Acquisition of user data over a network

• US 7,996,760 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2004
• Issued: 08/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Spork, Murray Leo
• Primary Examiner(s): RIES, LAURIE ANNE
• Application Number:
  US11/014,122
• Publication Number:
  US 20060129905A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,428 Days
• Field of Search: 715/226, 715/224, 715/225, 715/255
• US Class Current: 715/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging

Abstract

An embodiment includes a method that includes intercepting, by an intermediary, a form destined for a device used by a user over a network that is from an application executing on a different device on the network. The form includes parts to be completed by the user. The method also includes completing, by the intermediary, a first part of the parts to be completed by the user, prior to the form being received by the device.

Claims

1. A method including:

intercepting, by an intermediary, a form destined for a device used by a user over a network, the form being from an application executing on an application server, the application server being a different device on the network from both the intermediary and the device used by the user, the form including parts to be completed by the user; and

completing, by the intermediary, a first part of the parts to be completed by the user, prior to the form being received by the device used by the user, the first part of the parts that has been completed by the intermediary is not forwarded to the device used by the user.

2. The method of claim 1, further including forwarding, by the intermediary, to the device used by the user a second part of the parts to be completed by the user that has not been completed by the intermediary.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein forwarding to the device used by the user the second part of the parts to be completed by the user that have not been completed by the intermediary comprises forwarding non-confidential data to the device used by the user.

4. The method of claim 2, further including receiving, by the intermediary, back from the device used by the user, in response to the forwarding operation, an answer to the parts to be completed by the user.

5. The method of claim 4, further including merging, by the intermediary, the first part and the answer from the device used by the user.

6. The method of claim 1, further including forwarding, by the intermediary, to the device used by the user the parts to be completed by the user.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first part of the parts that has been completed by the intermediary is hidden and viewable by the user.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the first part of the parts that has been completed by the intermediary is viewable and editable by the user.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein at least the first part that has been completed by the intermediary is viewable and not editable by the user.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein intercepting the form destined for the device used by the user comprises intercepting the form destined for a constrained information device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the constrained information device is from a group consisting of a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant, and a non-mobile device.

12. A method including:

receiving, by a proxy server, a form being transmitted over a network from an application server to a device of a user prior to the form being received by the device of the user, the form including parts that are to be completed by the user, the application server being a different device on the network from the proxy server;

generating a data query based on the parts that are to be completed by the user;

querying, using the data query, a database that includes a profile of the user;

receiving at least one answer to at least part of the data query;

completing at least one part of the parts that are to be completed by the user to generate a non-user completed part of the form, the form being from an application executing on the application server, the application server being a different device on the network than a device completing the at least one part;

generating a form fragment that does not include the at least one part completed;

forwarding only the form fragment to the device of the user; and

receiving back from the device of the user, in response to the forwarding, a document fragment that includes a result of the user completing the form fragment.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving the form comprises receiving more than one form from more than one application.

14. The method of claim 12, further including merging the non-user completed part of the form with the result of the user completing the form fragment to generate a completed document.

15. The method of claim 12, further including returning the completed document over the network to an application that transmitted the form.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein returning the completed document comprises returning the completed document in accordance with a document schema for the form.

17. The method of claim 12, further including forwarding to the device of the user the at least one part completed.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the at least one part completed is hidden and viewable by the user.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the at least one part completed is viewable and editable by the user.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the at least one part completed is viewable and not editable by the user.

21. A system including:

a proxy server coupled over a network to a device of a user, the proxy server further coupled over the network to an application server to execute an application, the application server being a different device on the network from the proxy server and the device of the user, the proxy server to intercept a form being transmitted from the application server to the device of the user, the form including parts that are to be completed by the user, the proxy server including;

a data store to store an annotation of the form and a personal profile of the user; and

a form personalizer engine to generate a data query for the parts to be completed by the user based on the annotation of the form, the form personalizer engine to retrieve from the personal profile, using the data query, an answer to at least a portion of the parts to be completed by the user, the form personalizer engine is further to generate a form fragment that does not include the at least the portion, the form personalizer engine is further to forward only the form fragment to the device of the user.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the form personalizer engine is to receive back from the device of the user, in response to the forwarding, a document fragment that includes a result of completion by the user of the form fragment.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the document fragment does not include confidential data.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the form personalizer engine is to merge the at least the portion and the document fragment to generate a merged document.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the form personalizer engine is to forward the merged document to the application server.

26. The system of claim 21, wherein the form personalizer engine is not to forward the at least the portion to the device of the user.

27. An apparatus including:

means for intercepting, by an intermediary using one or more processors, a form destined for a device used by a user over a network that is from an application executing on an application server, the application server being a different device on the network from both the intermediary device and the device used by the user, the form to include parts to be completed by the user; and

means for completing, by the intermediary using the one or more processors, at least a portion of the parts to be completed by the user, prior to the form being received by the device used by the user, wherein the at least the portion that has been completed by means for completing is not forwarded to the device used by the user.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, further including means for forwarding, by the intermediary, to the device used by the user the parts to be completed by the user that have not been completed by the completing operation.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein means for forwarding to the device used by the user the parts to be completed by the user that have not been completed by the completing operation comprises means for forwarding non-confidential data to the device used by the user.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, further including means for receiving, by the intermediary, back from the device used by the user, in response to the forwarding, an answer to the parts to be completed by the user.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, further including means for merging, by the intermediary, the at least the portion and the answer from the device used by the user.

32. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform a method, the method comprising:

intercepting, by an intermediary, a form destined for a device used by a user over a network, the form being from an application executing on an application server, the application server being a different device on the network from both the intermediary and the device used by the user, the form including parts to be completed by the user; and

completing, by the intermediary, a first part of the parts to be completed by the user, prior to the form being received by the device used by the user, the first part of the parts that has been completed by the intermediary is not forwarded to the device used by the user.

33. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving, by a proxy server, a form being transmitted over a network from an application server to a device of a user prior to the form being received by the device of the user, the form including parts that are to be completed by the user, the application server being a different device on the network from the proxy server;

generating a data query based on the parts that are to be completed by the user;

querying, using the data query, a database that includes a profile of the user;

receiving at least one answer to at least part of the data query;

completing at least one part of the parts that are to be completed by the user to generate a non-user completed part of the form, the form being from an application executing on the application server, the application server being a different device on the network than a device completing the at least one part;

generating a form fragment that does not include the at least one part completed;

forwarding only the form fragment to the device of the user; and

receiving back from the device of the user, in response to the forwarding, a document fragment that includes a result of the user completing the form fragment.