Computer system and method for handling encounters
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of computing to produce meeting schedules corresponding to a trade show or conference event, the method comprising:
- receiving into a computer parameters defining a trade show or conference event for a plurality of members, wherein the parameters comprise a date and time of the event, a length of time for member meetings, and one or more default classifications for members participating in the event;
receiving into the computer a data set for each of the members, the data set comprising;
at least one classification characterizing the member, wherein the at least one classification characterizing the member is either selected from a list of the one or more default classifications or input by the member,personal information comprising a name and other information of the member,at least one classification for meeting other members of the plurality of members, wherein the at least one classification for meeting other members is selected from a list that includes the default classifications and the member-input classifications,a preference score for each selected classification for meeting the other members, andan optional indicator of a desire not to meet at least one of;
one other member, other members of a particular classification, and both; and
generating by the computer, prior to the date and time of the event and using the classifications and the preference scores, output comprising;
an overall meeting schedule comprising a plurality of member meetings for each of the members participating in the event, the overall meeting schedule including each of the plurality of member meetings for each round of member meetings, the overall meeting schedule based on the length of time for member meetings, wherein no two members are scheduled to meet with one another more than once at the event, wherein first members are more likely to be scheduled to meet second members having a classification that received a high preference score from the first member, and wherein no member meetings are scheduled between first members that indicated a desire not to meet second members characterized by said optional indicator, andfor each member participating in the event, an individual meeting schedule comprising each member meeting for said participating member, the time and location of said member meetings, and the other members that said participating member will meet.
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Abstract
A method of computing to produce a schedule of meetings, the method including: entering into a computer parameters defining an event of meetings of members; entering into the computer a data set for each of the members, the set including: at least one classification characterizing the member, at least one classification for meeting other of the members, and if more than one classification for meeting is entered, a corresponding ranking of the classifications for meeting the other members; and generating a schedule of the meetings for the members by using the classifications and the rankings, if any.
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Citations
84 Claims
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1. A method of computing to produce meeting schedules corresponding to a trade show or conference event, the method comprising:
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receiving into a computer parameters defining a trade show or conference event for a plurality of members, wherein the parameters comprise a date and time of the event, a length of time for member meetings, and one or more default classifications for members participating in the event; receiving into the computer a data set for each of the members, the data set comprising; at least one classification characterizing the member, wherein the at least one classification characterizing the member is either selected from a list of the one or more default classifications or input by the member, personal information comprising a name and other information of the member, at least one classification for meeting other members of the plurality of members, wherein the at least one classification for meeting other members is selected from a list that includes the default classifications and the member-input classifications, a preference score for each selected classification for meeting the other members, and an optional indicator of a desire not to meet at least one of;
one other member, other members of a particular classification, and both; andgenerating by the computer, prior to the date and time of the event and using the classifications and the preference scores, output comprising; an overall meeting schedule comprising a plurality of member meetings for each of the members participating in the event, the overall meeting schedule including each of the plurality of member meetings for each round of member meetings, the overall meeting schedule based on the length of time for member meetings, wherein no two members are scheduled to meet with one another more than once at the event, wherein first members are more likely to be scheduled to meet second members having a classification that received a high preference score from the first member, and wherein no member meetings are scheduled between first members that indicated a desire not to meet second members characterized by said optional indicator, and for each member participating in the event, an individual meeting schedule comprising each member meeting for said participating member, the time and location of said member meetings, and the other members that said participating member will meet. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70)
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71. An apparatus programmed to produce meeting schedules corresponding to a trade show or conference event, the apparatus comprising:
a computer programmed to; receive parameters defining a trade show or conference event for a plurality of members, wherein the parameters comprise a date and time of the event, a length of time for member meetings, and one or more default classifications for members participating in the event; receive a data set for each of the members, the data set comprising; at least one classification characterizing the member, wherein the at least one classification characterizing the member is either selected from a list of the one or more default classifications or input by the member, personal information comprising a name and other information of the member, at least one classification for meeting other members of the plurality of members, wherein the at least one classification for meeting other members is selected from a list that includes the default classifications and the member-input classifications, a preference score for each selected classification for meeting the other members, and an optional indicator of a desire not to meet at least one of;
