최소 단어 이상 선택하여야 합니다.
최대 10 단어까지만 선택 가능합니다.
다음과 같은 기능을 한번의 로그인으로 사용 할 수 있습니다.
NTIS 바로가기다음과 같은 기능을 한번의 로그인으로 사용 할 수 있습니다.
DataON 바로가기다음과 같은 기능을 한번의 로그인으로 사용 할 수 있습니다.
Edison 바로가기다음과 같은 기능을 한번의 로그인으로 사용 할 수 있습니다.
Kafe 바로가기국가/구분 | United States(US) Patent 등록 |
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국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
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출원번호 | US-0641820 (2000-08-18) |
등록번호 | US-7275038 (2007-09-25) |
발명자 / 주소 |
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출원인 / 주소 |
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대리인 / 주소 |
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인용정보 | 피인용 횟수 : 30 인용 특허 : 277 |
An Internet enabled, business-to-business computerized transaction system is disclosed in its preferred embodiment for use in providing rental car services for high volume users and comprises an Internet web portal through which the high volume user may access an integrated business computer network
An Internet enabled, business-to-business computerized transaction system is disclosed in its preferred embodiment for use in providing rental car services for high volume users and comprises an Internet web portal through which the high volume user may access an integrated business computer network for the rental vehicle service provider. The rental vehicle services provider computer network is configured to interconnect a geographically diverse plurality of branch offices, cataloguing their available rental vehicles and schedules for same as well as handling all transactional data relating to its business. The Internet web portal provides ubiquitous connectivity and portability for a multi-level business organization who regularly places high volumes of rental purchases with its business partner. Utilizing the method and apparatus of the present invention large volumes of rental transactions may be placed, monitored, altered during performance, and closed out with financial accounting and payment being made virtually without human intervention.
What is claimed is: 1. An Internet enabled automatic rental vehicle transaction system, said system having an internet web portal through which a third party authorized purchaser of rental vehicle services for use by another may access, for bi-directional communication and functional interaction, a
What is claimed is: 1. An Internet enabled automatic rental vehicle transaction system, said system having an internet web portal through which a third party authorized purchaser of rental vehicle services for use by another may access, for bi-directional communication and functional interaction, a rental vehicle services provider using a digital data entry device connected to the internet, a rental vehicle software program resident on a computer system remote from said third party authorized purchaser, said rental vehicle software program being configured to automatically respond to a series of commands from said third party authorized purchaser and communicate a plurality of rental vehicle reservations through said rental vehicle software program to a second software program for fulfillment at a specific geographically remote rental vehicle location at which vehicles for rent are situated, each of said reservations including an identification of an associated repair facility where a vehicle of said another is undergoing repairs and wherein said reservations have a plurality of associated repair facilities, said rental vehicle software program collecting data relating to said plurality of reservations into a database accessible by said third party authorized purchaser and being further configured for managing of said reservations by said third party authorized purchaser including automatically generating repair facility call back lists authorizing said reservations, processing said reservations, and billing said reservations to said third party authorized purchaser so that said plurality of rental vehicle reservations may be automatically processed thereby, the repair facility call back lists being configured to allow said third party authorized purchaser to sort said reservations tat are open by at least the associated repair facilities wherein said list groups together the open reservations by one or more associated repair facilities. 2. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 1 wherein said third party authorized purchaser comprises a business organization, said business organization having a plurality of authorized purchasers, said plurality of authorized purchasers each being enabled to access said internet web portal from any location offering internet web access, and further comprising a second business organization, said second business organization having the computer system arid rental vehicle software program resident therein. 3. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 2 wherein said rental vehicle software program is configured to permit a rental vehicle reservation to be initiated remote from said third party authorized purchaser and communicated to said third party authorized purchaser for authorization. 4. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 3 wherein said rental vehicle software program is configured to permit said authorized purchasers to modify said rental vehicle reservation through said internet web portal. 5. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 4 wherein said rental vehicle software program is configured to permit said authorized purchasers to modify said rental vehicle reservation including extending a time period for which said reservation authorizes use of a rental vehicle. 6. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 4 wherein said rental vehicle software program is configured to permit said authorized purchaser to generate reports relating to rental vehicle reservation activity conducted through said rental vehicle software program including reports summarizing rental vehicle reservation activity conducted by any one of said authorized purchasers. 7. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 6 wherein said rental vehicle software program is configured to automatically communicate billing information to said third party authorized purchaser for further processing. 8. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 7 wherein said rental vehicle software program is configured to communicate messages between each of said authorized purchaser and any others having access to said rental vehicle software program. 9. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 8 wherein said rental vehicle software program is configured for allowing access through its internet web portal to a plurality of service providers, and for limiting the functionality available to any one of said plurality of service providers. 10. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 9 wherein said plurality of service providers include vehicle repair facilities. 11. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 1 further comprising a second computer system, said second computer system having the second computer software program resident thereon, said second computer software program being configured to process rental vehicle transactions at a plurality of geographically diverse branch facilities each of which has a plurality of vehicles for rental, said second computer system being linked to said first computer system whereat said rental vehicle software program is resident. 12. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 11 wherein each of said first and second computer systems comprises a network having a main frame computer, said main frame computers being linked to each other, and wherein said second computer system further comprises a WAN. 13. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 12 wherein said third party authorized purchaser comprises a business organization, said business organization having a plurality of individual authorized purchasers, said plurality of individual authorized purchasers being enabled to access said internet web portal from any location offering internet web access, and further comprising a second business organization, said second business organization having the second computer system resident therein, and wherein said second business organization includes the plurality of geographically diverse rental vehicle locations. 14. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 13 wherein said rental vehicle software program is configured to permit a rental vehicle reservation to be initiated remote from said third party authorized purchaser and communicated to said third party authorized purchaser for authorization. 15. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 14 wherein said rental vehicle software program is configured to permit said authorized purchasers to modify said rental vehicle reservation through said internet web portal. 16. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 15 wherein said rental vehicle software program is configured to permit said authorized purchasers to modify said rental vehicle reservation including extending a tine period for which said reservation authorizes use of a rental vehicle. 17. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 15 wherein said rental vehicle software program is configured to permit said authorized purchaser to generate reports relating to rental vehicle reservation activity conducted through said rental vehicle software program. 18. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 17 wherein said rental vehicle software program is configured to automatically communicate billing information to said authorized purchaser for further processing. 19. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 18 wherein said rental vehicle software program is configured to communicate messages between said authorized purchaser and any others having access to said rental vehicle software program. 20. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 19 wherein said rental vehicle software program is configured for allowing access though its Internet web portal to a plurality of Service providers, and for limiting the functionality available to any one of said plurality of service providers. 21. The rental vehicle transaction system of claim 20 wherein said plurality of service providers include vehicle repair facilities. 22. An Internet-enabled automatic rental vehicle transaction system, the system comprising: a first computer network operated by a rental vehicle service provider, the first computer network comprising a plurality of branch office computers located in a plurality of geographically remote locations at which a plurality of rental vehicles are available for rent from the rental vehicle service provider, a database in which reservation data regarding the rental vehicles available for rent at the plurality of remote locations is stored, and a first computer network mainframe in bidirectional communication with the database and the branch office computers, the first computer network mainframe being configured to execute a fulfillment software program, the fulfillment software program being configured to process and store rental vehicle reservation data in the database for access by the branch office computers when the branch office computers fulfill rental vehicle reservations; and a second computer network comprising a plurality of authorized business partner computers, a second computer network mainframe, and a web portal; wherein the second computer network mainframe is in bidirectional communication with the first computer network, the second computer network mainframe being configured to execute a rental vehicle software program, the rental vehicle software program being configured to access the database to create and manage rental vehicle reservations in response to a series of commands received from the authorized business partner computers; wherein the web portal is in bidirectional communication with the second computer network mainframe and further in bidirectional communication with the authorized business partner computers via an Internet connection therebetween, the web portal being configured to provide a plurality of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for