System and method for comparing attributes of documents

• US 7,565,620 B1
• Filed: 06/21/2000
• Issued: 07/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Charles Schwab Trust Company (Charles Schwab Corporation), Limbach & Limbach LLP
• Original Assignee: Charles Schwab Trust Company (Charles Schwab Corporation)
• Inventors: Wolf, Terri, Kershaw, Christopher, Rock, Darin
• Primary Examiner(s): Lo; Weilun
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chuong; Truc T
• Application Number:
  US09/598,889
• Time in Patent Office: 3,317 Days
• Field of Search: 345/764, 345/339, 345/853, 345/734, 345/854, 715/511, 715/530, 715/526, 715/210, 715/778, 715/781, 715/785, 715/803, 715/821, 348/150, 709/203
• US Class Current: 715/803
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

A system and method for comparing information from different sources in which anchor links identifying categories of information are embedded within reports on a plurality of items to be compared, and in which a plurality of dynamic frames are provided in a visual display, each frame displaying the portion of a report for a different one of the plurality of items to be compared, which portion corresponds to a designated common anchor link.

Claims

1. An apparatus for providing comparative information about a plurality of different items, including

a visual display providing a visual image having an interactive navigational frame and a plurality of dynamic frames;

a server communicatively coupled to the visual display and storing information about the plurality of different items, wherein each of the different plurality of items has an associated document that was prepared for the item and that provides information for comparison from that item, and the stored information is in the form of the associated documents;

wherein the server compiles reports in response to a user designation in the navigational frame of the different items to be compared, the reports comprising frames of information about the designated different items in which each frame corresponds to portions of the information relating to common topics and include identifying tags, and wherein the visual display displays in each of the plurality of dynamic frames, in response to a user designation of an identifying tag, the frames from the reports for the different items designated to be compared corresponding to the designated identifying tag, so that the corresponding frames for the different items are observable at the same time.