Active reservation system

• US 6,477,503 B1
• Filed: 12/20/1999
• Issued: 11/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Robert O. Mankes
• Original Assignee: Robert O. Mankes
• Inventors: Mankes, Robert O.
• Primary Examiner(s): RIMELL, SAMUEL G
• Application Number:
  US09/467,501
• Time in Patent Office: 1,051 Days
• Field of Search: 705/5, 705/6, 340/825.28, 340/825.29
• US Class Current: 705/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events

Abstract

An active reservation system that allows an event vendor to maintain a stand-alone inventory control system which ties directly to an active reservation server, which in turn is distributed through Internet-based reservation systems (web sites) to the users of the Internet. The reservation system includes a local event server that provides the means of maintaining the inventory and the communications with the active reservation server. The local event server allows the event vendor to allocate, control and reserve their inventory at their place of business. This server can then communicate over a network to an active reservation server, which maintains data that Internet-based reservation systems use to provide access to the inventory. The event vendor maintains total control over their inventory while allowing access to that inventory by a much larger audience.

Claims

1. A method for operating an Internet based active reservation system for the purchase of goods and services, comprising:

(a) providing an owner event server located at and operated by a local event owner having an available inventory of goods and services at a local site;

(b) providing an active reservation server located at and operated by user remote from said local site, said active reservation server accepting only data from said owner event server and formatting said data for viewing by an Internet-based consumer;

(c) allocating said available inventory by only said owner event server at all times between local inventory and Internet inventory;

(d) adjusting said available inventory by only said event owner at said owner event server at all times based on purchases of goods and services at said local event site;

(e) communicating said allocated Internet inventory only to said active reservation server;

(f) receiving purchase requests for goods and services in said Internet inventory at said active reservation server from said Internet-based consumer;

(g) communicating said purchase requests from said active reservation server to said owner event server;

(h) accepting said purchase requests solely at said local event server and adjusting said Internet inventory only by said owner event server at all times to establish an adjusted Internet inventory;

(i) communicating said accepting and said adjusted Internet inventory from said owner event server to said active reservation server; and

(j) communicating said accepting and confirmation indicia relative thereto from said active reservation system to said Internet consumer.

2. A method for operating a system for locally and remotely reserving the purchase of goods and services, comprising:

establishing an local event server located at a local site;

establishing a reservation server at a remote site;

communicating said local event server with said reservation server through a first Internet connection;

maintaining on said local server an inventory of available goods and services;

designating a rate structure for each of said goods and services;

allocating a portion of said inventory at all times only at said local event server as reservation server inventory including said rate structure;

communicating said reservation server inventory at all times only by said local event server to said reservation server;

making available to consumers through secondary Internet connections said reservation server inventory in a reservation server selected format;

receiving from consumers through said secondary Internet connection prospective reservations from said consumers for discrete items in said reservation server inventory and consumer identification indicia for such consumers;

communicating said prospective reservations from said reservation server to said local server;

accepting said prospective reservations only at said local server at all times for said discrete items and removing said discrete items from said reservation inventory only at said local server at all times to establish an adjusted reservation server inventory;

creating confirmation accepting indicia of said accepting at said local server;

communicating said adjusted reservation server inventory and said confirmation accepting indicia from said local server to said reservation server;

communicating said confirmation accepting indicia from said reservation server to said consumers; and

making available to consumers through said secondary Internet connections said adjusted reservation server inventory in a reservation server selected format.

3. A method for system for the reserving goods and services at a local site, comprising:

providing a first server located at said local site and establishing thereon an available inventory of goods and services available at a local site;

providing an active reservation server located at a remote site not connected with said local site, said active reservation server only accepting data at all times from said owner event server and only formatting said data for viewing by an Internet-based consumer;

designating on said local server a compilation of available inventory allocated only at said at said local server at all times between local inventory and Internet inventory;

accepting reservations for the goods and services only at said local site at all times and adjusting said available inventory at said local server in accordance with said adjusting based on purchases of goods and services at said local event site and adjusting said Internet inventory as required to establish a current Internet inventory;

communicating said current Internet inventory as data to said reservation server;

displaying said current Internet inventory at said reservation server in a reservation server selected format on a web site for viewing by prospective consumers;

receiving purchase requests at said reservation server for goods and services as displayed in said selected format on said web site from consumers for items available in said current Internet;

communicating said purchase requests from said reservation server to said local server;

accepting said purchase requests only at said local server at all times;

adjusting said current Internet inventory to establish an adjusted Internet inventory accounting for the accepting of said purchase requests;

communicating said accepting and said adjusted Internet inventory from said local server to said reservation server; and

(j) communicating said reservation server to said consumer through an Internet connection.

4. A locally maintained reservation system for the local and remote reservation of available items, said reservation system comprising:

local server means including inventory control means for compiling available items for reservation;

means operatively associated with said local server means allocating only at said local server means at all times at least a portion of said available items for remote reservation through an Internet-based web site on reservation serving means;

means for communicating to said reservation server means an itemization of said portion of available items and rates and conditions attendant thereto;

means associated with said local server means for receiving from said reservation serving means prospective reservations for discrete items in said portion of available items;

means associated with said local server means for accepting said prospective reservations only at said local server means at all times and adjusting said portion of available items only at said local server means at all times in accordance therewith to establish a revised portion; and

means associated only with said local server means at all times for communicating to said reservation server means said revised portion and supplanting the prior portion whereby reservations and said local site and remote site can be simultaneously processed without redundancy.