Patent Grant
7937439
The invention relates generally to the field of live advice communication. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for scheduling live advice communication with a selected service provider.
Consumers interested in acquiring services must first identify a service provider who is capable of providing the required services. At present, this usually means perusing a telephone directory, which can become frustrating and time-consuming if the service providers telephoned are not immediately available. In addition, a simple telephone call does not enable the service provider to charge a fee according to the time spent with his/her customers.
Systems now exist that enable providers of services to charge fees for the time spent delivering the service. 1-900 phone numbers will charge the seeker of services according to the time spent receiving the service and will transfer this payment, or a portion of it, to the provider. Each 1-900 number, however, has a very narrow scope—“Hear your Horoscope,” for instance. If a seeker would like to hear an entirely different service—“Your Local Weather,” for instance—he/she would have to dial a completely different 1-900 number. Similarly, each 1-900 number is quite rigid in the price, quality, and specificity of its service.
However, current systems (service provider systems) now exist that enable seekers to locate service providers according to a wide range of price, quality and specificity of service (U.S. application Ser. No. 09/414,710 and U.S. application Ser. No. 09/702,217). Such systems also make it possible for the service provider and buyer to be connected and communicate in real time. Such systems, provide service seekers the capability to select service providers via the Internet, assuming the service seeker owns or has access to the necessary computer hardware to browse the internet. In addition, a service seeker can be matched to a wide array of service providers with specific skills using only a simple audio-transmission medium such as the telephone.
The systems described above, such as for example, the service provider systems, are designed to generate capital for both the owners of the systems, as well as the service providers, which provider their services via the systems. As such, the more requests and live conversations the service provider engages in, the more money the service providers will generate. Accordingly, the more money generated by the service providers, the more money that will be generated for the service provider system. As such, the system described above not only aspire to attract as many customers as possible, but where possible, to have as many repeat customers as possible.
Accordingly, as systems such as the service provider system described above begin to generate additional repeat business, certain ones of the various service providers available from such systems may become popular. As such, users of the systems will eventually determine certain service providers, which are the favorites. As a result, certain service providers of the system will have increased popularity as compared to other service providers available from the system. Therefore, the availability of these popular service providers may be quite diminished due to their increased demand. In addition, such service providers cannot always be available. Their windows of availability may be small when compared to those of the users that are requesting their services. In addition, due to either illness, unforeseen circumstances or the like, the service providers may be unavailable during their indicated times of availability.
Consequently, the service provider systems, as described above, can generate a benefit from some sort of mechanism for enabling users to schedule receipt of service from such service providers. Such a scheduling system would enable more efficient allocation of the service provider's times, as well as provide improved efficiency to users in accessing their desired service providers. In addition, a service provider could gauge interest with reference to the service provider based on the amount of scheduling requests received. Therefore, there remains a need to overcome one or more of the limitations in the above-described existing.
The present provides a method and apparatus for scheduling live advice communication with a selected service provider. The method includes receiving, from a service seeker (seeker), an appointment request for a live advice communication with a selected service provider (speaker) during a specified appointment time. Once the request is received, the appointment request is provided to the selected service provider. The selected service provider then has the option of either accepting or rejecting the appointment request. As a result, once the appointment request is accepted, the service provider system schedules a live advice communication appointment between the service seeker and the selected service provider. Once scheduled, the service provider system will connect the service seeker and the selected service provider for a live advice communication at the scheduled appointment time.
Accordingly, service seekers that desire to receive live advice communications from more popular service providers can now schedule an appointment time with the desired service provider, which provides service seekers additional flexibility. In addition, the service providers may gauge interests in the live advice, which the service provider engages in by determining a number of appointment requests received. Moreover, the service provider is provided with additional flexibility to select or decline the appointments in which to engage.
Advantages of the invention include a service provider system, which enables customers to select an appointment time for engaging in a live advice communication with the selected service provider. This provides customers with the flexibility to schedule times that are mutually beneficial to both the service seeker and the selected service provider. As a result, in situations where a service provider is extremely popular, a service seeker can ensure that they will engage in a live advice communication with the service provider by scheduling an appointment in order to engage in a live advice communication with the selected service provider at a selected appointment time.
However, if the service provider is unavailable at the scheduled appointment time, the service provider system will connect the service seeker with a highest ranking service provider within a relevant field of service and connect the selected service provider with the selected service seeker for a live advice communication. Once the communication is complete, the service provider system will compensate the service seeker with a gift from the initially selected service provider. Furthermore, the appointment scheduling system described provides service providers with the flexibility to gauge interest in the services they provide. In addition, service providers are given the flexibility to select or decline the appointment which they desire to engage.
The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which:
A method and apparatus for scheduling live advice communication with a selected service provider are described. The method includes the receipt, from a service seeker, of an appointment request for a live advice communication with a selected service provider during a specified appointment time. Once the request is received, the appointment request is provided to the selected service provider. The appointment request may be provided either via electronic mail or via an alert provided via a display screen, which is browsed by the service provider. As such, once received by the service provider, the service provider has the option to either accept or decline the appointment request. Consequently, once the appointment request is accepted, the service provider system schedules a live advice communications appointment between the service seeker and the selected service provider. Finally, the service provider system will connect the selected service provider with the service seeker to engage in a live advice communication at the scheduled appointment time.
In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. In addition, the following description provides examples, and the accompanying drawings show various examples for the purposes of illustration. However, these examples should not be construed in a limiting sense as they are merely intended to provide examples of the present invention rather than to provide an exhaustive list of all possible implementations of the present invention. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the details of the present invention.
Portions of the following detailed description may be presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are used by those skilled in the data processing arts to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm, as described herein, refers to a self-consistent sequence of acts leading to a desired result. The acts are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. These quantities may take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. Moreover, principally for reasons of common usage, these signals are referred to as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.
However, these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise, it is appreciated that discussions utilizing terms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or “determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's devices into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system devices such as memories, registers or other such information storage, transmission, display devices, or the like.
