Automated shopping system and method for managing a process for selection of human entities
First Claim
1. An automated shopping system in which a user places an order for at least one provider, a degree of matching between each order-provider pairing is computed, and a score is reported to at least the user and optionally to the at least one provider, the automated shopping system comprising:
- at least one processor to receive and process information including at least one of (a) user information from at least one user including information that specifies provider criteria and order information that specifies order criteria for that particular order, (b) provider information from at least one provider, and (c) third party information;
at least one data storage device that communicates with the at least one processor, that includes at least one database, and that receives and stores the information in the at least one database;
at least one virtual provider that is created by program code within the at least one processor by pairing provider information of a particular provider with order information of a particular order to create an informational pair and that is stored within the at least one database;
a knowledge base that is stored in a data storage device which may be said at least one data storage device, and that contains information on which to base requests for information by the system;
a scoring system that resides in program code within the at least one processor, that compares the provider information of a particular provider and the order information of a particular order within each respective informational pair in at least one step, and that determines a score reflecting a degree of matching for each respective informational pair; and
a management system that resides in program code within the at least one processor, that tracks each virtual provider through multiple steps, and that sequences the multiple steps by specifying contents of each step of the multiple steps, the contents at least including instructions to at least one of (a) the user regarding the input of user information, (b) the provider regarding the input of provider information, and (c) third parties regarding the input of information.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for automatically managing a multi-step process in which human providers are selected, typically for employment and dating services. The selection process includes background checking, testing, interviewing, and acceptance by the provider and selecting entity, through automated sequencing, coordinating, tracking, status reporting, and an optional human intervention. The invention includes a system and method for automatically scoring and ranking human providers by a set of selection criteria, typically multiple choice options. The system determines the relevance of the questions and answers and stores it in a continuously updating Knowledge-base. The answers may be spoken, written, or entered directly into the system. The system includes testing and interviewing human providers with respect to the selection criteria; and the resulting scoring information is stored and may be used in future assessments. The system requires a charging process for updating information based on usage or subscription to the system.
13 Citations
36 Claims
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1. An automated shopping system in which a user places an order for at least one provider, a degree of matching between each order-provider pairing is computed, and a score is reported to at least the user and optionally to the at least one provider, the automated shopping system comprising:
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at least one processor to receive and process information including at least one of (a) user information from at least one user including information that specifies provider criteria and order information that specifies order criteria for that particular order, (b) provider information from at least one provider, and (c) third party information; at least one data storage device that communicates with the at least one processor, that includes at least one database, and that receives and stores the information in the at least one database; at least one virtual provider that is created by program code within the at least one processor by pairing provider information of a particular provider with order information of a particular order to create an informational pair and that is stored within the at least one database; a knowledge base that is stored in a data storage device which may be said at least one data storage device, and that contains information on which to base requests for information by the system; a scoring system that resides in program code within the at least one processor, that compares the provider information of a particular provider and the order information of a particular order within each respective informational pair in at least one step, and that determines a score reflecting a degree of matching for each respective informational pair; and a management system that resides in program code within the at least one processor, that tracks each virtual provider through multiple steps, and that sequences the multiple steps by specifying contents of each step of the multiple steps, the contents at least including instructions to at least one of (a) the user regarding the input of user information, (b) the provider regarding the input of provider information, and (c) third parties regarding the input of information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An automated shopping method for automated management of a process in which a user places an order for at least one provider, a degree of matching between each order-provider pairing is computed, and a score is reported to at least the user and optionally to at least one provider, the automated shopping method comprising:
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providing (a) at least one processor to receive and process information including at least one of (i) user information from at least one user including information that specifies provider criteria and order information that specifies order criteria for that particular order, (ii) provider information, and (iii) third party information;
(b) at least one data storage device that communicates with the at least one processor, that includes at least one database, and that receives and stores the information in the at least one database; and
(c) a knowledge base that is stored in a data storage device which may be said at least one data storage device, and that contains information on which to base requests for information by the automated shopping method;receiving information (a) from the user including information that specifies provider criteria and order information that specifies order criteria for that particular order, and (b) from the at least one provider; creating at least one virtual provider with program code within the at least one processor by pairing provider information of a particular provider with order information of a particular order to create an informational pair, and storing the at least one virtual provider within the at least one database; determining a score that reflects a degree of matching for each respective informational pair using a scoring system that resides in program code within the at least one processor, and that compares the provider information of a particular provider and the order information of a particular order within each respective informational pair in at least one step; and tracking each order-provider pairing through multiple steps using a management system that resides in program code within the at least one processor, and that uses sequencing to specify contents of each step of the multiple steps, the contents at least including instructions to at least one of (a) the user regarding the input of user information, (b) the provider regarding the input of provider information, and (c) third parties regarding the input of information. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification