Information management and synchronous communications system

Abstract

An information management and synchronous communications system and method facilitates database equilibrium and synchronization with wired, wireless and Web-based systems, user-friendly and efficient generation of computerized menus and reservations with handwritten/voice modifications for restaurants, enrollment sessions, and other applications that utilize equipment with nonstandard graphical formats, display sizes and/or applications for use in remote data entry, information management and communication with host computer, digital input device or remote pager via standard hardwired connection, the internet, a wireless link, printer or the like. Various operations employing automated telephone calls and/or messaging may, for instance, be performed. For example, desired reservation and/or appointment information may be automatically converted and conveyed to one or more entities via automated telephone call and/or messaging. As another example, information regarding reservation acceptability may be received and automatically converted via automated telephone call and/or messaging. Telephones may, for instance, be the only equipment required by the entities.

1 . An information management and synchronous communications system for use with wireless handheld computing devices and the internet comprising: 
 a. a central database containing informational session applications and data,    b. at least one wireless handheld computing device on which informational session applications and data are stored,    c. at least one Web server on which informational session applications and data are stored,    d. at least one Web page on which informational session applications and data are stored,    e. an application program interface, and    f. a communications control module,    wherein applications and data are synchronized between the central data base, at least one wireless handheld computing device, at least one Web server and at least one Web page; wherein the application program interface enables integration of outside applications with the informational session applications and wherein the communications control module is an interface between the informational session applications and any other communications protocol.    
   
   
       2 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 1  wherein the communications control module provides a single point of entry for all informational session applications and wherein the single point of entry allows the synchronization of at least one wireless handheld computing device and at least one Web page with the central database so that at least one handheld device, at least one Web page and central database are consistent.  
   
   
       3 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 2  wherein information entered on at least one Web page and transmitted over the internet is automatically communicated to the central database and at least one wireless handheld computing device.  
   
   
       4 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 2  wherein information entered on at least one wireless handheld computing device is automatically communicated to the central database and at least one Web page.  
   
   
       5 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 1  wherein the applications and data are synchronized by digital data transmission between the central database, at least one wireless handheld computing device, at least one Web server and at least one Web page.  
   
   
       6 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 1 , wherein investment informational session data is synchronized.  
   
   
       7 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 1 , wherein insurance informational session data is synchronized.  
   
   
       8 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 1 , wherein employee program informational session data is synchronized.  
   
   
       9 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 1 , wherein enrollment functionality is provided.  
   
   
       10 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 1 , wherein relationship management functionality is provided.  
   
   
       11 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 1 , wherein report generation functionality is provided.  
   
   
       12 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 1 , wherein informational session monitoring functionality is provided.  
   
   
       13 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 1 , wherein session attendee interactive functionality is provided.  
   
   
       14 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 1 , wherein language conversion functionality is provided.  
   
   
       15 . An information management and synchronous communications system for generating and transmitting menus comprising: 
 a. a central processing unit,    b. a data storage device connected to said central processing unit,    c. an operating system including a graphical user interface,    d. a first menu consisting of menu categories, said menu categories consisting of menu items, said first menu stored on said data storage device and displayable in a window of said graphical user interface in a hierarchical tree format,    e. a modifier menu stored on said data storage device and displayable in a window of said graphical user interface,    f. a sub-modifier menu stored on said data storage device and displayable in a window of said graphical user interface, and    g. application software for generating a second menu from said first menu and transmitting said second menu to a wireless handheld computing device or Web page,    wherein the application software facilitates the generation of the second menu by allowing selection of categories and items from the first menu, addition of menu categories to the second menu, addition of menu items to the second menu and assignment of parameters to items in the second menu using the graphical user interface of said operating system, said parameters being selected from the modifier and sub-modifier menus, wherein one or more of the menus relate to informational session functionality.    
   
   
       16 . An information management and synchronous communications system in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the second menu is capable of being displayed on the display screen of a wireless computing device.  
   
   
       17 . An information management and synchronous communications system in accordance with  claim 16 , wherein selections from the second menu are capable of being transmitted to a receiving computer by wireless link.  
   
   
       18 . An information management and synchronous communications system in accordance with  claim 16 , wherein selections from the second menu are capable of being transmitted to a receiving computer via the internet.  
   
   
       19 . An information management and synchronous communications system in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the second menu is capable of being displayed on display screens of computers in a network.  
   
   
       20 . An information management and synchronous communications system in accordance with  claim 19 , wherein the computer network is the internet.  
   
   
       21 . An information management and synchronous communications system in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the second menu is created in conformity with hypertext markup language or extensible markup language.  
   
   
       22 . An information management and synchronous communications system in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the second menu overwrites the first menu.  
   
   
       23 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 15 , wherein the first menu and the second menu are both capable of being displayed in the same window on the display screen.  
   
   
       24 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 15 , wherein the menu categories and items comprising the second menu are subsets, respectively, of the menu categories and items comprising the first menu.  
   
   
       25 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 15 , wherein one or more of the menus relate to investment informational session functionality.  
   
