CN111033496A

CN111033496A - Event-based delay search method and system

Info

Publication number: CN111033496A
Application number: CN201880055759.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 马里亚·弗朗西斯卡·琼斯
Original assignee: Ma LiyaFulangxisikaQiongsi
Current assignee: Ma LiyaFulangxisikaQiongsi
Priority date: 2017-07-05
Filing date: 2018-06-13
Publication date: 2020-04-17
Also published as: SG11202000024TA; GB201710837D0; CA3068919A1; JP2020527782A; EP3649559A1; AU2018295434A1; JP7247123B2; WO2019008319A1; ZA202000729B; KR20200037239A

Abstract

A method and system for performing a deferred search, comprising: receiving an event input from a user at a user interface, the event input identifying event data for an event at a future event date; receiving a query input from the user at the user interface; processing the query input using the event data to generate a query using a processor; sending the query according to the event data; and receiving search results responsive to the transmitted query.

Description

Event-based delay search method and system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method and system for delayed searching, and more particularly, to a method and system for delayed searching based on future events.

Background

In a person's busy life, a user is often required to perform a search in response to or based on a future event, such as a personal event (such as a birthday) or a business event (such as a meeting or appointment). A search may be required to provide information for the event or to perform a particular action on the search result data for the event, for example, to provide commercial search result data for a commercial meeting or to order or purchase items for a birthday.

Such searches typically access online resources such as websites. The data that provides the search results for such online resources may, and often is, updated frequently. Thus, if a search is performed before an event, it may be inaccurate, or data that becomes available later may be lost. Additionally, if the search requires that something be delivered in response to the search results, the search may need to be performed no later than a predetermined time period prior to the event, i.e., the time between deliveries of the search result item. However, the user may not be able to search at the optimal time, and the user may not know and know when such an optimal time will be.

Disclosure of Invention

One aspect provides a method of delaying a search, the method comprising receiving an event selection from a user, the event selection identifying event data for an event at a future event date; receiving a query input selection from the user; processing the query input selection using the event data to generate a query; sending the query according to the event data; and receiving search results responsive to the transmitted query.

Another aspect of the invention provides a system for delayed searching, the system comprising at least one processor; and a memory storing instructions executable by the at least one processor to: receiving an event selection from a user, the event selection identifying event data for an event at a future event date; receiving a query input selection from the user; processing the query input selection using the event data to generate a query; sending the query according to the event data; and receiving search results responsive to the transmitted query.

Another aspect of the invention provides a carrier medium or storage medium carrying code executable by a processor to implement a delayed search method.

Drawings

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating a general system according to one embodiment;

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram illustrating a general system according to another embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method of delayed search using the system of FIG. 1, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system according to one embodiment;

4A-4C are flow diagrams of a method of delayed search using the system of FIG. 2 according to one embodiment;

5A-5C are user interfaces generated during the method of FIGS. 2A-2C, according to one embodiment; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a base computing device used in one embodiment.

Detailed Description

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the inventive subject matter may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized, and that structural, logical and electrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the inventive subject matter. Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred to herein, individually and/or collectively, by the term "invention" merely for convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of this application to any single invention or inventive concept if more than one is in fact disclosed.

The following description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present subject matter is defined by the appended claims.

In the following embodiments, like parts are denoted by like reference numerals.

In the following embodiments, data is described as being stored in at least one database. The term "database" is intended to include any data structure (and/or combination of data structures) for storing and/or organizing data, including, but not limited to, relational databases (e.g., Oracle databases, mySQL databases, etc.), non-relational databases (e.g., NoSQL databases, etc.), in-memory databases, spreadsheets, as comma-separated value (CSV) files, extensible markup language (XML) files, text (TXT) files, flat files, spreadsheet files, and/or any other widely used or proprietary data storage format. Databases are typically stored in one or more data stores. Accordingly, each database referenced herein (e.g., in the description herein and/or the figures of the present application) should be understood to be stored in one or more data stores. The "file system" may control how data is stored and/or retrieved (e.g., a disk file system (e.g., FAT, NTFS, optical disk, etc.), a flash file system, a tape file system, a database file system, a transactional file system, a network file system, etc.). For simplicity, the present disclosure is described herein with respect to a database. However, the systems and techniques disclosed herein may be implemented with a file system or a combination of a database and a file system.

In the following embodiments, the term "data store" is intended to encompass any computer-readable storage medium and/or device (or collection of data storage media and/or devices). Examples of data storage include, but are not limited to, optical disks (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc.), magnetic disks (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, etc.), memory circuits (e.g., solid state drive, Random Access Memory (RAM), etc.), and so forth. Another example of data storage is a managed storage environment, which includes a collection of physical data storage devices that can be accessed remotely and provisioned quickly as needed (often referred to as "cloud" storage).

In one embodiment, the functions or algorithms described herein are implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware. The software includes computer-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable carrier medium such as a memory or other type of storage device. Further, the described functions may correspond to modules, which may be software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. Various functions are performed in one or more modules as desired, and the described embodiments are merely examples. The software is executed on a digital signal processor, ASIC, microprocessor, or other type of processor operating on a system, such as a personal computer, server, router, or other device capable of processing data, including network interconnection devices.

Some embodiments implement functions in two or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and data signals communicated between and through the modules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Thus, the exemplary process flow is applicable to software, firmware, and hardware implementations.

The general embodiments provide a delay method and system to receive an event selection from a user, the event selection identifying event data for an event at a future event date; receiving a query input selection from the user; processing the query input selection using the event data to generate a query; sending the query according to the event data; and receiving search results responsive to the transmitted query.

The query may be sent to the data store locally or over a network such that the query may satisfy search results from locally stored data or remotely stored data over a network.

A user may be an individual or an entity or entity, such as a business. Thus, an event may be associated with a user, an entity, or a business.

