Browse Hierarchies Customized for Rules Based Custom Catalogs

• US 20110060732A1
• Filed: 09/13/2010
• Published: 03/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jeremy Weinrib, Michael Nonemacher, Scott Bonneau
• Original Assignee: Jeremy Weinrib, Michael Nonemacher, Scott Bonneau
• Inventors: Nonemacher, Michael, Bonneau, Scott, Weinrib, Jeremy
• Granted Patent: US 8,332,428 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/722
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

An arbitrary number of custom catalogs for an arbitrary number of customers can be published from a single database of seller catalog data. Custom browse hierarchies can be generated for each of the custom catalogs. The custom catalogs are subsets of the catalog database, and are generated in accordance with a set of rules that defines the scope of the content of the custom catalog. The rule sets define a series of sequential searches by which a subset of the product SKUs contained in the database are returned. A primary hierarchy is maintained that can have a scope coextensive with the primary database. Custom browse hierarchies can be pruned to render their scope approximately coextensive with each subset. The custom catalog subsets and the custom browse hierarchies are generated periodically through a virtual publication process.

Claims

1. A method of generating a plurality of custom browse hierarchies each representative of a unique subset of items, said method comprising:

for each leaf node of a primary hierarchy representative of the items;

establishing a search rule that comprises an aggregation of constraints specified by the leaf node and its ancestors; and

identifying all of the unique subsets that contain at least one of the items meeting the aggregation of constraints; and

creating a custom browse hierarchy for each of the unique subsets, said creating further comprising retaining in the custom browse hierarchy only those leaf nodes, and their ancestors, from the primary hierarchy for which the unique subset has been identified by said identifying.

2-36. -36. (canceled)