System for Demonstrating Financial Concepts and Displaying Financial Data

The present invention relates to demonstration systems, particularly systems that demonstrate financial and financially related concepts and display financial and financially related information. Financially related concepts include insurance, tax advice, inventory processing and other, similar concepts; as used herein and in the claims which follow, the term "financial" also refers to such financially related concepts.

Many people are confused about investing and find it difficult to wade through vast amounts of financial information. Moreover, until a person feels that he (or she) grasps some of the basic principles of investing, that person is likely to keep all of his assets in one or two familiar investment vehicles. Often this lack of knowledge will subject the investor to unnecessary risks or, more likely, limit the growth potential of the investor's assets.

Education of the potential investor is the only way of combatting this lack of knowledge. Understanding financial concepts and information, however, necessarily involves working with numerical data, trends and concepts.

Many people find financial concepts and trends difficult to grasp. Columns of financial data are meaningless to many people. Thus previously known financial presentation systems have relied heavily on graphic representations of trends, such as the historical price of a stock.

Graphic representations of numerical data are difficult to create. There are software packages specifically designed to create graphs demonstrating financial concepts. However these products can be difficult to use and generally require each user (or small group of users) of the product to own or purchase expensive hardware.

Moreover, previously known financial graphics systems utilize only one screen. Thus such systems are not suited for use in a demonstration, as the person viewing the demonstration must also operate the demonstration. Furthermore, in such one-screen systems, certain aspects of the interface of the systems are often present on the display screen. These interface prompts, menus or "icons" are not part of the demonstration and detract from the demonstration by displaying distracting and unnecessary information to the person viewing the demonstration.

It is possible to avoid these problems by creating a simple linear presentation that needs only to be started by the operator or user. However, such simple systems lack the ability to interact with the user in a personalized manner. For example, the user of a linear presentation cannot review a portion of the demonstration that the user did not understand without having to review the entire demonstration. Similarly, the user of such a system cannot easily review one piece of information, such as historical price data of a particular investment vehicle, without wading through large amounts of irrelevant information. Thus the ability to interact personally with and direct the demonstration system contributes to the usefulness of the system, from both an educational and informational point of view.

Accordingly, there is a need for a system for demonstrating financial concepts which overcomes these disadvantages of previously known systems. Such a system must also be easy to operate, so as to permit the demonstrator easily to direct the demonstration without having to devote undue attention to the operation of the demonstration system itself.

It is an object of this invention to provide a demonstration system which can be easily operated by a demonstrator, and which displays to a viewer graphic information in an effective manner.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a system for generating graphic displays from numerical data.

In accordance with this invention, a system for demonstrating financial concepts and displaying financial information is provided. The system includes a central processing unit for processing financial information and for creating graphic displays from numerical data. The system also includes a demonstrator station and at least one viewer station. Both demonstrator and viewer stations include display means for displaying financial information in graphic and textual form. The demonstrator station further comprises data entry means for entering alphanumeric data, and input means for inputting signals to direct the display of information on the display means of both the demonstrator station and the viewer station or stations. The graphic information displayed on the viewer station display means is a subset of the information displayed on the demonstrator station displaying means.

The system also includes means for generating graphic displays based on entered data. Additional graphic displays can be generated based on additional or altered numerical data. The system can also generate two different graphic displays generated from two different sets of entered data. The system further includes means for printing the entered data.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a demonstration station according to the present invention;

FIG. 2a is a representation of a computer display shown at a demonstrator station, the display showing various regions defined thereon according to the present invention;

FIG. 2b is a representation of a computer display shown at a viewer station, the display showing various regions defined thereon according to the present invention;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are representations of computer displays shown at a demonstrator station, the display showing various regions defined thereon according to the present invention;

FIG. 5a is a representation of a computer display shown at a demonstrator station, the display showing various regions defined thereon according to the present invention;

FIG. 5b is a representation of a computer display shown at a viewer station, the display showing various regions defined thereon according to the present invention;

FIGS. 6 through 13 are representations of computer displays shown at a demonstrator station, the display showing various regions defined thereon according to the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a diagram of a data structure used in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of an exemplary hardware configuration for a computer on which the system of the invention is implemented;

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram of a portion of a process implemented by the system of the invention when a demonstrator activates a new frame of the demonstration; and

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram of a portion of an alternative process implemented by the system of the invention when a demonstrator activates a new frame of the demonstration.

The present invention is a system for demonstrating financial concepts and displaying financial information. The system includes at least two stations, one for a demonstrator and one for a viewer. Optionally, additional viewer stations may be added. Preferably, the system is housed in a single desk-like unit 10, shown in FIG. 1. This unit is preferably divided into two stations--a demonstrator station 12 and a viewer station 22.

Both demonstrator and viewer stations include monitors 13 and 23 or other means for displaying financial information in graphic form. Monitors 13 and 23 are preferably 13-inch color monitors, such as those sold by Apple Computer, Inc.

Monitors 13 and 23 are connected to the same central processing unit 30, which is preferably hidden in the desk portion of demonstrator station 12. Central processing unit 30 provides video signals to monitors 13 and 23. Central processing unit 30 is preferably a Macintosh IIci microcomputer having at least eight megabytes of RAM, a hard disk drive of at least 40 megabytes and two Apple Computer, Inc. 256-color video graphics controller cards. Monitors 13 and 23 are each connected to one of the video graphics controller cards.

