System and method for utilizing a drag and drop technique to complete electronic forms

• US 7,350,139 B1
• Filed: 06/16/2000
• Issued: 03/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Liberty Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (American Express Company)
• Inventors: Simons, Geoffrey W.
• Primary Examiner(s): HUYNH, CONG LAC T
• Application Number:
  US09/595,622
• Time in Patent Office: 2,839 Days
• Field of Search: 715/505, 715/506, 715/507, 715/508, 715/501.1, 715/500, 715/760, 715/769, 345/760, 345/769
• US Class Current: 715/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/36 by graphic or iconic representation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging

Abstract

A system and method for utilizing a drag and drop technique to complete electronic forms are provided. A document browser computer (30) accesses one or more electronic forms provided by a document server (32) via an active Internet browser application window. A URL link to a fill server (34) is established and a separate application window is created on the document browser display (66). A user ID, password and signature of the electronic form are passed from the document browser computer (30) to the fill server (34). The fill server (34) creates a fill bundle including shippable code corresponding to a merger of raw user data from a user profile and a form map derived from the electronic form signature. The fill bundle is returned to the document browser computer (30) and presented on the browser computer'"'"'s display as an icon (111) within the open fill bundle window (110). The fill bundle icon (111) is selected and dragged from the fill bundle window (110) to an electronic form application window (93) causing the shippable code to be executed. Accordingly, one or more fields are completed and the form may be submitted o the requesting provider.

Claims

1. A method for completing an electronic form comprising:

creating a user profile associated with a user, wherein the user profile includes user data;

configuring a security level to associate with the user data, wherein the security level associates a subset of the user data to a form type;

obtaining an electronic form having a field to be completed;

dynamically generating a form map, wherein the form map identifies an association between the user data and the field in the electronic form;

obtaining the user profile from a fill server upon receiving a request from a client computer, wherein the fill server and the client computer are distinct devices;

retrieving the subset of the user data from the user profile based on the form type of the electronic form;

completing the field according to the form map with the subset of the user data;

parsing the subset of the user data from the field to create field data;

comparing the field data to the corresponding user data in the user profile; and

,

replacing the user data in the user profile with the field data, when the field data is different from the user data in the user profile.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining a user profile includes:

transmitting a user identification and a signature of the electronic form to the fill server; and

obtaining the user profile from the fill server, wherein the user profile corresponds to the user identification.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the user identification includes a user ID and a user password.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein the electronic form signature includes a text string having a uniform resource locator of the electronic form.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the electronic form signature includes a descriptor of the one or more fields of the electronic form.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein the electronic form signature includes a descriptor of form field requirements.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the user profile is represented by a graphical icon on a display screen and wherein the subset of the user data is transferred to the electronic form on manipulation of the graphical icon within the display screen.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the user profile includes shippable code embodying the subset of the user data corresponding to the fields of the electronic form, and wherein completing at least one of the fields of the electronic form includes executing the shippable code to complete at least one of the fields of the electronic form.

9. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the step of obtaining the user profile from the fill server comprises displaying a second application indicative of the user profile containing data corresponding to the field of the electronic form according to the form map.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the step of dynamically generating the form map comprises generating a fill bundle corresponding to a merger of the subset of the user data within at least one of the user profile and the form map corresponding to a form signature, wherein the fill bundle is embodied in a graphical representation.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, further comprising obtaining the user profile corresponding to a user identification from a database having a user profile organized according to the user identification.

12. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising when the fill server does not include the form map corresponding to a form signature, generating a new form map based upon the form signature.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the fill bundle includes shippable code containing commands for completing one or more corresponding fields of the electronic form.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, further comprising a user information server in communication with the fill server and providing the subset of the user data to the fill server.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising a form map server in communication with the fill server and providing form maps corresponding to at least one field of the electronic form, wherein a graphical representation includes a merger of the form map and the subset of the user data.

16. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of instructions, the plurality of instructions when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method comprising the steps of:

creating a user profile associated with a user, wherein the user profile includes user data;

configuring a security level to associate with the user data, wherein the security level associates a subset of the user data to a form type;

obtaining an electronic form having a field to be completed;

dynamically generating a form map, wherein the form map identifies an association between the user data and the field in the electronic form;

obtaining the user profile from a fill server upon receiving a request from a client computer, wherein the fill server and the client computer are distinct devices;

retrieving the subset of the user data based on the form type of the electronic form;

completing the field according to the form map with the subset of the user data;

parsing the subset of the user data from the field to create field data;

comparing the field data to the corresponding user data in the user profile; and

,

replacing the user data in the user profile with the field data, when the field data is different from the user data in the user profile.