   
       26 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 15 , wherein one or more of the menus relate to insurance informational session functionality.  
   
   
       27 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 15 , wherein one or more of the menus relate to employee program informational session functionality.  
   
   
       28 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 15 , wherein enrollment functionality is provided.  
   
   
       29 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 15 , wherein relationship management functionality is provided.  
   
   
       30 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 15 , wherein report generation functionality is provided.  
   
   
       31 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 15 , wherein informational session monitoring functionality is provided.  
   
   
       32 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 15 , wherein session attendee interactive functionality is provided.  
   
   
       33 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 15 , wherein language conversion functionality is provided.  
   
   
       34 . An information management and synchronous communications system for generating and transmitting menus comprising: 
 a. a central processing unit,    b. a data storage device connected to said central processing unit,    c. an operating system including a graphical user interface,    d. a first menu consisting of menu categories, said menu categories consisting of menu items, said first menu stored on said data storage device and displayable in a window of said graphical user interface in a hierarchical tree format,    e. a modifier menu stored on said data storage device and displayable in a window of said graphical user interface,    f. a sub-modifier menu stored on said data storage device and displayable in a window of said graphical user interface, and    g. application software for generating a second menu from said first menu and transmitting said second menu to a wireless handheld computing device or Web page,    wherein the application software facilitates the generation of the second menu by allowing selection of categories and items from the first menu, addition of menu categories to the second menu, addition of menu items to the second menu and assignment of parameters to items in the second menu using the graphical user interface of said operating system, said parameters being selected from the modifier and sub-modifier menus, wherein said second menu is manually modified after generation, wherein one or more of the menus relate to informational session functionality.    
   
   
       35 . The system of  claim 34  wherein the modified second menu can be selectively printed on any printer directly from the graphical user interface of a hand-held device.  
   
   
       36 . An information management and synchronous communications system for generating menus comprising: 
 a. a central processing unit,    b. a data storage device connected to said central processing unit,    c. an operating system including a graphical user interface,    d. a first menu stored on said data storage device,    e. application software for generating a second menu from said first menu,    wherein the application software facilitates the generation of the second menu by allowing selection of items from the first menu, addition of items to the second menu and assignment of parameters to items in the second menu using the graphical user interface of said operating system and wherein data comprising the second menu is synchronized between the data storage device connected to the central processing unit and at least one other computing device, wherein said second menu is manually modified by handwriting or voice recording after generation, wherein one or more of the menus relate to informational session functionality.    
   
   
       37 . An information management and synchronous communications system for generating menus comprising: 
 a. a microprocessor,    b. a display device,    c. a data and instruction input device,    d. a data storage device for storing information and instructions entered through said data and instruction input means or information generated by said microprocessor,    e. an operating system,    f. a master menu stored on said data storage device for generating a modified menu, and    g. application software,    wherein said microprocessor, operating system and application software are operative to display the master menu on the display device in response to instructions programmed into said microprocessor, operating system, application software and information and instructions entered through said data input device, and wherein said microprocessor, operating system and application software are operative to create the modified menu from said master menu in response to information and instructions entered through said data and instruction input device and wherein data comprising the modified menu is synchronized between the data storage device and at least one other computing device, wherein said modified menu is manually modified after generation, wherein one or more of the menus relate to informational session functionality.    
   
   
       38 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 34 ,  36 , or  37  wherein the manual modification involves handwriting capture.  
   
   
       39 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 34 ,  36 , or  37  wherein language conversion functionality is provided.  
   
   
       40 . The system of  claim 38  wherein the handwriting capture involves handwriting recognition and conversion to text.  
   
   
       41 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 34 ,  36 , or  37  wherein the manual modification involves voice capture.  
   
   
       42 . The system of  claim 41  wherein the voice capture involves voice recognition and conversion to text.  
   
   
       43 . The system of  claim 36  or  37  wherein the modified second menu can be selectively printed on any printer directly from the graphical user interface of said other computing device.  
   
   
       44 . In a computer system having an input device, a storage device, a video display, an operating system including a graphical user interface and application software, an information management and synchronous communications method comprising the steps of: 
 a. outputting at least one window on the video display;    b. outputting a first menu in a window on the video display;    c. displaying a cursor on the video display;    d. selecting items from the first menu with the input device or the graphical user interface;    e. inserting the items selected from the first menu into a second menu, the second menu being output in a window;    f. optionally adding additional items not included in the first menu to the second menu using the input device or the graphical user interface;    g. storing the second menu on the storage device; and    synchronizing the data comprising the second menu between the storage device and at least one other data storage medium, wherein the other data storage medium is connected to or is part of a different computing device, and wherein said second menu is manually modified after generation, wherein one or more of the menus relate to informational session functionality.    
   
   
       45 . The method of  claim 44  wherein the manual modification involves handwriting capture.  
   
   
       46 . The method of  claim 45  wherein the handwriting capture involves handwriting recognition and conversion to text.  
   
   
       47 . The method of  claim 44  wherein the manual modification involves voice capture.  
   
