`
`(12) United States Patent
`Nagda et al.
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 7,302.430 B1
`Nov. 27, 2007
`
`(54) WORKFLOW MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR
`GENERATING OUTPUT MATERAL BASED
`ON CUSTOMER INPUT
`(75) Inventors: Jagdish Mooljee Nagda, Boulder, CO
`(US); Robert Curt Nielsen, Longmont,
`CO (US); Gerri Lynn Peper, Hygiene,
`CO (US)
`(73) Assignee: International Business Machines
`Corporation, Armonk, NY (US)
`
`(*) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 802 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 09/388,261
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Aug. 31, 1999
`
`(51) Int. Cl.
`(2006.01)
`G06F 7/30
`(52) U.S. Cl. ............................... 707/9; 707/3; 707/203
`(58) Field of Classification Search .............. 707/1-10,
`707/100 104.1, 501, 517, 200205; 709/203,
`709/217, 250, 201, 231: 705/14, 79, 27,
`705/80, 34, 52, 54, 26, 41,412, 51; 455/3.04
`See application file for complete search history.
`References Cited
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`(56)
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`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
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`
`2, 1999
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`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`International Business Machines Corporation, IBM InfoPrint 4000
`Direct Mail Printer, Sep. 1997 (c) 1997.
`(Continued)
`Primar y Examiner Mohammad Ali
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—David W. Victor; Konrad
`Raynes & Victor LLP
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`Disclosed is a method, system, and program for an auto
`mated creation and delivery system for generating customer
`output information. A customer record in a first database
`table is interactively generated to include fields specifying at
`least one product, preferences, and a selected output method
`to deliver output material on the product specified in the
`customer record. At least one customer record in the first
`database is received and at least one content file is accessed
`by processing a second database table using values in one
`received customer record. The content of each accessed file
`is then generated into the output material. A selected one of
`a plurality of delivery options is determined from the
`customer record and the output material is transmitted via
`the determined delivery option to the customer specified in
`the customer record.
`
`29 Claims, 8 Drawing Sheets
`
`Output
`Constructor
`|O
`
`2
`
`Data input
`Computer
`4.
`
`
`
`sa
`Customer
`Database
`
`
`
`Customer
`18
`
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`US 7,302.430 B1
`Page 2
`
`- - - - - - 709/217
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`Marketing Solution with New Technology and New Capabilit (c)
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`Fingar, P. "A blueprint for open ecommerce.” Component Strategies
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`Royles, et al. "Dynamic tailoring of law related documents to user
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`Addison, E.R. “Synthesizing summary knowledge from distributed
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`O'Hagan, L. "Dynamic composition of personalised documents.”
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`tive).
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`
`ck
`
`ck
`
`ck
`
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`5/2003
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`
`American Airlines, Ex. 1005, p.2
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 27, 2007
`
`Sheet 1 of 8
`
`US 7,302.430 B1
`
`?seqe?eG
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`8
`
`?nd?nO
`
`
`
`?ndul e?eG
`
`J??nduOO
`
`f>
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`
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`
`
`
`
`
`
`
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`
`
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`American Airlines, Ex. 1005, p.3
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`U.S. Patent
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`US 7,302.430 B1
`
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`
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`
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`
`
`
`pou?æIN ÁuæA?Ied
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`American Airlines, Ex. 1005, p.5
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`U.S. Patent
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`Nov. 27, 2007
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`Sheet 4 of 8
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`US 7,302.430 B1
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`J-89
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`S)-39
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`0
`9
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`| 0818 WHI
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`
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`American Airlines, Ex. 1005, p.6
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`Sheet 7 of 8
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`US 7,302.430 B1
`
`2OO
`
`Receive template
`and Customer
`reCOrd.
`
`2O2
`
`For each Container i in
`template, do
`
`
`
`
`
`2O6
`
`
`
`
`
`ls the
`Container Content
`static?
`
`Generate text
`Yes -> from container
`into Container
`
`208;
`F.G. 5b
`
`No
`
`
`
`212
`
`
`
`21 O
`
`ls query
`included?
`
`
`
`
`
`Access data
`from Customer
`NO ->
`record for
`variable field.
`
`216
`
`
`
`Yes
`
`For column to query, access
`data in Customer record
`in Column
`
`Query content database
`on Column using accessed
`data from Customer record
`as Search Criteria and On
`Container identifier.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Generate text from Container
`into container with data
`from Customer record at
`variable locations in
`Container.
`
`208;
`FG. 5b
`
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`Sheet 8 of 8
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`US 7,302.430 B1
`
`22O
`
`222
`
`
`
`
`
`Access default file
`ls there
`matching metadata)- No -> for container.
`record?
`
`Access file associated
`with matching metadata
`record.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`226
`
`Generate content of
`accessed file into
`COntainer.
`
`
`
`
`
`Determine
`Output device.
`
`
`
`
`
`Converting the generated putput
`into format compatible with the
`determined output device.
`
`232
`
`Build delivery parameters
`for YEYE
`
`
`
`234
`
`Send Converted Output
`with delivery parameters
`tO OutDut
`to send
`O Customer.
`
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`US 7,302,430 B1
`
`1.
`WORKFLOW MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR
`GENERATING OUTPUT MATERAL BASED
`ON CUSTOMER INPUT
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`2
`is then generated into the output material. A selected one of
`a plurality of delivery options is determined from the
`customer record and the output material is transmitted via
`the determined delivery option to the customer specified in
`the customer record.
`In further embodiments, the customer records in the first
`database are generated by a human operator interacting with
`a customer to determine customer demands and preferences.
`In still further embodiments the delivery options include
`electronic mail, facsimile, and postal mail. In Such case, the
`output material is automatically transformed to a format
`compatible with the selected delivery option, wherein a
`different format is used for each delivery option, wherein the
`transformed output is transmitted to the customer via the
`selected delivery option.
`Preferred embodiments provide a automated creation and
`delivery system to generate customer records in a database
`that are used to determine the output to generate onto a
`template, which when generated includes the tailored mar
`keting information to send to the customer. After generating
`the output materials, the output materials are then transferred
`to an output device to deliver to the customer according to
`a customer specified delivery method. Thus, the preferred
`automated creation and delivery system comprises obtaining
`client information concerning products, preferences and
`demands through an operator questioning the client and
`using this customer data to generate output materials tailored
`to the customer's needs, which may then be automatically
`transferred via different possible transmission routes to the
`customer that were requested by the customer.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`Referring now to the drawings in which like reference
`numbers represent corresponding parts throughout:
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a computing envi
`ronment in which preferred embodiments of the present
`invention are implemented;
`FIGS. 2a and 2b illustrate an entry form to enter a
`customer record in accordance with preferred embodiments
`of the present invention;
`FIG. 3 illustrates an example of marketing material gen
`erated in accordance with preferred embodiments of the
`present invention;
`FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a layout of a template
`used to generated tailored marketing material in accordance
`with preferred embodiments of the present invention; and
`FIGS. 5a and 5b illustrate logic to generate marketing
`material in accordance with preferred embodiments of the
`present invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`
`In the following description, reference is made to the
`accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and which
`illustrate several embodiments of the present invention. It is
`understood that other embodiments may be utilized and
`structural and operational changes may be made without
`departing from the scope of the present invention.
`
`Computing Environment
`
`FIG. 1 illustrates a network environment 2 in which
`preferred embodiments are implemented. One or more data
`input centers 4 are used to gather information on existing
`and potential customers and store the information in cus
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`The present invention relates to method, system, and
`program for automated creation and delivery of customer
`output and, in particular, output material based on customer
`input.
`2. Description of the Related Art
`Direct mail printers and printer software allow a user to
`generate and print marketing materials tailored for different
`customers. Many systems have a database of customer
`information and merge the customer information from the
`database into customer marketing material forms that are
`then mailed or otherwise distributed to the customer. Typi
`cally, the marketing material forms have variable fields into
`which the customer information is inserted from the data
`base during the process of merging the forms with the
`database data.
`The effectiveness of a direct mail marketing campaign can
`be significantly improved by customizing the content of
`marketing materials to each customer's needs and situation.
`Existing and potential customers will more likely pay atten
`tion to marketing materials that appear to directly address
`issues that are pertinent to the customer. Likewise, custom
`ers will tend to ignore marketing materials that include
`information that is irrelevant to the their needs and prefer
`ences. Thus, computerized direct mail marketing methods
`continually seek to provide ways to further customize direct
`mail marketing materials to the specific needs and desires of
`CuStOmerS.
`One current problem with customized mail marketing is
`that Substantial human intervention is needed to gather the
`customer information and prepare the generated customized
`marketing material for distribution. After the files are gen
`erated they are typically printed, then placed in an envelope.
`There can often be a considerable lag time between the time
`customer information is gathered and the customized mate
`rials are generated, then mailed to the customer.
`Delivery of non-customized marketing material can occur
`instantly, and is sometimes transmitted via facsimile or
`electronic mail. However, for the reasons discussed above,
`non-customized marketing material is not as effective a
`marketing tool as customized information.
`Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved
`system, method, and program for generating and delivering
`tailored marketing materials to existing and potential cus
`tOmerS.
`
`10
`
`15
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`SUMMARY OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENTS
`
`To overcome the limitations in the prior art described
`above, preferred embodiments disclose a system, method,
`and program for a automated creation and delivery system
`for generating customer output information. A customer
`record in a first database table is interactively generated to
`include fields specifying at least one product, product
`demands, product preferences, and a selected output method
`to deliver output material on the product specified in the
`customer record. At least one customer record in the first
`database is received and at least one content file is accessed
`by processing a second database table using values in one
`received customer record. The content of each accessed file
`
`American Airlines, Ex. 1005, p.11
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`3
`tomer records in a customer database 6. A content database
`8 is comprised of files that include content to insert into a
`template describing a layout of the marketing materials
`(discussed below). The content of the files in the content
`database 8 may comprise any image and text type known in
`the art, including three dimensional images, holographic
`images, watermark, etc. Further, if the marketing pages are
`to be viewed in a Java enabled or other multi-media viewer,
`then the file may include video images, sound files, three
`dimensional images, and any other multi-media format
`known in the art.
`An output constructor 10 receives the template and using
`information in a customer record from the customer data
`base 6 and the content database 8 populates the template
`with marketing information tailored for the customer. After
`generating direct marketing material comprised of the popu
`lated template in accordance with preferred embodiments
`described below, the output constructor 10 may then direct
`the marketing material to a printer 12 for printing or to a
`facsimile (fax) machine 14 for facsimile transmission to the
`targeted customer. Further, the marketing materials may be
`converted into a portable format. Such as an Hypertext
`Mark-Up Language (HTML) or XML page or in the an
`ADOBE ACROBAT format to transmit to the customer
`via e-mail 16. A network 12 provides communication among
`the data input computer 4, customer database 6, content
`database 8, output constructor 10, printer 14, fax machine
`16, and e-mail gateway 18 to customers. The network 18
`may be comprised of any network system known in the art
`including TCP/IP network (e.g., an Intranet, the Internet),
`LAN, Ethernet, WAN, Token Ring, etc. Alternatively, there
`may be separate and different networks between the com
`ponents.
`** AIX, OS/2, and RS/6000 are registered trademarks of IBM and OS/390 and
`MVS are trademarks of IBM; WINDOWS is a registered trademark of
`Microsoft Corporation; UNIX is a registered trademark licensed by the
`X/Open Company LTD, ADOBE ACROBAT is a registered trademark of
`Adobe System, Inc.; PAGEFLEX is a trademark of Bitstream, Inc.
`The data input computer 4 and output constructor 10
`would include an operating system such as MICROSOFT
`WINDOWS 98, WINDOWS NT, AIX, OS/390, OS/2,
`40
`MVS.* and may be comprised of any suitable server and
`client architecture known in the art. The output constructor
`10 would include software suited for processing multiple
`large print jobs, such as the IBM InfoPrint manager software
`that runs on the IBM RS/6000 server under the AIX oper
`ating system.**
`The customer 6 and content 8 databases maybe located on
`the same database server or on separate database servers.
`The data input computer 4 and output constructor 10 would
`include client database software to communicate with the
`server(s) including the customer 6 and content 8 databases.
`The client/server database software to implement the cus
`tomer 6 and client 8 databases in the network 2 may be
`comprised of any client/server database program known in
`the art, such as IBM DB2, Oracle Corporation's ORACLE
`55
`8,
`etc. The client/server database software would allow
`the data input computer 4 and output constructor 10 to
`transfer data, execute SQL queries, and update data with
`respect to the customer 6 and content 8 databases in a
`manner known in the art.
`The printer 14 may be any large scale printer capable of
`mass printing marketing materials, such as the IBM Info
`Color 70. The facsimile machine 14 is preferably capable of
`handling multiple facsimile transmissions at a time to batch
`process facsimile jobs. For instance, the output constructor
`10 may immediately transmit generated output or, alterna
`tively, save generated output for later batch processing of the
`
`4
`transmission operations. Details of the InfoPrint manager
`and printing documents to alternative output devices Such as
`e-mail and fax machines is described in the IBM publication,
`“IBM InfoPrint Manager for AIX: Administrators Guide
`Version 3, Release 1, IBM Document No. S544-5595-00
`(October 1998), which publication is incorporated herein by
`reference.
