METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DYNAMIC INFORMATION CONNECTION SEARCH ENGINE

• US 20080033770A1
• Filed: 10/11/2007
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Brian Barth, Marcel Janssens, Stewart Kelly
• Original Assignee: Brian Barth, Marcel Janssens, Stewart Kelly
• Inventors: Barth, Brian, Janssens, Marcel, Kelly, Stewart
• Application Number:
  US11/870,909
• Publication Number:
  US 20080033770A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0625 Directed, with specific intent or strategy
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0627 using item specifications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99937 Sorting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99938 Concurrency, e.g. lock management in shared database
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 : Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for a dynamic information connection engine. User actions are detected on at least one client system. In response, a determination is made whether the user is searching for supported information. When the user is searching for supported information, information is extracted electronically from third party web sites, direct supplier connections, and intermediate databases. Potential information suppliers are automatically selected in response to the detected user search. Queries are formulated from the user search and transferred to each selected supplier over a network coupling. The queries include a request for information. Responses are received from the suppliers, and the responses are used to generate a result list for the user. The result list includes information and query status information. Further, an electronic link may be provided to a web site of each supplier from which the information was derived.

Claims

1. A method for a dynamic information connection engine, comprising:

detecting at least one user action on at least one client computer and, in response, determining at least one user is searching for supported information;

extracting query information from the at least one user action, wherein the query information includes at least one category of the supported information;

automatically selecting at least one supplier of the supported information using at least one server in response to the query information;

transferring at least one query including the query information among the selected at least one supplier via at least one network; and

generating at least one result list in response to at least one query response, wherein the at least one result list includes response information generated from the at least one query response and query status information.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing the at least one result list to the at least one user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one result list further includes at least one electronic link to the selected at least one supplier.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting further comprises:

monitoring the at least one user action by capturing Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) from a browser of the at least one client computer;

comparing a root portion of the captured URL with at least one list of strings stored by the at least one client computer; and

forwarding a root-matching URL to the at least one server, wherein determinations are made whether the at least one user action is a request for travel information and whether the at least one user action contains enough information to be the at least one itinerary component.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing at least one coupling to the selected at least one supplier via the at least one network, wherein establishing includes at least one method selected from a group consisting of requesting at least one web page from at least one web site of the at least one supplier, and using at least one proprietary coupling among the at least one supplier and at least one intermediary database, wherein the at least one intermediary database comprises information on available inventory of the at least one supplier.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing at least one coupling between the at least one client computer and the at least one server, wherein the at least one client computer dynamically constructs a name of the at least one server by concatenating string fragments including a string constant representing a fixed base part of a name of the at least one server, at least one random number converted into at least one character string, and a string constant representing at least one domain in which the at least one server is located.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

tracking a purchase of at least one itinerary component; and

maintaining proof of the purchase.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the tracking and the maintaining comprise maintaining at least one buy-tracking list of string pairs on the at least one client computer, wherein a first string pair element includes a URL of a receipt web page of the at least one supplier, wherein a second string pair element includes an extraction specifier that specifies a purchase transaction identification string within the receipt web page, and wherein the purchase transaction identification string is used as proof of purchase transaction origination.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically selecting at least one supplier comprises performing at least one evaluation using at least one search factor selected from a group consisting of information from the at least one itinerary component, preferences of the at least one user, personal information on the at least one user, at least one previous search history of the at least one supplier, and at least one search history of at least one search of a similar type and by a similar user.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising filtering the at least one query response using criteria selected from a group consisting of relative item pricing, preferences of the at least one user, personal information on the at least one user, sort criteria of the at least one user, past purchasing decisions of the at least one user, and past purchasing decisions of at least one aggregate group of users.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing at least one coupling to the selected at least one supplier via the at least one network, wherein establishing includes at least one method selected from a group consisting of requesting at least one web page from at least one web site of the at least one supplier, and using at least one proprietary coupling among the at least one supplier and at least one intermediary database, wherein the at least one intermediary database comprises information on available inventory of the at least one supplier.