The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method. For example, any of the methods according to the present invention can be implemented in hard-wired circuitry, by programming a general-purpose processor, or by any combination of hardware and software.
One of skill in the art will immediately appreciate that the invention can be practiced with computer system configurations other than those described below, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, digital signal processing (DSP) devices, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The invention can also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. The required structure for a variety of these systems will appear from the description below.
It is to be understood that various terms and techniques are used by those knowledgeable in the art to describe communications, protocols, applications, implementations, mechanisms, etc. One such technique is the description of an implementation of a technique in terms of an algorithm or mathematical expression. That is, while the technique may be, for example, implemented as executing code on a computer, the expression of that technique may be more aptly and succinctly conveyed and communicated as a formula, algorithm, or mathematical expression.
Thus, one skilled in the art would recognize a block denoting A+B=C as an additive function whose implementation in hardware and/or software would take two inputs (A and B) and produce a summation output (C). Thus, the use of formula, algorithm, or mathematical expression as descriptions is to be understood as having a physical embodiment in at least hardware and/or software (such as a computer system in which the techniques of the present invention may be practiced as well as implemented as an embodiment).
In an embodiment, the methods of the present invention are embodied in machine-executable instructions. The instructions can be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor that is programmed with the instructions to perform the steps of the present invention. Alternatively, the steps of the present invention might be performed by specific hardware components that contain hardwired logic for performing the steps, or by any combination of programmed computer components and custom hardware components.
In one embodiment, the present invention may be provided as a computer program product which may include a machine or computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which may be used to program a computer (or other electronic devices) to perform a process according to the present invention. The computer-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, floppy diskettes, optical disks, Compact Disc, Read-Only Memory (CD-ROMs), and magneto-optical disks, Read-Only Memory (ROMs), Random Access Memory (RAMs), Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROMs), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROMs), magnetic or optical cards, flash memory, or the like.
Accordingly, the computer-readable medium includes any type of media/machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. Moreover, the present invention may also be downloaded as a computer program product. As such, the program may be transferred from a remote computer (e.g., a server) to a requesting computer (e.g., a client). The transfer of the program may be by way of data signals embodied in a carrier wave or other propagation medium via a communication link (e.g., a modem, network connection or the like).
System Architecture
The system 100 also includes one or more service providers (speakers) 200 (200-A, . . . , 200-N) each having a communications device 202 (202-1, . . . , 202-N) that is connected to a communications network 110. Accordingly, one or more service seekers (seeker) 102 (102-1, . . . , 102-N) access the service provider system via either communications devices 104 (104-A, . . . , 104-N) that are connected to the communications network 110 or service seeker computers 120. In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a seeker 102 can send a request 106 (106-A, . . . , 106-N) via the communications device 104 or service seeker computer 120, which is received by the service provider server computer 300.
As described in further detail below, the service provider server computer 300 can then automatically connect the seeker 104 to a selected speaker 200 for a live conversation either via the communication devices 104 and 202 or the computers 120 and 204. Accordingly, when the request 106 is provided via a communication device 104, the request 106 may be in the form of either a voice command or keypad entry. As described in further detail below, the service provider server computer 300 can then connect the service seeker 102 to a selected service provider 200 for a live conversation via the communications interface 308.
The communications network 110 generally refers to any type of wire or wireless link enabling the transmission of voice data such as, but not limited to, a public switched telephone network, a wireless communications network, a local area network, a wide area network or a combination of networks. The communications devices 104 and 200 generally refer to any type of device capable of receiving speech or keypad entry from a user and providing the speech/keypad entry to a destination via a communications network, such as the communications network 110. In an embodiment of the present invention, the communications network 110 is a public switched telephone network and the communications device 104 and 200 are telephones.
However, in contrast to service provider systems described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/414,710 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/702,217, service provider system 100, as depicted in
Accordingly, as each appointment request and subsequent advice communication occurs between service seekers and service providers, a record is generated in the appointments database 360 in order to enable appointment generation procedures, as will be described in further detail below, to provide service seeker with the ability to schedule advice communications with the selected service providers at a designated time. In addition, the service providers may gauge interests in the live advice, which the service provider engages in, by determining a number of appointment requests received. Moreover, the service provider is provided with additional flexibility to select or decline the appointments in which to engage.
Using the various procedures provided, the service providers can provide incentives to service seekers in order to induce the service seekers to engage in additional receipt of advice communication, thereby generating additional compensation to the service providers, as well as providing additional compensation to the service provider system 100. In addition, the appointment generation procedures provide further functionality when the service provider is unavailable at the scheduled appointment time. When unavailable, the service provider system will select a highest ranking, alternate service provider within a relevant field of service and connect the alternate service provider with the service seeker for a live advice communication. Once the communication is complete, the service provider system will compensate the service seeker with a gift from the initially selected service provider, as will be described in further detail below.
Referring now to
The communications interface 308 is used to communicate with seekers 102 and speakers 200, as well as other system resources not shown. In one embodiment, the communications interface 308 receives an audio request 106 provided by seeker 102 through a communications device 104, which is provided over the communications network 110. The communications interface 308 provides digitized voice requests to the audio portal server computer 300 for interactive voice recognition (IVR), including voice processing, speech recognition and text-to-speech processing. In addition, communications interface 308 provides digitized keypad responses to the service computer for decoding of dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals.