`
`Gathering Customer Information
`
`In preferred embodiments, detailed information about a
`customer may be gathered by an operator at a marketing call
`center. The operator at the marketing call center speaks with
`a representative of the customer and enters information at
`the data input computer 4 into a customer database record
`for that customer. The operator would enter the data into a
`database entry form. FIGS. 2a and 2b provide an example of
`a customer record database entry form, showing two differ
`ent Scrolled areas of the same page, including customer
`information fields. With respect to FIG. 2a, the customer
`contact field could include information on the contact person
`of the customer. Further fields may be provided for the
`address title, mail-stop, etc., of the contact. The customer
`name and location fields may include further sub-fields for
`the address components of the customer location. The indus
`try type field indicates the industry in which the customer
`operates and the customer boolean field indicate whether the
`customer is a business or technical entity. For instance, this
`may indicate whether the contact has specific technical
`knowledge and understanding of the equipment or is focused
`on less technical, business operations.
`FIG. 2b shows further fields in the customer record,
`including the type of printing of interest to the customer;
`concerns the customer has about the printer product (cus
`tomer's current issue with printers); associated services of
`interest. This page also allows the operator to enter infor
`mation on the services and features of interest to the cus
`tomer. Below is a drop down list to allow the operator to
`select a desired delivery method for the customer. Upon
`selecting a delivery method, the program would prompt the
`user to enter customer address information for the delivery
`method, e.g., e-mail address, fax number, Street address, etc.
`Each of the fields included in the customer record entry
`form illustrated in FIGS. 2a and 2b generates information
`into fields or columns of a database record for the customer.
`The customer database would include a column for each
`field of information provided in the form. A customer record
`is created each time the operator fills in information for a
`product of interest to the customer. Thus, if the customer is
`interested in different products, then different customer
`records would be generated, one for each product. The
`customer records are stored in a table in the customer
`database 6.
`Alternatively, information to enter into the customer
`record fields (columns) may be mined from a database of
`information on the customer. This database is mined to
`gather information that can then be inserted into customer
`records.
`The arrangement and selection of fields to include in
`customer records would be determined during the design of
`the layout of the template. A template would be designed to
`include information on the product. A template is comprised
`of containers, which are sections into which files from the
`content database 8 are inserted. Each of the files in the
`content database 8 include metadata in the form of a
`database record in the content database 8 that provides
`attributes associated with the file. The metadata would
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`5
`
`10
`
`15
`
`5
`include fields or columns of information that corresponds to
`the fields in the customer record. Thus, the meta data for a
`particular file could indicate whether the information is for
`a business or technical oriented contact, corresponding to
`the business or technical selection in the customer record
`and a size of the company, along with other indicators of
`preferences addressed by the file. For instance, a file could
`include information tailored to a non-technical person at a
`large company. The needs of a large company are quite
`distinct from that of a small company. Thus, the files inserted
`into the container may be customized depending on both the
`background of the contact and size of the company. In this
`way, there is a correspondence of fields (columns) in the
`customer records in the customer database 6 and fields
`(columns) the metadata records for each file in the content
`database 8.
`A search engine would query the metadata record of a file
`using data entered in the fields of a customer record, Such
`that a file is selected having metadata attributes matching
`attributes associated with the customer in the customer
`record. The query may query the metadata records on
`multiple attributes from the customer record, e.g., contact
`background (e.g., technical or business), size of company,
`and some other customer preference.
`The template bridges files in the content database 8 and
`the customer records in the customer database 6 to generate
`tailored marketing material. In this way there are two levels
`of customization, one based on generating information
`directly from the customer record to the template and the
`second is based on using the preferences and information in
`the customer record to query and select a file that includes
`content tailored to the customer expressed preferences based
`on multiple degrees of customization, e.g., size, contact
`background, and any other preferences. Thus, a file to insert
`into a container may be queried on multiple customizing
`variables, i.e., multiple customer specific attributes entered
`in the customer record in the customer database 6. With this
`multi-level customized,a customized file may be selected to
`generate customize information in a container and the cus
`tomized information may include external references to data
`in the customer record to provide a second layer of cus
`tomization to the container.
`FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a marketing brochure
`produced in accordance with the preferred embodiments. A
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`designer would design the layout of a template including
`containers, which are regions of the template into which
`content from files from the content database 8 are inserted.
`FIG. 4 illustrates a template 100 in which the user defines the
`layout of how content in the files in the customer 6 and
`content databases 8 will be inserted into the template 100 to
`generate the marketing material. The designer creates con
`tainers within the template 100. A product name container
`102 displays the name of the product of interest to the
`customer. This information is accessed directly from the
`Product field (shown in FIG.2b) of the customer record and
`displays the product name, numbered as 50 in FIG. 3.