The demonstrator station 12 also includes means for selectively controlling the display of information on both demonstrator and viewer monitors 13 and 23. Means for entering data into the system are also provided at the demonstrator station. Preferably, the demonstrator station 12 includes a keyboard 14 and a mouse 15 for entering information and directing the display of information on monitors 13 and 23. Keyboard 14 and mouse 15 are connected to central processing unit 30.

Central processing unit 30 is connected to a printer 35, which is preferably a laser printer such as the LaserWriter.RTM. IINT printer available from Apple Computer, Inc.

All of the hardware elements described in the system of the present invention could be replaced with other equivalent hardware elements that perform similar functions. Many different types of central processing units could be substituted for the Macintosh unit described above. Similarly, touch screen displays, light pens, track balls, keyboards, keypads, stylus-type input devices or any other input device could be used instead of or in addition to keyboard 14, mouse 15 or both.

Although demonstrator station 12 and viewer station 22 are preferably housed in a single desk-like unit as shown in FIG. 1, in an alternative embodiment, viewer station 22 may be located in a remote location, away from demonstrator station 12. In such an embodiment, viewer station 22 may comprise a separate terminal (either with or without its own central processing unit) which is electronically connected to central processing unit 30 via a network, or modems or any other means of linking terminals or computers. Graphic display data at the remote viewer station 22 may be transmitted from one of the video graphics controller cards at central processing unit 30; alternatively, the graphic display on viewer screen 23 may be generated by a video graphics controller located at viewer station 22 using data transmitted by central processing unit 30. In such a remote embodiment, a voice communications system such as a telephone or intercom may also be employed to enable the viewer to speak with the demonstrator. The viewer station 22 may also include a printer.

FIG. 2a depicts a typical display that would be shown at demonstrator station monitor 13 of the present invention. FIG. 2b shows a display that would be shown at viewer station monitor 23 at the same time that the display of FIG. 2a is shown at the demonstrator station. The demonstrator's display shown in FIG. 2a has four distinct regions--display region 100, personal bar 200, navigation bar 300 and prompt field 400.

Everything displayed on demonstration station monitor 13 is in display region 100, except for the personal bar 200, the navigation bar 300 and prompt field 400. Display region 100 can be used to display text and graphic information, including information tables, line, bar and pie charts, and other graphic displays. Display region 100 may also contain active areas that permit the demonstrator to enter data or display additional information in a manner that is well known to those familiar with hypertext programs.

Viewer station display region 100a, shown in FIG. 2b, displays virtually the same information shown in display region 100 at the demonstrator station 12. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, navigation bar 300 (or the menu headings and menu subheadings associated with the navigation bar) on the demonstrator display may overlay and cover a portion of display region 100 on the demonstrator monitor 13 as will be described below. Except for differences caused by the presence of navigation bar 300 (and various warning and error messages which appear on only demonstrator display region 100), display regions 100 and 100a always display the same graphic image or information.

Personal bar 200 shown in FIG. 2a overlays display region 100. Similarly, personal bar 200a in FIG. 2b overlays display region 100a on the display 23 at the viewer station 22. The personal bar 200 and its associated menus (not shown in FIG. 2a) may include active areas as will be described below. These menus (and the personal bar 200) can be used by the demonstrator to enter information about the viewer during the demonstration. As with display areas 100 and 100a, personal bars 200 and 200a (and their associated menus) displayed on the demonstrator and viewer displays always have the same appearance. Personal bar 200 will be more fully described below. FIG. 2a, appear on only the demonstrator display. The navigation bar 300 comprises Clear Screen region 302, menu headings 304a through 304f, "T" menu heading 305, Back region 306 and Next region 307. Pointer 310 is moved across the display by mouse 15. The regions and menus of navigation bar 300 are used to direct the demonstration program; these regions and menus can be activated by touching a mouse button when pointer 310 is directly over the active region. This action is referred to as "clicking on" the active region. Alternatively, where a touch screen or light pen is used, an active area can be activated by touching the screen within the active area (in which case a pointer is not needed). Navigation bar 300 will be more fully described below.

In an alternate embodiment, the viewer station 22 might have an associated input means, such as a keyboard, keypad, mouse, touch screen, track ball, light pen or a stylus-type input device. For example, the viewer station 22 in the remote embodiment discussed above might have an associated keyboard or keypad to permit the viewer to enter data. While such an alternate embodiment is within the scope of the present invention, the embodiment described herein (and in the Computer Program Appendix) does not include input means at the viewer station.

Prompt field 400 shown in FIG. 2a appears only on the demonstrator display 13. Prompt field 400 displays notices (e.g., a copyright notice or a disclaimer) and textual prompts or comments to assist the demonstrator in explaining the graphic information that is simultaneously displayed in display areas 100 100a. Alternatively, prompt field 400 may display textual prompts to assist the demonstrator in interacting with the demonstration system (e.g., directing the demonstrator to click on a particular portion of the display.) Prompt field 400 may also include active area 402 which can be touched or clicked on by the demonstrator to provide additional prompt text (which replaces the text previously located in prompt field 400.) This feature permits prompts to be of more than one line of text where necessary.

Comment field 500 shown in FIG. 2b appears only on the viewer display 23. Like prompt field 400 on the demonstrator display 13, comment field 500 on the viewer display 23 can display text messages associated with the graphic image being displayed in display areas 100 and 100a. However, prompt field 400 and comment field 500 do not generally display the same text messages. Furthermore, comment field 500 has no active areas. In FIG. 2b, no text is displayed in comment field 500.

Thus the viewer display shown in FIG. 2b comprises display region 100a, personal bar 200a and comment field 500. Unlike the demonstrator display shown in FIG. 2a, the viewer display has no active areas. While most of the FIGURES discussed subsequently will depict only the demonstrator display (and thus show navigation bar 300), it is understood that the viewer display associated with each demonstrator display shown is the same as the demonstration display with four exceptions: (1) the viewer display does not have a navigation bar; (2) the viewer display does not have prompt field 400, but rather comment field 500 which occupies the same area of the viewer display as the prompt field does on the demonstrator display, but displays different text; (3) the viewer display does not have a pointer in the normal operation of the system (although the software in the attached Computer Program appendix may cause a pointer to appear on the viewer monitor if pointer 310 is moved off one edge of demonstrator monitor 13); and (4) various system messages and error messages appear only on demonstrator monitor 13.

Navigation bar 300 shown in FIG. 2a will now be described in more detail in the context of an asset allocation demonstration. As noted above, the regions and menus of navigation bar 300 are used to direct the demonstration program. Menu headings 304a through 304f divide the demonstration into discrete sections. In the example shown in FIG. 2a, there are six sections--the first two being "introduce" 304a and "ask assets" 304b. The text in the remaining four menu headings, 304c through 304f, is shaded (as opposed to the solid text in menu headings 304a and 304b). The menu headings having shaded text indicate that those menus are inactive, and thus cannot be opened.

The "introduce" menu heading 304a is highlighted in FIG. 2a. This menu heading is highlighted because the frame being displayed in FIG. 2a is located in the "introduce" section of the demonstration. While particular label names for the menus described are based on a particular asset allocation demonstration, the present invention is in no way limited to menus using the labels mentioned or to any particular application. Similarly, the invention is in no way limited to the particular graphic screens disclosed.

Clicking on any of the active menu headings 304a through 304f causes the heading to be highlighted (while any previously highlighted heading is unhighlighted) and the corresponding men is displayed.

Clicking on "T" menu heading 305 provides access to a menu that allows the demonstrator to access a number of tools, such as an on-screen calculator. Other customized calculators, such as a monthly mortgage payment calculator or marginal tax rate calculator may be accessed through this menu heading.

Clicking on the Back 306 or Next 307 region allows the demonstrator to move to the previous or next frame of the demonstration (when these regions are active). In FIG. 2a, the Back region 306 is inactive (as the label "BACK" is displayed in shaded text) and thus cannot be used. The Back region 306 is inactive because the frame being displayed in FIG. 2a is the first frame of the "introduce" section. A mouse click on Next region 307 will, however, move the demonstration to the next frame.

When a new frame is displayed (e.g., by clicking on an active Next region 307), new information is displayed in display regions 100 and 100a. Prompt field 400 and Comment field 500 are also updated with the new text (or blank field) associated with the new frame. Personal bars 200 and 200a are displayed as they were in the previous frame. The navigation bar 300 is again displayed on only the demonstrator display.

Clear Screen region 302 enables the demonstrator to clear display region 100 (and 100a) as well as prompt field 400 and comment field 500. Clicking on the Clear Screen region 302 also moves the demonstration to an empty frame at the beginning of the section that was highlighted on navigation bar 300 when the Clear Screen region was clicked on. Thus if the Clear Screen region 302 as shown in FIG. 2a is clicked on, display region 100 will appear empty as shown in FIG. 3. If menu heading 304a is then clicked on, the "introduce" menu will be displayed as shown in FIG. 3. Any of the active menus can be displayed at any time by clicking on the appropriate menu heading, such as 304a, 304b or 305 in FIG. 2a. Inactive menus are not displayed when the mouse clicks on the associated heading.

The "introduce" menu shown in FIG. 3 has four entries or subheadings--"show investment options" 320, "define 3 categories" 322, "compare past performance" 324 and "sign-on customer" 326. Each of these entries corresponds to a particular frame or set of frames in the demonstration. By clicking on the one of the entries, the demonstration is advanced (or moved back) to the frame corresponding to the menu entry selected. If the entry corresponds to a set of frames, clicking on the entry moves the demonstration to the first frame in that set of frames. The top entry, "show investment options" 320, corresponds to the first frame, or first set of frames in the demonstration. The bottom entry, "sign-on customer" 326 corresponds to the last frame or set of frames in the "introduce" section.

Because Clear Screen region 302 was clicked while in the "introduce" section of the demonstration, FIG. 3 shows the demonstrator display at the very beginning of the "introduce" section. The demonstrator can move the demonstration to the next frame by clicking on either the "show investment options" entry 320, or by clicking on the Next region 307. If either of these regions is clicked on, the demonstration system would then display the displays shown in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b on the demonstrator and viewer displays respectively. These screens display the frame "show investment options".

Alternatively, the person conducting the demonstration may not wish to return to this frame, having already viewed it. Thus the demonstrator may click on "define 3 categories" 322 of the "introduce menu shown in FIG. 3. The demonstrator display would then appear as shown in FIG. 4 (the corresponding viewer display is not shown.) The frame shown in FIG. 4 has a different graphic image in display region 100, and a different prompt for the demonstrator in prompt region 400. Both the Back and Next regions 306 and 307 are active in FIG. 4, indicating that the demonstrator can both move back to the previous frame, or forward to the next frame.

