E-commerce system related to wear apparel

• US 20050071256A1
• Filed: 09/26/2004
• Published: 03/31/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tara Chand Singhal
• Original Assignee: Tara Chand Singhal
• Inventors: Singhal, Tara Chand
• Granted Patent: US 8,229,799 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0627 using item specifications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers

Abstract

The fit system of this invention on a global computer network enables, (i) the apparel designer to provide apparel data to the fit system, (ii) a merchant interface function that enables the apparel data to be made available to the merchant'"'"'s server displaying prior art apparel web pages, (iii) a customer of the apparel merchant, using a client computer connected to the global computer network with the ability to shop the apparel merchants to execute a fit program in the client and displays a fit web page when the customer clicks a Try-it-on link displayed next to the display of the apparel on the merchant'"'"'s web page, and (iv) a customer interface function that enables the customer to interact with the features of the Fit web page to be able to provide customer size data and select the apparel size, fit preference and be displayed images overlaid with numerical and visual fit indicators that enable the customer to judge the fitting of the available sizes of the apparel.

Claims

1. An e-commerce system that enables a customer on a client computer connected to a global computer network to try on a wear-apparel comprising:

(a) an apparel merchant web page, displaying apparel items for purchase, adapted with a function apparel_data ( ), embedding apparel data as parameters of the function, wherein the execution of the function apparel_data( ), linked to a try-it-on button placed in the vicinity of the apparel item display, transfers the apparel data to an apparel file in the client;

(b) a customer interface function that is launched on clicking the try-it-on button and enables the customer to try on the apparel for size fit.

2. The system as in claim 1, further comprising:

a merchant interface function that has (i) a web based form enabling entry of a wear apparel data such as apparel identification, apparel size, and apparel fit information, (ii) a sub-function that receives the apparel data from the form, embeds them as parameters of the function apparel_data ( ).

4. The system as in claim 1, the apparel data comprising:

(a) the apparel size data including the identification of the sizes and for each size a set of length and girth dimensions relevant to fit on the human body; and

(b) the apparel fit data including for each length dimension of apparel a length range that is a normal fit for the apparel brand and for each girth dimension a girth range that is a normal fit for the apparel brand.

3. The claim as in 1, the apparel data comprising:

apparel gender, apparel type, number of sizes, size identifications, dimensions for each size, and normal fit range for each size, and additionally optionally having merchant id, apparel image identification, apparel inventory identification, and apparel brand identification.

5. The claim as in 1, where the customer interface function comprising:

a. a sub-function that links to a server on the global network and transfers a fit program to the client'"'"'s memory and executes it, wherein, the fit program displays a plurality of web pages with, a first feature displaying human body dimension data in a form retrieved from a customer size file in the client, a second feature displaying available apparel sizes from the apparel file, a third feature displaying a body image overlaid with visual apparel size fit indicators derived from comparing the body data and the specific apparel size data in the apparel file.

6. The system as in claim 5, the visual fit indicators comprising:

color coded layers of indicators from a group of, arches, arrows, boxes or shading overlaid over the body image to represent gradations of fit.

7. The claim as in 5, the fit program further comprising:

a fourth feature enabling the customer to modify the body data in the form to be saved in a customer size file in the client for subsequent retrieval by the fit program.

8. The claim as in 5, the fit program further comprising:

a fifth feature displaying a selection of a desired fit from a group of skintight, comfy, loose and very loose, which when selected, enables the fit display indicators to be adjusted.

9. The claim as in 8, the fit program further comprising:

a. a sixth feature displaying a fit it button embedding a comparison function;

b. clicking the fit it button executes the comparison function that compares the apparel size data in the apparel file and the customer size data in the customer size file, adjusts the comparison with the apparel fit data and refreshes the third feature on the web page with updated fit indicators.

10. The claim as in 5, the fit program further comprising:

a seventh feature displaying apparel image with brand name of the apparel being tried on.

11. The claim as in 5, the fit program further comprising:

an eighth feature enabling the customer to return to the web merchant pages wherein to select another apparel for trying it on.

12. The claim as in 1, further comprising:

a. the button click launching a stat function in a server, which tracks each button click, enabling the web merchant to know which apparel items are clicked more often than others;

b. the button click launching a stat function in a server, which tracks each button click enabling the web merchant to pay for the try it on service by being billed for each button click.

13. A method of displaying wear apparel fit data for a customer, when selecting apparel from an apparel web merchant comprising the step of:

displaying a base human body image overlaid with frames of visual fit indicator images, where such frames are dynamically altered to be representative of the fit data for different sizes of the apparel, using a Flash application program.

14. The method as in claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

selecting, by a fit program, the base image from a group of, a wire line image of a female, a wire line image of a male, an image of a female draped with apparel, and an image of a male draped with apparel.

15. The method as in claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

altering dynamically the fit indicator frames to show only those frames that are specific to the fit of a specific wear apparel type based on parameter inputs to the Flash program.

16. The method as in claim 13, further comprising the step of:

altering dynamically the fit indicator frames, by the Flash application program, based on fit parameter inputs to the Flash program, where a fit program computes the fit parameter inputs.

17. The method as in claim 16, the step of dynamically altering the frames further comprising the steps of:

altering the fit indicator frames in color appearance based on fit color parameter inputs to the Flash program.

18. The method as in claim 16, the step of dynamically altering the frames further comprising the steps of:

altering the fit indicator frames in shape appearance based on fit shape parameter inputs to the Flash program.

19. A method of wear apparel fit using a fit program in the client of a customer for the purpose of fit computations comprising the steps of:

(a) providing to the fit program those length and girth dimensions of the apparel that are relevant to fit on a human body;

(b) providing to the fit program, the corresponding length and girth dimensions of the human body;

(c) providing to the fit program for each of these length and girth dimensions a fit range consisting of a lower and an upper value of the range, wherein the fit range values are selected by an apparel designer based on the intended fit and design of the apparel;

(d) computing a fit indicator result of a fit or a no fit for each of the dimensions by comparing the apparel dimensions and the human body dimensions and then comparing the result to the fit range.

20. The method as in claim 19, further comprising:

a. providing to the fit program, a customer fit preference from a set of preferences of skin-tight, comfy, loose, very loose, wherein for each of these preferences, there is a range of fit for each dimension of the human body relevant to wear apparel fit;

b. re-computing the fit indicator of each of the dimensions by adjusting for the fit preference.