On-line appointment system with electronic notifications
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A computer implemented method for providing on-line appointment services over a global computer network, said method comprising:
- registering service providers for on-line appointments over the global computer network, said registering providing appointment availability information for the registered service providers;
requesting an on-line appointment between a user and one of the registered service providers over the global computer network based on the availability information;
sending an electronic notification message to the associated one of the registered service providers informing the registered service provider that an on-line appointment has been requested with them;
receiving a confirmation or a decline decision for the on-line appointment being requested from the registered service provider; and
electronically notifying the user requesting the on-line appointment of the confirmation or decline via email, andwherein the on-line appointment services are available to at least one non-registered service provider on a limited basis, which motivates the non-registered service provider to become a registered service provider, the non-registered service provider participates in the on-line appointment services on the limited basis by way of permitting up to a predetermined number of appointment requests and appointment confirmations for the non-registered service provider.
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Abstract
Improved approaches to providing on-line appointments over a network are disclosed. The network is, for example, a global computer network such as the Internet. One of the improved approaches provides various notifications to requestors pertaining to appointments with individuals or businesses (e.g., service providers). In one implementation, the notifications can be provided by electronic mail. Another of the improved approaches allows notifications pertaining to requested appointments to be provided to service providers that have not previously registered to receive on-line appointments.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A computer implemented method for providing on-line appointment services over a global computer network, said method comprising:
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registering service providers for on-line appointments over the global computer network, said registering providing appointment availability information for the registered service providers; requesting an on-line appointment between a user and one of the registered service providers over the global computer network based on the availability information; sending an electronic notification message to the associated one of the registered service providers informing the registered service provider that an on-line appointment has been requested with them; receiving a confirmation or a decline decision for the on-line appointment being requested from the registered service provider; and electronically notifying the user requesting the on-line appointment of the confirmation or decline via email, and wherein the on-line appointment services are available to at least one non-registered service provider on a limited basis, which motivates the non-registered service provider to become a registered service provider, the non-registered service provider participates in the on-line appointment services on the limited basis by way of permitting up to a predetermined number of appointment requests and appointment confirmations for the non-registered service provider. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for providing an on-line appointment between a user and a service provider over a network, said method comprising:
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(a) receiving a request for appointment availability of the service provider during a time period; (b) determining available appointment times within the time period for the service provider; (c) transmitting the available appointment times to the user; (d) receiving a selected appointment time from the available appointment times; (e) requesting the on-line appointment between the user and the service provider at the selected appointment time; and (f) sending an electronic notification message to the service provider informing the service provider that the on-line appointment has been requested with the service provider at the selected appointment time, wherein the service provider is either a registered service provider or a non-registered service provider for scheduling of on-line appointments over the network, and wherein a user is able to schedule with a non-registered service provider the on-line appointment over the network on a limited basis, which motivates the non-registered service provider to become a registered service provider, the non-registered service provider participates in the on-line appointment services on the limited basis by way of permitting up to a predetermined number of appointment requests and appointment confirmations for the non-registered service provider. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for providing an on-line appointment over a network, said method comprising:
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(a) transmitting a user'"'"'s electronic calendar to a user; (b) transmitting a list of available service providers to the user; (c) receiving a request for appointment availability of a selected one of the available service providers; (d) determining available time slots for the selected one of the available service providers; (e) transmitting the available time slots to the user; (f) receiving a time slot selection from the available time slots to establish an appointment with the selected one of the available service providers; (g) updating the user'"'"'s electronic calendar with the appointment; (h) updating an electronic calendar for the selected one of the available service providers with the appointment; and (i) sending an electronic notification message to the selected one of the available service providers informing the service provider that the appointment has been requested with them at the time slot selected, wherein the on-line appointment with a non-registered service provider is able to be scheduled with by a user over the network on a limited basis, which motivates the non-registered service provider to become a registered service provider, non-registered service provider participates in the on-line appointment services on the limited basis by way of permitting up to a predetermined number of appointment requests and appointment confirmations for the non-registered service provider. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An on-line appointment system, comprising:
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an appointment server coupled to the Internet, said appointment server manages registering of service providers as well as scheduling of appointments between requestors and service providers; and an appointment database coupled to said appointment server, said appointment database stores on-line calendars for the service providers and the requesters that have registered with said appointment server, the on-line calendars also including appointment indications for the appointments scheduled with said appointment server, said appointment database also stores a directory of service providers with appointment availability information of the service providers, with whom appointment can be scheduled, wherein the directory of service providers includes not only those of the service providers that have registered with said appointment server but also a plurality of service providers that have not yet registered with said appointment server, and wherein at least one of the not-yet registered service providers is allowed appointment scheduling using said appointment server on a limited basis, which motivates the not-yet registered service provider to become a registered service provider, the non-registered service provider participates in the on-line appointment services on the limited basis by way of permitting up to a predetermined number of appointment requests and appointment confirmations for the non-registered service provider. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification