IP Verse

System And Method For Real Time Participant Engagement And Two-Way Communication

Patent No. US10949866 (titled "System And Method For Real Time Participant Engagement And Two-Way Communication") was filed by Carricarte Ip Licensing Llc on May 16, 2018.

What is this patent about?

’866 is related to the field of mobile applications and, more specifically, to systems for collecting and analyzing user engagement data. The background acknowledges the importance of real-time user interaction for businesses to understand the social and commercial landscape. Prior art systems exist for data collection and analysis, but lack the ability to collect, disseminate, and display data in real time based on user input, with the capability of responding to participants.

The underlying idea behind ’866 is to provide a system where participants can provide real-time feedback about an event via a mobile application, and a client can view and respond to that feedback in real time through an interactive dashboard. This involves collecting data from multiple participants, aggregating it, and presenting it to the client in a way that allows them to understand participant sentiment and react accordingly, even to the point of sending messages back to specific groups of participants.

The claims of ’866 focus on a method and system for real-time collection and display of participant feedback. Claim 1 details a method involving a mobile application that presents selectable feedback parameters (categories and values), receives participant input, aggregates the data with timestamps, and displays it on an interactive dashboard with adjustable immediacy. Claims 13–15 describe a system with a mobile application, a data processing apparatus for aggregating data, and a client software application with an interactive dashboard, enabling real-time messaging and performance measurement.

In practice, the invention uses a mobile app to gather feedback, transmitting it to a server that aggregates the data. The client then views this aggregated data on a dashboard, which allows them to filter and analyze the information. A key feature is the ability for the client to then send messages back to specific groups of participants based on their feedback, creating a two-way communication channel. This allows for immediate responses to issues or targeted offers based on participant sentiment.

The differentiation from prior approaches lies in the real-time nature of the feedback loop and the ability to respond directly to participants. Unlike systems that rely on delayed surveys or generic communications, ’866 enables a client to have a near-instantaneous "conversation" with participants. The system also allows for anonymity, which encourages more honest feedback. The interactive dashboard provides a flexible interface for analyzing data and crafting targeted responses, making it a more dynamic and responsive system than previous solutions.

How does this patent fit in bigger picture?

Technical landscape at the time

In the early 2010s when ’866 was filed, mobile applications were becoming increasingly prevalent, at a time when real-time data aggregation and analysis were emerging as valuable tools for understanding user behavior and preferences. Systems commonly relied on client-server architectures to collect data from mobile devices and transmit it to a central server for processing, when hardware or software constraints made real-time two-way communication with large groups of users non-trivial.

Novelty and Inventive Step

The examiner allowed the claims because the applicant's arguments regarding 35 U.S.C. 101 and 103 were persuasive. The examiner stated that the applicant's reply made evident the reason for allowance, satisfying the record as a whole, and that the substance of the claims and arguments pointed out the reasons the claims are patentable over the prior art.

Claims

This patent contains 15 claims, with independent claims numbered 1, 13, 14, and 15. The independent claims generally focus on systems and methods for collecting and displaying participant feedback in real time, enabling a client to respond immediately. The dependent claims generally elaborate on and refine the features and functionalities described in the independent claims.

Key Claim Terms New

Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.

Term (Source)Support for SpecificationInterpretation
Data analysis criteria
(Claim 1, Claim 13, Claim 14, Claim 15)		“The data is concurrently aggregated in the data server for real-time analysis. The data server is in communication with an interactive client dashboard whereby a client can, in real time, visualize the participant data displayed in a variety of different ways, grouped in a variety of different ways, with the ability to organize and analyze the data in real time to, for example, zoom in, study, and select certain cohorts grouped by characteristics as desired, including, for example, the cohort of people who gave a certain kind and/or degree of feedback about a certain event or portion of an event at the same time. It should be understood that “aggregated” as used herein means aggregating and organizing data from multiple participants into a data structure by data analysis criteria.”Rules or categories used to organize and group feedback data received from multiple participants, including immediacy by time stamp and criteria corresponding to feedback parameters.
Interactive dashboard
(Claim 1, Claim 13, Claim 14, Claim 15)		“According to the invention, the client receives the participant engagement data via the interactive client dashboard to enable the client to access, explore, analyze, interpret and respond to the engagement data in real time. To provide interaction with the user client, embodiments of the invention can be implemented on a computer wherein the display device, such as a touchscreen display or such other display technology as is known in the art for displaying information to a user. A user input mechanism such as a touchscreen, keyboard or pointing device by which the user can access the dashboard and provide input, as known in the art, according to the user's needs is also contemplated within the scope of the invention.”A software application interface that receives and displays structured data from multiple participants in real time, allowing a client entity to alter the display and select data analysis criteria.
Participant mobile application
(Claim 13, Claim 14, Claim 15)		“According to the invention, participant input is recorded by a mobile software application previously downloaded on the mobile device of the participant. The mobile device according to the invention is equipped with wireless connectivity. In the preferred embodiment, the mobile software application is as simple as a single depression of an icon or button by the participant that are commonly provided by mobile apps. In a preferred embodiment, the mobile application comprises two icons or buttons or a small series of icons or buttons to capture the participant's engagement in a way that requires very little time or thought by the participant, the object being to easily capture the participant's true feedback about the event or an aspect of the event in the moment.”A software application installed on a mobile device that allows participants to input commands indicating their feedback about an event and transmit this data to a data server.
Selectable feedback parameters
(Claim 1)		“The method according to some embodiments includes (a) providing to the participant a mobile software application executable on a mobile device, (b) assigning a unique identifier to the participant, which may be done using encryption software in the mobile application or by other means such as collecting a User ID from the participant, (c) collecting information about each participant, which may be done actively, such as by asking the participant for the information, and/or passively, such as collecting location information from the participant's mobile device geolocator technology, (d) allowing the participant to input a command via the mobile application that indicates the participant's engagement to the event, which engagement may be emotional feedback about the event or about an aspect of the event (e) receiving on a server the data transmitted by multiple participants and aggregating the data received, (g) generating an interactive report of the data, (h) providing the interactive report to the client via an interactive client dashboard, wherein the identity of each participant remains anonymous to the client, and wherein the client may in real time analyze and view the data in various ways and group the data in various ways to reveal useful information and patterns; (i) allowing the client in real time to select one or more cohorts of participants according to commonality of characteristics or engagement values, (j) allowing the client to create a responsive message to be transmitted to selected cohorts, and (k) transmitting to selected cohorts client's responsive message in real time via the mobile application.”A set of options presented to participants on their mobile devices, comprising at least one category and at least two values associated with each category, allowing them to provide feedback about an event.
Structured participant command data
(Claim 13, Claim 14, Claim 15)		“The data is concurrently aggregated in the data server for real-time analysis. The data server is in communication with an interactive client dashboard whereby a client can, in real time, visualize the participant data displayed in a variety of different ways, grouped in a variety of different ways, with the ability to organize and analyze the data in real time to, for example, zoom in, study, and select certain cohorts grouped by characteristics as desired, including, for example, the cohort of people who gave a certain kind and/or degree of feedback about a certain event or portion of an event at the same time. It should be understood that “aggregated” as used herein means aggregating and organizing data from multiple participants into a data structure by data analysis criteria.”The result of organizing and aggregating command input from multiple participants into a data structure according to data analysis criteria, including immediacy by time stamp and criteria corresponding to feedback parameters.

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US10949866

CARRICARTE IP LICENSING LLC
Application Number
US15981865
Filing Date
May 16, 2018
Status
Granted
Expiry Date
Oct 26, 2033
External Links
Slate, USPTO, Google Patents