Carol Lynn Howe

US Patent:

8407113, Mar 26, 2013

Filed:

Jun 9, 2010

Appl. No.:

12/797574

Inventors:

Amir Eftekhari - San Diego CA, US
Carol Ann Howe - San Diego CA, US
Jane L. Ryder - San Diego CA, US
Alan Brian Tifford - San Diego CA, US

Assignee:

Intuit Inc. - Mountain View CA

International Classification:

G06F 17/22
G07F 19/00

US Classification:

705 31

Abstract:

A method for operating a tax inference engine involves receiving tax data items, assigning confidence ratings to the tax data items using inference rules, and assigning relevance ratings to tax questions using the inference rules. The method further involves determining tax questions having ratings that exceed a threshold amount, and ordering the tax questions by the relevance ratings, personalizing a tax question using the inference rules, tax data items, and confidence ratings by altering a wording of the tax question, and determining tax advice using the inference rules, the tax data items, and the confidence ratings.

US Patent:

20120020532, Jan 26, 2012

Filed:

Jul 21, 2010

Appl. No.:

12/840681

Inventors:

David J. Snow - San Diego CA, US
Brian W. Farwell - Oceanside CA, US
Amir Eftekhari - San Diego CA, US
Carol A. Howe - San Diego CA, US

Assignee:

INTUIT INC. - Mountain View CA

International Classification:

G06K 9/00

US Classification:

382112

Abstract:

A technique for providing feedback about an image of a financial document to a user is described. During this feedback technique, the user provides the image of a financial document, such as W-2 form. For example, the user may take a picture of or may scan the financial document. This image may be analyzed using predefined information in a set of financial documents (such as different types of income-tax documents), and a quality metric for the image may be determined using the analysis. Moreover, the feedback, which is based on the determined quality metric, may be provided to the user. For example, the user may be instructed to retake the image, and the instructions may include an image of the desired orientation and content. In this way, the user may be advised as to how to improve the quality metric in the revised image.

US Patent:

20120027246, Feb 2, 2012

Filed:

Jul 29, 2010

Appl. No.:

12/845947

Inventors:

Alan Tifford - San Diego CA, US
Jane L. Ryder - San Diego CA, US
Carol A. Howe - San Diego CA, US
Amir Eftekhari - San Diego CA, US

Assignee:

INTUIT INC. - Mountain View CA

International Classification:

G06K 9/00

US Classification:

382100

Abstract:

A technique for collecting income-tax information is described. This collection technique allows a user (such as a taxpayer) to provide income-tax information by submitting an image of a document, such as an income-tax summary or form. After receiving the image, the income-tax information is extracted from the document, and a subset of the income-tax information that is relevant to the user is determined. This subset of the income-tax information is then provided to the user for validation, and the user subsequently provides feedback about the subset of the income-tax information, such as acceptance of the subset or correction of any errors. Furthermore, after receiving the user feedback, fields in an income-tax return of the user may be populated using the subset of the income-tax information.

US Patent:

20120109792, May 3, 2012

Filed:

Oct 28, 2010

Appl. No.:

12/914902

Inventors:

Amir R. Eftekhari - San Diego CA, US
Erikheath A. Thomas - Lincoln NE, US
Carol Ann Howe - San Diego CA, US
George Thomas Ericksen - San Diego CA, US
Gerald Baron Huff - Berkeley CA, US
Gang Wang - San Diego CA, US

Assignee:

INTUIT INC. - Mountain View CA

International Classification:

G06Q 40/00
G06F 3/048
G06F 21/00

US Classification:

705 31, 726 19, 715810

Abstract:

A method involves generating a partially completed tax return based on basic user information without needing to obtain other user inputs through an extensive user interview. A list of simple and concise interview questions are generated or selected from an interview question collection based on the partially completed tax return to finalize the tax return. The method further involves using an inference engine to allow data collection at any time and in any order via specific, personalized questions geared toward completion of the tax return. Therefore the taxpayer spends time reviewing rather than preparing his or her tax documents.

US Patent:

20210090181, Mar 25, 2021

Filed:

Dec 7, 2020

Appl. No.:

17/113994

Inventors:

- Mountain View CA, US
Massimo Mascaro - San Diego CA, US
R. Jason Char - San Diego CA, US
Carol Ann Howe - San Diego CA, US

Assignee:

Intuit Inc - Mountain View CA

International Classification:

G06Q 40/00
G06N 5/04

Abstract:

A method and system provide estimated tax refund data to a user of a tax return preparation system throughout personalized tax return preparation interview. The method and system receive current user tax related data associated with the user, retrieve tax rules data, and gather historical tax related data associated with historical users of the tax return preparation system. The method and system further generate probabilistic inference data including inferences about tax related characteristics of the user based on the historical tax related data and the tax rules data. The method and system provide estimated tax refund data to the user based on the probabilistic inference data.

US Patent:

20210049708, Feb 18, 2021

Filed:

Nov 4, 2020

Appl. No.:

17/088628

Inventors:

- Mountain View CA, US
Amir Eftekhari - San Diego CA, US
Carol A. Howe - San Diego CA, US
Alan B. Tifford - San Diego CA, US
Jeffrey P. Ludwig - San Diego CA, US

Assignee:

INTUIT INC. - Mountain View CA

International Classification:

G06Q 40/00

Abstract:

Methods, systems and articles of manufacture for allowing taxpayers to utilize mobile communication or communication devices such as smartphones and tablet devices to upload tax document images and process tax document images such that resulting recognized tax data is incorporated into an electronic tax return. Authentication data is generated and provided to the taxpayer to establishing a connection with an image processor, which provides recognized tax data to the on-line tax preparation application for incorporation into the electronic tax return. Authentication data may be embodied within a URL address to the image processor that is transmitted as a SMS message to the mobile communication or computing device or encoded within a QR code such that the mobile communication or computing device can be used to take an image of and decode the QR code to determine the URL address and authentication data to establish a connection with the image processor.

US Patent:

20200184571, Jun 11, 2020

Filed:

Dec 5, 2019

Appl. No.:

16/704132

Inventors:

- Mountain View CA, US
Ashpak Salim Shaikh - San Diego CA, US
Harsimran S. Badwal - San Diego CA, US
Vitaliy Igorevich Lee - San Deigo CA, US
Brian Joon Chung - San Diego CA, US
Joshua David Ackerman - San Deigo CA, US
Caitlin Elizabeth Flint - San Diego CA, US
Michael Albert Miljour - San Diego CA, US
Karla Julietta Uribe - Chula Vista CA, US
Carol Ann Howe - San Diego CA, US
Robert E. Bamford - San Diego CA, US

Assignee:

Intuit Inc. - Mountain View CA

International Classification:

G06Q 40/00
H04N 7/18
G06K 9/18

Abstract:

A network-based synchronization system includes a server executing an electronic tax preparation program. The server is in communication with first and second computing devices through first and second networks. The first computing device utilizes the electronic tax preparation program. The second computing device is a mobile communication device including an image acquisition component and a mobile application executing thereon. The server, and the first and second computing devices are cooperatively operable through the first and second networks to synchronize the electronic tax preparation program and the mobile application based at least in part upon data acquired by the image acquisition component. The server receives the data acquired by the image acquisition component and transmits the data to the first computing device to synchronize the mobile application and the electronic tax preparation program.

US Patent:

20190026253, Jan 24, 2019

Filed:

Sep 21, 2018

Appl. No.:

16/138839

Inventors:

- Mountain View CA, US
Carol A. HOWE - San Diego CA, US
Christopher M. DYE - San Diego CA, US
Robert BAMFORD - San Diego CA, US

International Classification:

G06F 17/21

Abstract:

During an image-analysis technique, the system calculates features by performing image analysis (such as optical character recognition) on a received image of a document. Using these features, as well as spatial and grammatical constraints, the system determines a layout of the document. For example, the layout may be determined using constraint-based optimization based on the spatial and the grammatical constraints. Note that the layout specifies locations of content in the document, and may be used to subsequently extract the content from the image and/or to allow a user to provide feedback on the extracted content by presenting the extracted content to the user in a context (i.e., the determined layout) that is familiar to the user.