11. A method for locating and scheduling travel itinerary components in real time, comprising:

detecting at least one user action on at least one client computer and, in response, determining at least one user is searching for travel information;

extracting at least one itinerary component from the at least one user action;

automatically selecting at least one supplier of the at least one itinerary component using at least one server;

transferring at least one query among the selected at least one supplier via at least one network, wherein the at least one query is a request for purchase information on the at least one itinerary component; and

presenting the at least one user with at least one result list in response to at least one query response, wherein the at least one result list includes the purchase information, at least one electronic link to the at least one supplier, and query status information.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one itinerary component comprises at least one component selected from a group consisting of airline reservations, lodging reservations, and ground transportation reservations.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein detecting at least one user action further comprises:

monitoring the at least one user action by capturing Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) from a browser of the at least one client computer;

comparing a root portion of the captured URL with at least one list of strings stored by the at least one client computer;

and forwarding a root-matching URL to the at least one server, wherein determinations are made whether the at least one user action is a request for travel information and whether the at least one user action contains enough information to be the at least one itinerary component.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising determining whether the at least one user action contains enough information to be the at least one itinerary component.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising opening at least one sub-window on the browser when the at least one user action includes enough information to be the at least one itinerary, wherein the sub-window accepts entry of the at least one itinerary.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising capturing information from the at least one user action when it is determined that the at least one user action contains enough information to be the at least one itinerary component.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising capturing information from a third party web site when it is determined that the at least one user action contains enough information to be the at least one itinerary component.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising updating the at least one list of strings, wherein updating includes transferring at least one updated list of strings from the at least one server.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one itinerary component is received from at least one location selected from a group consisting of the at least one client computer.

21. The method of claim 11, further comprising establishing at least one coupling between the at least one client computer and the at least one server, wherein the at least one client computer dynamically constructs a name of the at least one server by concatenating string fragments including a string constant representing a fixed base part of a name of the at least one server, at least one random number converted into at least one character string, and a string constant representing at least one domain in which the at least one server is located.

22. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing at least one coupling among the at least one client computer and at least one electronic site from which the at least one user can purchase at least one selected itinerary component.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the at least one electronic site is selected from a group consisting of at least one supplier web site, at least one captive purchase web site, and at least one third party web site.

24. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

tracking a purchase of the at least one itinerary component; and

maintaining proof of the purchase.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the tracking and the maintaining comprise maintaining at least one buy-tracking list of string pairs on the at least one client computer, wherein a first string pair element includes a URL of a receipt web page of the at least one supplier, wherein a second string pair element includes an extraction specifier that specifies a purchase transaction identification string within the receipt web page, and wherein the purchase transaction identification string is used as proof of purchase transaction origination.

26. The method of claim 11, wherein automatically selecting at least one supplier comprises performing at least one evaluation using at least one search factor selected from a group consisting of information from the at least one itinerary component, preferences of the at least one user, personal information on the at least one user, at least one previous search history of the at least one supplier, and at least one search history of at least one search of a similar type and by a similar user.

27. The method of claim 11, further comprising filtering the at least one query response using criteria selected from a group consisting of relative item pricing, preferences of the at least one user, personal information on the at least one user, sort criteria of the at least one user, past purchasing decisions of the at least one user, and past purchasing decisions of at least one aggregate group of users.

28. The method of claim 11, further comprising sorting the at least one list using at least one sorting criteria from the at least one user.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the sorting is performed on the at least one client computer.

30. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

generating at least one travel request object in response to the extracted at least one itinerary component, wherein the at least one travel request object contains information on the at least one itinerary component and identifying information for the selected at least one supplier; and

optimizing the at least one travel request object.

31. The method of claim 11, further comprising tracking at least one time period selected from a group consisting of session periods, itinerary search time periods, result expiration time periods, and at least one travel category search result time period.

32. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing at least one user identification number and at least one session identification number to the at least one server.

33. The method of claim 11, further comprising maintaining at least one travel-special inventory for the at least one supplier, wherein the at least one travel-special inventory is a current inventory of special deals on travel.

34. The method of claim 11, wherein the query status information comprises a total number of travel suppliers to which the at least one query is transferred, a total number of travel supplier responses received, a total number of data items found, a total number of data items processed, and a total number of data items presented to the at least one user.

35. The method of claim 11, further comprising presenting the at least one user with at least one electronic link corresponding to each item of the at least one result list, wherein the at least one electronic link directs the at least one client computer to at least one page of a web site from which the item can be purchased.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the web site is a supplier web site.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein the web site is affiliated with the at least one server.

38. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one client computer comprises at least one processing device selected from a group consisting of personal computers, personal digital assistants, hand-held computers, cellular telephones, communication devices, and vehicle telematic systems.

39. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one network comprises the Internet.

40. A system for locating and scheduling travel itinerary components in real time, comprising:

at least one client computer that detects at least one user action and determines whether at least one user is searching for travel information;

at least one server coupled to the at least one client computer, wherein at least one itinerary component is extracted from the at least one user action, wherein at least one supplier of the at least one itinerary component is automatically selected, wherein at least one query is transferred among the selected at least one supplier via at least one network, wherein the at least one query is a request for purchase information on the at least one itinerary component, wherein the at least one user is presented with at least one result list in response to at least one query response, wherein the at least one result list includes the purchase information, query status information, and at least one electronic link that supports purchase of the at least one itinerary component.

41. The system of claim 40, wherein the at least one travel component comprises at least one component selected from a group consisting of airline reservations, lodging reservations, and ground transportation reservations.

42. The system of claim 40, wherein detecting at least one user action further comprises:

monitoring the at least one user action by capturing Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) from a browser of the at least one client computer;

comparing a root portion of the captured URL with at least one list of strings stored by the at least one client computer;

and forwarding a root-matching URL to the at least one server, wherein determinations are made whether the at least one user action is a request for travel information and whether the at least one user action contains enough information to be the at least one itinerary component.

43. The system of claim 42, wherein the at least one client computer comprises at least one browser sub-window that is opened when the at least one user action includes enough information to be the at least one itinerary, wherein the sub-window accepts entry of the at least one itinerary component.

44. The system of claim 42, wherein information is captured from the at least one user action, and it is determined that the at least one user action contains enough information to be the at least one itinerary component.

45. The system of claim 40, wherein the at least one itinerary component is received from at least one location selected from a group consisting of the at least one client computer.

46. The system of claim 40, wherein at least one coupling is established to the selected at least one supplier via the at least one network, wherein the establishment includes at least one method selected from a group consisting of requesting at least one web page from at least one web site of the at least one supplier, and using at least one proprietary coupling among the at least one supplier and at least one intermediary database, wherein the at least one intermediary database comprises information on available inventory of the at least one supplier.

47. The system of claim 40, wherein the at least one client computer couples to the at least one server by dynamically constructing a name of the at least one server by concatenating string fragments including a string constant representing a fixed base part of a name of the at least one server, at least one random number converted into at least one character string, and a string constant representing at least one domain in which the at least one server is located.

48. The system of claim 40, wherein a factory logic section of the at least one server creates and populates at least one object in response to at least one request from at least one other logic section, wherein the at least one object is used in at least one session of the at least one user.

49. The system of claim 48, wherein the at least one object comprises at least one user information object based on information of the at least one user, wherein the at least one user information object is stored in at least one database upon completion of the at least one session, wherein the factory logic searches the at least one database for the at least one user information object upon initiation of at least one subsequent session.

50. The system of claim 48, wherein the at least one object comprises at least one session information object based on information of the at least one session.

51. The system of claim 48, wherein the at least one object comprises at least one travel request object based on information of the at least one itinerary component, wherein the at least one travel request object includes information identifying the at least one supplier.

52. The system of claim 51, wherein the at least one object comprises at least one travel query object that is instantiated with the at least one travel request object, wherein upon instantiation the at least one travel query object obtains at least one thread and at least one search adapter for each of the at least one suppliers, wherein the at least one thread and the at least one search adapter control the transfer of the at least one query.

53. The system of claim 40, wherein at least one coupling is provided among the at least one client computer and at least one electronic site from which the at least one user can purchase at least one selected itinerary component, wherein the at least one electronic site is selected from a group consisting of at least one supplier web site, at least one third party web site, at least one interface among the at least one server and the at least one supplier, and at least one database.

54. The system of claim 40, wherein a purchase of the at least one travel component is tracked and a proof of the purchase is maintained.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein the tracking and the maintaining comprise maintaining at least one buy-tracking list of strings on the at least one client computer, wherein a first string includes a URL of a receipt web page of the at least one supplier, wherein a second string includes an extraction specifier that specifies a purchase transaction identification string within the receipt web page, wherein the purchase transaction identification string is used as proof of a purchase transaction origination.

56. The system of claim 40, wherein the at least one response is filtered using criteria selected from a group consisting of relative item pricing, preferences of the at least one user, personal information on the at least one user, sort criteria of the at least one user, past purchasing decisions of the at least one user, and past purchasing decisions of at least one aggregate group of users.

57. The system of claim 40, wherein at least one travel-special inventory is maintained for the at least one supplier, wherein the at least one travel-special inventory is a current inventory of special deals on travel.

58. The system of claim 40, wherein the status information comprises a total number of travel suppliers to which the at least one query is transferred, a total number of travel supplier responses received, a total number of data items found, a total number of data items processed, and a total number of data items presented to the at least one user.

59. The system of claim 40, wherein the at least one user is presented with at least one electronic link corresponding to each item of the at least one result list, wherein the at least one electronic link directs the at least one client computer to at least one page of the corresponding supplier web site from which the item can be purchased.

60. A computer readable medium containing executable instructions which, when executed in a processing system, provides a dynamic information connection engine comprising:

detecting at least one user action on at least one client computer and, in response, determining at least one user is searching for supported information;

extracting query information from the at least one user action, wherein the query information includes at least one category of the supported information;

automatically selecting at least one supplier of the supported information using at least one server in response to the query information;

transferring at least one query including the query information among the selected at least one supplier via at least one network; and

generating at least one result list in response to at least one query response, wherein the at least one result list includes response information generated from the at least one query response and query status information.

61. An electromagnetic medium containing executable instructions which, when executed in a processing system, provides a dynamic information connection engine comprising:

detecting at least one user action on at least one client computer and, in response, determining at least one user is searching for supported information;

extracting query information from the at least one user action, wherein the query information includes at least one category of the supported information;

automatically selecting at least one supplier of the supported information using at least one server in response to the query information;

transferring at least one query including the query information among the selected at least one supplier via at least one network; and

generating at least one result list in response to at least one query response, wherein the at least one result list includes response information generated from the at least one query response and query status information.

62. A method for locating and scheduling travel itinerary components in real time, comprising:

detecting at least one user action on at least one client computer and, in response, determining at least one user is searching for travel information;

extracting at least one itinerary component from the at least one user action;

automatically selecting at least one supplier of the at least one itinerary component using at least one server;

transferring at least one query among the selected at least one supplier via at least one network, wherein the at least one query is a request for purchase information on the at least one itinerary component;

presenting the at least one user with at least one result list in response to at least one query response, wherein the at least one result list includes the purchase information, at least one electronic link to the at least one supplier, and query status information; and

facilitating at least one purchase transaction comprising the at least one user purchasing at least one itinerary component chosen from the at least one result list.