one other member, other members of a particular classification, and both; andgenerate, prior to the date and time of the event and using the classifications and the preference scores, output comprising; an overall meeting schedule comprising a plurality of member meetings for each of the members participating in the event, the overall meeting schedule including each of the plurality of member meetings for each round of member meetings, the overall meeting schedule based on the length of time for member meetings, wherein no two members are scheduled to meet with one another more than once at the event, wherein first members are more likely to be scheduled to meet second members having a classification that received a high preference score from the first member, and wherein no member meetings are scheduled between first members that indicated a desire not to meet second members characterized by said optional indicator, and for each member participating in the event, an individual meeting schedule comprising each member meeting for said participating member, the time and location of said member meetings, and the other members that said participating member will meet. - View Dependent Claims (72)
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73. An apparatus to produce meeting schedules corresponding to a trade show or conference event, the apparatus including:
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a computer programmed by means for controlling the computer so as to enable; receiving into the computer parameters defining a trade show or conference event for a plurality of members, wherein the parameters comprise a date and time of the event, a length of time for member meetings, and one or more default classifications for members participating in the event; receiving into the computer a data set for each of the members, the data set comprising; at least one classification characterizing the member, wherein the at least one classification characterizing the member is either selected from a list of the one or more default classifications or input by the member, personal information comprising a name and other information of the member, at least one classification for meeting other members of the plurality of members, wherein the at least one classification for meeting other members is selected from a list that includes the default classifications and the member-input classifications, a preference score for each selected classification for meeting the other members, and an optional indicator of a desire not to meet at least one of;
one other member, other members of a particular classification, and both; andgenerating by the computer, prior to the date and time of the event and using the classifications and the preference scores, output comprising; an overall meeting schedule comprising a plurality of member meetings for each of the members participating in the event, the overall meeting schedule including each of the plurality of member meetings for each round of member meetings, the overall meeting schedule based on the length of time for member meetings, wherein no two members are scheduled to meet with one another more than once at the event, wherein first members are more likely to be scheduled to meet second members having a classification that received a high preference score from the first member, and wherein no member meetings are scheduled between first members that indicated a desire not to meet second members characterized by said optional indicator, and for each member participating in the event, an individual meeting schedule comprising each member meeting for said participating member, the time and location of said member meetings, and the other members that said participating member will meet. - View Dependent Claims (74)
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75. A non-transitory computer-readable media tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a computer to carry out the steps of:
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receiving into the computer parameters defining a trade show or conference event for a plurality of members, wherein the parameters comprise a date and time of the event, a length of time for member meetings, and one or more default classifications for members participating in the event; receiving into the computer a data set for each of the members, the data set comprising; at least one classification characterizing the member, wherein the at least one classification characterizing the member is either selected from a list of the one or more default classifications or input by the member, personal information comprising a name and other information of the member, at least one classification for meeting other members of the plurality of members, wherein the at least one classification for meeting other members is selected from a list that includes the default classifications and the member-input classifications, a preference score for each selected classification for meeting the other members, and an optional indicator of a desire not to meet at least one of;
one other member, other members of a particular classification, and both; andgenerating by the computer, prior to the date and time of the event and using the classifications and the preference scores, output comprising; an overall meeting schedule comprising a plurality of member meetings for each of the members participating in the event, the overall meeting schedule including each of the plurality of member meetings for each round of member meetings, the overall meeting schedule based on the length of time for member meetings, wherein no two members are scheduled to meet with one another more than once at the event, wherein first members are more likely to be scheduled to meet second members having a classification that received a high preference score from the first member, and wherein no member meetings are scheduled between first members that indicated a desire not to meet second members characterized by said optional indicator, and for each member participating in the event, an individual meeting schedule comprising each member meeting for said participating member, the time and location of said member meetings, and the other members that said participating member will meet. - View Dependent Claims (76, 77)
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78. An electronic transmission apparatus handling communications to implement part of a trade show or conference event, the apparatus including:
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an electronic transmission computer communicating data over an Internet network to a first computer, the first computer programmed to enable receiving into the first computer parameters defining a trade show or conference event for a plurality of members, wherein the parameters comprise a date and time of the event, a length of time for member meetings, and one or more default classifications for members participating in the event; receiving into the first computer a data set for each of the members, the data set comprising; at least one classification characterizing the member, wherein the at least one classification characterizing the member is either selected from a list of the one or more default classifications or input by the member, personal information comprising a name and other information of the member, at least one classification for meeting other members of the plurality of members, wherein the at least one classification for meeting other members is selected from a list that includes the default classifications and the member-input classifications, a preference score for each selected classification for meeting the other members, and an optional indicator of a desire not to meet at least one of;