The network interface 306 is used to connect a seeker computer 120 to a selected service provider computer 202 for real-time communication, such as voice over Internet Protocol (IP), video over-IP, or the like. The memory 312 of the service provider server computer 300 may be implemented as RAM (random access memory), SRAM (synchronous RAM), SDRAM (synchronous data RAM) or a combination of RAM and non-volatile memory, such as one or more memory modules, storage volumes, or magnetic disk storage units. The memory can contain any of the following:
The memory 128 of the service seeker computer 120 may be implemented as RAM (random access memory) or a combination of RAM, SRAM (synchronous RAM), SDRAM (synchronous data RAM) and non-volatile memory, such as one or more memory modules, storage volumes, or one or more magnetic disk storage units. The memory 128 can contain the following:
The memory 210 of the service provider computer 202 may be implemented as RAM (random access memory) or a combination of RAM and non-volatile memory, such as SRAM (synchronous RAM), SDRAM (synchronous data RAM) and one or more magnetic disk storage units. The memory 210 can contain the following:
The embodiments depicted in
The service provider 200 then informs the system 100 of the times when he/she is available to receive calls. Switching service provider 200 availability status can be done online or through a communications device, such as a telephone. Once the database 310 contains the phone numbers of service providers, descriptions of their services, their prices, and their real-time availability statuses, the audio portal system 100 can provide services to users 102 desiring corresponding services.
In one embodiment a telephone is used as part of the delivery mechanism or communications device 104 and 202 of the system 100. A seeker 102 seeking services (service seekers) dials a central telephone number and then listens to a series of options, including entry of verification information, such as a personal information number (PIN) code. The seeker can select keypad request or voice request to indicate the type of service he would like to receive by speaking the name of a profession, such as “psychiatrist,” which is processed by the system's audio interface 308 using audio interface procedures 322.
In an alternate embodiment, the service seeker 102 can listen to a series of professions and press the numerical keypad to select one by selecting a field of service browse option. Accordingly, the system accepts keypad or voice response from a service seeker 102 and continues until the desired field of service is selected. In addition, when known, the service seeker 102 can select a direct connection and provide a service provider ID (telephone extension) of a desired service provider for immediate connection with the selected service provider (as described above).
Once the user 102 has indicated a field of service using the service provider selection procedures 324/326, the system 100 searches its database 310 for service providers in that field. The service provider selection procedures 324/326 allow the user 102 to further narrow the search for a service provider 200 by speaking—or pressing into the telephone keypad—a price, such as “50 cents per minute.” The server computer 300 will then narrow the search in the database 310 for service providers 200 that match the price range.
The service seeker 102 can further narrow the search for a service provider 200 by speaking—or pressing into the telephone keypad—a quality rating, such as “three stars or higher.” The server computer 300 will then narrow the search in the database 340 for service providers 200 which match the quality rating range. Finally, the user 102 can further narrow the search for a service provider by speaking—or pressing into the telephone keypad—the name of a language, such as “Spanish.” The server computer 300 will then narrow the search in the database 310 for service providers 200 who can speak this language.
Once converted, the service provider selection procedures 324 will query the service provider database 310 using the seeker selection in order to provide either service providers within a field of service selected by the user or corresponding service provider selected by the user. Accordingly, in certain embodiments, prior seekers may enter a service provider code number for immediate connection to the service provider. Accordingly, the seeker can avoid delays provided via interface prompts required by new seekers in order to familiarize users with the fields of service available from the audio portal system 100. In one embodiment, if the service provider is not available, the seeker is given the option to connect with the highest rated service provider within the corresponding category. As such, the service provider selection procedures 324/326 include both IVR software, as well as DTMF decoding software, depending on whether the user's responses are provided as voice responses or keypad entry.
Once a service provider 200 with the desired characteristics has been chosen, the service provider system 100 will automatically connect the service seeker 102 with the selected service provider 200, assuming the service provider is available. Once both the service seeker 102 and provider 200 are on the phone line 110, the system 100 conferences the two phone calls together, enabling services to be rendered in a live conversation. The system keeps track of the time spent on the phone call using the conversation monitoring procedures 340. The service seeker 102 is then billed accordingly, and the funds are transferred to the provider 200 using the billing procedures 328. In addition, a transaction record is generated within the transaction by using the transaction DB procedures 348.
Referring now to
However, in contrast to the live advice communication connection methods described above, the category listings within listings page 500 include the capability to request an appointment with a selected service provider. For example, referring to record 502, the service provider is “Turtle” 506, with a category of Surfboard Design 508. At the time that the service seeker is viewing the listing page 500, Turtle is available and can be contacted by clicking on the “Call Now” button 504. Accordingly, this record coincides with the methods for live advice communication described above.
Conversely, referring to record 510, the service provider “Bodazafa” 514 is currently away, but has selected the option to request appointments, as indicated by the request appointments link 510. As such, a service seeker may request an appointment with Bodazafa, which is received, scheduled and eventually performed utilizing the appointment generation procedures 334, as described above utilizing, for example, the appointment request procedures 344, the appointment acceptances procedures 346 and the appointment schedule procedures 336.
Referring now to
As depicted, the service provider Turtle 506 has elected to select the online appointments option and therefore enable service seekers to request appointments for the service provider at their desired times. However, referring again to
Referring now to
In one embodiment, the speaker may limit selected appointment times to the speaker's scheduled times of availability 558. Alternatively, the seeker may select any appointment time for engaging in an advice communication with the selected speaker. Accordingly, by selecting the receive appointments option, the service provider can choose the appointments that he/she desires to engage in and can use this feature to filter out undesired service seekers. In addition, by providing service seekers with the ability to select any desired appointment time, the speaker can gauge which appointment times are most popular with seekers and adjust speaker's schedule accordingly.
Referring now to
Referring now to
However, as illustrated in
Once an appointment time is selected, the service seeker is presented with a service seeker telephone number request screen 630, as illustrated in
As depicted in
Alternatively, as depicted in
Finally, referring to
Referring now to
Referring now to
As illustrated by
In addition, or alternatively, the service provider may select the “Send Keen Mail” option 724 to invite seekers to request appointments, for example, as depicted in
Referring now to
Referring now to
In fact, in one embodiment, a service provider could completely eliminate live advice availability and strictly limit contact to service seekers via appointment requests. This capability to accept or decline appointments is further illustrated via the “ACCEPT/DECLINE Appointment E-Mail” screen 760, as depicted in
Once the speaker decides to either accept or decline the appointment request, the speaker will be presented with either
In addition, the service providers are able to gauge interests in the category information with which they are familiar as well as determining which appointment times are popular with seekers and adjusting their schedule accordingly. Therefore, service seekers of the service provider system can receive live advice at a time that is both beneficial to themselves as well as the service provider. In addition, the service seekers are provided with the option to ensure a live advice communication with more popular service providers. In doing so, the service provider system will ensure that live advice communications are performed, which will generate increased commissions for both the service provider system, as well as the service providers themselves. Procedural methods for implementing the teachings of the present invention are now described.