Thus, embodiments of the present invention enable a user to select events that will be used to trigger or initiate a query in the future. An event may be an event on a particular date and possibly even at a particular time. An event may also be an event associated with a time period or range, such as a day, a week, or a month. In one embodiment, an event may be directly associated with a particular user/person, such as a birthday or anniversary. An event may be associated with only one person, such as a birthday, or an event may be associated with multiple persons, such as a wedding anniversary or a team anniversary or a holiday. Events may also be indirectly associated with a particular user/person, such as christmas, halloween, easter, and the like. In this case, although the event itself is not inherently associated with an individual, the user may assign an individual to the event related to the search query to be performed, for example, the event may be christmas, the individual David may be associated, and the search to be performed involves a search for a gift of David. In this embodiment, the user is asked to enter an individual David associated with the event. The event may be an event in the user's diary or calendar, or an event in a shared diary or calendar used by the user. The event may be a meeting or a telephone call that needs to be made at the event date and time, and the query may relate to data required for the meeting or call, such as documents or research data.

Thus, in one embodiment, the event data has data identifying one or more users associated with the user, or the method comprises receiving data identifying one or more users associated with the user, and the processing of the query input comprises generating the query using the data identifying one or more associated users. The processing of the query input to generate the query using the data identifying the one or more associated users may include determining data related to the one or more associated users using the data identifying the one or more associated users and generating the query using the data related to the one or more associated users.

The user's data may include personal data of the user as well as personal data of associated users, such as friends, family, and colleagues. Personal data may include private data that is not shared with other users, historical data identifying previous actions of the user (e.g., web browsing activity and transaction history), and user preference data, which may include data representing manually entered user preferences and automatically determined user preferences. This facilitates personalized searching.

In an embodiment, the event may relate to a product to be delivered to the user. The product may be a physical product, an intangible product, or a service. Accordingly, a search may be performed to search for products related to the event based on the query. When the event is a birthday, the physical product may be a toy that is delivered to someone when he or she is on his or her birthday. Also, the product in this case may be an intangible product or a virtual product, e.g. a downloaded product, such as music, video, a voucher, a computer program or an APP, etc. If the product is a service, the service may be directly related to the event, as the event is the delivery of the service. For example, the event may be a doctor, hospital, or dentist appointment that the user wishes to attend on the event date. Thus, the query may be a query of a reservation system for making reservations, and the search results are potential reservations available for user selection. Similarly, the service may be the attendance of a craftsman, such as a plumber or electrician, required at the event date, and the search query is sent to the craftsman's automatic booking system, for example, so that the search results are one or more offered appointments.

In one embodiment, the method uses the search results to perform one or more electronic transactions. The transaction may include ordering the product as a physical product or an intangible product or service. The process may be manual in which search results are output for display and user selection of one or more search results is received, wherein the or each electronic transaction is performed using the user selected one or more search results. In another embodiment, the process is automated, wherein a selection of an automated purchase associated with the query input is received from the user, and the or each electronic transaction is automatically performed using the search results.

The search may be highly automated in that the user may simply select an automated search in which the query is selected using the event data and any data about the associated person (i.e., person or person unit, such as a business, charitable social club, etc.). For example, the user may select an automatic search for David birthdays. Data about events and David, such as David's preference for a daily gift or his purchase history, may be used to automatically determine queries.

The search may also be manual, wherein the query input includes a user-entered text string as the search query, and the user-entered text string is processed using the event data to generate the query.

Delaying a search performed on an event date may not be appropriate as it may be too late to meet the user's requirements regarding the event. For example, if a user is ordering a birthday gift of David, the order is typically too late at the time of the actual birthday. Similarly, if the user is subscribing to a service to be delivered or subscribing to a subscription for the event date and time, it is necessary to perform a search before the event date and time. Thus, the action date may be determined as part of the event data. The action date precedes the event date and the query is sent at the action date. The action date may specify a date or date and time that the search query is to be sent. The action date may be linked to the event data by the correlation data such that if the event date is moved, the action date moves relative thereto, for example to remain a fixed or determined period of time, for example 1 week, before the event date.

The action date may be determined manually by user input or may be determined automatically based on information related to the search results. In other words, the action date may be determined based on the type of results to be returned in the search. This may be based on some general notion of the type of search results being returned, or specifically on the search results. To provide the latter, a query is sent prior to sending a query based on the event data and initial search results are received in response to the query, and the action date is determined using the initial search results. Thus, a pre-search may be performed and the search results analyzed to determine the appropriate action date and optionally time to perform the actual search. In one example, the analysis of the search results may determine product availability and delivery times for products identified in the search results. Such information may be obtained from the supplier of the product.

In another example, the determination of the action date may be based on the type of event. In addition, data regarding the results of the search may be used with the event type. For example, where the event is a appointment, meeting or service, it may be known that for this type of event there is a known period of time before the event that a query should be submitted to return the results of the event in time. For example, it is known that in order to make an appointment with a doctor, the appointment must be made 7 days ahead.

One aspect provides a method comprising delayed automatic ordering of products for a service, wherein a user identifies an event and initiates an order or purchase request, whereby the system uses the event data to search for one or more suitable products and automatically orders the products for the event. The ordering process may comprise using the action date to trigger a search and order process before the event date to ensure that the or each product may be available before the event date. As part of the event data or as a separate input, one or more individuals may be identified as being associated with the event, and data about the one or more individuals may be used to determine a search query for searching for products including services for ordering.

In one embodiment, the user interface may be provided as a conventional website with a displayed output and a pointer device and keyboard for input by the user. In alternative embodiments, the interface may be provided through any form of output (e.g., visual or audible) as well as any form of input, such as a keyboard, touch screen, pointer device (such as a mouse, trackball, trackpad, or pen device), audio recognition hardware and/or software for recognizing sound or speech from a user, gesture recognition input hardware and/or software, and so forth.

In one embodiment, the USER INTERFACE may be provided using the METHOD disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application No. US15/395,343 entitled USER INTERFACE METHOD AND device (USER INTERFACE METHOD AND APPARATUS), filed on 30/12/2016, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety. The user interface of US15/395,343 may provide a means by which a user interacts with the system for input and selection.

In one embodiment, the METHOD AND system may be used with the ELECTRONIC TRANSACTION METHOD AND system disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application No. US15/395,487 entitled "ELECTRONIC TRANSACTION METHOD AND device (AN ELECTRONIC TRANSACTION METHOD AND APPARATUS)" filed on 30/12/2016, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety. The transaction method and system of US15/395,487 may be used as a transaction process using search results obtained using the process of embodiments of the present invention.

In one embodiment, the METHOD AND system may be used with the METHOD AND APPARATUS disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application No. entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS for transitioning DATA FROM a FIRST COMPUTER STATE TO a different COMPUTER STATE," filed on even date herewith, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

In one embodiment, the method and system may be used with the method and apparatus disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application No. entitled "VIRTUAL OFFICE" filed on even date herewith, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

In one embodiment, the method and system may be used with the method and apparatus disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application No. entitled "VIRTUAL conference participant RESPONSE indication method and system (VIRTUAL MEETING PARTICIPANT RESPONSE indication method AND SYSTEM)" filed on even date herewith, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Specific embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1A illustrates a general system according to one embodiment.

Fig. 1A shows a user device 1 for use by a user. Any number of user devices may be used. The user device 1 may comprise any type of computer or processor, such as a personal computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, personal organizer, mobile device, smart phone, mobile phone, video player, television, audio player, wired multimedia device, personal digital assistant, etc.

The user apparatus 1 is connected to a communication network 2 such as the internet. A search system 3 comprising one or more computers is connected to the network 2 and comprises a network interface module 4 for interfacing with the network 2, a search module 5 connected to the network interface module 4 for receiving a search query from a user device and performing a search in a connected data system store 6. The data storage system 6 may be connected to the search system 3 through a dedicated connection or through the network 2.

A general system according to another embodiment is shown in fig. 1B.

The deferred search system 10 includes a user interface 11 to allow a user to enter query inputs and event inputs, and to be able to view search results. The search module 12 is connected to the user interface module 11 to process query input using event input to generate a query to be sent internally to the connected data store 13 so that search results may be received and output to the user interface module 11.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a process for performing a deferred search using the system of FIG. 1A or FIG. 1B, according to one embodiment.

In step S10, the search system 3 receives an event input from the user apparatus 1. The event input may simply comprise an identifier of the event data stored at the search system 3 in the data store 6, or the event input may comprise the event data. In step S11, the search system 3 receives a query input from the user apparatus 1. The query input may comprise query text as a text string or an automatic search determination input, where the search system will automatically search based on data stored for the event, e.g., the event is easter, thus searching for items on the subject of easter for purchase, or the event is David's birthday, thus searching for a product of interest to David based on data stored in data store 6 for David.

In step S12, the query input is processed using the event input to generate a query, and in step S13, the query is sent to the data storage system 6 to retrieve the search item. In step S14, the search system 3 receives the search result. The search results may be output for display on the user device 1 for receiving a manual selection of search result items, or the search result items may be automatically selected based on a search result ranking process (e.g., the search result items that best match the query). The result of manually or automatically selecting the search result item is an order for the product, including a service or reservation or a meeting reservation.

FIG. 3 illustrates a system according to one embodiment.

Fig. 3 shows two

client devices

100A and 100B, each for use by a user. Any number of client devices may be used.

Client devices

100A and 100B may comprise any type of computer or processor, such as a personal computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, personal organizer, mobile device, smartphone, mobile phone, video player, television, audio player, multimedia device, personal digital assistant, and the like. In this embodiment, each client device executes a

Web browser

101A and 101B to interact with a Web page hosted at the server system 1000. In an alternative embodiment, the

Web browsers

101A and 101B may be replaced by applications running on the

client devices

100A and 100B.

The

client devices

100A and 100B are connected to a network, which in this example is the internet 50. The network may include any suitable communication network for networking computer devices.

The server system 1000 includes any number of server computers connected to the internet 50. The server system 1000 operates to provide services according to embodiments of the present invention. Server system 1000 includes Web server 110, which hosts Web pages accessed and rendered by

browsers

101A and 101B. Application server 120 connects to Web server 110 to provide dynamic data for Web server 110. Application server 120 is connected to data store 195. Data store 195 stores data in a plurality of different databases, namely, user database 130, event database 140, delayed search database 150, and federated account database 160.

In this embodiment, the search performed as a result of the input query is a search of information from one or more merchants or merchant intermediaries (hereinafter "domains") (e.g.,

or

) Searching for a marketable product. Thus, in this embodiment, two

merchant computers

170A and 170B are connected to the Internet 50 so as to be accessible by the server system 1000. A financial services computer 180 is also provided which is connected to the internet 50 to provide access to financial services to the server system. In addition, a third party server 190 is shown connected to the Internet 50 and operated by a trusted third party to allow the trusted third party to access the user's data in the data store 195 of the server system 1000.

User data

The user data stored in user database 130 may include personal data relating to the user and associated users or individuals (e.g., friends, family, and colleagues). Each user of the search system has a user account and the following data is stored for the user in the user account:

·user ID-a unique identifier of the user.

·A user name and a password,for secure login, PIN, etc.

·User identification informationName, address, telephone number, birth data, male/female, age/age range, etc.

·Preference dataSize, style, color, hobbies, preferences, brand, product, number of orders for batch ordering, etc. This stores the user input and any automatically determined preferences. The data may also contain a wish list of the user.

·Payment informationIdentification of details of credit card or bank payments and required for product/service paymentsAny other information. Further, data regarding any credentials used for the purchase may be stored as part of the data.

·Federated account ID-an identifier identifying any federated account that the user shares with other users for the federated payment of the product.

·Budget-for example, information limiting the transaction expenditure, such as individual item limits or cumulative limits for a period such as a week or month.

·Delivery informationDelivery preferences for a product, including delivery method preferences, delivery time preferences, and delivery address (es), among others.

·User history-recording information collected by user activity, such as user browsing history and user transaction history.

·Associated user IDAn identifier of a user associated with the user, such as a friend, family or co-worker to whom the user wishes to allow access to their data.

·Calendar event ID-identifiers of events in the user's calendar or diary.

·Delayed search ID-an identifier of search data related to the event.

·Secure user ID-an identifier of a secure user allowed to access user data.

Associated user ID data

The associated user data is stored in the user database 130 and includes personal data related to the associated user. For each associated user, the following data is stored:

·associated user ID-a unique identifier of the associated user.

·A user name and a password,for secure login of those associated users that are also users. Not all associated users need be users of the system. Some associated users are simply a reference to the user to enable the user to make purchases and to allow the associated user data to be shared with other users of the system.

·User identification informationName address, telephone number, birth data, male/female, age/age range, etc.

·Preference dataSuch as size, style, color, hobbies, preferences, brand, product, quantity, etc., which stores system user input and any automatically determined preferences for the associated user. The data may also contain a wish list of associated users.

·Calendar event ID-identifiers of events in the calendar or diary of the associated user.

·Associated user history-the collected information recording the transaction history of the associated user, i.e. the products previously purchased by the user of the associated user.

·Federated account ID-an identifier identifying any federated account that the associated user shares or is associated with other users for the federated payment of the product. This allows the associated user to pay for the product.

Secure third party data

The secure third party data is stored in the user database 130 and includes data related to the secure third party. For each secure third party, the following data is stored:

·secure user ID-a unique identifier of the user.

·A user name and a password,for secure login.

·Level of access-level of access to user data. For example, a bank may have one level of access, while a pharmacy would have a different level of access.

Event data

The event data is stored in the event database 140 and includes data related to events. For each event, the following data is stored:

·event ID-a unique identifier of the event.

·Event nameE.g. Christmas, DavidBirthdays, stock up days, etc.

·Date of the eventDates may be specific, such as date and time or simply a range of dates, e.g. dates exceeding 1 week or 1 month.

·Event informationThe user may add information describing the event or may add information on certain events by default. The information may also include location information for the event and map data to enable a map to be displayed to the user to show the location of the event. For example, the event may be a doctor's appointment and the location may be a doctor's address, or the event may be a birthday that will include a birthday party and the location may be an address of the party.

·Related productsAny product identification data of a product comprising a service associated with an event, for example, an easter subject item or activity of the event name easter.

·Associated user IDAny user associated with an event or associated user ID, such as David for their birthday. The data is presented when the data stores one or more users associated with the event. Not all events have an associated user ID. The user may select to enter the associated username for the event, for example, for christmas Jane may be entered and the user then wishes to purchase a gift for Jane for christmas.

·Date of actionSome events are of the type that have their own defined action date to cause a search to be initiated. This may be due to events that only involve a certain type of search data (e.g. a reservation for a doctor's appointment).

Federated account ID data

Federated account data is stored in federated account database 160 and includes data relating to users and federated accounts accessed by the associated users. For each federated account, the following data is stored:

·federated account ID-a unique identifier for the federated account.

·Details of an accountIndependent resource chainAnd receiving an administrator under the bank account.

Virtual funding-an account may be made up of an associated user and guest

Human contribution.

Administrator user ID-the user ID of a user who is the administrator of the federated account.

Delaying search data

The delayed search data is stored in the delayed search database 150 and includes data related to delayed searches. For each delay search, the following data is stored:

·delayed search ID-a unique identifier that delays the search.

·Event ID-delaying the search for the event ID of the event concerned.

·Search automation-set in case the search is selected as an automatic search without the user entering a search string. In this case, the search uses information about the event and user preference data to determine an appropriate search query.

·Search string-any input of search text by the user.

·Searched domainThe domain for which the search query is directed, e.g. a merchant or merchant aggregator: (

Or

)。

·Date of actionDate on which the search will be triggered (if the event data has a default action date, then this is not required).

·Pre-search results-if a pre-search is performed, storing the results of the pre-search for use in the delayed search.

The operation of the system of fig. 3 for a process according to one embodiment will now be described with reference to the flow diagrams of fig. 4A-4C and the schematic illustrations of the user interface of fig. 5A-5C generated by the process of the flow diagrams of fig. 4A-4C.

In step S101 of fig. 4A, the system 1000 receives a user login, and assuming the user successfully logs in, in step S102, the system receives a user selection of a domain. A domain is a user's selection of a domain or environment to focus or direct a search. In a transaction system for ordering and purchasing products, a domain includes a merchant or merchant aggregator, such as

Or

In a reservation embodiment, the domain will be selected as a reservation system, such as a doctor.

In step S103, the system determines whether a user event selection has been received from the user. If not, the process waits to receive a selection from the user to perform an immediate search in step S104. The system then receives a search input from the user in step S140 (in fig. 4C), and generates a search query in step S141. The search query is then sent to the domain to perform the search in step S142, and the search results are received and output for display at the

client device

100A or 100B in step S143. In step S144, the system waits for the user to make a selection of an item in the search results. If no selection is made, the process terminates at step S146. If the user makes a selection, the process proceeds to place an order to purchase the item in step S145.

If the user selects an event or creates an event in step S103 of FIG. 4A, then in step S105 the system determines if there are any one or more people associated with the event by whether there are any user ID (S) in the event data. If not, in step S106, the system allows the user to input data to select one or more users or associated users. Then in step S107, a search input or an auto-suggestion selection is received from the user, and a search query is generated in step S108. The search query generates a query using the event data and the user data or associated user data and an automatic selection or a user entered search selection. For example, if the event is a birthday and the identified user is David, the user data for David will be used to identify parameters to be added to the search query to search for the appropriate gift for David. For example, David's preference may be fishing. Accordingly, the search query may be generated to include a "phishing gift". This becomes a recommended search for David birthday gifts.

In step S109, the system determines whether a user selection to perform a pre-search has been received. The purpose of pre-searching is to allow users to view the results of a search to see if the search string they enter or the selection of an automated option generates results that they feel appropriate so that they can modify their search input if they feel that the search results are not what they want.

If pre-search is not selected in step S109, the search query is stored in the delayed search database 150 along with the domain in step S110. In step S111, an action date is set. This may be based on a predefined period of time before the event date or based on a user input selection of when they want to perform a search that is performed to ensure that any actions that need to be taken, such as ordering, are completed in time for the event.

Then, in step S112, the process waits for the action date to arrive. At the action date in step S113 in fig. 4B, the search query is sent to the search field, and at step S114, the search result is received. In step S115, the system then determines whether the user has selected an automatic purchase based on the search results. If so, in step S118, a process is performed to place an order or purchase a product based on the search results. The automatically selected product for purchase may be identified as the one of the search results that best matches the search query.

If the user does not select to automatically purchase a product based on the search results in step S115, the search result item is output for display at the

client device

100A or 100B in step S116. Then, in step S117, the system waits to receive a user selection of an item. When the selection of the item by the user is received, the process proceeds to step S118 to purchase the item. If the user does not select an item, the process terminates at step S119.

Returning to step S109 in fig. 4A, if the user selects to perform a pre-search, in step S120A search query is sent to the domain to perform the search, and in step S121 the search results are received and output for display to the user on the

client device

100A or 100B. Then, in step S122, the system waits to determine whether the user has selected an item in the search results. If not, the system determines in step S123 whether the user chooses to accept the search results. If the user does not accept the search results, the process returns to step S107 for the user to re-enter the search query.

If in steps S120 and S121 the pre-search results show that the product (S) are not currently available, the user may have the option of pre-ordering for automatic payment when the item is available.

If the user chooses to accept the search results in step S123, the process proceeds to step S110 to store the search query and domain. Then, the process may proceed as described above except that in step S111, the action date may be set based on the information on the search result item. The search result item may be, for example, a purchased product with availability and delivery information. This information can be used to determine when a search should be re-run in time to place an order for delivery before or at the event date. In this example, re-running the search at the action date enables the search to capture up-to-date information about the product, while allowing the user to not have to make an early purchase at the time they remember or are available to make the purchase so that they do not miss an event, such as forgetting to purchase a birthday gift of David.

On the action date, the user may be notified that a search has been triggered even though they have selected the auto purchase option and forgotten it. When certain treatment activities occur, they will not be surprised.

If the user selects one or more items in the pre-search results in step S122, data regarding the selected items is stored in the delayed search database 150 in step S124 of fig. 4B. In step S125, an action date for triggering the search may then be determined based on the data from the pre-search. The search result item may be, for example, a product for purchase having availability and delivery information. This information can be used to determine when a search should be re-run in time to place an order for delivery before or at the event date.

Then, in step S126, the process waits for the action date to arrive. At the action date, in step S127, a search query is sent to the search field to search for the selected item, and in step S128, the system determines whether the search results confirm that the selected item is available from the merchant. If the product (S) are not available, the process terminates at step S119.

If the product (S) are available, then in step S129, the system determines whether the user has selected an automatic purchase for the product (S) based on the search results. If so, then in step S130, processing to place the order or purchase the selected product (S) is performed.

If the user does not select to automatically purchase a product based on the search results in step S129, the search result item is output for display at the

client device

100A or 100B in step S131. Then, in step S132, the system waits to receive a user selection of an item. When the selection of the item by the user is received, the process proceeds to step S130 to purchase the item. If the user does not select an item, the process terminates at step S119.

In the example discussed with reference to fig. 4A-4C, reference is made to a query generated as a single query. The user's input may result in the generation of a query as a plurality of queries: smart search or composite search. Queries may be generated to span multiple categories. Queries may also be generated to return results for a number of different users/people, such as grandma and David's christmas gifts. Search queries may also be generated to search for multiple types of products or services. In this manner, a composite search is performed, providing composite search results for the event.

Fig. 5A-5C illustrate the user interface 200 at the

client device

100A or 100B. In fig. 5A, the user interface displays the current date and time 203 in the lower right corner of the display. A search query input area 202 is provided to enable a user to enter a search string to form a query.

Selectable buttons

204, 206, and 205 are displayed to allow the user to select to allow the system to automatically suggest search queries, perform pre-searches, and perform automatic purchases. A calendar 201 is displayed to allow a user to select an event or create an event in the calendar. In the displayed calendar, there is a selectable event labeled "Tom birthday" on the event date of day 1, month 15 in 2018.

Fig. 5B shows the user interface 200 after the user enters a user query and requests a pre-search, i.e., at step S122 in the flowchart of fig. 4A. It can be seen at 203 that the time has increased and the search results 207 are displayed as a suggested gift for Tom birthdays. The user has the option of selecting an item (step S122) or using the entry 208 to refine the search (transition from step S123 to step S107 in fig. 4A). In addition, the user may have the option of simply accepting the search query without any selection of the item in order to rerun the query (the transition from step S123 to step S110 in FIG. 4A).

Fig. 5C shows the user interface 200 on an action date of 1 month 10 of 2018 as shown by date and time 203. The user has not selected to automatically purchase the item, so the user interface displays a suggested item for Tom's birthday present as an image of item 211, where the pre-selected size is a large size and the pre-selected color is red based on the preferences of Tom stored in Tom's associated user data. If the user feels that a different size and color is more appropriate, user interface 200 also displays user selectable

options

209 and 210 to change the suggested size and color. The user interface 200 also displays a checkout option 212 to allow the user to select to purchase the item.

In embodiments, a user may allow other users to access certain of their personal data in a peer-to-peer data sharing manner. In this way, the preferences of a user and its associated users may be shared with another user. Also, users can use the system to communicate with each other by sending messages (e.g., instant messages).

The user may allow a trusted third party to access certain of their personal data by using login data or APIs. The trusted third party may be a financial institution or a medically-related entity such as a pharmacy. For example, a pharmacy may be allowed access to user personal data to determine when it may be appropriate to reorder the medication.

The federated account may be used by members of a community as an administrator under the control of a user to allow community access such as a family and to facilitate the purchase of items such as gifts for events.

In embodiments, although the interface to the user has been described as a web page for a networked arrangement, any suitable interface technique may be employed. In one embodiment, the interface may be provided by an application running on the user's device. Embodiments also include software running on a stand-alone system such as a personal computer, in which case the interface may be part of a single application that also performs a data search on the computer, or an interface module separate from the search module that performs the search. The search module may send data within the computer internally to a database or data store to perform a search to return search results. In the context of this patent, the term "transmitting" includes both internal transmission within a computer between modules and transmission over a communications network such as a local area network or the internet.

In this patent, the term "product" encompasses both tangible and intangible products of any form, including services.

In the above embodiments, a user interface (e.g., a Web browser or APP) is provided that enables a user to communicate in any manner by sending messages or the like or even by voice or video communication. Moreover, the system may be configured to operate in a variety of ways such as

A messaging account or

Send a message to communicate with the user, the messaging account or social media account being linked by storing linking information in the user's data.

In an embodiment, data may be shared among users. For example, Steve may want to find a gift for David's birthday. Steve knows that Jane has data about David's preferences. Thus, if Jane has granted Steve permission to access Jane's data saved for its associated user David (Jane's user data indicates that Steve is allowed to access the associated user preference data), Steve may access that data for generating queries to find suggested gifts for David on the day of their birthday. Steve may be allowed to share data by simply accessing the data or by copying the data into the user data of its associated user David.

In one embodiment, where the event is an appointment required by a service, such as a doctor, dentist, auto repair, etc., on the action date, the relevant appointment system for the service is queried and the suggested appointment is returned as a search result. The user may view the search results and then manually or automatically select one as the desired result, where the user selects the auto-suggest option when setting up a deferred search. The result is therefore that the selected subscription is booked.

A "user" of the system may be an individual or an entity or entity, such as a business, charity, social group, or the like. An event may thus be associated with a user, entity or business. Thus, a diary or calendar for event selection or creation may be a diary associated with an organization, entity, or business. For example, the event may be a stock date. Pre-search and delayed search would enable the review and search of, for example, other business/merchant/provider systems to review and request that certain goods be available. With automation of the process, orders for delivery may be made based on whether a response to the query satisfies the query. The deferred search and subscription process may be stored to be repeated for repeated events (e.g., repeated monthly subscription dates).

In one embodiment, the system may perform automatic ordering and purchasing and may display the cost and total price to the user. The user may set a budget that may be used to control purchases to ensure that the user's cost remains within the specified budget.

As part of the search, the system may search for transactions, such as specials, coupons, coupon codes, etc., which may be confirmed for consideration, application, and use, if appropriate, or saved, for example, on a user account for later use. If saved for later use, the voucher or coupon can be checked, for example, using a pre-search to ensure it is still within/still valid for the validity period.

The system may save and apply virtual currency, including any credit, credentials, etc. For example, the virtual birthday voucher on David's account may be redeemed so that the balance is paid, for example, through a payment card, or where credit remains, it may be saved on the user's account for the purchase of the next item.

Where the user is a business, searches and orders may be conducted on a much larger scale, and searches for multiple products may be performed to automate the batch ordering system.

Basic computing device

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a base computing device 600 in which example embodiment(s) of the present invention may be embodied. The computing device 600 and its components (including its connections, relationships, and functionality) are intended to be exemplary only, and are not intended to limit implementation of the example embodiment(s). Other computing devices suitable for implementing the example embodiment(s) may have different components, including components with different connections, relationships, and functionality.

For example, computing device 600 may include any of the servers or user devices shown in fig. 1.

Computing device 600 may include a bus 602 or other communication mechanism for addressing main memory 606 and for transferring data among or among the various components of device 600.

Computing device 600 may also include one or more hardware processors 604 coupled with bus 602 for processing information. Hardware processor 604 may be a general purpose microprocessor, system on a chip (SoC), or other processor.

A main memory 606, such as a Random Access Memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, may also be coupled to bus 602 for storing information and software instructions to be executed by processor(s) 604. Main memory 606 also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of software instructions to be executed by processor(s) 604.

The software instructions, when stored in a storage medium accessible by the processor(s) 604, render the computing device 600 a special-purpose computing device customized to perform the operations specified in the software instructions. The terms "software," "software instructions," "computer program," "computer-executable instructions," and "processor-executable instructions" should be broadly interpreted to encompass any machine-readable information, whether human-readable or not, that is used to instruct a computing device to perform a particular operation, and include, but are not limited to, application software, desktop applications, scripts, binary code, operating systems, device drivers, boot loaders, shells, utilities, system software, JAVASCRIPT, web pages, web applications, plug-ins, embedded software, microcode, compilers, debuggers, interpreters, virtual machines, linkers, and text editors.

Computing device 600 may also include a Read Only Memory (ROM)608 or other static storage device coupled to bus 602 for storing static information and software instructions for processor(s) 604.

One or more mass storage devices 610 may be coupled to the bus 602 for persistently storing information and software instructions on fixed or removable media such as magnetic memory, optical memory, solid state memory, magneto-optical memory, flash memory, or any other available mass storage technology. The mass storage may be shared over a network, or it may be dedicated mass storage. Generally, at least one of the mass storage devices 610 (e.g., the device's main hard disk) stores a body of program and data used to carry out the operation of the computing device, including the operating system, user applications, drivers and other supporting files, as well as other data files of all kinds.

Computing device 600 may be coupled via bus 602 to a display 612, such as a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or other electronic visual display, for displaying information to a computer user. In some configurations, a touch-sensitive surface incorporating touch detection technology (e.g., resistive, capacitive, etc.) may be superimposed on display 612 to form a touch-sensitive display for communicating touch gesture (e.g., finger or stylus) input to processor(s) 604.

An input device 614, including alphanumeric and other keys, may be coupled to bus 602 for communicating information and command selections to processor 604. The input device 614 may include one or more physical buttons or switches, such as, for example, a power (on/off) button, a "home" button, a volume control button, etc., in addition to or in place of alphanumeric and other keys.

Another type of user input device may be cursor control 616, such as a mouse, a trackball, a cursor, a touch screen, or directional keys for communicating directional information and command selections to processor 604 and for controlling cursor movement on display 612. The input device typically has two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis (e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), which allows the device to specify positions in a plane. Other input device embodiments include an audio or speech recognition input module that recognizes audio input such as speech, a visual input device capable of recognizing a gesture of a user, and a keyboard.

While in some configurations, such as the configuration depicted in fig. 6, one or more of display 612, input device 614, and cursor control 616 are external components (i.e., peripherals) of computing device 600, in other configurations, some or all of display 612, input device 614, and cursor control 616 are integrated as part of a form factor of computing device 600.

Any other form of user output device, such as an audio output device or a tactile (vibration) output device, may be used in addition to or in place of the display 612.

The functions of the disclosed systems, methods, and modules may be performed by computing device 600 in response to processor(s) 604 executing one or more programs of software instructions contained in main memory 606. Such software instructions may be read into main memory 606 from another storage medium, such as storage device(s) 610 or a transmission medium. Execution of the software instructions contained in main memory 606 causes processor(s) 604 to perform the functions of the example embodiment(s).

While the functions and operations of the example embodiment(s) may be implemented entirely in software instructions, hardwired or programmable circuitry (e.g., ASICs, FPGAs, etc.) of the computing device 600 may be used in other embodiments in place of, or in combination with, software instructions to perform the functions, as desired for the particular implementation at hand.

The term "storage medium" as used herein refers to any non-transitory medium that stores data and/or software instructions that cause a computing device to operate in a particular manner. Such storage media may include non-volatile media and/or volatile media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), flash memory, optical disks, magnetic disks, or solid-state drives, such as storage device 610. Volatile media include dynamic memory, such as main memory 606. Common forms of storage media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, solid state drive, magnetic tape, or any other magnetic data storage medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical data storage medium, any physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, NVRAM, FLASH memory, any other memory chip or cartridge.

Storage media is distinct from, but can be used in conjunction with, transmission media. Transmission media participate in the transfer of information between storage media. For example, transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise bus 602. Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio wave and infrared data communications. A machine-readable medium or carrier medium carrying instructions in the form of code may include non-transitory storage media and transmission media or signals.

Various forms of media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more software instructions to processor(s) 604 for execution. For example, the software instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk or solid state drive of a remote computer. The remote computer can load the software instructions into its dynamic memory and send the software instructions over a telephone line using a modem. A modem local to computing device 600 can receive the data on the telephone line and use an infra-red transmitter to convert the data to an infra-red signal. An infra-red detector can receive the data carried in the infra-red signal and appropriate circuitry can place the data on bus 602. Bus 602 carries the data to main memory 606, from which processor(s) 604 retrieves and executes the software instructions. The software instructions received by main memory 606 may optionally be stored on storage device(s) 610 either before or after execution by processor(s) 604.

Computing device 600 may also include one or more communication interfaces 618 coupled to bus 602. Communication interface 618 provides a two-way data communication coupling to a wired or wireless network link 620, which network link 620 is connected to a local network 622 (e.g., an ethernet network, a wireless local area network, a cellular telephone network, a bluetooth wireless network, etc.). Communication interface 618 sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information. For example, communication interface 618 may be a wired network interface card, a wireless network interface card with an integrated radio antenna, or a modem (e.g., ISDN, DSL, or cable modem).

Network link(s) 620 typically provide data communication through one or more networks to other data devices. For example, network link 620 may provide a connection through local network 622 to a host computer or to data equipment operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP). ISPs in turn provide data communication services through the global packet data communication network now commonly referred to as the "internet". Local network(s) 622 and the internet use electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams. The signals through the various networks and the signals on network link(s) 620 and through communication interface(s) 618, which carry the digital data to and from computing device 600, are exemplary forms of transmission media.

Computing device 600 can send messages and receive data, including program code, through the network(s), network link(s) 620 and communication interface(s) 618. In the Internet example, a server might transmit a requested code for an application program through the Internet, an ISP, local network(s) 622 and communication interface(s) 618.

The received code may be executed by processor 604 as it is received, and/or stored in storage device 610, or other non-volatile storage for later execution.

In one aspect, a carrier medium is provided, such as a non-transitory storage medium storing code for execution by a processor of a machine to perform a method, or a transitory medium carrying processor-executable code for execution by a processor of a machine to perform a method. Embodiments may be implemented in programmable digital logic that implements computer code. The code may be provided to programmable logic, such as a processor or microprocessor, on a carrier medium. One such embodiment of a carrier medium is a transient medium, i.e., a signal such as an electrical, electromagnetic, acoustic, magnetic, or optical signal. Another form of carrier medium is a non-transitory storage medium storing the code, such as a solid state memory, a magnetic medium (hard drive) or an optical medium (compact disc (CD) or Digital Versatile Disc (DVD)).

It will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that various other changes in the details, materials, and arrangements of the parts and method stages which have been described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of this subject matter may be made without departing from the principles and scope of the subject matter as expressed in the subjoined claims.

Claims

1. A method of delaying a search, the method comprising:

receiving an event input from a user at a user interface, the event input identifying event data for an event at a future event date;

receiving a query input from the user at the user interface;

processing the query input using the event data to generate a query using a processor;

sending the query according to the event data; and

search results responsive to the transmitted query are received.

2. The method of deferred searching of claim 1, wherein the query is transmitted over a network, and the search results are received over the network in response to the transmitted query.

3. A method of delaying a search as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the event data has data identifying one or more users associated with the user, or the method comprises receiving data identifying one or more users associated with the user, and the processing of the query input comprises generating the query using the data identifying one or more associated users.

4. The method of deferred searching of claim 3, wherein the processing of the query input to generate the query using data identifying one or more associated users comprises: determining data relevant to the one or more associated users using data identifying the one or more associated users, and generating the query using data relevant to the one or more associated users.

5. A method of delaying a search as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising: performing at least one electronic transaction using the search results.

6. The method of delaying a search of claim 5, comprising: receiving a selection for automatic purchase from the user associated with the query input and automatically performing the at least one electronic transaction using the search results.

7. The method of delaying a search of claim 5, comprising: outputting the search results for display, and receiving a user selection of one or more search results, wherein the at least one electronic transaction is performed using the user selected one or more search results.

8. A method of delaying a search as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the query input comprises a selection from the user for automatic search result determination and the query is generated using the event data.

9. A method of delaying a search as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the query input comprises a user input text string as a search query and the user input text string is processed using the event data to generate a query.

10. A method of delaying a search as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein an action date is determined as part of the event data, the action date preceding the event date, and the query is sent on the action date.

11. The method of delaying a search of claim 10, wherein the action date is determined based on a received user input or based on information related to the search results.

12. The method of delaying a search of claim 11, comprising: sending the query prior to sending the query according to the event data and receiving initial search results in response to the query, and determining the action date using the initial search results.

13. The method of delaying a search of any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein a user notification is generated at the action date and output to the user.

14. A method of delaying a search as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the search results are output for display to the user.

15. A method of delaying a search as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the event is an event in a diary or calendar of the user.

16. A method of delaying a search as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the query comprises a composite query for a plurality of products and the results comprise search results for the plurality of products.

17. A system for delaying a search, comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory storing instructions executable by the at least one processor to:

receiving a query input from the user at the user interface;

processing the query input using the event data to generate a query;

sending the query according to the event data; and

search results responsive to the transmitted query are received.

18. The system for delaying a search of claim 17, wherein a query is sent over a network and the search results are received over the network in response to the sent query.

19. A system for delaying a search as claimed in claim 17 or claim 18, wherein the event data has data identifying one or more users associated with the user, or the system comprises instructions executable by the at least one processor to receive data identifying one or more users associated with the user, and the processing of the query input comprises generating the query using the data identifying one or more associated users.

20. The system for delaying a search of claim 19, wherein the instructions executable by the at least one processor to process the query input using data identifying one or more associated users to generate the query comprise instructions executable by the at least one processor to: determining data relevant to the one or more associated users using data identifying the one or more associated users, and generating the query using data relevant to the one or more associated users.

21. The system for delaying a search of any one of claims 17 to 20, comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor to perform at least one electronic transaction using the search results.

22. The system for delaying a search of claim 21, comprising: instructions executable by the at least one processor to receive a selection from the user for an automatic purchase associated with the query input, wherein the instructions executable by the at least one processor to perform the at least one electronic transaction comprise instructions executable by the at least one processor to automatically perform the electronic transaction using the search results.

23. The system for delaying a search of claim 21, comprising: instructions executable by the at least one processor to output the search results for display and to receive user input of one or more search results, wherein the instructions executable by the at least one processor to perform the at least one electronic transaction comprise instructions executable by the at least one processor to perform the at least one electronic transaction using the one or more search results selected by the user.

24. The system for delaying a search of any one of claims 17 to 23, wherein the query input comprises a selection from the user for automatic search result determination, and the instructions executable by the at least one processor to generate the query comprise instructions executable by the at least one processor to generate the query using the event data.

25. The system for delaying a search of any one of claims 17 to 23, wherein the query input comprises a user input text string as a search query, and the instructions executable by the at least one processor to process the user input text string comprise instructions executable by the at least one processor to process the user input text string using the event data to generate a query.

26. The system for delaying a search of any one of claims 17 to 25, comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor to determine an action date as part of the event data, wherein the action date is prior to the event date, and instructions executable by the at least one processor to send the query comprise instructions executable by the at least one processor to send the query on the action date.

27. The system for delaying a search of claim 26, wherein the instructions executable by the at least one processor to determine the action date comprise instructions executable by the at least one processor to determine the action date based on the received user input or based on information related to the search results.

28. The system for delaying a search of claim 27, comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor to send the query prior to sending the query according to the event data and to receive initial search results responsive to the query, and comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor to determine the action date using the initial search results.

29. The system for delaying a search of any one of claims 26 to 28, comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor to generate a user notification on the action date and output the user notification to the user.

30. The system for delaying a search of any one of claims 17 to 29, comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor to output the search results for display to the user.

31. A system for delaying a search as claimed in any one of claims 17 to 30, wherein the event is an event in the user's diary or calendar.

32. A system for delaying a search as claimed in any one of claims 17 to 31, wherein the query comprises a composite query for a plurality of products and the results comprise search results for the plurality of products.

33. A carrier medium carrying processor executable code for execution by a processor to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 16.

34. A non-transitory storage medium storing processor-executable code, the processor-executable code being executed by a processor to implement the method of any one of claim 1 to claim 16.