WO2015126455A1

WO2015126455A1 - A system and method for generation of online gemstone inventory lists

Info

Publication number: WO2015126455A1
Application number: PCT/US2014/054545
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ziv MELAMED
Original assignee: Tripled Experience Ltd.; M&B IP Analysts, LLC
Priority date: 2014-02-21
Filing date: 2014-09-08
Publication date: 2015-08-27

Abstract

A system and method for updating a gemstone inventory list. The method comprises: receiving at least one identifier related to a gemstone; receiving at least one multimedia data element of the gemstone; analyzing the at least one multimedia data element and the at least one identifier; extracting, based on the analysis, a certification respective of the gemstone from at least one data source; and adding, to the gemstone inventory list, a data record that includes the at least one identifier and the extracted certification.

Description

A SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATION OF ONLINE GEMSTONE

INVENTORY LISTS

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.

61 /943,410 filed on February 23, 2014 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 /942,626 filed on February 21 , 2014, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[002] The present invention relates generally to generating online inventory lists and, and more specifically, to a system and method for generating gemstone inventory lists accessible over the web.

BACKGROUND

[003] Merchants handling gemstones such as diamonds, fancy color stones, semi-precious stones, precious stones, and so on occasionally need to transfer data related to such gemstones to other merchants in order to fulfill transactions. Such data includes graphical data related to the gemstones as well as certified data from official organizations. Such organizations include the gemology institute of America (GIA) and the international gemological institute (IGI).

[004] A common way to transfer such data is by face-to-face meetings in which each merchant can provide and authenticate the data needed in order to complete a transaction. As gemstone transactions commonly occur worldwide, it would be beneficial to transfer authenticated and certified data related to gemstones instantly over the web. More specifically, there is a need to transfer such data via newly created or updated inventory lists that may track the inventory of gemstones owned by a merchant.

SUMMARY

[005] The various disclosed embodiments include a method for updating a gemstone inventory list. The method comprises: receiving at least one multimedia data element of the gemstone; analyzing the at least one multimedia data element and the at least one identifier; extracting, based on the analysis, a certification respective of the gemstone from at least one data source; and adding, to the gemstone inventory list, a data record that includes the at least one identifier and the extracted certification.

[006] The disclosed embodiments also include a method for searching for a gemstone in gemstone inventory lists. The method comprises receiving a search query; analyzing the search query to detect at least one gemstone identifier; searching through a plurality of gemstone inventory lists to find a data record that matches the gemstone identifier; and upon finding a gemstone inventory list containing the data record, providing the data record to a user submitted the search query.

[007] The disclosed embodiments also include a system for updating a gemstone inventory list. The system comprises: a processor; and a memory communicatively connected to the processor, the memory containing instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the system to: receive at least one identifier related to a gemstone; receive at least one multimedia data element of the gemstone; analyze the at least one multimedia data element and the at least one identifier; extract, based on the analysis, a certification respective of the gemstone from at least one data source; and add, to the gemstone inventory list, a data record that includes the at least one identifier and the extracted certification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[008] The subject matter disclosed herein is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[009] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a network system utilized to describe the various disclosed embodiments for updating and uploading gemstone inventory lists;

[0010] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating updating of an on-line gemstone inventory according to an embodiment; and

[0011] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating displaying a record of a gemstone inventory list according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] It is important to note that the embodiments disclosed herein are only examples of the many advantageous uses of the innovative teachings herein. In general, statements made in the specification of the present application do not necessarily limit any of the various claimed embodiments. Moreover, some statements may apply to some inventive features but not to others. In general, unless otherwise indicated, singular elements may be in plural and vice versa with no loss of generality. In the drawings, like numerals refer to like parts through several views.

[0013] Based on the teachings herein, one skilled in the art should appreciate that an embodiment disclosed herein may be implemented independently of any other embodiment and that two or more of these embodiment may be combined in various ways. For example, an embodiment may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, such an embodiment may be implemented or such a method may be practiced using other structure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to or in place of one or more of the embodiment set forth herein. Furthermore, any embodiment disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

[0014]As an example of the above, in some embodiments a system is configured to

generate and update gemstone inventory lists over a communication network. For each gemstone in the merchant's inventory at least one identifier related to the gemstone and a multimedia content element in which the gemstone is shown are provided. The multimedia content element and identifier are then analyzed. At least one certification respective of the at least one gemstone is extracted from a certified source. A data record typically including at least the merchant, the one gemstone, and the certification, is added to a gemstone inventory list.

