LOCAL BUSINESS AND PRODUCT SEARCH SYSTEM AND METHOD
First Claim
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1. A system for identifying retail locations likely to sell a particular product, comprising:
- one or more data stores having a database stored therein, the database including retail location information representing a plurality of retail locations, retail category information for at least some of the plurality of the retail locations, and product information representing a plurality of products, the product information including natural language representations of at least some of the products, each of the natural language representations comprising one or more natural language words representing the corresponding product, the database further including a plurality of mappings between the products and retail categories represented in the retail category information, each of the mappings representing a likelihood of a corresponding retail location in an identified retail category providing a corresponding product; and
one or more computing devices configured to identify one or more of the retail locations in a particular geographic area likely to provide the particular product in response to a query identifying the particular product with reference to the mappings, and to transmit a response to the query communicating the identified one or more retail locations.
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Abstract
Computer implemented systems and methods are described that enable customers to search for a product, and obtain a list of retail locations that are likely to provide that product without any need for any specific information about the stock or products held by that retailer.
185 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A system for identifying retail locations likely to sell a particular product, comprising:
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one or more data stores having a database stored therein, the database including retail location information representing a plurality of retail locations, retail category information for at least some of the plurality of the retail locations, and product information representing a plurality of products, the product information including natural language representations of at least some of the products, each of the natural language representations comprising one or more natural language words representing the corresponding product, the database further including a plurality of mappings between the products and retail categories represented in the retail category information, each of the mappings representing a likelihood of a corresponding retail location in an identified retail category providing a corresponding product; and one or more computing devices configured to identify one or more of the retail locations in a particular geographic area likely to provide the particular product in response to a query identifying the particular product with reference to the mappings, and to transmit a response to the query communicating the identified one or more retail locations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A computer implemented method for identifying retail locations likely to sell a particular product, comprising:
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receiving a query from a remote computing device with a computing system, the query identifying a particular product; connecting with a database associated with the computing system, the database including retail location information representing a plurality of retail locations, retail category information for at least some of the plurality of the retail locations, and product information representing a plurality of products, the product information including natural language representations of at least some of the products, each of the natural language representations comprising one or more natural language words representing the corresponding product, the database further including a plurality of mappings between the products and retail categories represented in the retail category information, each of the mappings representing a likelihood of a corresponding retail location in an identified retail category providing a corresponding product; using the computing system to identify in the database one or more of the retail locations in a particular geographic area likely to provide the particular product in response to a query identifying the particular product with reference to the mappings; and transmitting a response to the query to the remote computing device communicating the identified one or more retail locations. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A search engine configured to identify retail locations likely to sell a particular product, comprising:
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one or more data stores having a database stored therein, the database including retail location information representing a plurality of retail locations, retail category information for at least some of the plurality of the retail locations, and product information representing a plurality of products, the product information including natural language representations of at least some of the products, each of the natural language representations comprising one or more natural language words representing the corresponding product, the database further including a plurality of mappings between the products and retail categories represented in the retail category information, each of the mappings representing a likelihood of a corresponding retail location in an identified retail category providing a corresponding product; and one or more computing devices configured to; receive a query entered into a search interface associated with the search engine; determine that the query is a product search identifying the particular product and a geographic area; identify one or more of the retail locations in the particular geographic area likely to provide the particular product with reference to the mappings, and transmit a response to the query communicating the identified one or more retail locations.
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26. A computer program product for identifying retail locations likely to sell a particular product, comprising one or more computer readable storage media having computer program instructions stored therein configured for execution by one or more computing devices to thereby cause the one or more computing devices to:
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receive a query from a remote computing device, the query identifying a particular product; connect with a database associated with the computing system, the database including retail location information representing a plurality of retail locations, retail category information for at least some of the plurality of the retail locations, and product information representing a plurality of products, the product information including natural language representations of at least some of the products, each of the natural language representations comprising one or more natural language words representing the corresponding product, the database further including a plurality of mappings between the products and retail categories represented in the retail category information, each of the mappings representing a likelihood of a corresponding retail location in an identified retail category providing a corresponding product; identify in the database one or more of the retail locations in a particular geographic area likely to provide the particular product in response to a query identifying the particular product with reference to the mappings; and transmit a response to the query to the remote computing device communicating the identified one or more retail locations.
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Specification