It will be noted that FIGS. 3 and 4, and the subsequent FIGURES showing the display at demonstrator station 12 omit pointer 310 for the sake of simplicity. If a mouse is used in the system of the present invention, a pointer 310 will always appear on demonstration monitor 13 unless the pointer 310 is moved off the edge of demonstration monitor 13.

FIGS. 5a and 5b depict the demonstrator and viewer displays for a subsequent frame in the "introduce section". Comment region 500 of FIG. 5b displays a viewer comment. This comment differs from the prompt visible in the prompt field 400 of the demonstration display shown in FIG. 5a.

FIGS. 5a and 5b (and all of the Figures discussed thus far) have shown the personal bar 200 (200a) in the closed condition. The personal bar also has an open condition. If the fourth entry from the "introduce" menu shown in FIG. 3--"sign-on customer" 326 is selected, the personal bar is automatically opened and a cursor is activated in viewer field 202. (If a name has already been entered in viewer field 202, choosing "sign-on customer" 326 will not cause a cursor to appear in viewer field 202, which will already display the previously entered name.) Alternatively, the personal bar 200 can be opened at any time by clicking on box 203. Once personal bar 200 is open, the demonstrator can enter the viewer's name into viewer field 202 using the keyboard 14. FIG. 6 shows the open personal bar after the name "John Blanque" has been entered into viewer field 202. (The viewer name can always be entered or edited by clicking on viewer field 202 or personal bar 200 to activate a cursor in that field. Once entered, the name is always displayed in viewer field 202 or on personal bar 200.)

The open personal bar shown in FIG. 6 displays data menu headings bar 204. (Data menu headings bar 204 and viewer field 202 are also displayed on the viewer display.) Data menu headings bar 204 contains several data menu headings. By clicking near a particular heading, a data entry field is displayed. For example, by clicking the mouse button when the pointer 310 is near the "marital" heading and over the data menu headings bar 204, the data entry field 208 is displayed, as shown in FIG. 7. This field is displayed with an active "I-bar" cursor. In the example shown, the demonstrator would ask the viewer if he or she is married and enter "y" or "n" accordingly. As shown in FIG. 7, the demonstrator has entered "y" using keyboard 14. When the demonstrator hits the "return" or "enter" key on the keyboard 14, data entry field 208 disappears and the "marital" heading of the data menu headings bar 206 changes to "married", as shown in FIG. 8.

If the demonstrator has made a mistake, he can click near the "married" heading of the data menu headings bar 206 to again display data entry field 208. By entering "n" for "no", the heading of the data menu headings bar 206 would be changed to display "single".

Thus the data menus activated by the data menu headings bar 206 can be used to enter and edit information about the viewer of the demonstration. This information can be displayed on the data menu headings bar 206 as described above with regard to the marital heading. Other information that might be entered through data entry fields associated with data menu headings bar 206 includes: annual income, monthly expenses, marginal tax rate, number of children and their ages, whether the viewer expects to pay for the college costs of the children, whether the viewer owns a home or rents, the viewer's age, and the age at which he expects to retire.

This information about the viewer of the demonstration may be used by the demonstrator to assist him in advising the viewer with regard to the viewer's financial affairs. While the present invention includes the described system and method of entering data about the viewer of the demonstration, the present invention does not encompass any particular method or system of creating a recommendation based on the collected information. The system of the present invention could, however, be utilized to gather information to serve as the basis for generating such recommendations.

FIG. 8 also depicts data entry card 110. Title bar 111 identifies the type of data to be entered into data entry card 110. This card contains several shaded fields 116, 118 and 120 which can be clicked on to open a data entry field to allow data to be entered or edited using keyboard 14; pressing "return" or "enter" closes the data field. The data to be entered in each field are indicated by labels 115 ("Checking", "Savings" and "Credit" in FIG. 8) located on the left side of the data entry card 110. In the data entry card 110 shown in FIG. 8, "2000" has been entered in to field 116 and "30000" has been entered into field 118. After the "return" or "enter" key is pressed, the fields are formatted (with commas, dollar signs in the fields at the top of columns, etc.) and displayed in their respective locations as shown in FIG. 8. The data entry card 110 shown in FIG. 8 adds the values in fields 116 and 118 and displays the formatted, rounded sum in area 122, in a manner similar to a conventional spreadsheet.

It will be noted that the "Credit" label near the bottom left corner of data entry card 110 is shaded. This is in contrast to the "Checking" and "Savings" labels which are in solid lettering. The labels appear in solid lettering if the demonstrator clicked on the boxes shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b having the corresponding label on them. Thus the "Credit" label is shaded because the "Credit" box was not clicked on. However, if numerical data is entered in field 120, the "Credit" label will be displayed in solid lettering.

While this description discusses labels and menu headings as being displayed in solid or shaded fonts, it will be understood that the actual programming used to achieve this effect may not be a change in the color of a font per se. For example, the apparent color of a text segment may be "changed" by replacing the bit-map used to generate the entire region containing the text with a second bit-map that differs from the initial bit map only in the appearance (color or shade) of the lettering that will be generated by that bit-map. Alternatively, a similar procedure can be used to "highlight" menu headings 304a-f, etc.

It will also be noted that the "ask assets" heading 304b of navigation bar 300 is now highlighted because the frame being displayed is located in the "ask assets" section of the demonstration program.

Clicking on the Close Box 114 in the title bar 111 enables the demonstrator to close data entry card 110, causing data entry card 110 to disappear from the display. Clicking on Up and Down Arrows Symbol 112 will cause the next data entry card to be displayed. Clicking on Next region 307 will also cause the next data entry card (frame) to be displayed. Clicking on the "ask assets" region 304b of navigation bar 300 will display the subheadings in the "ask assets" menu, which subheadings correspond to particular frames in the "ask assets" section of the demonstration program. Clicking one of these subheadings (if it is active) will cause the associated frame to be displayed.

If either Next region 307 or Up and Down Arrows Symbol shown in FIG. 8 is clicked on, the display will then appear as shown in FIG. 9. Data entry card 130 shown in FIG. 9 is functionally similar to data entry card 110 shown in FIG. 8. The main difference between data entry cards 110 and 130 is the nature of the data intended to be entered by the demonstrator in each card. In the examples shown in FlGS. 8 and 9, data entry card 110 is for entering "Bank" information, whereas data entry card 130 is formatted for entering "Income" information. Data entry card 130 functions as described with regard to data entry card 110; data is entered by clicking on a shaded field to the right of its associated label, entering or editing the data using keyboard 14, and pressing the "return" or "enter" key to close the data entry field. In the data entry card 130 shown in FIG. 9, "5000" has been entered in field 132.

If either Next region 307 or Up and Down Arrows Symbol 112 shown in FIG. 9 is clicked on, the display will then appear as shown in FIG. 10. Data entry card 150 displayed in FIG. 10 is used for "Growth" information, but functions in the said manner as data entry cards 110 and 130. In the data entry card 150 shown in FlG. 10, "2000" has been entered in field 134. The demonstration incorporating the frames shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 has only three cards in this sequence of frames. Consequently, clicking on the Up and Down Arrows Symbol 112 on data entry card 150 (the last of the three cards) causes the first data entry card, 110 to be displayed, as shown in FIG. 8. Thus data entry cards 110, 130 and 150 can be reviewed and the information in the various data entry fields altered in the manner described above.

If Next region 307 shown in FIG. 10 is clicked on, the display appears as shown in FIG. 11. Next region 307 will not be active when data entry card 150 is being displayed unless some numerical data has been entered in the fields of data entry cards 110, 130 and 150. Display area 100 displays pie chart 160, which is generated from the "Bank", "Income" and "Growth" data entered in data entry cards 110, 130 and 150. Pie chart 160 displays the proportionate contribution of each of the three categories ("Bank", "Income" and "Growth") to the total of the viewer's investment assets.

If, while viewing the pie chart 160 shown in FIG. 11, the demonstrator wishes for some reason to change a data entry in one of data entry cards 110, 130 region 304b. This will cause the "ask assets" menu to be displayed as shown in FIG. 12. If the first subheading in this menu, "ask bank", is clicked on, data entry card 110, as shown in FIG. 8, will be displayed on the screen. Data in any of the fields of this data entry card can then be edited by opening the data entry fields as described above. Data on the other data entry cards 130 and 150 can be edited in a similar manner. When the editing is complete, the demonstrator can again click on the "ask assets" region 304b to display the "ask assets" menu. Then, by clicking on the bottom entry, "show current pie", a new pie chart 160 generated from the edited data will be displayed.

After the information about the viewer has been gathered using the system of the present invention, the demonstrator may use the information for a number of purposes. One such purpose might be to propose a new allocation for the viewer's assets. The new allocation might be generated by a securities broker or even a computer program. As noted above, the generation of new ways to allocate assets is not a part of the present invention. However, after a new manner of allocating assets has been proposed, the data concerning the new allocation could be entered using data entry cards in a manner similar to that described above. This data could then be used to generate a new pie chart similar to the one shown in FIG. 11.

The system of the present invention could then be used to compare the current and proposed allocations, as shown in FIG. 13. It will be noted that data menu headings bar 204 now displays additional information that was entered in the manner described in connection with FIG. 7. Thus data menu headings bar 204 now indicates that John Blanque, the viewer: is married, has an annual income of $75,000, has one child, owns a home, and is forty-five years old.

Display region 100 shows pie chart representations of both the current and proposed asset allocations 170 and 180.

By clicking on "conclude" heading 304f of navigation bar 300, the demonstrator can access a menus subheading that will enable him to print a summary of the asset and personal information entered into the system of the present invention. Such a printed summary could include information entered using the data menu headings bar 204, including: the viewer's name, an indication of the viewer's marital status, the viewer's gross annual income, the viewer's monthly cash needs, the viewer's marginal tax rate, ages of the viewer's children (if the viewer has children), an indication of whether the viewer intends to provide college expenses for the children (if the viewer has children), an indication of whether the viewer owns a home, the viewer's age and the viewer's planned retirement age.

The printed summary also preferably includes all of the information entered in data entry cards 110, 130 and 150 along with the associated labels. If a proposal for a different asset allocation (i.e., a proposed allocation) has been provided (by a person such as a securities broker, or through a system other than that of the present invention), information concerning the proposed allocation analogous to that contained on data entry cards may also be included in the printed summary.

The data collected from the viewer can be saved in a file (preferably under the viewer's name) at the end of a session. This file can then be accessed subsequently using the demonstration system of the present invention to add, edit, display or print information regarding the viewer as described above.

The demonstration system of the present invention may be implemented with a computer program (hereafter the demonstration system program) running on a conventional microcomputer. A conventional computer operating system and the demonstration system program are contained on the hard disk drive (or other storage means) of central processing unit 30. A database of customer files (that have been saved) is also stored on the hard disk. The demonstration system program actually comprises two programs--a compiled interpreter program called "bscan" and a program that runs on the "bscan" interpreter called "scan". These programs access data from two "libraries"--one containing numerical data and the other containing data for generating graphic images. The data in the graphic image library are divided into numerous image files, each of which has an associated identifier. A particular image file contains data needed to generate a single graphic image. Copies of source code listings of the "bscan" program, and of the "scan" program that creates the sample demonstration referred to herein are submitted with this application in a Computer Program Appendix.

The "bscan" program is an application comprising numerous low-level routines that are essential to the creation of any particular demonstration program. These low-level routines include, for example, routines for generating menus, active areas, icons and dialogue boxes that can be used by the demonstrator to control the demonstration program. The bscan program, which is coded in the C programming language, includes a toolbox of routines that create graphically displayed control elements that can be displayed simultaneously with graphic images. In addition to these low-level, interface routines, bscan also includes routines for generating line, bar and pie charts from stored or entered data. Additionally, bscan includes routines for creating tables of data (which the demonstrator can used to enter information) and to perform simple calculations on data (such as adding a column of numbers.) The bscan routines are accessed or "called" by a high-level "bscan language". The bscan program also includes an interpreter for interpreting files written in the bscan language. Thus the bscan program shares many similarities with Apple Computer's Hypercard, Silicon Beach's SuperCard and other well-known hypertext programs.

The second subprogram of the system of the present invention is the "scan" program. The scan program is a series of high-level "bscan language" instructions that creates a particular demonstration by calling various bscan routines in conjunction with a selected portions of a particular library of graphic images and data. Thus a particular scan program creates a unique demonstration by invoking the bscan interpreter in conjunction with the data representing graphic images stored in a particular library.

The scan program includes high level instructions that create and link a series of screen displays or frames. At most, only a single frame can be displayed at any one time on monitors 13 and 23. The scan program also includes high level instructions that invoke various bscan routines to create the navigation bar 300, its menus and active areas, and the personal bar 200 (200a) and its menus.

As discussed above, a scan program and its associated data files create a number of frames, only one of which is displayed at any one time when the scan program is being executed. As shown in FIG. 14, each includes a display section 602 containing graphic information for generating a graphic display for display areas 100 and 100a.

Display section 602 may comprise identifiers for one or more graphic images which may be stored in the data library, and instructions for displaying the graphic images (including the locations of the stored images on the display screen.) The graphic images stored in the data library are preferably bit-map images stored in a compressed form.

Alternatively, display section 602 may comprise a program for generating a graphic display based on stored or entered data. The pie chart display shown in FIGS. 11 and 13 and the line graph display shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b are examples of displays generated by frames which employ graphics programs to generate images.

Frame 600 also includes an active area section 604 containing coordinates specifying any active areas on display area 100. The active area section 604 also includes coordinates of the next and back areas of the navigation bar, if these areas are active for this frame. Each set of active area coordinates has at least one associated software routine for performing the action associated with each active area.

For example, a box pictured in display area 100 (and 100a) may have screen coordinates that coincide with those of an active area such that, if the mouse button is held down when pointer 310 is in the box (and thus in the active area), an "I-bar" cursor appears which allows text or numerical data to be entered or edited in the box using the keyboard 14. Whenever an "I-bar" cursor is present in a data entry field, pointer 310 assumes a "waffle" shape formed by a three-by-three grid of boxes. When the "return" or "enter" key on keyboard 14 is pressed, the "I-bar" cursor disappears, the pointer 310 resumes its usual arrow shape, and the entered text or numerical data is displayed in the box.

Frame 600 also comprises a demonstrator prompt section 606 that includes the text of any prompts that are to appear in prompt field 400 when the frame 600 is the active frame. Similarly, viewer comment section 608 includes the text of any comments that are to appear in the comment field 500 on the viewer display when frame 600 is the active frame.

Frame 600 also includes NextFrame 610 and BackFrame 612 sections, which may contain the identifiers of the frames to be activated when the mouse is clicked in the next and back active areas, 307 and 306, respectively (when frame 600 is the active frame.) If either the next or the back area 307 or 306 is inactive (i.e., not currently an active area), the corresponding NextFrame or BackFrame section will not contain a frame identifier.

Frame 600 also includes a Location Identifier section 614. The Location Identifier indicates the section of the demonstration in which frame 600 is located. Thus Location Identifier section 614 may have any one of a fixed number of values. The fixed number is determined by the number of sections in the particular demonstration, which is the same as the number of menu headings on navigation bar 300. Thus, for the demonstration discussed above, Location Identifier section 614 could have any of six values, which values correspond to the six sections (and menu headings) of the demonstration--"introduce", "ask assets", "build allocation", "show recommendation", "show outcome" and "conclude".

It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the frame structure shown in FIG. 14 can be implemented or programmed in a number of forms. For example, rather than being a grouping of data files and identifiers, each frame 600 may be implemented as a separate subroutine. Thus the frame identifier 601 would be the name of the subroutine, with each of the remaining sections of the frame comprising one or more high-level commands.

It will also be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that a subroutine corresponding to a particular frame might merely add or remove elements from the graphic display of the previous frame, rather than re-drawing the elements of the two frames which are identical. Thus a frame which can only be displayed immediately after a certain prior frame is displayed might merely alter the display from the prior frame to generate a new display.

FIG. 15 illustrates the manner in which two screens of data are displayed in the system of the present invention. Central processing unit 30, operating under the control of the demonstration program, transmits data along bus 51 to and between demonstrator video buffer RAM 52, demonstrator video RAM 54, viewer video buffer RAM 62 and viewer video RAM 64. The display of demonstrator monitor 13 is controlled by the contents on demonstrator video RAM in a conventional manner. Similarly, the display on viewer monitor 23 is controlled by the contents of viewer video RAM 64. Central processing unit 30 prepares the contents of each monitor screen by using conventional graphics programs to write to demonstrator video buffer RAM 52 and viewer video buffer RAM 62. Where the same images are to appear on both demonstrator and viewer monitors 13 and 23, central processing unit 30 sends the same data to demonstrator video buffer RAM 52 and viewer video buffer RAM 62. The data creating images that are to appear on only one monitor are sent to only one video buffer RAM.

When the central processing unit 30 has completed both displays and has thus finished writing to video RAM buffers 52 and 62, the contents of these buffers are moved to demonstrator video RAM 54 and viewer video RAM 64, respectively. Thus the displays on demonstrator monitor 13 and viewer monitor 23 are updated. It should be noted that it may be preferable to have more than one video buffer for each monitor.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating the manner in which screen displays in accordance with the present invention are generated. Whenever a new frame is activated, the screen display subroutine represented in FIG. 16 is invoked. In step 700, the contents of demonstrator and viewer video buffers 52 and 62 are cleared. In step 701, graphic image data as indicated in display section 602 of the newly activated frame is written to both demonstrator and viewer video buffers 52 and 62. Alternatively, if a graphic program resides in section 602 of the newly activated frame, the program is executed and its graphic image data output written to both demonstrator and viewer video buffers 52 and 62.

In step 702, graphic image data reflecting the current status of the personal bar 200 is directed to both demonstrator and viewer video buffers 52 and 62.

In step 703, demonstrator prompt section 606 of the newly activated frame is checked to determine if there is a prompt to be displayed. If there is a prompt, textual data for displaying the prompt are written to demonstrator video buffer 52 in step 704. If there is nothing in demonstrator prompt section 606, control passes directly to step 706.

In step 706, viewer comment section 608 of the newly activated frame is checked to determine if there is a comment to be displayed. If there is a comment, textual data for displaying the comment are written to viewer video buffer 62 in step 708. If there is nothing in viewer comment section 608, control passes directly to step 710.

In step 710, graphic image data reflecting the current status of the navigation bar 300 is directed to the demonstrator video buffer 52. This step is described in further detail below.

In step 712, data in demonstrator video buffer 52 is moved to demonstrator video RAM 54 and the data in viewer video buffer 62 is moved to viewer video RAM 64. Thus demonstrator monitor 13 displays the image corresponding to the data in demonstrator Video RAM 54, while viewer monitor 23 displays the image corresponding to the data in viewer video RAM 64.

It should be noted that, if an arrow cursor is to be displayed on the demonstrator display (e.g., for use with a mouse), the display of the cursor is handled by a conventional cursor control program that operates at a lower system level than the demonstration program of the present invention.

The writing of image data for displaying the navigation bar 300 to the demonstrator video buffer, shown in step 710 of FIG. 16 will now be described in more detail. Most features of the navigation bar 300 remain the same throughout the demonstration. The navigation bar 300 appears as exactly the same static image in each frame, with two exceptions. Thus the data and subroutines for generating the navigation bar 300 in step 710 are the same for each frame except as to these exceptions. The first of these exceptions is that the text in each menu heading and active area may be shaded or solid depending upon whether the menu or area is currently inactive or active. The second difference is that one of the menu headings 304a through 304f is highlighted in each frame, depending on the location of the frame being displayed in the demonstration. This highlighted heading is changed if the mouse is clicked on a different heading.

The displaying of text as either shaded or solid is handled in the conventional manner of associating an activity flag with each menu heading or region that indicates whether the subheading or region is active or inactive. These activity flags are then set by other subroutines in the program. For example, the activity flag associated with Back region 306 can be set by a program that checks to see if an address (i.e., a frame identifier) is located in Back Frame Address section 612 of the currently active frame. If there is an address in section 612, the text in Back region 306 is displayed in a solid font; if there is no address in section 612, the text in Back region 306 is displayed in a shaded font. Obviously, more complicated subroutines may also be employed to set the activity flags--such as basing the status of the activity flag on whether data has been entered in each of several data entry fields. Alternatively, if a menu is always active, the flag can be permanently set at the start of the demonstration and never altered.

Thus in step 710, the activity flag for each menu heading 304a through 304f and 305 and region 302, 306 and 307 is checked and the data written to demonstrator video buffer RAM 52 modified to display the text in each heading or region in solid or shaded as indicated by the associated activity flags.

It will be noted that each of the individual menu subheadings (which are displayed when an active menu heading is clicked on) also has an associated activity flag. As with the menu headings, the text in menu subheadings is displayed in either a solid or shaded font depending upon whether the menu subheading is currently active.

The second aspect of the navigation bar 300 that changes as the demonstration progresses is the highlighted portion which corresponds to the section of the demonstration in which the currently active frame is located. Thus, in step 710 of FIG. 16, the Location Identifier is read from Location Identifier section 614 of the currently active frame. The image data that generates the navigation bar 300 are then modified in a conventional manner so as to highlight the menu heading corresponding to the Location Identifier in Location Identifier section 614.

