Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q30/00—Commerce
  • G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method and system for electronic commerce using characterization data sets representing products, and more specifically to a computer implemented method for electronically recreating a natural shopping process for a purchaser of goods.
• Visual information about a product is obtained by interacting with the product and viewing it in all 3-dimensions.
• a consumer Since a consumer obtains most information about a product visually, it is natural to search for a product in the same manner. That is, a common method of searching is query by example where physical attributes of one object are used as a base for searching for a similar object that more closely meets the consumer's desired product.
• Searching for a product visually creates a "hop around" method of shopping.
• a consumer may create a visual model of the desired product by taking various characteristics of products they have seen. The shape of one product, the size of another, and the colour of yet another may form the desired product. This visual model is formed by jumping from an image of one product to an image of another until desirable characteristics are identified. Without being able to search based on images, "natural" shopping is not possible using traditional electronic commerce systems.
• a computer implemented method for electronically recreating a natural shopping process for a user comprising the steps of: (a) presenting at least one initial image representative of a product for conducting a product search for a desired product; (b) receiving from the user an indication of a selected product image on which to base the product search; (c) retrieving product information for products whose characteristics match within predetermined limits characteristics of the selected product image; (d) providing the user with means by which to manipulate the characteristics of a product image; and (e) iteratively repeating steps (b) to (d) until the desired product is identified.
• a computer readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for electronically recreating a natural shopping for a user comprising the steps of: (a) presenting at least one initial image representative of a product for conducting a product search; (b) receiving from the user an indication of a selected product image on which to base the product search; (c) retrieving product information for products whose characteristics match within predetermined limits characteristics of the selected product image; (d) providing the user with the ability to manipulate the characteristics of a product image; and (e) iteratively repeating steps (b) to (d) until a desired product is identified.
• a computer system for recreating a virtual natural shopping process the computer system being connected to a product database containing 3- dimensional product models and 2-dimensional images representative of the 3- dimensional product models comprising: search criteria manipulation means for accepting a selected product image specified by the user for manipulation and manipulating characteristics of the selected product image; characteristic importance selection means for weighting the importance of at least one characteristic of the selected product image on which a search is based; searching means for searching for 3-dimensional product models in the database for products whose characteristics match within pre-determined limits characteristics of the selected product image received from the search criteria manipulation means; and results operating means for enabling purchase of products revealed by the search.
• a computer system for recreating a virtual natural shopping process the computer system being connected to a product database containing 3-dimensional product models and 2-dimensional images representative of the 3-dimensional product models comprising: a search criteria manipulation tool for accepting a selected product image specified by the user for manipulation and manipulating chosen characteristics of the selected product image; a characteristic importance selection tool for weighting the importance of at least one characteristic of the selected product image on which a search is based; a searching tool for searching for 3-dimensional product models in the database for products whose characteristics match within pre-determined limits characteristics of the selected product image received from the search criteria manipulation means; and a results operation tool for enabling purchase of products revealed by the search.
• an Internet node to electronically recreate a natural shopping process comprising: a database inter ace for connecting the Internet node with a product database containing 3-dimensional product models and 2-dimensional images representative of the 3-dimensional product models; a search criteria manipulation tool for accepting a user selected product image for manipulation and manipulating chosen characteristics of the user selected product image; a characteristic importance selection tool for weighting the importance of at least one characteristic of the user selected product image on which a search is based; a searching tool for searching for 3-dimensional product models in the database for products whose characteristics match within pre-determined limits characteristics of the user selected product image received from the search criteria manipulation means; and a results operation tool for executing user product purchase tasks on the results of a search.
• a computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer program logic stored therein for electronically recreating a natural shopping process, said computer program logic comprising: a search criteria manipulation tool to enable a computer to accept a user selected product image for manipulation and manipulating chosen characteristics of the user selected product image; a characteristic importance selection tool to enable a computer to weight the importance of at least one characteristic of the user selected product image on which a search is based; a searching tool to enable a computer to search for 3-dimensional product models in the database for products whose characteristics match within pre-determined limits characteristics of the user selected product image received from the search criteria manipulation means; and a results operation tool for enabling purchase of products revealed by the search.
• FIG. 1 is a system diagram of an exemplary implemented embodiment of the present invention
• FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary session from a user's (client's) perspective
• FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the exemplary session of FIG. 2 from a server's perspective;
• FIG. 4 is an exemplary interface of an implementation of the method of the present invention.
• FIGS. 5 A to E show an exemplary interface and the details of this interface according to an implementation of the method of the present invention.
• FIG. 1 shows a system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention for electronic commerce using 3-dimensional representations of products.
• a user interacts with the system 10 by interfacing with a client computer 12.
• a server computer 14 contains tools that enable the features and functions of the system 10.
• a connection 30 between the client computer 12 and the server computer 14 in the electronic commerce system 10 can be over a network, such as the Internet.
• the client 12 and server 14 can be part of the same physical computer.
• the server computer 14 is connected to one or more databases 16 containing information about products available for review and possible purchase.
• the database 16 contains 3-dimensional models of products as well as at least one 2-dimensional image of the product for rapid viewing.
• the 2-dimensional thumbnail image facilitates viewing the product over a network.
• the database entry for a 3-dimensional product model may also contain a characterization data set containing a representation of various characteristics of the model. These characteristics may include such attributes as colour, size, shape, etc.
• the database entry for a product may optionally contain a written description of the product.
• the server computer 14 has a database searching tool 20 by which product models in the one or more databases 16 may be searched in response to information from the user.
• the client computer 12 accepts search parameters from the user and sends them to the database searching tool 20 of the server 14 for searching the product models in the database 16 for products matching the parameters specified by the user.
• the user searching parameters can be text or image based.
• the parameters selected for an image based search are representative of various characteristics of an image such as shape, size and colour. If the parameters are image based then the user has selected a picture and the searching tool 20 performs an image based search of the database 16. If the parameters are text based then the search will be similar to a traditional database search using keywords that define the products in the database 16.
• the database searching tool 20 accepts information from a search criteria tool 18 and a criteria ranking tool 26.
• the search criteria tool 18 provides the user with a series of tools by which the user can manipulate a chosen image to create an image that more closely represents the desired product. These manipulations can include stretching, modifying the colour and/or texture, morphing multiple objects to create one, etc. Manipulation of an image can help create a representation of the desired product that will better enable the database searching tool 20 to find the correct product based on the desired product in a more time efficient manner for the user.
• the criteria ranking tool 26 provides the user with a series of tools by which the importance of various characteristics of a product can be set. This allows the user to search for a product using a single or multiple characteristics. For example, the user can search for all products in the database having the same shape but being of different colours and textures.
• the server computer 14 contains an interaction tool 22 to allow a user to interact with information about a product.
• the interaction tool 22 allows a user to manipulate the point of view from which the product is seen thereby simulating interaction with a 3-dimensional product.
• the server computer 14 contains a results operation tool 32 containing a search save tool 24 and a product purchase tool 28.
• the search save tool 24 allows the user to save the results of the current search to be retrieved at a later time.
• the product purchase tool 28 allows the user to purchase a selected product.
• Figure 2 shows an exemplary transaction 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention from the point of view of the user interacting with the client 12.
• the user chooses one of a number of images or pieces of text provided by the server 14 to form a search criteria in step 42.
• the images and/or text may be provided by the server 14 and may represent broad categories of products.
• the chosen image may be one of the images that resulted from a previous search.
• the user can choose to manipulate the characteristics of the selected product on which a product search will be based. These manipulations performed in step 46 may include modifying the shape, colour, or even making the new search criteria a conglomeration of multiple images choosing the desirable characteristics from each image.
• each product may be completely morphed together creating a product that is a conglomeration of the two original products in shape, colour and texture.
• different characteristics of each product may form the search criteria such as the shape of the first product with the colour of the second product.
• the selected product image is sent from the client 12 to the server 14 with a search request in step 48.
• This search is a 3-dimensiona! image based search, one possible method of which is discussed in U.S. Patent 6,016,487.
• the results of this search are received by the client 12 for review by the user in step 50.
• a product may be selected in step 52 as either the desired product for purchase or as a product on which to base another search.
• decision box 54 if the product selected in step 52 is not the desired product for purchase then the process returns to step 42 and another search is performed based on this new selected product image.
• FIG. 2 demonstrates the case where search results are saved and then the product is purchased, both step 56 and 58 need not necessarily both occur in this order or even at all.
• Figure 3 is a flow diagram 70 illustrating the method 40 of Fig.2 from the point of view of the server 14.
