information about items for which the first business may submit bids.

11. The point of license system of claim 8, wherein the data transmission port and the data reception port are the same port.

12. A license application system, comprising:

at least one computer processor;

a memory;

a communication port;

a data entry device; and

a program stored at least in part in the memory which, when executed by the at least one computer processor, receives first input signals from the communication port, the first input signals representing one or more prompts prompting a user to provide first business license data, the first business license data representing information useful for determining whether to issue a business license for a first business, the program responsive to first data entry signals received from the data entry device to generate first output signals transmitted to the communication port, the first output signals representative of the first business license data, the program responsive to second input signals received from the communication port to prompt a user to provide first non-business license data, the first non-business license data indicative of at least one advertising decision made by the user.

13. The license application system of claim 12 wherein the advertising decision indicates whether the first business will agree to advertise products or services.

14. The license application system of claim 13 wherein the second input signals represent at least one manner in which products or services may be advertised.

15. A license application system, comprising:

at least one computer instruction processor;

a memory;

a communication port;

a data entry device; and

a program stored at least in part in the memory which, when executed by the at least one computer instruction processor, receives first input signals from the communication port, the first input signals representing one or more prompts prompting a user to provide first business license data, the first business license data representing information useful for determining whether to issue a business license for a first business, the program responsive to first data entry signals received from the data entry device to generate first output signals transmitted to the communication port, the first output signals representative of the first business license data, the program responsive to second input signals received from the communication port to prompt a user to provide first non-business license data, the first non-business license data indicative of at least one sponsoring decision made by the user.

16. The license application system of claim 15 wherein the sponsoring decision indicates whether the first business will agree to sponsor an event or an organization.

17. The license application system of claim 15 wherein the second input signals represent at least one sponsorship opportunity.

18. A license application system, comprising:

at least one computer instruction processor;

a memory;

a communication port;

a data entry device; and

a program stored at least in part in the memory which, when executed by the at least one computer instruction processor, receives first input signals from the communication port, the first input signals representing one or more prompts prompting a user to provide first business license data, the first business license data representing information useful for determining whether to issue a business license for a first business, the program responsive to first data entry signals received from the data entry device to generate first output signals transmitted to the communication port, the first output signals representative of the first business license data, the program responsive to second input signals received from the communication port to prompt a user to provide first non-business license data, the first non-business license data indicative of at least one bid registration decision made by the user.

19. The license application system of claim 18 wherein the bid registration decision indicates whether the user will agree to register the first business to receive information about items for which the first business may submit bids.

20. The license application system of claim 18 wherein the program is responsive to second data entry signals received from the data entry device to generate second output signals transmitted to the communication port, the second output signals representative of the at least one bid registration decision.

21. A point-of-license data collection and indexing system comprising:

a form database comprising electronic forms that each define data fields for license business data that a business is requested to provide to apply for a license;

a business database configured to store license business data and non-license business data comprising business data that a business is not required to provide to apply for a license;

a data entry tool configured to commence a data entry session, to retrieve at least one of the electronic forms from the forms database, serve the defined data fields to a web browser during the data entry session such that the web browser can prompt a user to enter data associated with the defined data fields, serve additional data fields to the web browser during the data entry session seeking non-license business data such that the web browser can prompt the user to enter data associated with the additional data fields, to receive license business data and non-license business data from the web browser, and to cause the license business data and the non-license business data to be stored in the business database;

a rules database comprising information defining rules for determining associations between items of data stored in the business database;

a data association engine configured to use rules stored in the rules database to determine associations between items of data stored in the business database so as to organize the business database to allow the business database to be searched using a search engine; and

a reporting tool configured to search the business database and generate reports based on the business database, to make at least a portion of the license business data accessible to a government, and to make at least a portion of the non-license business data accessible to the public using a search engine.

22. The system of claim 21, further comprising form design tools configured to allow a government user to define forms for entry into the form database.

23. The system of claim 22, further comprising a standard questions database comprising common data fields for a licensing form, wherein the form generation tools comprise a standard questions selector configured to allow the government user to select one or more of the common data fields stored in the standard questions database for inclusion on a form.