As discussed above, in some instances the screen display for a new frame can be generated by making changes to the previous frame. FIG. 17 describes the process by which this is accomplished. Because the demonstrator and viewer video buffers have not been cleared, the buffers contain the same data currently in the respective video RAMs 54 and 64. In Step 750 alterations are made to the data in the demonstrator and viewer video buffers 52 and 62. These alterations may consist of writing new blocks of data to the respective buffers to modify the graphic display of corresponding segments of the screen displays. The instructions directing the computer to perform these alterations can be located in display section 602 of the newly activated of frame 600. Alternatively, where the frame is implemented as a subroutine, instructions for implementing the alterations are simply a part of the subroutine.

In step 752, demonstrator prompt section 606 of the newly activated frame is accessed and the textual data for displaying the prompt are written to demonstrator video buffer 52. If there is nothing in demonstrator prompt section 606, a blank field is written to demonstrator video buffer 52.

In step 754, viewer comment section 608 of the newly activated frame is accessed and the textual data for displaying the comment are written to the viewer video buffer 62. If there is nothing in viewer comment section 608, a blank field is written to viewer video buffer 62.

In step 756, data in demonstrator video buffer 52 is moved to demonstrator video RAM 54 and the data in viewer video buffer 62 is moved to viewer video RAM 64. Thus, demonstrator monitor 13 displays the image corresponding to the data in demonstrator video RAM 54, while viewer monitor 23 displays the image corresponding to the data in viewer video RAM 64.

The operation of the regions and menus of navigation bar 300 will now be discussed. A mouse click occurring in Clear Screen region 302 activates the Clear Screen subroutine. Clear Screen region 302 is always active during the demonstration, so that the Clear Screen subroutine can be called at any time in a demonstration. When invoked, the Clear Screen subroutine sets the activity flag for Back region 306 to inactive and accesses the Location Identifier section 614 of the frame that was active when the Clear Screen subroutine was invoked to determine which Clear Screen Frame to activate. There is one Clear Screen Frame for each section of the demonstration, i.e., one Clear Screen Frame for each menu heading 304a through 304f.

Each Clear Screen Frame has the same blank display section 602 which contains graphic data for generating only a background pattern and color. Each Clear Screen Frame also has only one active area in section 604. This active area is Next region 307, which has the associated subroutine (as do all frames) which makes the frame designated in Next Frame Address section 610 the active frame upon a mouse click in Next region 307. Each Clear Screen Frame also has Demonstrator Prompt and Viewer Comment sections 606 and 608 which contain no text data. The Next Frame Address section 610 contains the identifier of the first frame in the section of the demonstration designated in the Location Identifier section 614 of the frame that was active when the Clear Screen subroutine was invoked. The Back Frame Address section 612 is empty, and Location Identifier section 614 contains the same identifier as was in the Location Identifier section 614 of the frame that was active when the Clear Screen subroutine was invoked.

The activation of the particular Clear Screen Frame then proceeds as was described in conjunction with FIG. 16.

Thus, as described above, the Clear Screen subroutine blanks out display regions 100 and 100a, prompt field 400, and Comment Field 500. Personal bar 200 is displayed as it was before the Clear Screen subroutine was invoked. Navigation bar 300 is displayed on the demonstrator display with the same highlighted menu heading, with Back region 306 inactive and Next region 307 active. Clicking on Next region 307 of navigation bar 300 of the Clear Screen Frame will activate the first frame in the section of the demonstration corresponding to the highlighted menu heading.

Clicking on any of the active menu headings 304a through 304f causes the associated menu to be displayed, with each of the active menu subheadings having an associated active area. When activated by a mouse click in the area of the active menu subheading, the frame corresponding to the label in the menu subheading is made active. Alternatively, if the label in the menu subheading corresponds to a set of frames, the first frame in the set is made the active frame.

As discussed above, clicking on the "T" menu heading 305 provides access to a menu that allows the demonstrator to access a number of tools, such as an on-screen calculator in the conventional manner well known in the art.

The operation of the Next region 307 on navigation bar 300 has already been discussed in connection with the Clear Screen Frames. The Back region 306 functions in a similar manner using the identifier or address in BackFrame section 612.

Personal bar 200, in both its open and closed states, operates in a conventional manner, with the status of the data menu headings bar 204 (i.e., the open personal bar) being stored as a series of flags and data fields in a manner that is well known. Once personal bar 200 is opened, the display of data menu headings bar 204 does not change until data is entered or edited through the data menu headings bar 204, or until the personal bar is again closed. Similarly, data entry using data entry cards 110, 130 and 150 also operates in a manner that is well known.

The subroutines for generating and displaying one or more pie charts from entered data also operate in a manner that is well known. Numerical data entered in each of the three data entry cards 110, 130 and 150 is summed to arrive at a total for each of the data entry cards. These totals correspond to the values of "Bank", "Income", and "Growth" used to generate pie chart shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. The two pie charts shown in FIG. 13 are generated in the same manner, with the data used to generate pie chart 180 being entered on data entry cards similar to those discussed above.

Similarly, the printing and storage of the entered data along with identifying labels operate in a conventional manner.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the described embodiments, which are presented for the purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the present invention is limited only by the claims which follow. ##SPC1## ##SPC2## ##SPC3##