one other member, other members of a particular classification, and both; andgenerating by the first computer, prior to the date and time of the event and using the classifications and the preference scores, output comprising; an overall meeting schedule comprising a plurality of member meetings for each of the members participating in the event, the overall meeting schedule including each of the plurality of member meetings for each round of member meetings, the overall meeting schedule based on the length of time for member meetings, wherein no two members are scheduled to meet with one another more than once at the event, wherein first members are more likely to be scheduled to meet second members having a classification that received a high preference score from the first member, and wherein no member meetings are scheduled between first members that indicated a desire not to meet second members characterized by said optional indicator, and for each member participating in the event, an individual meeting schedule comprising each member meeting for said participating member, the time and location of said member meetings, and the other members that said participating member will meet, and wherein the first computer receives the data and uses the data to facilitate a meeting by at least one of the members participating in the event. - View Dependent Claims (79, 80)
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81. An electronic receiver apparatus handling communications to implement part of a trade show or conference event, the apparatus including:
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an electronic receiver computer receiving data over an Internet network from a first computer programmed to enable entering into the first computer parameters defining a trade show or conference event for a plurality of members, wherein the parameters comprise a date and time of the event, a length of time for member meetings, and one or more default classifications for members participating in the event; entering into the first computer a data set for each of the members, the data set comprising; at least one classification characterizing the member, wherein the at least one classification characterizing the member is either selected from a list of the one or more default classifications or input by the member, personal information comprising a name and other information of the member, at least one classification for meeting other members of the plurality of members, wherein the at least one classification for meeting other members is selected from a list that includes the default classifications and the member-input classifications, a preference score for each selected classification for meeting the other members, and an optional indicator of a desire not to meet at least one of;
one other member, other members of a particular classification, and both; andgenerating by the first computer, prior to the date and time of the event and using the classifications and the preference scores, output comprising; an overall meeting schedule comprising a plurality of member meetings for each of the members participating in the event, the overall meeting schedule including each of the plurality of member meetings for each round of member meetings, the overall meeting schedule based on the length of time for member meetings, wherein no two members are scheduled to meet with one another more than once at the event, wherein first members are more likely to be scheduled to meet second members having a classification that received a high preference score from the first member, and wherein no member meetings are scheduled between first members that indicated a desire not to meet second members characterized by said optional indicator, and for each member participating in the event, an individual meeting schedule comprising each member meeting for said participating member, the time and location of said member meetings, and the other members that said participating member will meet, and wherein the data facilitates a meeting by at least one of the members participating in the event. - View Dependent Claims (82, 83)
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84. An apparatus to produce a meeting schedule of meetings corresponding to a trade show or conference event, the apparatus including:
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a computer programmed to carry out the operations of; receiving into the computer parameters defining a trade show or conference event for a plurality of members, wherein the parameters comprise a date and time of the event, a length of time for member meetings, and one or more default classifications for members participating in the event; receiving into the computer a data set for each of the members, the data set comprising; at least one classification characterizing the member, wherein the at least one classification characterizing the member is either selected from a list of the one or more default classifications or input by the member, personal information comprising a name and other information of the member, at least one classification for meeting other members of the plurality of members, wherein the at least one classification for meeting other members is selected from a list that includes the default classifications and the member-input classifications, a preference score for each selected classification for meeting the other members, and an optional indicator of a desire not to meet at least one of;
one other member, other members of a particular classification, and both;normalizing, by the computer, the performance scores for all data sets to normalize any difference between preference scores within each data set and, for each pair of the members, using the pair'"'"'s normalized preference scores for meeting one another to produce a meeting preference score for the pair; and generating by the computer, prior to the date and time of the event and using the classifications and the preference scores, output comprising; an overall meeting schedule comprising a plurality of member meetings for each of the members participating in the event, the overall meeting schedule including each of the plurality of member meetings for each round of member meetings, the overall meeting schedule based on the length of time for member meetings, wherein no two members are scheduled to meet with one another more than once at the event, wherein first members are more likely to be scheduled to meet second members having a classification that received a high preference score from the first member, and wherein no member meetings are scheduled between first members that indicated a desire not to meet second members characterized by said optional indicator, and for each member participating in the event, an individual meeting schedule comprising each member meeting for said participating member, the time and location of said member meetings, and the other members that said participating member will meet.
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Specification