Customer driven, sponsor controlled network-based graphical scheduling system and method
First Claim
1. A network based scheduling system for developing a schedule for a sponsoring organization, the system comprising:
- a sponsor controlled customer database containing information relevant to individual customers who periodically need to schedule appointments with the sponsoring organization;
a set of sponsor parameters associated with each customer which define possible appointment times for a customer;
a central controller managing a schedule for the sponsoring organization, wherein the central controller operates via a network toi) contact a plurality of the customers concerning the scheduling of appointments via the network,ii) supply available appointment times via the network directly to a plurality of the customers, with the available appointment times that are supplied are determined by the sponsor parameters associated with the individual customer, whereby the supplied appointment times are specific to the individual customer, whereby the supplied customer appointment times are a subset of the available appointment times as filtered by the sponsor'"'"'s parameters for the respective customer andiii) receive scheduling information via the network directly from a plurality of the customers;
wherein the controller supplies a graphical appointment calendar via the network to a plurality of the customers with the available appointment times that have been determined by the sponsor parameters associated with the individual customer being graphically illustrated, wherein the customer can directly schedule an appointment via the network by selecting the icon associated with the desired appointment time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A customer driven, sponsor controlled network-based graphical scheduling system and method effectuates bi-lateral customer driven appointment scheduling with a sponsoring organization. The scheduling system facilitates the sponsoring organization, such as a doctor'"'"'s office, clinic, auto repair shop or the like, to communicate an invitation to the customer, such as a patient, client or consumer, whereby the customer schedules an appointment with the sponsoring organization. The scheduling system may include a controller which receives an appointment time offered by the sponsoring organization. The schedule is synchronized with a desktop and an on-line component allowing the sponsoring organization to schedule on the local desktop/file server and allowing the customer to schedule through an Internet World Wide Web site. The controller can offer time slot options to the customer via a well-informed electronic scheduler. The display of the schedule is filtered to show only time segments which meet the criteria associated with the individual customer. The criteria will include sponsoring organization availability, contiguous time slot availability and resource availability. The customer will have the opportunity to accept the most desirable appointment time. The controller will communicate the information to the sponsoring organization.
98 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A network based scheduling system for developing a schedule for a sponsoring organization, the system comprising:
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a sponsor controlled customer database containing information relevant to individual customers who periodically need to schedule appointments with the sponsoring organization; a set of sponsor parameters associated with each customer which define possible appointment times for a customer; a central controller managing a schedule for the sponsoring organization, wherein the central controller operates via a network to i) contact a plurality of the customers concerning the scheduling of appointments via the network, ii) supply available appointment times via the network directly to a plurality of the customers, with the available appointment times that are supplied are determined by the sponsor parameters associated with the individual customer, whereby the supplied appointment times are specific to the individual customer, whereby the supplied customer appointment times are a subset of the available appointment times as filtered by the sponsor'"'"'s parameters for the respective customer and iii) receive scheduling information via the network directly from a plurality of the customers;
wherein the controller supplies a graphical appointment calendar via the network to a plurality of the customers with the available appointment times that have been determined by the sponsor parameters associated with the individual customer being graphically illustrated, wherein the customer can directly schedule an appointment via the network by selecting the icon associated with the desired appointment time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for developing a schedule for a sponsoring organization comprising the steps of:
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providing a sponsor controlled customer database containing information relevant to individual customers who periodically need to schedule appointments with the sponsoring organization, a set of sponsor parameters associated with each customer which define possible appointment times for a customer, and a central controller creating a schedule for the sponsoring organization; contacting via an electronic network a plurality of the customers concerning the scheduling of appointments; supplying via the electronic network available appointment times to a plurality of the customers, with the available appointment times determined by the sponsor parameters associated with the individual customer, whereby the supplied appointment times are specific to the individual customer;
whereby the supplied customer appointment times are a subset of the available appointment times as filtered by the sponsor'"'"'s parameters for the respective customer and receiving scheduling information via the electronic network directly from a plurality of the customers;
wherein the controller supplies a graphical appointment calendar via the network to a plurality of the customers with the available appointment times that have been determined by the sponsor parameters associated with the individual customer being graphically illustrated, wherein the customer can directly schedule an appointment via the network by selecting the icon associated with the desired appointment time. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification