Unified travel interface

Abstract

A travel booking system abstracts the user from a travel search of web and internet searches initiated by the user and the search result of those searches to present the user with a consistent interface for both entry and results. As part of the abstraction the search introduces elements of one or more traveller profiles to delineate the searches. The user may investigate the search results for a trip or alternate route options returned by a search to further direct the search or to book a search result and when a booked itinerary is returned may load this to a traveller's device together with other assistance for phases of the trip.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A travel booking system for booking a trip by a traveller, the travel booking system providing to the user a consistent interface for receiving the travel phases of the travel origin, the travel destination, any required waypoints between the two, any required facilities at travel origin, at travel waypoints, during travel between travel waypoints or at travel destination and any time requirements of the travel phases; the travel booking system responding to the travel phases and time and facility requirements to query travel providers having disparate interfaces and outputs and to provide at least one solution to each phase of travel presenting to the user the at least one solution for each phase in a consistent interface. 
     
     
         2 . A travel booking system for booking a trip by a traveller as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the travel booking system has access to a traveller profile identifying established traveller requirements for different required facilities and provides these as a filter to the booking process. 
     
     
         3 . A travel booking system for booking a trip by a traveller as claimed in  claim 1  wherein where the user is a corporate user the travel booking system has access to a corporate profile establishing corporate requirements for different required facilities and provides these as a filter to the booking process. 
     
     
         4 . A travel booking system for receiving a travel request including information on travel origins, travel destination, travel waypoints; facilities required at origin, waypoints or destinations and any required times at origin, destination or waypoints, the travel booking system determining solutions for each phase of the travel by searching disparate internet connected sites, receiving solution data from the disparate internet connected sites, resolving the data received from the disparate sites to a consistent format and outputting the data in a consistent format as one or more solutions to the travel request. 
     
     
         5 . A travel booking system for booking a trip by a traveller as claimed in  claim 4  wherein each of the travel requests includes a weighting for each of the requirements, the weighting determining the relevance of each requirement in the ordering of the solutions. 
     
     
         6 . Travel booking equipment programmed to receive a travel request from a user including information on travel origins, travel destination, any travel waypoints; any facilities required at origin, waypoints or destinations and any required specific times at origin, destination or waypoints, the travel booking equipment program determining solutions for each phase of the travel by searching disparate internet connected sites, receiving solution data from the disparate internet connected sites, resolving the data received from the disparate sites to a consistent format and outputting the data in a consistent format to the user as one or more solutions to the travel request. 
     
     
         7 . Travel booking equipment as claimed in  claim 6  wherein any travel request information from the user is augmented by profile information relevant to the travel request and stored in at least one profile store accessible to the travel booking equipment. 
     
     
         8 . Travel booking equipment as claimed in  claim 7  wherein profile information relevant to the travel request is stored in at least one individual traveller profile. 
     
     
         9 . Travel booking equipment as claimed in  claim 8  wherein an individual traveller profile is stored in a social site profile. 
     
     
         10 . Travel booking equipment as claimed in  claim 7  wherein profile information is stored in a corporate profile.