Operation
Referring now to
Accordingly, at process block 802, an appointment request is received from a service seeker, including a specified appointment time. Once received, at process block 820, the appointment request is provided to the selected service provider. As such, once the appointment request is accepted by the selected service provider, at process block 850, the service provider system will schedule a live advice communication appointment between the service seeker and the selected service provider. Finally, at process block 858, the service provider system will connect the service seeker and the selected service provider for a live advice communication at the specified appointment time.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Once accepted, at process block 866, the system will contact the selected service provider via a communications device, such as for example, communications interface 308. Next, at process block 868, it is determined whether the selected service provider accepts the communications connection. Assuming the communications connection is accepted, at process block 870, the service provider system will link the communications devices of the service seeker and the service provider for a live advice communication therebetween. Otherwise, control flow branches to process block 874, as depicted in
Referring now to
Referring now to
Next, at process block 888, it is determined whether a response is received from the service provider 200. Once the response is received, at process block 890, it is determined whether the service provider 200 has accepted the appointment notification. When the service provider 200 fails to accept appointment notification, control flow branches to process block 874 of
Referring now to
Next, at process block 934, it is determined whether the appointment is accepted by the selected service provider. Once the appointment is accepted by the selected service provider, at process block 936, a service seeker receives an appointment confirmation notification from the service provider system 100. Finally, at process block 938, the selected service provider is connected with the service seeker for a live advice communication via the service provider system during the selected appointment time.
Referring now to
Once verified, at process block 914, an appointment request message screen 670 is viewed by the service seeker to enter in additional text regarding the appointment request for the selected service provider, for example, as depicted in
Referring now to
Next, at process block 928, it is determined whether the service seeker has accepted the appointment request provided by the service provider system. Once accepted, at process block 930, the service seeker selects an appointment time for engaging in a live advice communication with the selected service provider, for example, as depicted in
Referring now to
Referring now to
Accordingly, at process block 958, it is determined whether the service seeker accepts the option to engage in a live advice communication with the alternate service provider. When the option is selected, at process block 958, the service seeker and the alternate service provider engage in a live advice communication. Finally, at process block 954, the service seeker receives a gift from the service provider system for engaging in the live advice communication with the alternate service provider. In one embodiment, the gift is deducted from the selected service provider initially desired by the service seeker.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Accordingly, at process block 966, the service provider selects an appointment alert from the one or more appointment alerts listed in the service provider appointment screen. Next, at process block 968, it is determined whether the service provider is available at the appointment times specified in the appointment alert. When the service provider is available, the service provider accepts the selected appointment alert and generates scheduling of an appointment request by the service provider system 100 at the specified appointment time utilizing, for example, the appointment scheduling procedures 936. Otherwise, at process block 962, the service provider declines the selected appointment request.
Referring now to
Referring now to
In one embodiment, the system 100 will generate an audio signal to notify the speaker of the upcoming appointment. However, if the seeker declines a communications connection from the system 100, the system will terminate the appointment notification alert, and allow the speaker to continue with their current advice communication. Otherwise, a subsequent appointment notification alert is provided to the speaker. When appointment alert notification is accepted, at process block 988, the service provider will terminate the live advice communication with the current service seeker. Once terminated, at process block 989, the service provider engages in a live advice communication with the service seeker via the communications medium.
Finally, referring to
Accordingly, as described herein, the methods enable both service seekers and service providers to engage in live advice communications at a mutually agreed upon appointment time. This provides both service seekers and service providers with the flexibility to engage in live advice communications at mutually beneficial times. This appointment request option can overcome problems with extremely popular service providers which are in high demand from users of the service provider system. In addition, it enables service providers to engage interests in the various fields of service offered from the service provider system. Moreover, the methods ensure that service seekers will be able to communicate with selected service providers during situations where the service provider is unavailable at a time when a service seeker accesses the service provider system. Finally, the method provides a mechanism for penalizing service providers that fail to honor accepted appointments.
Several aspects of one implementation of the service provider system for providing appointment scheduling of live advice communications have been described. However, various implementations of the service provider system provide numerous features including, complementing, supplementing, and/or replacing the features described above. Features can be implemented as part of the online service provider system or as part of a client server system, Intranet, Extranet or a virtual private network in different implementations. In addition, the foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the specific details are not required in order to practice the invention.
In addition, although an embodiment described herein is directed to a service provider system, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the teaching of the present invention can be applied to other systems. In fact, systems for providing a requesting users with live information communications via telephone are within the teachings of the present invention, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. The embodiments described above were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications. These embodiment were chosen to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
It is to be understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of various embodiments of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of various embodiments of the invention, this disclosure is illustrative only. In some cases, certain subassemblies are only described in detail with one such embodiment. Nevertheless, it is recognized and intended that such subassemblies may be used in other embodiments of the invention. Changes may be made in detail, especially matters of structure and management of parts within the principles of the present invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
The present invention provides many advantages over known techniques. Advantages of the invention include a service provider system, which enables customers to select an appointment time for engaging in a live advice communication with the selected service provider. This provides customers with the flexibility to schedule times that are mutually beneficial to both the service seeker and the selected service provider. As a result, in situations where a service provider is extremely popular, a service seeker can ensure that they will engage in a live advice communication with the service provider by scheduling an appointment in order to provide the service provider with incentive for engaging in the appointment. Finally, the method provides a mechanism for penalizing service providers that fail to honor accepted appointments.
