公开(公告)号：US20030004830A1

公开(公告)日：2003-01-02

申请号：US10142749

申请日：2002-05-08

Applicant: United Parcel Service of America, Inc.

Inventor： Kenneth A. Frederick

IPC: G06F017/60

CPC classification number: G06F17/243 ,  G06Q10/08 ,  G06Q10/083 ,  G06Q10/0833

Abstract: The present invention enables users to access shipping information pertaining to the shipment of parcels by merely selecting an action from a tool bar or menu associated with a text string in a document or spreadsheet either recognized by a Microsoft Office smart tag or highlighted by user. The actions from which to select include but are not limited to tracking, time in transit, shipping history, label generation, address validation, proof of delivery and rate and service selection. The present invention automatically cuts the necessary text from the document or spreadsheet in which the user is working, opens or accesses databases, files, applications, websites, etc., as required to obtain the desired shipping information from a database accessible by the user, such as over a LAN or Internet connection. The present invention processes the data retrieved (including cutting, pasting, inserting or manipulating data and initiating actions such as dialing a phone number, generating a label or sending an e-mail) and preferably presents the results to the user in a message box or as an insert into the document or spreadsheet in which the user is working.

Abstract translation: 本发明使得用户能够通过仅从由Microsoft Office智能标签识别或被用户突出显示的文档或电子表格中的文本字符串相关联的工具栏或菜单中选择动作来访问关于包裹的运送的运输信息。 要选择的操作包括但不限于跟踪，传输时间，发货历史，标签生成，地址验证，交货凭证和费率和服务选择。 本发明根据需要从用户正在工作的文档或电子表格自动切割必要的文本，打开或访问数据库，文件，应用程序，网站等，以从用户可访问的数据库获得期望的运送信息， 例如通过LAN或Internet连接。 本发明处理所检索的数据（包括切割，粘贴，插入或操纵数据以及启动诸如拨打电话号码，产生标签或发送电子邮件的动作），并且优选地将结果呈现给消息框中的用户或 作为用户正在工作的文档或电子表格中的插入。