[0015] Fig. 1 shows an exemplary and non-limiting schematic diagram of a network system 100 utilized to describe the various disclosed embodiments. A user device 1 10 is connected to a communication network 120. The user device 1 10 may be a smart phone, a mobile phone, a laptop, a tablet computer, a wearable computing device, a personal computer (PC) and the like, used by a gemstone merchant. Without limiting the scope of the disclosed embodiments, a gemstone merchant may be any person or entity keeping an inventory of gemstones. As an example, a gemstone merchant may be, but is not limited to, a gemstone seller, a gemstone buyer, a gemstone seller entity, a gemstone buyer entity, a gemstone broker, a gemstone wholesaler, an intermediary, a representative thereof, and so on.

[0016] The network 120 may be a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metro area network (MAN), the Internet, the worldwide web (WWW), a wireless network, a wired network, a cellular network, the like, and any combinations thereof. A plurality of data sources 140-1 through 140-n are further connected to the network 120. The data sources 140 contain official data related to a plurality of gemstones. A gemstone may be, for example, a diamond, a fancy color stone, a semi-precious stone, a precious stone, and so on. A data source 140 may be, but is not limited to, a database of the gemological institute of America (GIA), a database of the institute of gemology (IGI), or any database that maintains certified data about the gemstones.

[0017] In accordance with an embodiment, a server 130 which is also connected to the network 120 is configured to receive a request to update a gemstone inventory list. The gemstone inventory list may be stored in, e.g., a database 150 accessible over the network 120. It should be noted that the database 150 is different from the data sources 140 and, specifically, from databases of official gemstone organizations. The database 150 may be maintained or owned by a gemstone merchant. In an embodiment, the database 150 is secured and the data contained therein is encrypted. The server 130 is further configured to receive at least one identifier related to at least one gemstone. The identifier may be, for example, the shape of the gemstone, carat, color, clarity, price, certification, lot number, color change, asterism, chatoyancy, adularescence, adventurescence, luster, and any combination thereof, and so on. The identifier may be provided by a user (e.g., a gemstone merchant) through a user interface (Ul, not shown) of the server 130. The Ul may be realized through a web portal that provides access to the server 130.

[0018] The server 130 is further configured to receive a multimedia data element (MMDE) of a gemstone to be added to an inventory list. The server 130 is also configured to analyze the at least one MMDE and the at least one identifier and to extract at least one certification related to the gemstone from the one or more data sources 140. According to another embodiment, an analysis of the MMDE by, for example, image recognition techniques, may enable identification of one or more identifiers related to the at least one gemstone.

[0019] According to a further embodiment, the server 130 is also configured to determine the likelihood that the MMDE corresponds to the extracted certification as further described herein below with respect to Fig. 2. The server 130 is configured to create a data record that includes an identifier of the gemstone merchant (providing the request through a user device 1 10), the at least one gemstone, and the at least one certification. The data record is created in an inventory list associated with the gemstone merchant and maintained in the database 150. If such an inventory list is not included in the database 150, the server 130 creates an inventory list to be associated with the respective merchant.

[0020] In one embodiment, any queries made to the inventory lists in the database 150 including, but not limited to, queries for updates, addition, and/or obtaining of information are performed by means of a cryptographic protocol. It should be noted that the database 150 may be realized as a distributed database.

[0021] Fig. 2 depicts an exemplary and non-limiting flowchart 200 illustrating a method for generating or updating a gemstone inventory list according to an embodiment. In S210, a request to update a gemstone inventory list is received. The request may be for including data related to a gemstone or updating such data in the inventory list. The request is initiated by a gemstone merchant and related to the inventory list of an inventory maintained by the merchant. The request may be received as a query or as a user's gesture over the display of the user device 1 10.

[0022] In S220, at least one identifier related to at least one gemstone is received. The identifier may be received as a textual query from a user device (e.g., the user device 1 10). The identifier may be, but is not limited to, the shape of the gemstone, carat, color, clarity, price, certification, lot number, a portion thereof, and so on.