display on the authorized business partner computers, the GUIs being configured to interface a user of an authorized business partner computer with the rental vehicle software program; wherein the authorized business partner computers are configured to access the rental vehicle software program via the Internet connection to the web portal's GUIs, thereby providing users of the authorized business partner computers with the ability to provide the series of commands to the rental vehicle software program for creating and managing rental vehicle reservations on behalf of third parties; wherein the rental vehicle software program is further configured to access the database to generate, in response to input from a user of an authorized business partner computer, a report for display on the user's authorized business partner computer via at least one web portal GUI, the report being configured to detail a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the user input being received by the rental vehicle software program through at least one web portal GUI, the report being sortable by a criteria specified by the authorized business partner computer user through at least one web portal GUI; wherein a plurality of open rental vehicle reservations correspond to open rental vehicle reservations for third parties whose vehicles are undergoing repairs at a repair facility; wherein the database is configured to store, as part of the data corresponding to a rental vehicle reservation, data identifying the repair facilities where the third parties' vehicles are undergoing repairs; and wherein the report displays data about a plurality of open rental vehicle reservations, the displayed data including the data identifying the repair facility corresponding to the open rental vehicle reservations, and wherein the user-specified sorting criteria comprises a "by repair facility" criteria. 23. The system of claim 22 wherein a plurality of open rental vehicle reservations have a stored number of authorized days therefor; wherein the database is configured to store, as part of the data corresponding to a rental vehicle reservation, the authorized number of days for that reservation, and wherein the report displays data about a plurality of open rental vehicle reservations, the displayed data including the authorized number of days for the open rental vehicle reservations, and wherein the user-specified sorting criteria comprises a "by authorized number of days" criteria. 24. The system of claim 22 wherein a plurality of open rental vehicle reservations have a stored number of authorized days therefor, wherein the database is configured to store, as part of the data corresponding to a rental vehicle reservation, the authorized number of days for that reservation; and wherein the report displays data about a plurality of open rental vehicle reservations, the displayed data including a number of days behind for open rental vehicle reservations that have been open for more than the authorized number of days, the number of days behind being a difference between the number of authorized days for an open rental vehicle reservation and a number of days that tat rental vehicle reservation has been open, and wherein the user-specified sorting criteria comprises a "by days behind" criteria. 25. The system of claim 22 wherein the rental vehicle reservations comprise insurance replacement rental vehicle reservations. 26. An Internet-enabled automatic rental vehicle transaction system, the system comprising: a first computer network operated by a rental vehicle service provider, the first computer network comprising a plurality of branch office computers located in a plurality of geographically remote locations at which a plurality of rental vehicles are available for rent from the rental vehicle service provider, a database in which reservation data regarding the rental vehicles available for rent at the plurality of remote locations is stored, and a first computer network mainframe in bidirectional communication with the database and the branch office computers, the first computer network mainframe being configured to execute a fulfillment software program, the fulfillment software program being configured to process and store rental vehicle reservation data in the database for access by the branch office computers when the branch office computers fulfill rental vehicle reservations; and a second computer network comprising a plurality of authorized business partner computers, a second computer network mainframe, and a web portal; wherein the second computer network mainframe is in bidirectional communication with the first computer network, the second computer network mainframe being configured to execute a rental vehicle software program, the rental vehicle software program being configured to access the database to create and manage rental vehicle reservations in response to a series of commands received from the authorized business partner computers; wherein the web portal is in bidirectional communication with the second computer network mainframe and is farther in bidirectional communication with the authorized business partner computers via an Internet connection therebetween, the web portal being configured to provide a plurality of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for display on the authorized business partner computers, the GUIs being configured to interface a user of an authorized business partner computer with the rental vehicle software program, wherein the authorized business partner computers are configured to access the rental vehicle software program via the Internet connection to the web portal's GUIs, thereby providing users of the authorized business partner computers with the ability to provide the series of commands to the rental vehicle software program for creating and managing rental vehicle reservations on behalf of third parties, wherein a plurality of the rental vehicle reservations correspond to rental vehicle reservations for third parties whose vehicles are undergoing repairs at a repair facility, wherein the database is configured to store, as part of the data corresponding to a rental vehicle reservation, data identifying the repair facility where the third party's vehicle is undergoing repairs; and wherein the rental vehicle software program is further configured to access the database to generate a list for display on the user's authorized business partner computer via at least one web portal GUI, the list grouping a plurality of open rental vehicle reservations by their corresponding stored repair facility data such that open rental vehicle reservations having a common corresponding stared repair facility are commonly-grouped. 