• the server 14 presents the user through the client 12 with a series of images or text on which to base the search in step 72.
• the images and/or text may be provided by the server 14 and may represent broad categories of products.
• the chosen image may be one of the images that resulted from a previous search.
• the server 14 After providing the user with product images, in decision box 84 the server 14 checks to see if the user, through the client 12, has requested a characteristic change. If the user has requested a characteristic change then the server 14 activates the search criteria tool 18 in step 86.
• the search criteria tool 18 can modify characteristics such as the shape, colour, or even making the new search criteria a conglomeration of multiple images choosing the desirable characteristics from each image. That is, if the user chooses two images as the third search criteria these images may be completely morphed together creating a product that is a conglomeration of the two original products in shape, colour and texture. Alternatively, different characteristics of each product may form the search criteria such as the shape of the first product with the colour of the second product.
• the server 14 If the server 14 does not receive a characteristics change request of after the characteristic of a selected product image have been modified then the server 14 receives a search request that includes an image on which to base a product search in step 88. This image may or may not have modified characteristics.
• the server 14 then performs an image based search. This search is a 3- dimensional image based search, one possible method of which is discussed in U.S. Patent 6,016,487.
• the server 14 then sends the results of this search to the client 12.
• the server 14 checks to see if there has there is an indication of the user's desire to stop searching in decision box 94. This indication may be in the form of the user requesting a purchase. Alternatively, the user's request to perform another search may indicate that searching is not yet finished.
• step 96 may also occur prior to decision box 94.
• the server computer 14 may be a server for a single e-commerce store (i.e. website) or it may be connected to multiple stores. In the case where the server 14 is connected to multiple stores the server computer 14 may act as a single interface site through which comparison shopping or similar product searching may take place.
• Figures 4 to 5 illustrate an exemplary interface in connection with the method of the present invention.
• the exemplary interface in Fig. 4 has a search criteria image display 100, search criteria ranking 102, product category selection 108, task selection 106 and a section for displaying results 104.
• Figure 4 provides an exemplary start-up interface wherein the images in the result display 104 represent a series of product categories.
• Figure 5A provides an exemplary interface showing the results from a search based on only the shape of a car as specified in the shape criteria ranking dialog box 102 by the value 1 while all other criteria have a value of 0.
• Figure 5B illustrates the exemplary interface of Figure 5A wherein the product category selection dialog box 108 is expanded.
• Figure 5C illustrates the exemplary interface of Figure 5A wherein the task selection dialog box 106 is expanded.
• the possible tasks listed in the task selection dialog box 106 includes such things as purchasing a product, interacting with the product to view the images of the product in three dimensions, a feedback tool, etc.
• the tasks illustrated in Figure 5C are only an exemplary subset of the possible tasks.
• Figure 5D illustrates the exemplary interface of Figure 5A wherein the colour criteria ranking dialog box 102 is expanded.
• the values associated with the colour dialog box 102 are representative of the importance of that feature in performing a current product search.
• Figure 5E illustrates the exemplary interface of Figure 5A wherein the task of viewing a selected product 100 in three dimensions has been chosen. The viewing window 106 wherein the selected product 100 may be interacted with allows for rotation, zooming, etc.
• the present invention provides an electronic commerce experience that closely matches that of traditional shopping.
• Using characteristics of an image enables the use of an image-based search method which is the basis for an electronic commerce system that recreates a natural shopping process.
• the present invention as described above in the exemplary embodiment applies to the industrial field of electronic commerce.

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• Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Accounting & Taxation (AREA)
• Finance (AREA)
• Strategic Management (AREA)
• Economics (AREA)
• Marketing (AREA)
• Development Economics (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Management, Administration, Business Operations System, And Electronic Commerce (AREA)
• Information Retrieval, Db Structures And Fs Structures Therefor (AREA)
• Processing Or Creating Images (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

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Cited By (4)

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• 2001
  • 2001-01-18 CA CA002331572A patent/CA2331572A1/fr not_active Abandoned
  • 2001-02-28 EP EP01909389A patent/EP1261922A1/fr not_active Withdrawn
  • 2001-02-28 JP JP2001562919A patent/JP2003524845A/ja active Pending
  • 2001-02-28 WO PCT/CA2001/000257 patent/WO2001064002A2/fr active Application Filing

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