`An introduction container 104 includes a reference to an
`introductory file. As shown in container 104, the introduc
`tory file includes static text and references to variable data
`in the customer record. The introductory container 104 may
`also include a query of introduction files based on contact
`background (technical or business) and the size of the
`company. This would select an introduction file including
`information tailored to the contact background and company
`size. The introduction container 104 further includes the
`ability to insert variable customer information from the
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`customer record directly into the introduction text to tailor
`the introduction to the customer, the contact background,
`and the company size.
`A first paragraph container 106 includes the first para
`graph following the introduction. To access files from the
`content database 8 to insert into a container, the designer
`would insert an SQL query into the container 106 to query
`the metadata records in the content database 8 to find a file
`that matches the queried value from the customer record.
`The content database 8 is set-up such that there are numer
`ous files created for each container. The metadata of each file
`associates each file with one of the containers. The metadata
`includes further includes values in one or more columns
`(fields) that correspond to fields in the customer record
`including operator entered customer preferences. For
`instance, there may be numerous files dedicated to para
`graph 1, each having in the associated services column one
`of the possible values for this column that could be entered
`for the customer. Further each file for paragraph 1 may have
`further degrees of customization upon the contact back
`ground and company size. The container 106 includes an
`SQL query to query the “associated services’ column in the
`metadata record for a value that matches the value for this
`same column in the customer record. Thus, the container 106
`includes the type of query, i.e., columns that will be queried,
`and the search criteria for the query is determined dynami
`cally from the customer record. FIG. 3 shows an example of
`the paragraph 1 inserted, numbered as 54, when Environ
`ment Sharing was entered as an associated service to include
`for the customer.
`Similarly, container 108 includes a query on the type of
`printing. This searches the files for paragraph 2 that have a
`“type of printing column value that matches the type of
`printing in the selected customer record. In the example, the
`customer record, in FIG.2b, shows the “type of printing as
`continuous forms. This would cause the selection of a file
`including in its associated metadata indication that it is a
`paragraph 2 file and that has a value of "continuous forms
`in the “type of printing column. As shown in FIG. 3, the
`“continuous forms' value causes the insertion in the para
`graph 2 container 108 of a file including information on
`media flexibility, numbered 56 in FIG. 3, which describes
`the type of forms and data that may be driven through the
`system.
`The above description highlights how a designer would
`design the template 100, format of the customer records
`(FIGS. 2a, b), and the files and metadata to include in the
`content database. First the designer would determine the
`containers to include in the template and then the type of
`content to include in each container that would interest the
`customers. The designer would then determine a way to
`describe different attributes values for the ways in which the
`interest could be classified. The customer record entry form
`would be designed to allow an operator to select one of
`multiple attribute values for the interest. Further, the files to
`fill in the container associated with the customer interests
`and demands would include a field indicating the container
`with which it is associated and each file would include in the
`field corresponding to the interest one of the attribute values
`for the interest. In this way, each file would include infor
`mation tailored to the possible attribute and interest values
`into the customer record. For instance, the value for the
`“type of printing attribute would determine the selection of
`a file, for container 108, having a value in the “type of
`printing attribute field equal to the value entered for this
`field in the customer record. In this way, each file in the
`content database 8 associated with a container has an
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`American Airlines, Ex. 1005, p.13
`American Airlines v. Advanced Transactions
`IPR2023-01366
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`US 7,302,430 B1
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`attribute value in a field (column) corresponding to an
`attribute value in a field (column) in the customer record.
`The container would include a query to search the metadata
`of the files associated with the container for a file that has an
`attribute value matching the attribute value in the column.
`For example, container 110 indicates a “customer type'
`field, which corresponds to the selection in the customer
`record entry form of “business” or “technical” A query of
`this field for business would include a section description
`more useful for business, non-technical types, such as a
`general description of functions; whereas a technical value
`would refer to the file including a technical description. The
`layout 100 also includes containers 112a, b, c, d to generate
`the display of product highlights, shown as numbers 60, 62.
`and 64 in FIG. 3. One or more highlights are filled into the
`containers 112a, b, c, d from files in the content database 8.
`Each highlight container 112a, b, c, d includes a query of the
`metadata in the content database 8 to retrieve the file for the
`highlights having a column value matching the search value
`in the corresponding column in the customer record. For
`instance, the “type of printing field, indicates the type of
`printing the customer is interested, which is shown as
`“Continuous forms' in FIG. 2b. The container 112a would
`insert highlights relating to the type of printing from a file
`having a “type of printing metadata field value matching
`tha