27. The system of claim 26 wherein the rental vehicle software program is further configured to generate the list in response to input from a user of an authorized business partner computer, the input being received by the rental vehicle software program through at least one web portal GUI, and the input including a request that the list group the plurality of open rental vehicle reservations by repair facility. 28. The system of claim 27 wherein the list includes a telephone number for each repair facility that is included thereon. 29. The system of claim 28 wherein the open rental vehicle reservations on the list are user-selectable to cause the web portal to display at least one GUI on the user's authorized business partner computer that is configured to receive user action on the user-selected open rental vehicle reservation, the user action to be communicated to the fulfillment software for processing thereof and storage in the database, the user action including a rental vehicle reservation extension. 30. A method for conducting a plurality of rental vehicle transactions between a rental vehicle service provider and a plurality of authorized business partners, the method comprising: providing a plurality of branch office computers located in a plurality of geographically remote locations at which a plurality of rental vehicles are available for rent from the rental vehicle service provider; providing a database in which reservation data regarding the rental vehicles available for rent at the plurality of remote locations is stored, storing repair facility data in the database for rental vehicle reservations to identify a plurality of repair facilities at which renters' vehicles are undergoing repairs; providing a first mainframe in bidirectional communication with the database and the branch office computers, the first mainframe having fulfillment software resident thereon, the fulfillment software being configured to process and store rental vehicle reservation data in the database for access by the branch office computers when the branch office computers fulfill rental vehicle reservations; providing a second mainframe, wherein the second mainframe is in bidirectional communication with the first computer network, the second mainframe having a rental vehicle software program resident thereon, the rental vehicle software program being configured to, upon execution, access the database to manage rental vehicle reservations in response to a series of commands received from a plurality of authorized business partner computers providing a web portal, wherein the web portal is in bidirectional communication with the second mainframe and is further in bidirectional communication with the authorized business partner computers via an Internet connection therebetween, the web portal being configured to provide a plurality of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for display on the authorized business partner computers, the GUIs being configured to interface a user of an authorized business partner computer with the rental vehicle software program resident on the second mainframe such that the user can provide the series of commands for managing rental vehicle reservations; receiving a command via at least one of the web portal GUIs from a user's authorized business partner computer; communicating the received command to the rental software program; executing the rental vehicle software program in response to the communicated command to thereby manage a rental vehicle reservation; and responsive to the executing step, displaying a web portal GUI on the authorized business partner computer, wherein the displayed web portal GUI includes a repair facility callback list for a plurality of open rental vehicle reservations. 31. The method of claim 30 further comprising: displaying the web portal repair facility callback list GUI on the authorized business partner computer in response to a command received from the user of the authorized business partner computer, the command comprising a request to display a plurality of open rental vehicle reservations that are sorted by repair facility. 32. The method of claim 31 wherein the repair facility callback list is configured to display a telephone number for each repair facility. 33. The method of claim 32 further comprising: receiving a command from the user's authorized business partner computer via the web portal repair facility callback list GUI, the command corresponding to a selection of an open rental vehicle reservation that is displayed on the repair facility callback list; responsive to the command received via the web portal repair facility callback list GUI, displaying, on the authorized business partner computer, a web portal GUI tat is configured to receive a user command regarding an action to be taken on the selected open rental vehicle reservation, the user action comprising an extension of the selected open rental vehicle reservation. 34. The method of claim 32 further comprising: displaying a web portal GUI on the authorized business partner computer from which the user can provide a command for the rental vehicle software program to generate a report on a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the report comprising a plurality of fields that detail the plurality of rental vehicle reservations, the command including a command to sort the rental vehicle reservations that are displayed in the report by a user-specified criteria; and responsive to the report generating command, displaying the report on the user's authorized business partner computer via a web portal GUI. 35. The method of claim 34 further comprising: storing repair facility data in the database for rental vehicle reservations for which a renter's vehicle is undergoing repairs; wherein the report includes a field for identifying the repair facility corresponding to the plurality of rental vehicle reservations listed therein, and wherein the report generating command includes a "sort by repair facility" command. 