Accessing Information From An Internet User's Web Session

• US 20110145401A1
• Filed: 12/14/2010
• Published: 06/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CardEasy Limited
• Original Assignee: CardEasy Limited
• Inventors: Westlake, Colin
• Granted Patent: US 8,775,608 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering

Abstract

A pre-existing reference number on a legacy website provided by a legacy website provider may be supplemented with an enhanced reference number capable of identifying an internet user engaged in a web session on the legacy website. A check may be made to establish whether the internet user'"'"'s computing device has a state object, including a web user ID (wUID) unique to the internet user'"'"'s computing device. A processor may create an enhanced reference number based on the pre-existing reference number upon receipt of a request, and an association between the wUID and the enhanced reference number may be stored in a database accessible by the website provider. The enhanced reference number may be made available to the user by displaying it in place of the pre-existing reference number on the legacy website via the web session.

Claims

1. A method of supplementing a pre-existing reference number on a legacy website provided by a legacy website provider with an enhanced reference number capable of identifying an internet user engaged in a web session on said legacy website to facilitate interaction between said internet user and said website provider, comprising the steps of:

making a check to establish whether the internet user'"'"'s computing device has a state object for the website provider stored thereon, the state object comprising a web user ID (wUID) which is unique to the internet user'"'"'s computing device to identify the internet user;

receiving a request to provide an enhanced reference number for identifying the internet user'"'"'s web session, said request containing the pre-existing reference number;

creating, via a processor, an enhanced reference number based on the pre-existing reference number upon receipt of said request.

storing an association between the wUID and the enhanced reference number in a database accessible by the website provider; and

making the enhanced reference number available to the user by displaying it in place of the pre-existing reference number on the legacy website via the web session.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the stop of identifying the web session and accessing information therefrom using the reference received from the user during an interaction with the user.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

creating or selecting an identifier for identifying the internet user; and

creating an association between the identifier and the wUID in the database so as to associate the internet user identifier with the internet user'"'"'s web session once the web session has been identified.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the interaction is by telephone and the identifier comprises the user'"'"'s calling line identity (CLI).

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the interaction is by email and the identifier comprises the user'"'"'s email address.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the reference number is represented by or comprises at least part of a product code for identifying a product viewed during the internet user'"'"'s web session.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein information from the internet user'"'"'s web session is stored in the database with the wUID such that it may be accessed via the reference.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein information from subsequent web sessions of the internet user is stored in the database with the wUID to create a web session history.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the pre-existing reference number is one of a plurality of reference numbers;

each of said pre-existing reference numbers is associated with one of a plurality of contact details for contacting the website provider; and

the associations between each pre-existing reference number and said one of a plurality of contact details are stored in said database; and

wherein;

said request further comprises said one of a plurality of contact details.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of

parsing the legacy website using an extraction engine and extracting from the legacy website the pre-existing reference number and, when dependent on claim 12, the contact detail.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the contact detail is one of a telephone number;

an email address; and

a postal address.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the contact detail is one of a telephone number;

an email address; and

a postal address.

13. A method of identifying an internet user engaged in a web session on a legacy website provided by a legacy website provider to facilitate interaction between said internet user and said website provider, said website provider providing a pre-existing reference number which is supplemented with an enhanced reference number capable of identifying the internet user engaged in the web session, comprising the steps of:

receiving the enhanced reference number from the internet user during an interaction instigated by the internet user; and

accessing, via a processor, a database on which there is stored a relationship between the enhanced reference number and a web user ID (wUID) of the internet user, said wUID being unique to the internet user'"'"'s computing device to identify the internet user.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of identifying the web session and accessing information therefrom using the reference received from the user during the interaction with the user.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of directing the interaction instigated by the user to a particular recipient based on the enhanced reference received from the user.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of directing the interaction comprises the steps of;

scrutinizing the information from the internet user'"'"'s web session; and

selecting the particular recipient on the basis of the information.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising the steps of

constructing a bespoke web page based on the information accessed from the internet user'"'"'s web session;

and

providing the internet user with access to the bespoke web page.

26. The method of claim 15, wherein information from subsequent web sessions of the internet user is stored in the database with the wUID to create a web session history.

18. A method of providing a reference to an internet user, via the internet user'"'"'s computing device, during the internet user'"'"'s web session on a website of a website provider to facilitate interaction between said internet user and said website provider, comprising the steps of:

making a check to establish whether the internet user'"'"'s computing device has a state object for the website provider stored thereon, the state object comprising a web user ID (wUID) which is unique to the internet user'"'"'s computing device to identify the internet user;

creating, via a processor, a reference for identifying the internet user'"'"'s web session, the reference being capable of identifying a product viewed during the internet user'"'"'s web session, said reference allocated to one of a plurality of contact details;

storing an association between the wUID and the reference in a database accessible by the website provider;

making the reference available to the user via the web session; and

identifying the web session and accessing information therefrom using the reference received from the user during an interaction with the user, the interaction having been instigated by the user using said one of a plurality of contact details.

19. The method claim 18, wherein:

the contact detail is a telephone number; and

the contact is a telephone call made by the user to the telephone number.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein:

the contact detail is an email address; and

the contact is an email sent by the user to the email address.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein:

the contact detail is a postal address; and

the contact is correspondence sent by the user to the postal address.

22. The method of claim 18, further comprising the steps of:

creating or selecting an identifier for identifying the internet user; and

associating the identifier with the internet user'"'"'s web session once the web session has been identified.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the interaction is by telephone and the identifier comprises the user'"'"'s calling line identity (CLI).

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the interaction is by email and the identifier comprises the user'"'"'s email address.

25. The method of claim 18, wherein information from the internet user'"'"'s web session is stored in the database with the wUID such that it may be accessed via the reference.

27. A method of identifying an internet user engaged in a web session on a website of a website provider to facilitate interaction between said internet user and said website provider, said website provider providing a reference to the internet user during the internet user'"'"'s web session, the reference being capable of identifying the internet user'"'"'s web session and a product viewed during the internet user'"'"'s web session, said reference allocated to one of a plurality of contact details, comprising the steps of:

receiving the reference from the internet user during an interaction instigated by the internet user using said one of a plurality of contact details; and

accessing, via a processor, a database on which there is stored a relationship between the reference number and the contact detail and a relationship between the reference number and a web user ID (wUID) of the internet user, said wUID being unique to the web user'"'"'s computing device to identify the internet user; and

identifying the web session and accessing information therefrom using the reference received from the user during the interaction with the user.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising the step of directing the interaction instigated by the user to a particular recipient based on the reference received from the user.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the step of directing the interaction comprises the steps of:

scrutinizing the information from the internet user'"'"'s web session; and

selecting the particular recipient on the basis of the information.

30. The method of claim 27, further comprising the steps of:

constructing a bespoke web page based on the information accessed from the internet user'"'"'s web session; and

providing the internet user with access to the bespoke web page.

31. A method comprising the step of providing, by a processor, a reference for identifying an internet user during an interaction with the internet user, the whole or a portion of the reference comprising or represented by at least part of a product code.