Process and system for matching product and markets

• US 20080021892A1
• Filed: 08/13/2007
• Published: 01/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: James D. Thompson, John P. Ranieri
• Original Assignee: Sizatola LLC
• Inventors: Kimbrough, Steven, MacMillan, Ian, Ranieri, John
• Granted Patent: US 7,756,891 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/931 Patent comparison
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/944 Business related
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

The present invention provides a search method and system for matching a commodity to one or more applications for using the commodity. A plurality of properties associated with the commodity are identified. A collection of documents for searching for a plurality of combinations of said properties is then defined, wherein the combination includes a single property or multiple properties. The defined collection of documents is searched for all occurrences of the combination of properties, and the hits retrieved for those documents that include the properties. The hits are then associated with one or more subclasses of a classification scheme, and reviewed for those hits that include the properties of the commodity but not the commodity, wherein subclasses not including hits that include the commodity are matched as applications for the commodity.

Claims

1. A search method for matching a commodity to one or more unanticipated applications for using the commodity, said method comprising the steps of:

identifying at least one property associated with the commodity;

defining a collection of documents for searching for at least one combination of said properties, the combination including a single property or multiple properties;

searching the defined collection of documents for said combination of said properties;

retrieving hits from the collection of documents that include the properties;

associating the hits to one or more subclasses of a classification scheme; and

reviewing the hits that are associated with identified properties of the commodity, wherein the subclasses associated with such hits are matched as applications of the commodity;

said hits not including the commodity.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said properties include known characteristics of the commodity, known industries associated with commodity and attributes of the commodity.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising selecting the classification scheme wherein said classification scheme is a pre-existing classification scheme.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said hits include an entire document having at least one of said combinations of properties or information about a document having at least one of said combinations of properties.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the information is a classification number;

said classification number being used to associate a hit comprising the classification number to one or more of the subclasses of the classification scheme.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the classification number is a Library of Congress call number and said classification scheme is the Library of Congress classification scheme.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the classification number is a United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) class number and said classification scheme is the USPTO classification scheme.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of identifying a second plurality of properties associated with the applications.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of identifying a second plurality of properties comprises the step of searching for similar words in the hits included in a subclass not including hits having the commodity;

said second plurality of properties being based on properties of the similar words.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the generation of the plurality of combinations of said properties to be searched in the defined collection of documents comprises the steps of:

identifying all combinations of said properties;

searching the defined collection of documents; and

determining which of said combinations of said properties retrieves the most hits.

11. A system for matching a commodity to one or more unanticipated applications for using the commodity, the system comprising:

means for identifying at least one property associated with the commodity;

means for searching a defined collection of documents for at least one combination of said properties, said combination including a single or multiple properties;

means for retrieving hits from the collection of documents that include at least one of the combinations of properties;

means for associating the hits to one or more subclasses of a classification scheme; and

means for reviewing the hits that are associated with identified properties of the commodity, wherein the subclasses associated with such hits are matched as applications of the commodity, said hits not including the commodity.