SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FACILITATING USE OF A SELECTION GUIDE

• US 20140317076A1
• Filed: 02/12/2014
• Published: 10/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: WW Grainger Incorporated
• Original Assignee: WW Grainger Incorporated
• Inventors: Westphal, Geoffry A.
• Application Number:
  US14/178,807
• Publication Number:
  US 20140317076A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/706
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3322 using system suggestions G06F16/3325 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering

Abstract

A system and method functions to automatically invoke a selection guide when the search term(s) provided in a freeform search query are determined to be associated with a category of item for which a selection guide will provide the most efficient means for the user to locate items of interest.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable media having stored thereon executable instructions which, when executed by a processing device, perform steps comprising:

determining if a search term included in a free form search query received from a user is used as a searchable parameter within each of a plurality of selection guides wherein each of the plurality of selection guides comprises a plurality of graphical user interface elements provided for locating items of a corresponding one of a plurality of predefined types of items within an electronic catalog of items; and

when the search term included in the free form search query is determined to be used as a searchable parameter within only a single one of the plurality of selection guides, causing the single one of the plurality of selection guides to be presented to the user.

2. The non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the instructions automatically populate an appropriate one of the plurality of graphical user interface elements of the single one of the plurality of selection guides with a parametric value that corresponds to the search term included in the free form search query when the single one of the plurality of selection guides is caused to be presented to the user.

3. The non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the instructions use the search term included in the free form search query to automatically remove at least one of the plurality of graphical user interface elements of the single one of the plurality of selection guides when the single one of the plurality of selection guides is caused to be presented to the user.

4. The non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 2, wherein the instructions use the search term included in the free form search query to automatically remove at least one of the plurality of graphical user interface elements of the single one of the plurality of selection guides when the single one of the plurality of selection guides is caused to be presented to the user.

5. The non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the search term comprises a numeric value.

6. A non-transitory computer readable media having stored thereon executable instructions which, when executed by a processing device, perform steps comprising:

determining if a search term included in a free form search query received from a user is used as a searchable parameter within each of a plurality of selection guides wherein each of the plurality of selection guides comprises a plurality of graphical user interface elements provided for locating items of a corresponding one of a plurality of predefined types of items within an electronic catalog of items;

when the search term included in the free form search query is determined to be used as a searchable parameter within only a single one of the plurality of selection guides, determining if a number of items within the corresponding one of the plurality of predefined types of items within the electronic catalog of items that have an associated parametric value that corresponds to the search term included in the free form search query is less than a predetermined number of items;

when the number of items within the corresponding one of the plurality of predefined types of items with the electronic catalog of items that have an associated parametric value that corresponds to the search term included in the free form search query is less than the predetermined number of items, automatically presenting as a search result information for each item within the corresponding one of the plurality of predefined types of items within the electronic catalog of items that have an associated parametric value that corresponds to the search term included in the free form search query; and

when the number of items within the corresponding one of the plurality of predefined type of items with the electronic catalog of items that have an associated parametric value that corresponds to the search term included in the free form search query is not less than the predetermined number of items, causing the single one of the plurality of selection guides to be presented to the user.

7. The non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 6, wherein the instructions automatically populate an appropriate one of the plurality of graphical user interface elements of the single one of the plurality of selection guides with a parametric value that corresponds to the search term included in the free form search query when the single one of the plurality of selection guides is caused to be presented to the user.

8. The non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 6, wherein the instructions use the search term included in the free form search query to automatically remove one of the plurality of graphical user interface elements of the single one of the plurality of selection guides when the single one of the plurality of selection guides is caused to be presented to the user.

9. The non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 7, wherein the instructions use the search term included in the free form search query to automatically remove one of the plurality of graphical user interface elements of the single one of the plurality of selection guides when the single one of the plurality of selection guides is caused to be presented to the user.

10. The non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 9, wherein the search term comprises a numeric value.

11. A non-transitory computer readable media having stored thereon executable instructions which, when executed by a processing device, perform steps comprising:

determining if a search term included as a part of a free form search query received from a user is used as a searchable parameter within each of a plurality of selection guides wherein each of the plurality of selection guides comprises a plurality of graphical user interface elements for locating items of a corresponding one of a plurality of predefined types of items within an electronic catalog of items; and

when the search term included in the free form search query is determined to be used as a searchable parameter within more than one of the plurality of selection guides, prompting the user to select of a one of the more than one of the plurality of selection guides for presentation to the user.

12. The non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 11, wherein the instructions automatically populate an appropriate one of the plurality of graphical user interface elements of the selected one of the more than one of the plurality of selection guides with a parametric value that corresponds to the search term included in the free form search query when the selected one of the more than one of the plurality of selection guides is caused to be presented to the user.

13. The non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 11, wherein the instructions use the search term included in the free form search query to automatically remove one of the plurality of graphical user interface elements of the selected one of the more than one of the plurality of selection guides when the selected one of the more than one of the plurality of selection guides is caused to be presented to the user.

14. The non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 12, wherein the instructions use the search term included in the free form search query to automatically remove one of the plurality of graphical user interface elements of the selected one of the more than one of the plurality of selection guides when the selected one of the more than one of the plurality of selection guides is caused to be presented to the user.

15. The non-transitory computer readable media as recited in claim 11, wherein the search term comprises a numeric value.