Having disclosed exemplary embodiments and the best mode, modifications and variations may be made to the disclosed embodiments while remaining within the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4313035 | Jordan et al. | Jan 1982 | A |
| 4577065 | Frey et al. | Mar 1986 | A |
| 4631428 | Grimes | Dec 1986 | A |
| 4645873 | Chomet | Feb 1987 | A |
| 4677434 | Fascenda | Jun 1987 | A |
| 4723283 | Nagasawa et al. | Feb 1988 | A |
| 4741025 | Maruyama et al. | Apr 1988 | A |
| 4751669 | Sturgis et al. | Jun 1988 | A |
| 4752675 | Zetmeir | Jun 1988 | A |
| 4796293 | Blinken et al. | Jan 1989 | A |
| 4847890 | Solomon et al. | Jul 1989 | A |
| 4878239 | Solomon et al. | Oct 1989 | A |
| 4969185 | Dorst et al. | Nov 1990 | A |
| 5017917 | Fisher et al. | May 1991 | A |
| 5058152 | Solomon et al. | Oct 1991 | A |
| 5099510 | Blinken, Jr. et al. | Mar 1992 | A |
| 5148474 | Haralambopoulos et al. | Sep 1992 | A |
| 5155743 | Jacobs | Oct 1992 | A |
| 5155761 | Hammond | Oct 1992 | A |
| 5182769 | Yamaguchi et al. | Jan 1993 | A |
| 5206903 | Kohler et al. | Apr 1993 | A |
| 5319542 | King, Jr. et al. | Jun 1994 | A |
| 5325424 | Grube | Jun 1994 | A |
| 5347632 | Filepp et al. | Sep 1994 | A |
| 5359508 | Rossides | Oct 1994 | A |
| 5361295 | Solomon et al. | Nov 1994 | A |
| 5369694 | Bales et al. | Nov 1994 | A |
| 5373549 | Bales et al. | Dec 1994 | A |
| 5436957 | McConnell | Jul 1995 | A |
| 5448625 | Lederman | Sep 1995 | A |
| 5453352 | Tachibana | Sep 1995 | A |
| 5459779 | Backaus et al. | Oct 1995 | A |
| 5469497 | Pierce et al. | Nov 1995 | A |
| 5483352 | Fukuyama et al. | Jan 1996 | A |
| 5483588 | Eaton et al. | Jan 1996 | A |
| 5497502 | Castille | Mar 1996 | A |
| 5524146 | Morrisey et al. | Jun 1996 | A |
| 5537314 | Kanter | Jul 1996 | A |
| 5539735 | Moskowitz | Jul 1996 | A |
| 5539813 | Jonsson | Jul 1996 | A |
| 5544237 | Bales et al. | Aug 1996 | A |
| 5555298 | Jonsson | Sep 1996 | A |
| 5557677 | Prytz | Sep 1996 | A |
| 5559875 | Bieselin et al. | Sep 1996 | A |
| 5574780 | Andruska et al. | Nov 1996 | A |
| 5574781 | Blaze | Nov 1996 | A |
| 5589892 | Knee et al. | Dec 1996 | A |
| 5590197 | Chen et al. | Dec 1996 | A |
| 5596634 | Fernandez et al. | Jan 1997 | A |
| 5602905 | Mettke | Feb 1997 | A |
| 5604803 | Aziz | Feb 1997 | A |
| 5608786 | Gordon | Mar 1997 | A |
| 5615213 | Griefer | Mar 1997 | A |
| 5619148 | Guo | Apr 1997 | A |
| 5619555 | Fenton et al. | Apr 1997 | A |
| 5619570 | Tsutsui | Apr 1997 | A |
| 5619725 | Gordon | Apr 1997 | A |
| 5619991 | Sloane | Apr 1997 | A |
| 5623536 | Solomon et al. | Apr 1997 | A |
| 5634012 | Stefik et al. | May 1997 | A |
| 5638432 | Wille et al. | Jun 1997 | A |
| 5644715 | Baugher | Jul 1997 | A |
| 5651058 | Hackett-Jones et al. | Jul 1997 | A |
| 5668953 | Sloo | Sep 1997 | A |
| 5675734 | Hair | Oct 1997 | A |
| 5689553 | Ahuja et al. | Nov 1997 | A |
| 5694163 | Harrison | Dec 1997 | A |
| 5694537 | Montenegro et al. | Dec 1997 | A |
| 5694549 | Carlin et al. | Dec 1997 | A |
| 5701419 | McConnell | Dec 1997 | A |
| 5710887 | Chelliah et al. | Jan 1998 | A |
| 5712979 | Graber et al. | Jan 1998 | A |
| 5715314 | Payne et al. | Feb 1998 | A |
| 5717860 | Graber et al. | Feb 1998 | A |
| 5718247 | Frankel | Feb 1998 | A |
| 5721763 | Joseph et al. | Feb 1998 | A |
| 5722418 | Bro | Mar 1998 | A |
| 5724424 | Gifford | Mar 1998 | A |
| 5734961 | Castille | Mar 1998 | A |
| 5740231 | Cohn et al. | Apr 1998 | A |
| 5740549 | Reilly et al. | Apr 1998 | A |
| 5745681 | Levine et al. | Apr 1998 | A |
| 5768348 | Solomon et al. | Jun 1998 | A |
| 5768521 | Dedrick | Jun 1998 | A |
| 5774534 | Mayer | Jun 1998 | A |
| 5778367 | Wesinger, Jr. et al. | Jul 1998 | A |
| 5781894 | Petrecca et al. | Jul 1998 | A |
| 5794210 | Goldhaber et al. | Aug 1998 | A |
| 5794221 | Egendorf | Aug 1998 | A |
| 5802502 | Gell et al. | Sep 1998 | A |
| 5809119 | Tonomura et al. | Sep 1998 | A |
| 5809145 | Slik et al. | Sep 1998 | A |
| 5812769 | Graber et al. | Sep 1998 | A |
| 5818836 | DuVal | Oct 1998 | A |
| 5819092 | Ferguson et al. | Oct 1998 | A |
| 5819267 | Uyama | Oct 1998 | A |
| 5819271 | Mahoney et al. | Oct 1998 | A |
| 5819285 | Damico et al. | Oct 1998 | A |
| 5825869 | Brooks et al. | Oct 1998 | A |
| 5825876 | Peterson, Jr. | Oct 1998 | A |
| 5832523 | Kanai et al. | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5835896 | Fisher et al. | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5841763 | Leondires et al. | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5842212 | Ballurio et al. | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5850433 | Rondeau | Dec 1998 | A |