36. The method of claim 34 further comprising: storing in the database a number of authorized days for a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, and wherein the report includes a field for identifying the authorized number of days stored for the plurality of rental vehicle reservations listed therein, and wherein the report generating command includes a "sort by authorized number of days" command. 37. The method of claim 34 further comprising: storing in the database a number of authorized days for a plurality of rental vehicle reservations, and wherein the report includes a field for identifying a number of days behind for rental vehicle reservations that have been open for more than the authorized number of days, the number of days behind being a difference between the number of authorized days for a rental vehicle reservation and a number of days that that rental vehicle reservation has been open, and wherein the report generating command includes a "son by days behind" command. 38. The method of claim 30 wherein the plurality of branch office computers, the database, the first mainframe, and the second mainframe ate all maintained and operated by the rental vehicle service provider. 39. The method of claim 38 wherein the web portal is maintained and operated by the rental vehicle service provider. 40. The method of claim 30 wherein the web portal is maintained and operated by the rental vehicle service provider. 41. The method of claim 30 wherein the rental vehicle software program comprises a legacy rental vehicle software program. 42. An automatic rental vehicle transaction system, the system comprising: a first computer network operated by a rental vehicle service provider, the first Computer network comprising a plurality of branch office computers located in a plurality of geographically remote locations at which a plurality of rental vehicles are available for rent from the rental vehicle service provider, a database in which reservation data regarding the rental vehicles available for rent at the plurality of remote locations is stored, at least a portion of the reservation data corresponding to rental vehicle reservations for third parties whose vehicles are undergoing repairs at a repair facility, the stored reservation data including data identifying the repair facilities where the third parties' vehicles are undergoing repairs, and a first computer network mainframe in bidirectional communication with the database and the branch office computers, the first computer network mainframe having fulfillment software resident thereon, the fulfillment software being configured to process and store rental vehicle reservation data in the database for access by the branch office computers when the branch office computers fulfill rental vehicle reservations; and a second computer network comprising a plurality of authorized business partner computers and a second computer network mainframe; wherein the second computer network mainframe is in bidirectional communication with the first computer network, the second computer network mainframe having a rental vehicle software program resident thereon, the rental vehicle software program being configured to access the database to create and manage rental vehicle reservations in response to a series of commands received from the authorized business partner computers; wherein the authorized business partner computers are configured to access the rental vehicle software program via an electronic connection, thereby providing users of the authorized business partner computers with the ability to create and manage rental vehicle reservations on behalf of third parties, including the ability to generate a report for display on the authorized business partner computers the report comprising details about the plurality of rental vehicle reservations including sorted data therefor that identifies at least one selected from the group consisting of (1) the repair facilities where the third parties' vehicles are undergoing repairs, (2) the authorized number of days for the plurality of rental vehicle reservations, and (3) the number of days behind for rental vehicle reservations that have been open for more than the authorized number of days, the number of days behind being calculated as a difference between the number of authorized days for an open rental vehicle reservation and a number of days that that rental vehicle reservation has been open. 43. The system of claim 42 wherein the report comprises details about the plurality of rental vehicle reservations including sorted data therefor that identifies the repair facilities where the third parties' vehicles are undergoing repairs. 44. The system of claim 42 wherein the report comprises details about the plurality of rental vehicle reservations including sorted data therefor that identifies the authorized number of days for the plurality of rental vehicle reservations. 45. The system of claim 42 wherein the report comprises details about the plurality of rental vehicle reservations including sorted data therefor that identifies the number of days behind for rental vehicle reservations that have been open for more than the authorized number of days, the number of days behind being calculated as a difference between the number of authorized days for an open rental vehicle reservation and a number of days that that rental vehicle reservation has been open. 46. The system of claim 42 wherein the rental vehicle reservations included in the report are limited to open rental vehicle reservations.
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