Server for enabling the automatic insertion of data into electronic forms on a user computer

• US 6,490,601 B1
• Filed: 01/15/1999
• Issued: 12/03/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Liberty Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: InfoSpace, Inc. (Blucora Incorporated)
• Inventors: Herrarte, Erick M., Markus, Matthew A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph H.
• Application Number:
  US09/231,644
• Time in Patent Office: 1,418 Days
• Field of Search: 707/507-508, 707/100, 707/505, 707/513, 705/35, 705/37, 705/80, 709/217-219
• US Class Current: 715/207
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2115 Third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation

Abstract

Apparatus, methods, and computer program products are disclosed for constructing and transmitting an executable software module on a personal information server to a remote computer. The software module is constructed such that once received by a browser displaying a form, it is executed and user data is automatically inserted into an electronic form. The software module contains field names from a downloaded form and matching data items which are inserted into the form on the remote user computer. A method for constructing a shippable software module on a personal information server suitable for execution on a remote computer for inserting data strings into an electronic form is described. A form mapping containing a set of associations between fields in the electronic form (“non-standard fields”) and pre-named fields (“standard fields”) on the personal information server is retrieved. Each mapping is associated with a registered electronic form. A raw data file containing data strings, each data string corresponding to a pre-named field is retrieved. Each raw data file is associated with a registered user. The form mapping is utilized to attach a data string to the field in the electronic form where the pre-named field and the field in the electronic form have been previously matched or mapped.

Claims

1. A method for constructing a shippable software module on a personal information server suitable for execution on a remote computer for inserting data strings into an electronic form, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a remote computer for a shippable software module suitable for execution on the remote computer for inserting data strings into the electronic form;

retrieving a form mapping containing a plurality of associations between fields in the electronic form and pre-named fields on the personal information server, the mapping being associated with the electronic form;

retrieving a raw data file containing data strings from a plurality of raw data files, each data string corresponding to a pre-named field and the raw data file being associated with a particular user;

dynamically constructing a shippable software module suitable for execution on the remote computer for inserting data strings into an electronic form utilizing the form mapping and the raw data file and comparing an intended-practice condition associated with each field in the electronic form as determined by a form-originating server, with a use-preference condition associated with each pre-named field as determined by the particular user; and

transmitting the shippable software module to the remote computer.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising attaching a data string from the raw data file corresponding to a pre-named field to the shippable software module for insertion into the field in the electronic form when the intended-practice condition of the field is consistent with the use-preference condition of the pre-named field.

3. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein receiving a request from a remote computer further comprises receiving a user identifier associated with the particular user and a form identifier associated with the electronic form, and wherein the remote computer issues the request when the electronic form is downloaded by the particular user.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising declining to attach a data string from the raw data file corresponding to a pre-named field to the shippable software module for insertion into the field in the electronic form when the intended-practice condition of the field is inconsistent with the use-preference condition of the pre-named field.

5. The method as recited in claim 4 wherein the intended-practice condition and the use-preference condition are collections of type-of-use descriptors.

6. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein dynamically constructing a shippable software module suitable for execution on the remote computer for inserting data strings into an electronic form utilizing the form mapping and the raw data file further comprises examining a plurality of negotiation objects for one of an acceptance and decline, each negotiation object resulting from comparing data relating to the field in the electronic form to data relating to the pre-named field.

7. The method as recited in claim 6 further comprising constructing a JavaScript module from each negotiation object resulting in an acceptance.

8. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the shippable software module is a JavaScript program.

9. A server for enabling the automatic insertion of data strings into an electronic form having a plurality of fields displayed on a remote computer capable of communicating with the server, the server comprising:

a first memory area for storing a plurality of raw data profiles, each raw data profile corresponding to an associated registered user;

a second memory area for storing a plurality of form mappings, each form mapping corresponding to an associated registered form;

a comparison module for comparing user-preference data determined by an associated registered user contained in the plurality of raw data profiles with practice-preference data determined by a form-originating server contained in the plurality of form mappings; and

a software module constructor for dynamically constructing and transmitting a shippable program suitable for execution on a remote computer to insert data strings into an electronic form on the remote computer.