| 5860068 | Cook | Jan 1999 | A |
| 5862223 | Walker et al. | Jan 1999 | A |
| 5864871 | Kitain et al. | Jan 1999 | A |
| 5870744 | Sprague | Feb 1999 | A |
| 5878130 | Andrews et al. | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5884032 | Bateman et al. | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5884272 | Walker et al. | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5884282 | Robinson | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5889774 | Mirashrafi et al. | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5890138 | Godin et al. | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5893077 | Griffin | Apr 1999 | A |
| 5901214 | Shaffer et al. | May 1999 | A |
| 5903635 | Kaplan | May 1999 | A |
| 5903877 | Berkowitz et al. | May 1999 | A |
| 5907677 | Glenn et al. | May 1999 | A |
| 5911132 | Sloane | Jun 1999 | A |
| 5914951 | Bentley et al. | Jun 1999 | A |
| 5915214 | Reece et al. | Jun 1999 | A |
| 5924082 | Silverman et al. | Jul 1999 | A |
| 5937390 | Hyodo | Aug 1999 | A |
| 5940471 | Homayoun | Aug 1999 | A |
| 5940484 | DeFazio et al. | Aug 1999 | A |
| 5943422 | Van Wie et al. | Aug 1999 | A |
| 5946646 | Schena et al. | Aug 1999 | A |
| 5948054 | Nielsen | Sep 1999 | A |
| 5960406 | Rasansky et al. | Sep 1999 | A |
| 5960416 | Block | Sep 1999 | A |
| 5970466 | Detjen et al. | Oct 1999 | A |
| 5974141 | Saito | Oct 1999 | A |
| 5974398 | Hanson et al. | Oct 1999 | A |
| 5982863 | Smiley et al. | Nov 1999 | A |
| 5987102 | Elliott et al. | Nov 1999 | A |
| 5987118 | Dickerman et al. | Nov 1999 | A |
| 5987430 | Van Horne et al. | Nov 1999 | A |
| 5991394 | Dezonno et al. | Nov 1999 | A |
| 5999609 | Nishimura | Dec 1999 | A |
| 5999611 | Tatchell et al. | Dec 1999 | A |
| 6006197 | d-Eon et al. | Dec 1999 | A |
| 6011794 | Mordowitz et al. | Jan 2000 | A |
| 6014439 | Walker et al. | Jan 2000 | A |
| 6014644 | Erickson | Jan 2000 | A |
| 6016478 | Zhang et al. | Jan 2000 | A |
| 6026087 | Mirashrafi et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6026148 | Dworkin et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6026400 | Suzuki | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6028601 | Machiraju et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6029141 | Bezos et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6035021 | Katz | Mar 2000 | A |
| 6035278 | Mansour | Mar 2000 | A |
| 6046762 | Sonesh et al. | Apr 2000 | A |
| 6055513 | Katz et al. | Apr 2000 | A |
| 6058379 | Odom et al. | May 2000 | A |
| 6064978 | Gardener et al. | May 2000 | A |
| 6067561 | Dillon | May 2000 | A |
| 6076093 | Pickering | Jun 2000 | A |
| 6078866 | Buck et al. | Jun 2000 | A |
| 6085084 | Christmas | Jul 2000 | A |
| 6130933 | Miloslavsky | Oct 2000 | A |
| 6131085 | Rossides | Oct 2000 | A |
| 6144670 | Sponaugle et al. | Nov 2000 | A |
| 6167379 | Dean et al. | Dec 2000 | A |
| 6167449 | Arnold et al. | Dec 2000 | A |
| 6173279 | Levin et al. | Jan 2001 | B1 |
| 6175619 | DeSimone | Jan 2001 | B1 |
| 6185194 | Musk et al. | Feb 2001 | B1 |
| 6185289 | Hetz et al. | Feb 2001 | B1 |
| 6188673 | Bauer et al. | Feb 2001 | B1 |
| 6188761 | Dickerman et al. | Feb 2001 | B1 |
| 6192050 | Stovall | Feb 2001 | B1 |
| 6199096 | Mirashrafi et al. | Mar 2001 | B1 |
| 6212192 | Mirashrafi et al. | Apr 2001 | B1 |
| 6212268 | Nielsen | Apr 2001 | B1 |
| 6216111 | Walker et al. | Apr 2001 | B1 |
| 6223165 | Lauffer | Apr 2001 | B1 |
| 6230287 | Pinard et al. | May 2001 | B1 |
| 6233566 | Levine et al. | May 2001 | B1 |
| 6243684 | Stuart et al. | Jun 2001 | B1 |
| 6246875 | Seazholtz et al. | Jun 2001 | B1 |
| 6248946 | Dwek | Jun 2001 | B1 |
| 6259774 | Miloslavsky | Jul 2001 | B1 |
| 6266651 | Wooston | Jul 2001 | B1 |
| 6269336 | Ladd et al. | Jul 2001 | B1 |
| 6269361 | Davis et al. | Jul 2001 | B1 |
| 6282515 | Speicher | Aug 2001 | B1 |
| 6292799 | Peek et al. | Sep 2001 | B1 |
| 6298056 | Pendse | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6301342 | Ander et al. | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6301350 | Henningson et al. | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6304637 | Mirashrafi et al. | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6310941 | Crutcher et al. | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6311231 | Bateman et al. | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6314402 | Monaco et al. | Nov 2001 | B1 |
| 6314454 | Wang et al. | Nov 2001 | B1 |
| 6323894 | Katz | Nov 2001 | B1 |
| 6353663 | Stevens et al. | Mar 2002 | B1 |
| 6385583 | Ladd et al. | May 2002 | B1 |
| 6389278 | Singh | May 2002 | B1 |
| 6389541 | Patterson | May 2002 | B1 |
| 6393117 | Trell | May 2002 | B1 |
| 6393412 | Deep | May 2002 | B1 |
| 6400806 | Uppaluru | Jun 2002 | B1 |
| 6404864 | Evslin et al. | Jun 2002 | B1 |
| 6404877 | Bolduc et al. | Jun 2002 | B1 |
| 6404884 | Marwell et al. | Jun 2002 | B1 |
| 6424952 | Yinbal | Jul 2002 | B1 |
| 6430276 | Bouvier et al. | Aug 2002 | B1 |
| 6434527 | Horvitz | Aug 2002 | B1 |
| 6463136 | Malik | Oct 2002 | B1 |
| 6470079 | Benson | Oct 2002 | B1 |
| 6470317 | Ladd et al. | Oct 2002 | B1 |
| 6470338 | Rizzo et al. | Oct 2002 | B1 |
| 6477246 | Dolan et al. | Nov 2002 | B1 |
| 6484148 | Boyd | Nov 2002 | B1 |
| 6493437 | Olshansky | Dec 2002 | B1 |
| 6493671 | Ladd et al. | Dec 2002 | B1 |
| 6493673 | Ladd et al. | Dec 2002 | B1 |
| 6510417 | Woods et al. | Jan 2003 | B1 |
| 6513013 | Stephanou | Jan 2003 | B1 |
| 6519570 | Faber et al. | Feb 2003 | B1 |
| 6523010 | Lauffer | Feb 2003 | B2 |
| 6523101 | Nakata | Feb 2003 | B1 |
| 6529878 | De Rafael et al. | Mar 2003 | B2 |
| 6535506 | Narain et al. | Mar 2003 | B1 |
| 6539359 | Ladd et al. | Mar 2003 | B1 |
| 6542732 | Khazaka et al. | Apr 2003 | B1 |
| 6546372 | Lauffer | Apr 2003 | B2 |
| 6549889 | Lauffer | Apr 2003 | B2 |
| 6560576 | Cohen et al. | May 2003 | B1 |
| 6563915 | Salimando | May 2003 | B1 |
| 6606376 | Trell | Aug 2003 | B1 |
| 6609106 | Robertson | Aug 2003 | B1 |
| 6611501 | Owen et al. | Aug 2003 | B1 |
| 6625595 | Anderson et al. | Sep 2003 | B1 |
| 6636590 | Jacob et al. | Oct 2003 | B1 |
| 6658389 | Alpdemir | Dec 2003 | B1 |
| 6668286 | Bateman et al. | Dec 2003 | B2 |
| 6704403 | Lurie et al. | Mar 2004 | B2 |
| 6731625 | Eastep et al. | May 2004 | B1 |
| 6732183 | Graham | May 2004 | B1 |
| 6741691 | Ritter et al. | May 2004 | B1 |
| 6757364 | Newkirk | Jun 2004 | B2 |
| 6771760 | Vortman et al. | Aug 2004 | B1 |
| 6775359 | Ron et al. | Aug 2004 | B1 |
| 6798753 | Doganata et al. | Sep 2004 | B1 |
| 6801899 | Lauffer | Oct 2004 | B2 |
| 6807532 | Kolls | Oct 2004 | B1 |
| 6832321 | Barrett | Dec 2004 | B1 |
| 6836225 | Lee et al. | Dec 2004 | B2 |
| 6865540 | Faber et al. | Mar 2005 | B1 |
| 6898435 | Milman | May 2005 | B2 |
| 6910159 | Phillips et al. | Jun 2005 | B2 |
| 6917610 | Kung et al. | Jul 2005 | B1 |
| 6968174 | Trandal et al. | Nov 2005 | B1 |
| 6990183 | Holland et al. | Jan 2006 | B2 |
| 6999478 | D'Angelo | Feb 2006 | B2 |
| 7031697 | Yang et al. | Apr 2006 | B2 |
| 7032030 | Condignotto | Apr 2006 | B1 |
| 7039681 | Nolte et al. | May 2006 | B2 |
| 7046782 | Miller | May 2006 | B2 |
| 7249045 | Lauffer | Jul 2007 | B2 |
| 7383303 | Bort | Jun 2008 | B1 |
| 7388950 | Elsey et al. | Jun 2008 | B2 |
| 7412049 | Koch | Aug 2008 | B1 |
| 7434169 | Quillen et al. | Oct 2008 | B2 |
| 20010012357 | Mirashrafi et al. | Aug 2001 | A1 |
| 20010018178 | Sieffert | Aug 2001 | A1 |
| 20010025274 | Zehr et al. | Sep 2001 | A1 |
| 20010026609 | Weinstein et al. | Oct 2001 | A1 |
| 20010027481 | Whyel | Oct 2001 | A1 |
| 20010029482 | Tealdi et al. | Oct 2001 | A1 |
| 20010032247 | Kanaya | Oct 2001 | A1 |
| 20010036822 | Mead et al. | Nov 2001 | A1 |
| 20010037283 | Mullaney | Nov 2001 | A1 |
| 20010044751 | Pugliese et al. | Nov 2001 | A1 |
| 20010048737 | Goldberg et al. | Dec 2001 | A1 |
| 20020003867 | Rothschild et al. | Jan 2002 | A1 |
| 20020010608 | Faber et al. | Jan 2002 | A1 |
| 20020010616 | Itzhaki | Jan 2002 | A1 |
| 20020024948 | Pendse | Feb 2002 | A1 |
| 20020029241 | Yokono et al. | Mar 2002 | A1 |
| 20020038233 | Shubov et al. | Mar 2002 | A1 |
| 20020038293 | Seiden | Mar 2002 | A1 |
| 20020042826 | Gaus et al. | Apr 2002 | A1 |
| 20020059082 | Moczygemba | May 2002 | A1 |
| 20020065959 | Kim et al. | May 2002 | A1 |
| 20020071423 | Mirashrafi et al. | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020071426 | Karamchedu et al. | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020072974 | Pugliese et al. | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020073207 | Widger et al. | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020087565 | Hoekman et al. | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020091607 | Sloan et al. | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020094074 | Lurie | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020095331 | Osmar et al. | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020095359 | Mangetsu | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020107697 | Jensen | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20020112005 | Namias | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20020116266 | Marshall | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20020120554 | Vega | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20020128891 | McSherry | Sep 2002 | A1 |
| 20020133402 | Faber et al. | Sep 2002 | A1 |
| 20020133570 | Jacob et al. | Sep 2002 | A1 |
| 20020133571 | Michel | Sep 2002 | A1 |
| 20020137490 | Gallant | Sep 2002 | A1 |
| 20020169836 | Hood et al. | Nov 2002 | A1 |
| 20020191762 | Benson | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20020193094 | Lawless et al. | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20020193135 | Nakano | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20030005126 | Schwartz et al. | Jan 2003 | A1 |
| 20030014295 | Brookes et al. | Jan 2003 | A1 |
| 20030041255 | Chen et al. | Feb 2003 | A1 |
| 20030043981 | Lurie et al. | Mar 2003 | A1 |
| 20030046161 | Kamangar et al. | Mar 2003 | A1 |
| 20030061094 | Banerjee et al. | Mar 2003 | A1 |
| 20030112944 | Brown et al. | Jun 2003 | A1 |
| 20030115089 | Lurie | Jun 2003 | A1 |
| 20030195838 | Henley | Oct 2003 | A1 |
| 20030220866 | Pisaris-Henderson et al. | Nov 2003 | A1 |
| 20030223565 | Montemer | Dec 2003 | A1 |
| 20030225682 | Montemer | Dec 2003 | A1 |
| 20040006511 | Montemer | Jan 2004 | A1 |
| 20040010518 | Montemer | Jan 2004 | A1 |
| 20040023644 | Montemer | Feb 2004 | A1 |
| 20040038673 | Dunn et al. | Feb 2004 | A1 |
| 20040054741 | Weatherby et al. | Mar 2004 | A1 |
| 20040066927 | Horvath et al. | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| 20040083133 | Nicholas et al. | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| 20040096110 | Yogeshwar et al. | May 2004 | A1 |
| 20040162757 | Pisaris-Henderson | Aug 2004 | A1 |
| 20040204997 | Blaser et al. | Oct 2004 | A1 |
| 20040234049 | Melideo | Nov 2004 | A1 |
| 20040234064 | Melideo | Nov 2004 | A1 |
| 20040236441 | Melideo | Nov 2004 | A1 |
| 20040252820 | Faber et al. | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20040254859 | Aslanian, Jr. | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20040258048 | Melideo | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20040260413 | Melideo | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20050010795 | Tagawa et al. | Jan 2005 | A1 |
| 20050021744 | Haitsuka et al. | Jan 2005 | A1 |
| 20050044238 | Jacob et al. | Feb 2005 | A1 |
| 20050048961 | Ribaudo et al. | Mar 2005 | A1 |
| 20050065811 | Chu et al. | Mar 2005 | A1 |
| 20050071509 | Faber et al. | Mar 2005 | A1 |
| 20050080878 | Cunningham et al. | Apr 2005 | A1 |
| 20050086104 | McFadden | Apr 2005 | A1 |
| 20050119957 | Faber et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
| 20050165666 | Wong et al. | Jul 2005 | A1 |
| 20050203799 | Faber et al. | Sep 2005 | A1 |
| 20050209874 | Rossini | Sep 2005 | A1 |
| 20050216341 | Altberg et al. | Sep 2005 | A1 |
| 20050216345 | Altberg et al. | Sep 2005 | A1 |
| 20050220289 | Reding | Oct 2005 | A1 |
| 20050222908 | Altberg et al. | Oct 2005 | A1 |
| 20050251445 | Wong et al. | Nov 2005 | A1 |
| 20060031516 | Kumer | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| 20060075104 | Kumer | Apr 2006 | A1 |
| 20060095343 | Clark et al. | May 2006 | A1 |
| 20060184378 | Agarwal et al. | Aug 2006 | A1 |
| 20060215826 | Lurie et al. | Sep 2006 | A1 |
| 20070067391 | Masciantonio et al. | Mar 2007 | A1 |
| 20080212756 | Faber et al. | Sep 2008 | A1 |
| 20090006174 | Lauffer | Jan 2009 | A1 |
| 20100208028 | Lauffer | Aug 2010 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 699785 | May 1995 | AU |
| 04253389.3 | Sep 2004 | EP |
| 1489529 | Dec 2004 | EP |
| 2329046 | Oct 1999 | GB |
| 409233441 | Sep 1997 | JP |
| 409319812 | Dec 1997 | JP |
| WO 9705733 | Feb 1997 | WO |
| WO 9802835 | Jan 1998 | WO |
| WO 9804061 | Jan 1998 | WO |
| WO 9813765 | Apr 1998 | WO |
| WO 9838558 | Sep 1998 | WO |
| 0057326 | Sep 2000 | WO |
| WO 0073960 | Dec 2000 | WO |
| WO 0101217 | Jan 2001 | WO |
| 0120518 | Mar 2001 | WO |
| 0127825 | Apr 2001 | WO |
| WO 0128141 | Apr 2001 | WO |
| WO 0144973 | Jun 2001 | WO |
| 0184415 | Nov 2001 | WO |
| 0213110 | Feb 2002 | WO |
| 0237470 | May 2002 | WO |
| WO 0244870 | Jun 2002 | WO |
| PCTUS0151181 | Mar 2003 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20030126205 A1 | Jul 2003 | US |