24. The system of claim 22, further comprising a fee calculation rules database comprising calculation rules that may be combined to define fee calculation logic for calculating fees for a business applying for a license, wherein the form generation tools comprise a fee calculation definition tool configured to allow the government user to select and combine one or more of the fee calculation rules to define fee calculation logic.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the fee calculation rules are associated with business classifications and the fee calculation definition tool is configured to allow the government user to define fee calculation rules that are specific to businesses having particular classifications.

26. The system of claim 21, further comprising an advertising vendor database comprising associations between advertising options and business characteristics and an advertisement selector configured, during the data entry session, to determine one or more advertising options for the business for which data is being entered, the determination being based on at least one business characteristic of the business and at least one association between the business characteristic and at least one advertising option, and to present the advertising options to the business for selection.

27. The system of claim 21, further comprising an organization database comprising information about organizations and opportunities to sponsor the organizations and associations between the organizations and opportunities of sponsorship and business characteristics, and a sponsorship tool configured, during the data entry session, to determine one or more sponsorship opportunities for the business for which data is being entered, the determination being based on at least one business characteristic of the business and at least one association between the business characteristic and at least one organization or sponsorship opportunity, and to present the sponsorship opportunities to the business for selection.

28. The system of claim 21, further comprising a business opportunity database comprising information about opportunities for businesses to enter into business transactions and associations between the business opportunities and business characteristics, and a business opportunity search tool configured to find one or more business opportunities for a business, the determination being based on at least one business characteristic of the business and at least one association between the business characteristic and at least one business opportunity, and to present the business opportunity to the business for response.

29. A point-of-license data entry system comprising:

a display;

a data entry device; and

a terminal configured to commence a data entry session, to receive license data fields pertaining to data that a business is requested to provide in a process of applying for a license, to receive non-license data fields seeking non-license business data pertaining to data that the business is not required to provide in the process of applying for a license, to prompt a user to enter information during the session into the license data fields and the non-license data fields, and to transmit the entered information for storage in a business database, wherein the non-license data fields include hours of operation of the business.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the terminal is further configured to receive, during the data entry session, one or more advertisement options chosen based on an association between at least one characteristic of the business and the advertisement options, and to select one or more of the advertisement options so as to begin a process of advertising the business via the selected advertisement options.

31. The system of claim 29, wherein the terminal is further configured to receive, during the data entry session, one or more organization sponsorship options chosen based on an association between at least one characteristic of the business and the organization sponsorship options, and to select one or more of the organization sponsorship options so as to begin a process of sponsoring organizations in accordance with the selected advertisement options.

32. The system of claim 29, wherein the terminal is further configured to receive, one or more business opportunities chosen based on an association between at least one characteristic of the business and the business opportunities, to allow a user to enter a response to the business opportunities, and to transmit the response.

33. A method of providing a service at a point-of-license, the method comprising:

executing a computer-based process to commence a business license data entry session;

obtaining first business data from an applicant for a business license during the data entry session; and

obtaining advertising data from the applicant during the data entry session, the advertising data indicative of a decision to advertise products or services related to the first business data.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising presenting a first set of advertising options to the applicant during the data entry session.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising selecting the first set of advertising options based on a relationship between the first business data and each advertising option in the first set.

36. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

storing advertising options;

associating one or more business characteristics with each of the stored advertising options;

selecting a first set of advertising options based on the first business data matching at least one business characteristic that is associated with each of the first set of advertising options; and

presenting the first set of advertising options to the applicant for selection by the applicant.

37. The method of claim 33, further comprising charging the applicant a fee for advertising services.

38. A method of providing a service at a point-of-license, the method comprising:

executing a computer-based process to commence a business license data entry session;

obtaining first business data from an applicant for a business license during the data entry session; and

obtaining organization sponsorship data from the applicant during the data entry session, the organization sponsorship data indicative of a decision to sponsor an organization having a relationship to the first business data.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising presenting a first set of organization sponsorship options to the applicant during the data entry session.

40. The method of claim 39, further comprising selecting the first set of organization sponsorship options based on a relationship between the first business data and each organization sponsorship option in the first set.

41. The method of claim 38, further comprising:

storing organization sponsorship options;

associating one or more business characteristics with each of the stored organization sponsorship options;

selecting a first set of organization sponsorship options based on the first business data matching at least one business characteristic that is associated with each of the first set of organization sponsorship options; and

presenting the first set of organization sponsorship options to the applicant for selection by the applicant.

