Inventory determination for facilitating commercial transactions during diagnostic tests
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for procuring goods or services during a power-on self-test (POST) of a client, comprising:
- during the POST of the client, performing;
determining a good of the client requiring replacement;
contacting a server over a network; and
procuring repair or replacement of the good from the server.
23 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The invention provides for facilitating e-commerce transactions between a client and a server over a network. In particular, a client, such as a client computing device, can perform a diagnostic test, such as a power-on self-test, and determine during the test any goods requiring replacement (e.g., acquiring a substitute good, repair, or upgrade). The client may then contact a server, such as a vendor or a technical support department, for procuring such replacement. In one embodiment, the server sends the client diagnostic commands so as to allow remote diagnosis of operability of the client.
21 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method for procuring goods or services during a power-on self-test (POST) of a client, comprising:
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during the POST of the client, performing;
determining a good of the client requiring replacement;
contacting a server over a network; and
procuring repair or replacement of the good from the server. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
automatically determining a failure during the POST; and
automatically executing a procurement program, responsive to determining the failure, for procuring the repair or replacement of the good.
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3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
exiting an operating system for the client before initiating the POST.
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4. The method of claim 1, further comprising;
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using an expert system for said determining the good requiring replacement, contacting, and procuring;
wherein the expert system is configured to communicate with the server over the network for said procuring.
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5. The method of claim 4, wherein said determining includes identifying a duty cycle for the good requiring replacement, such that the good requires replacement when at the end of its duty cycle.
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6. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining includes identifying a duty cycle for the good requiring replacement, such that the good requires replacement when at the end of its duty cycle.
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7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
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inspecting the client to identify installed goods of the client;
preparing an inspection log of said installed goods;
submitting the inspection log to the server over the network; and
receiving a list of goods offered by the server, said list determined according to the inspection log;
wherein said procuring proceeds if the good requiring replacement is a member of said list of goods offered by the server.
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8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
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receiving one or more remote diagnostic commands; and
executing by the client said remote diagnostic commands so as to allow the server to analyze operability of the client.
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9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
using an expert system configured to utilize a tag based markup language (HTML) to communicate with the server over the network for said procuring.
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10. A readable medium having instructions encoded thereon capable of directing a processor to perform, during a power-on self-test (POST) of a client computing device:
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determining a good of said client computing device requiring replacement;
contacting a server over a network; and
procuring replacement of the good from the server. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
inspect the client computing device to identify installed goods of the client computing device;
prepare an inspection log of said installed goods;
submit the inspection log to the server over the network;
receive a list of goods offered by the server, said list determined according to the inspection log; and
procure replacement of said good if said good is a member of said list of goods offered by the server.
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16. The readable medium of claim 10, said instructions including further instructions for directing the processor to:
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receive one or more remote diagnostic commands; and
execute by the client said remote diagnostic commands so as to allow the server to analyze operability of the client computing device.
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17. The readable medium of claim 10, said instructions including further instructions for directing the processor to:
execute an expert system configured to utilize a tag based markup language (HTML) to communicate with the server over the network to procure replacement of said good.
Specification