   
       48 . The method of  claim 47  wherein the voice capture involves voice recognition and conversion to text.  
   
   
       49 . The method of  claim 44  wherein language conversion functionality is provided.  
   
   
       50 . An information management and synchronous communications system, comprising: 
 a. a central database containing informational session applications and data,    b. an informational session attendee computing device,    c. an informational session leader computing device,    d. an application program interface, and    e. a communications control module,    wherein the informational session attendee computing device provides informational session interactive functionality;    wherein the informational session leader computing device provides informational session monitoring functionality;    wherein applications and data are synchronized between the central data base and at least one of the computing devices; wherein the application program interface enables integration of outside applications with the informational session applications, wherein the communications control module is an interface between the informational session applications and any other communications protocol, and wherein the synchronized data includes enrollment data.    
   
   
       51 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 50 , wherein investment informational session data is synchronized.  
   
   
       52 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 50 , wherein insurance informational session data is synchronized.  
   
   
       53 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 50 , wherein employee program informational session data is synchronized.  
   
   
       54 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 50 , wherein the informational session attendee computing device provides enrollment functionality.  
   
   
       55 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 50 , wherein relationship management functionality is provided.  
   
   
       56 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 50 , wherein report generation functionality is provided.  
   
   
       57 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 50 , wherein the informational session leader computing device provides session attendee communication functionality.  
   
   
       58 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 50 , wherein the informational session interactive functionality provides goal identification functionality.  
   
   
       59 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 50 , wherein the informational session interactive functionality provides what-if analysis functionality.  
   
   
       60 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 50 , wherein language conversion functionality is provided.  
   
   
       61 . An information management and synchronous communications system, comprising: 
 a. a central database containing informational session applications and data,    b. an informational session attendee computing device on which informational session applications and data are stored,    c. an informational session leader computing device on which informational session applications and data are stored,    d. at least one Web server on which informational session applications and data are stored,    e. at least one Web page on which informational session applications and data are stored,    f. an application program interface, and    g. a communications control module,    wherein applications and data are synchronized between the central data base, at least one of the computing devices, at least one Web server and at least one Web page; wherein the application program interface enables integration with the informational session applications and wherein the communications control module is an interface with the informational session applications.    
   
   
       62 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 61 , wherein investment informational session data is synchronized.  
   
   
       63 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 61 , wherein insurance informational session data is synchronized.  
   
   
       64 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 61 , wherein employee program informational session data is synchronized.  
   
   
       65 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 61 , wherein enrollment functionality is provided.  
   
   
       66 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 61 , wherein relationship management functionality is provided.  
   
   
       67 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 61 , wherein report generation functionality is provided.  
   
   
       68 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 61 , wherein informational session monitoring functionality is provided.  
   
   
       69 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 61 , wherein session attendee interactive functionality is provided.  
   
   
       70 . The information management and synchronous communications system of  claim 61 , wherein language conversion functionality is provided.  
   
   
       71 . An information management and synchronous communications system for use with wireless handheld computing devices and the internet comprising: 
 a. a central database containing hospitality applications and data,    b. at least one wireless handheld computing device on which hospitality applications and data are stored,    c. at least one Web server on which hospitality applications and data are stored,    d. at least one Web page on which hospitality applications and data are stored,    e. an application program interface, and    f. a communications control module,    wherein applications and data are synchronized between the central data base, at least one wireless handheld computing device, at least one Web server and at least one Web page; wherein the application program interface enables integration of outside applications with the hospitality applications; wherein the communications control module is an interface between the hospitality applications and any other communications protocol; and wherein language conversion functionality is provided.    
   
   
       72 . An information management and synchronous communications system for generating and transmitting menus comprising: 
 a. a central processing unit,    b. a data storage device connected to said central processing unit,    c. an operating system including a graphical user interface,    d. a first menu consisting of menu categories, said menu categories consisting of menu items, said first menu stored on said data storage device and displayable in a window of said graphical user interface in a hierarchical tree format,    e. a modifier menu stored on said data storage device and displayable in a window of said graphical user interface,    f. a sub-modifier menu stored on said data storage device and displayable in a window of said graphical user interface, and    g. application software for generating a second menu from said first menu and transmitting said second menu to a wireless handheld computing device or Web page,    wherein the application software facilitates the generation of the second menu by allowing selection of categories and items from the first menu, addition of menu categories to the second menu, addition of menu items to the second menu and assignment of parameters to items in the second menu using the graphical user interface of said operating system, said parameters being selected from the modifier and sub-modifier menus; and wherein language conversion functionality is provided.    
   
   
       73 . An information management and synchronous communications system for use with wireless handheld computing devices, comprising: 
 a. a central database containing informational session applications and data,    b. at least one wireless handheld computing device on which informational session applications and data are stored,    c. an application program interface, and    d. a communications control module,    wherein applications and data are synchronized between the central data base and at least one wireless handheld computing device; wherein the application program interface enables integration of outside applications with the informational session applications and wherein the communications control module is an interface between the informational session applications and any other communications protocol.