42. The method of claim 38, further comprising charging the applicant a fee for organization sponsorship services.

43. The method of claim 38, further comprising:

requesting approval from an organization selected for sponsorship; and

performing a transaction related to sponsorship of the organization upon receiving approval from the organization of the sponsorship.

44. A method of providing a service at a point-of-license, the method comprising:

executing a computer-based process to commence a business license data entry session;

obtaining first business data from an applicant for a business license during the data entry session;

obtaining an indication from the applicant during the data entry session that the applicant wants to have access to business opportunities related to the first business data;

granting access to the business opportunities;

selecting a first set of business opportunities related to the first business data; and

presenting the first set of business opportunities to a business user associated with the applicant.

45. The method of claim 44, further comprising receiving a request from the business user associated with the applicant to search for business opportunities related to the first business data.

46. The method of claim 44, further comprising receiving a request from the business user to receive alerts of business opportunities, wherein the operation of selecting a first set of business opportunities is performed periodically, and wherein the operation of presenting the first set of business opportunities is performed by transmitting the first set of business opportunities to the business user.

47. The method of claim 44, further comprising:

storing business opportunities;

associating one or more business characteristics with each of the stored business opportunities; and

selecting the first set of business opportunities to the business user based on the first business data matching at least one business characteristic that is associated with each of the first set of business opportunities.

48. The method of claim 44, further comprising charging the applicant a fee for business opportunity services.

49. A point of license system, comprising:

at least one computer instruction processor;

a memory;

a data transmission port;

a data reception port; and

a program stored at least in part in the memory which, when executed by the at least one computer processor, generates first output signals transmitted from the data transmission port to prompt a user to provide first business license data, the first business license data representing information useful for determining whether to issue a business license for a first business, the program responsive to first input signals received at the data reception port representative of the first business license data to generate second output signals transmitted from the data transmission port to prompt the user to provide first non-business license data, the first non-business license data descriptive of at least one aspect of the first business, the program generating third output signals transmitted from the data transmission port to prompt the user to provide second non-business license data, the second non-business license data representing a decision as to whether the first business will agree to advertise products and services, the program generating fourth output signals transmitted from the data transmission port to prompt the user to provide third non-business license data, the third non-business license data representing a decision as to whether the first business will agree to sponsor at least one event or organization, the program generating fifth output signals transmitted from the data transmission port to prompt the user to provide fourth non-business license data, the fourth non-business license data representing a decision as to whether the first business will agree to receive information about items for which it may submit bids.

50. The point of license system of claim 49 wherein the program uses first non-business license data received at the data reception port to select first advertising options and generates sixth output signals transmitted from the data transmission port, the sixth output signals representative of the selected advertising options.

51. The point of license system of claim 49 wherein the program uses first non-business license data received at the data reception port to select sponsorship options and generates sixth output signals transmitted from the data transmission port, the sixth output signals representative of the selected sponsorship options.

52. The point of license system of claim 49, further comprising:

a search engine; and

a database, wherein the first business license data includes geographical information describing a location of the first business, wherein the program stores the geographical information in the database in association with the first business, wherein the program stores the first non-business license data in the database in association with the first business, and where the search engine receives search parameters including a first parameter indicative of a geographical region and a second parameter indicative of an aspect of a business, and compares the first parameter to the geographical information stored in the database and compares the second parameter to the first non-business license data in the database and generates search result information indicative of the first business.

53. The point of license system of claim 49, wherein the data transmission port and the data reception port are the same port.

54. A point of license system, comprising:

at least one computer processor;

a memory;

a data transmission port;

a data reception port; and

a program stored at least in part in the memory which, when executed by the at least one computer processor, generates first output signals transmitted from the data transmission port to prompt a user to provide first business license data, the first business license data representing information useful for determining whether to issue a business license for a first business, the program responsive to first input signals received at the data reception port representative of the first business license data to generate second output signals transmitted from the data transmission port to prompt a user to provide first non-business license data, the first non-business license data descriptive of at least one aspect of the first business, the program responsive to second input signals received at the data reception port representative of the first non-business license data to generate third output signals indicative of at least one selected product or service, the program comparing at least a portion of the first non-business license data to stored information representing one or more attributes of each of a plurality of products and services to select the at least one selected product or service.

55. The point of license system of claim 54 wherein the third output signals are transmitted from the data transmission port.

56. The point of license system of claim 54 wherein the data transmission port and the data reception port are the same port.