Automated market price analysis system

• US 5,960,407 A
• Filed: 10/08/1996
• Issued: 09/28/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Robert G. Vivona
• Original Assignee: Robert G. Vivona
• Inventors: Vivona, Robert G.
• Primary Examiner(s): MacDonald, Allen R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kanof, Pedro R.
• Application Number:
  US08/728,247
• Time in Patent Office: 1,085 Days
• Field of Search: 705/400, 705/10, 705/35, 705/1, 705/39, 705/26, 705/27, 395/701, 395/200.33, 395/200.57, 395/139, 395/200.59, 395/419, 395/329, 711/144, 345/327, 371/21.1, 455/4.2, 360/72.2, 707/526
• US Class Current: 705/7.33
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0204 Market segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0206 Price or cost determination based on market factors
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0245 Surveys
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

A system for estimating price characteristics of a product from classified advertisements comprising a plurality of textual characters, comprises a relevant classified advertisement database, an attribute filter, a filtered classified advertisement database, a price analyzer and a graphing module. The relevant classified advertisement database stores relevant classified advertisement signals indicative of a subset of the classified advertisements which are directed to the product. The attribute filter receives the relevant classified advertisement signals, and generates in dependence thereupon numeric value signals indicative of prescribed subsets of characters in the subset of the classified advertisements. Each prescribed subset of characters represents a numeric value. The filtered classified advertisement database receives the numeric value signals and stores the numeric value signals. The price analyzer receives the numeric value signals from the filtered classified advertisement database, and determines the price characteristics of the product in dependence on the numeric value signals. The price analyzer also generates price characteristic signals in accordance with the price characteristics of the product. The graphing module receives the price characteristic signals and generates graphical display signals which present the price characteristics of the product in graphic form.

Claims

1. A system for estimating price characteristics of a product from classified advertisements by selecting and extracting information from the classified advertisements, comprising:

a source database of classified advertisement signals in the form of a plurality of character signals, the classified advertisement signals being representative of true market values of the product;

acquisition and filtering means for receiving the plurality of character signals and generating and storing relevant classified advertisement signals corresponding to the product and consisting of subsets of the classified advertisement signals in the form of characters;

attribute filter means for receiving the relevant classified advertisement signals and generating and storing filtered classified advertisement signals that include at least one quality signal and at least one quantity signal for each relevant classified advertisement signal;

price analyzer means for receiving the filtered classified advertisement signals, and generating price characteristic signals for the product using the quality signals and the quantity signals; and

graphing means for receiving the price characteristic signals and generating graphical display signals corresponding to the price characteristic signals of the product.

2. The system for estimating price characteristics of a product from classified advertisements, as defined in claim 1, wherein the acquisition and filtering means further comprises:

a nominal key words database for storing nominal key word signals that correspond to the product and consist of sets of characters;

selecting relevant classified advertisement signals by substantially matching the classified advertisement character signals with the nominal key word signals; and

a relevant classified advertisements database for storing relevant classified advertisement signals that consist of the sets of characters.

3. A system for estimating price characteristics of a product from classified advertisements, as defined in claim 1, wherein the attribute filter means further comprises:

a numerical key words database for storing numerical key word signals that define quality signals and quantity signals corresponding to the product and consist of sets of characters;

means for generating filtered classified advertisement signals by substantially matching relevant classified advertisement character signals with the quality signals and with the quantity signals that consist of sets of characters; and

filtered classified advertisement database for storing filtered classified advertisement signals.

4. A system for estimating price characteristics of a product from classified advertisements, as defined in claim 3, wherein generating filtered classified advertisement signals further comprises:

means for matching the relevant classified advertisement character signals with the corresponding quantity signals that consist of sets of characters to provide numeric value signals that are in numerical form; and

means for matching the relevant classified advertisement character signals with the corresponding quality attribute signals that consist of sets of characters to provide quality attribute signals.

