System and method for dynamically providing personalized tracked data and automatically updating the data

• US 7,383,203 B1
• Filed: 04/21/1999
• Issued: 06/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Semyan, Scott W., Hickling, Mark E., Feldstein, Adam M.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHAMPAGNE, DONALD
• Application Number:
  US09/295,864
• Time in Patent Office: 3,331 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14
• US Class Current: 705/14.67
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0271 Personalized advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

The present invention is embodied in a system and method for enabling a user to quickly access personalized data specifically created and updated for the user with network tracking techniques. The tracking techniques provide quick and accurate location and updating of previously generated data associated with a particular user. New and updated data related to the previously generated data and specific to the particular user is regenerated so that the personalized data is automatically and dynamically updated in response to trackable remote user input. Also, portions of the data can be displayed as interactive data with client side processing. This allows real time interaction and manipulation of the personalized data values. Namely, the user can dynamically compute and generate personalized results from a remote location by interacting with displayed data.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for displaying custom and personalized information on a client system operating in a network, comprising:

collecting data associated with a user;

processing the data to extract user characteristics to create unique user profiles and generate personalized information;

tracking at least a portion of the data and performing estimation calculations using client-side processing to generate results and updated personalized information;

adjusting the results dynamically on the client by a user'"'"'s interaction with the results;

preventing the user from encountering sub-item or dependency conflicts for both data entered into the client by the user, and for data received from the network by the client, by using client-side processing to automatically prevent the conflicts from being displayed during the user'"'"'s interaction with the results, wherein a set of rules of enforcement is transmitted to said client and used as the basis for said processing, wherein said rules contain all potential configurable conflicts between sub-items that may occur during the user'"'"'s interaction and corresponding safeguards to prevent the user from encountering and viewing a conflict during the user'"'"'s interaction with the results, wherein preventing further comprises not offering sub-items unrelated to requested data and automatically selecting other sub-items as a particular conflicting sub-item is requested by the user; and

automatically communicating the results and the personalized and updated information to the user via the client.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the client system is an interactive computer environment.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein a server and client communicate over the World Wide Web of the Internet.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the server and client are operable in an HTML environment.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing interface options for allowing adjustment and filtering of the personalized information and results in response to user input.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the adjustable interface options are interactive graphical controls.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the user characteristics include at least one of user profiles, trends, tendencies and demographics.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the results and personalized and updated information are transmitted to the client and displayed on a World Wide Web page on the Internet and in personalized email.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein portions of the data are displayed as interactive data for allowing real time interaction and manipulation of information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the interactive data is used for calculating projected automobile repair costs and computing projected prices of automobiles in real time on the client.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein client-side processing of the results is used to enable the real time interactivity.

12. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for displaying custom and personalized information on a client system operating in a network, comprising:

using the client system to collect personal data associated with a user;

receiving on the client system a set of rules of enforcement that contains all potential configurable conflicts between sub-items;

processing the personal data to formulate a classification profile for the user and postulating buying trends and tendencies of the user in order to create personalized information;

tracking at least a portion of the personal data and performing estimation calculations using processing on the client system to generate results relating to the classification profile and updating the personalized information; and

providing the user with real-time interactivity to dynamically adjust the results on the client system;

preventing the user from creating, encountering, and viewing conflicts between sub-items for both data entered into the client system by the user, and for data received from the network by the client system, during the real-time interactivity by using client-side processing to automatically prevent the conflicts using the set of received rules of enforcement, wherein preventing further comprises not offering sub-items unrelated to requested data and automatically selecting other sub-items as a particular conflicting sub-item is requested by the user; and

automatically communicating the results and the personalized and updated information to the user on a World Wide Web page on the Internet and in personalized email.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein a server and client are operable in an HTML environment.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, further comprising providing interface options to allow adjustment and filtering of the personalized information and results in response to user input.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein portions of the data are displayed as interactive data to allow real time interaction and manipulation of information.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the interactive data is used to calculate projected automobile repair costs and computing projected prices of automobiles in real time on the client.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the classification profile is used to demographically and statistically generate information for performing direct target marketing.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the personal data includes automobile mileage data that is tracked for estimating maintenance schedules.

19. A method for adjusting personalized results containing personalized data about a remote user, comprising:

collecting a query from the remote user using a client computer operating in a network;

categorizing at least a portion of the query as trackable data;

processing the query and trackable data to produce the personalized results;

displaying the personalized results;

providing the remote user with real-time interaction with the personalized results for dynamic adjustment of the personalized results using processing on the client computer; and

preventing the remote user from encountering sub-item or dependency conflicts for both data entered into the client computer by the user, and for data received from the network by the client computer, by using processing on the client computer to automatically prevent any conflicts such that conflicts are not displayed during the remote user interaction, wherein a set of rules of enforcement is transmitted to the client computer and used as the basis for said processing, wherein said rules contain all potential configurable conflicts between sub-items that may occur during the remote user interaction and corresponding safeguards to prevent the remote user from encountering and viewing a conflict during the remote user interaction, and wherein preventing further comprises not offering sub-items unrelated to requested data and automatically selecting other sub-items as a particular conflicting sub-item is requested by the remote user.