[0023] In S230, at least one MMDE of the gemstone is shown is received. The MMDE may be, but is not limited to, an image, a graphic, a video stream, a video clip, a video frame, a photograph, and/or combinations thereof and portions thereof. According to one embodiment, a pre-analysis of the MMDE may be performed to verify that the gemstone is shown in the MMDE and to provide a notification respective thereto. In an embodiment, the MMDE is captured by an apparatus designed to provide images of gemstones in which their identifiers are easily recognized. An example for such an apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/944,569 filed on February 26, 2014 to Melamed, et al.

[0024] It should be noted that, without limitation to the scope of the disclosed embodiments, the MMDE may be received prior to the identifier related to the at least one gemstone.

[0025] In S240, the at least one MMDE and the at least one identifier related to the gemstone are analyzed. The analysis may be performed using techniques for multimedia content recognition as discussed in the related art. The analysis is utilized to determine the quality of the gemstone, to verify the input identifiers, and/or to detect new identifiers not provided in S230. Thus, the analysis of the MMDE allows completion and/or correction of the identifiers related to the gemstone. According to one embodiment, respective of the analysis, one or more recommendations is provided respective of the requested price for the gemstone. The one or more recommendations may be based on data extracted from price lists stored in data sources such as, for example, the Rapaport® price list. The extracted data is then matched to the identifiers related to the gemstone and at least one recommendation is provided respective thereof.

[0026] In S250, at least one certification is extracted respective of the analysis from one or more data sources (e.g., one or more of the data sources 140) for official certified gemstone data. The data sources enable extraction of the at least one certification responsive to the at least one identifier received as an input from the server 130 through the web. The extracted certification may be in a form of a grading report and/or an identification report. A grading report of a gemstone typically illustrates the gemstone's key characteristics such as, but not limited to, color, clarity, cut and carat weight. An identification report is related to a colored stone and may include a comment about any treatments detected and an opinion of country of origin for rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and tourmalines. In addition, such a report may specify the weight, size, shape, color, origin (natural or cultured), and presence of treatments.

[0027] In optional S260, the likelihood that the at least one MMDE corresponds to the extracted certification is determined. The determination may be made based on the analysis performed in S240. According to one embodiment, upon determination that the likelihood that the merchant does not have a gemstone corresponding to the extracted certification did not meet a threshold, a notification may be provided.

[0028] In S270, a data record that includes at least identifiers of the gemstone is added to a gemstone inventory list associated the gemstone merchant. The identifiers saved in the data record are typically identifiers received in S220 identified by the analysis. In an embodiment, only identifiers verified by the analysis process are saved in the data record. In an embodiment, the data record may also contain the received MMDE and/or the merchant's identifier. The gemstone inventory list is stored in a database such as, for example, the database 150, which may also be associated with the gemstone merchant.

[0029] In optional S280, the newly added record may be sent to one or more destinations selected by a user via, e.g., a user device. The one or more destinations may be any of: a user device, a data source, a combination thereof, and so on. According to one embodiment, the newly added or an updated record may further include one or more textual or graphical queries received from, e.g., a user device. In S290, it is checked whether there are additional requests and if so, execution continues with S210; otherwise, execution terminates.

[0030] Fig. 3 depicts an exemplary and non-limiting flowchart 300 illustrating a method for obtaining and displaying records of a gemstone inventory list according to an embodiment. In S310, at least one search query for a gemstone that is potentially included in inventory lists of different gemstone merchants is received. The search query may be, but is not limited to, a MMDE, a textual query, or a combination thereof. In S320, the search query is analyzed. The analysis may include, but is not limited to, multimedia content recognition in case of an MMDE or text mining in case of a textual query. In S330, a search through one or more gemstone inventory lists is performed. As a non-limiting example, a search is performed based on a search query that includes a textual query for a gemstone in a certain karat value (e.g., 18k). Thus, the search will be conducted with the goal of finding a record containing at least one gemstone with a karat value of 18k.

[0031] In S340, it is checked whether at least one record that matches the search query is found and, if so, execution continues with S360; otherwise, execution continues with S350. In S350, a notification that no record has been found is sent to a user device that provided the input query and execution terminates. [0032] In optional S360, it is checked whether the record can be displayed to the user device and, if so, the data record is sent to the user device and displayed thereon. Such determination may be based on the permissions set in the data record and/or the inventory list that the data record is contained in. As noted above, in some embodiments, the data record may also be encrypted. Thus, in order to display the contents of the data record over the user device in such embodiments, the data should be decrypted by the user device. In an embodiment, the communication from the database containing the data record is performed by means of a cryptographic protocol.

[0033] In S380, it is checked whether there are additional requests and if so, execution continues with S310; otherwise, execution terminates.

[0034] A person of ordinary skill in the art would readily appreciate that updating an on-line gemstone inventory list as described in Fig. 2 and displaying records of a gemstone inventory list as described in Fig. 3 may be integrated without departing from the scope of the disclosed embodiments.

[0035]The various embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented as hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. Moreover, the software is preferably implemented as an application program tangibly embodied on a program storage unit or computer readable medium consisting of parts, or of certain devices and/or a combination of devices. The application program may be uploaded to, and executed by, a machine comprising any suitable architecture. Preferably, the machine is implemented on a computer platform having hardware such as one or more central processing units ("CPUs"), a memory, and input/output interfaces. The computer platform may also include an operating system and microinstruction code. The various processes and functions described herein may be either part of the microinstruction code or part of the application program, or any combination thereof, which may be executed by a CPU, whether or not such a computer or processor is explicitly shown. In addition, various other peripheral units may be connected to the computer platform such as an additional data storage unit and a printing unit. Furthermore, a non-transitory computer readable medium is any computer readable medium except for a transitory propagating signal.

[0036] All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1 . A computerized method for updating a gemstone inventory list, comprising:

receiving at least one identifier related to a gemstone;

receiving at least one multimedia data element of the gemstone;

analyzing the at least one multimedia data element and the at least one identifier; extracting, based on the analysis, a certification respective of the gemstone from at least one data source; and

adding, to the gemstone inventory list, a data record that includes the at least one identifier and the extracted certification.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

sending the data record to a selected destination.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one identifier is at least one of: color change, asterism, chatoyancy, adularescence, adventurescence, luster, a color clarity price, cut, color, and carat.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a selection of a destination for the inventory list; and

sending the inventory list to the selected destination.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the destination is at least one of: a user device and a data source providing the certification.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

verifying that the gemstone is shown in the at least one multimedia data element.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: verifying, based on the analysis of the multimedia data element, the at least one identifier; and

correcting the at least one identifier based on the verification.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining the likelihood that the at least one multimedia data element corresponds to the extracted certification; and

upon determining that the likelihood does not meet a threshold, providing a notification that the inventory list cannot be updated.

9. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions for causing one or more processing units to execute the method according to claim 1 .

10. A method for searching for a gemstone in a plurality of gemstone inventory lists, comprising:

receiving a search query;

analyzing the search query to detect at least one gemstone identifier;

searching through the plurality of gemstone inventory lists to find a data record that matches the gemstone identifier; and

upon finding a gemstone inventory list containing the data record, providing the data record to a user submitted the search query.

1 1 . The method of claim 10, wherein the search query is at least one of: a textual query and graphical query.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one identifier is at least one of: color change, asterism, chatoyancy, adularescence, adventurescence, luster, a color clarity price, cut, color, and carat.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining if the user can access the data record; and providing the data record if the user can access the data record.

14. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions for causing one or more processing units to execute the method according to claim 10.

15. A system for updating a gemstone inventory list, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory communicatively connected to the processor, the memory containing instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the system to:

receive at least one identifier related to a gemstone;

receive at least one multimedia data element of the gemstone;

analyze the at least one multimedia data element and the at least one identifier; extract, based on the analysis, a certification respective of the gemstone from at least one data source; and

add, to the gemstone inventory list, a data record that includes the at least one identifier and the extracted certification.

16. The system of claim 15, further configured to:

send the data record to a selected destination

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the at least one identifier is at least one of: color change, asterism, chatoyancy, adularescence, adventurescence, luster, a color clarity price, cut, color, and carat.

18. The system of claim 15, further configured to:

receiving a selection of a destination for the inventory list; and

sending the inventory list to the selected destination.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the destination is at least one of: a user device and a data source providing the certification.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the system is further configured to: verify that the gemstone is shown in the at least one multimedia data element.

21 . The system of claim 15, wherein the system is further configured to:

verify, based on the analysis of the multimedia data element, the at least one identifier; and

correct the at least one identifier based on the verification.

22. The system of claim 15, wherein the system is further configured to:

determine the likelihood that the at least one multimedia data element corresponds to the extracted certification; and

providing a notification that the inventory list cannot be updated, upon

determination that the likelihood does not meet a threshold.