5. A system for estimating price characteristics of a product from classified advertisements by selecting and extracting information from classified advertisements, comprising:

a source database containing classified advertisements represented by a plurality of characters, the classified advertisements being representative of true market values of the product;

acquisition and filtering means including;

means for matching classified advertisements characters with nominal key words, and generating relevant classified advertisements, wherein each nominal key word consists of at least one character representative of classified advertisements;

means for storing the relevant classified advertisements as characters;

attribute filter means comprising;

means for selecting at least one quality attribute from each of the relevant classified advertisements by substantially matching relevant classified advertisement characters with numerical key words, wherein each numerical key word consists of at least one character;

means for selecting at least one numeric value word from each of the relevant classified advertisements by substantially matching relevant classified advertisement characters with numerical key words, and generating an associated numeric value;

means for storing the selected quality attributes, the selected numeric key words and the associated numeric values as filtered classified advertisements;

price analyzer means for receiving the filtered classified advertisement signals, and generating price characteristic signals of the product; and

means for graphing the price characteristic signals and generating graphical display signals corresponding to the price characteristic signals of the product.

6. A system for estimating price characteristics of a product from classified advertisements by selecting and extracting information from the classified advertisements, as defined in claim 5, further comprising:

means for storing numerical key words and nominal key words in at least one database.

7. A system for estimating price characteristics of a product from classified advertisements by selecting and extracting information from the classified advertisements, as defined in claim 5, further comprising:

a relevant classified advertisements database for storing relevant classified advertisements; and

a filtered classified advertisements database for storing filtered classified advertisements.

8. A system for estimating price characteristics of a product from classified advertisements by selecting and extracting information from the classified advertisements, as defined in claim 5, wherein the product is a specified job, and the numeric values include salary ranges for the job and the specified years of experience for the job.

9. A system for estimating price characteristics of a product from classified advertisements by selecting and extracting information from the classified advertisements, as defined in claim 8, wherein the graphing means further comprises generating graphs that include salary ranges for the specified job against the specified years of experience for the specified job.

10. A system for estimating price characteristics of a product from classified advertisements by selecting and extracting information from the classified advertisements, as defined in claim 8, wherein the graphing means generates graphs that include an average salary range for the specified job against a variation of the average salary range for the job.

11. A system for estimating price characteristics of a product from classified advertisements by selecting and extracting information from the classified advertisements, as defined in claim 8, wherein the price analyzer means further includes generating at least one upward mobility equation that describes a number of years of experience required for the type of job as a function of a number of years of experience required for a second type of job.

12. A system for estimating price characteristics of a product from classified advertisements by selecting and extracting information from the classified advertisements, as defined in claim 5, wherein the price analyzer means further comprises generating price characteristics of a product by regression analysis using the numeric values.

13. A method for estimating price characteristics of a product from classified advertisements by selecting and extracting information from the classified advertisements, comprising:

selecting a source of classified advertisements representative of true market values of the product;

selecting relevant classified advertisements corresponding to the product from the source of classified advertisements;

selecting and generating quality attributes and quantity attributes and associated numeric values corresponding to the product from the relevant classified advertisements;

generating price characteristics of the product using the numeric values corresponding to the product; and

generating graphical display signals which correspond to the price characteristics of the product.

14. A method for estimating price characteristics of a product from classified advertisements by selecting and extracting information from the classified advertisements, as defined in claim 13, further comprising:

selecting relevant classified advertisements by comparing classified advertisements with nominal key words that correspond to the type of product.

15. A method for estimating price characteristics of a product from classified advertisements by selecting and extracting information from the classified advertisements, as defined in claim 13, wherein some of the numeric values correspond to salary amounts of the type of job, and some of the numeric values correspond to amounts of years of experience of the type of job.

16. A method for estimating price characteristics of a product from classified advertisements by selecting and extracting information from the classified advertisements, as defined in claim 15, wherein graphical display signals correspond to salary amounts for the type of job against years of experience for the type of job.

17. A method for estimating price characteristics of a product from classified advertisements by selecting and extracting information from the classified advertisements, as defined in claim 15, wherein graphical display signals correspond to an average salary amount of the type of job against a variation of the average salary amount of the type of job.