10. The server as recited in claim 9 wherein each raw data profile includes a plurality of standard field names, each standard field name having a corresponding data string and a use-preference data item as determined by the associated registered user.

11. The server as recited in claim 10 wherein each form mapping includes a plurality of non-standard field names from the electronic form, each non-standard field name being mapped to a standard field name and having a practice-preference data item as determined by a form provider.

12. The server as recited in claim 9 wherein the comparison module contains a plurality of conditions from which the practice-preference data and the use-preference data are defined.

13. The server as recited in claim 9 further comprising a negotiation history module containing a plurality of negotiation modules, each negotiation module containing an offer component and one of an acceptance component and a decline component.

14. The server as recited in claim 13 wherein the acceptance component further comprises a data string corresponding to at least one of the plurality of fields in the electronic form.

15. The server as recited in claim 9 wherein the shippable program is a JavaScript program containing instructions regarding fields in which to insert each data string in the electronic form on the remote computer.

16. The server as recited in claim 15 wherein the shippable program further comprises the plurality of data strings to be inserted in the electronic form.

17. The server as recited in claim 9 further comprising a registered user index for locating a particular raw data profile given a user identifier corresponding to a registered user.

18. The server as recited in claim 17 wherein the user identifier is a cookie.

19. The server as recited in claim 9 further comprising a form mapping index for locating a particular form mapping given an electronic form identifier.

20. The server as recited in claim 19 wherein the electronic form identifier is a Uniform Resource Locator.

21. A method for constructing a shippable software module on a personal information server suitable for execution on a remote computer for inserting data strings into an electronic form, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a remote computer for a shippable software module suitable for execution on the remote computer for inserting data strings into the electronic form;

retrieving a form mapping containing a plurality of associations between fields in the electronic form and pre-named fields on the personal information server, the mapping being associated with the electronic form;

retrieving a raw data file containing data strings from a plurality of raw data files, each data string corresponding to a pre-named field and the raw data file being associated with a particular user;

dynamically constructing a shippable software module suitable for execution on the remote computer for inserting data strings into an electronic form utilizing the form mapping and the raw data file;

transmitting the shippable software module to the remote computer;

registering one or more electronic forms prior to retrieving a form mapping, wherein registering one or more electronic forms comprises obtaining an electronic form so that a form mapping for a plurality of associations between fields in the electronic form and pre-named fields on the personal information server can be generated;

obtaining intended-practice conditions for each of a plurality of fields in the electronic form; and

embedding within the electronic form an executable linking module capable of sending a request from the remote computer to the personal information module for a shippable software module suitable for execution on the remote computer for inserting data strings into the electronic form.

22. A method for constructing a shippable software module on a personal information server suitable for execution on a remote computer for inserting data strings into an electronic form, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a remote computer for a shippable software module suitable for execution on the remote computer for inserting data strings into the electronic form;

retrieving a form mapping containing a plurality of associations between fields in the electronic form and pre-named fields on the personal information server, the mapping being associated with the electronic form;

retrieving a raw data file containing data strings from a plurality of raw data files, each data string corresponding to a pre-named field and the raw data file being associated with a particular user;

dynamically constructing a shippable software module suitable for execution on the remote computer for inserting data strings into an electronic form utilizing the form mapping and the raw data file; and

transmitting the shippable software module to the remote computer;

wherein the particular user is previously registered with the personal information server, and wherein registering the particular user with the personal information server comprises;

providing the particular user'"'"'s raw data corresponding to pre-named fields on the personal information server; and

providing use-preference conditions for the particular user'"'"'s raw data corresponding to each of the plurality of pre-named fields.