System for hosting an on-line shopping service for remotely-located service providers
First Claim
1. A method of hosting an on-line shopping system in which products from a plurality of remote service providers may be purchased by a plurality of remote subscribers, comprising:
- storing service maps for service providers in a host computer, with each service provider being capable of customizing its associated service map, and said service maps including products that may be selected for purchase by the plurality of remote subscribers, wherein the types of products are specified by the remote service providers as part of the customization of the associated service map;
receiving a request from at least one of said remote subscribers for the service map of at least one of said remote service providers;
transmitting said requested service map from said host computer to said subscriber over a communications link;
in response to the selection of one of said products by said subscriber, receiving at said host computer a code from said subscriber identifying the selected product; and
transmitting data associated with the selected product from said host computer to said subscriber.
12 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An on-line communications service allows a plurality of service providers to provide services to respective groups of subscribers, with the on-line service from each provider being independent of the on-line service from other providers. The subscribers'"'"' access to features is maintained through service maps which are customized by the service provider interactively with the host computer. Upon log-on, the service map is downloaded to a subscriber'"'"'s computer and defines the services which can be accessed, the appearance of the user interface and navigation through the services. Data for each provider'"'"'s service is maintained separately from the data for other providers. Billing can be customized for each provider.
-
Citations
50 Claims
-
1. A method of hosting an on-line shopping system in which products from a plurality of remote service providers may be purchased by a plurality of remote subscribers, comprising:
-
storing service maps for service providers in a host computer, with each service provider being capable of customizing its associated service map, and said service maps including products that may be selected for purchase by the plurality of remote subscribers, wherein the types of products are specified by the remote service providers as part of the customization of the associated service map; receiving a request from at least one of said remote subscribers for the service map of at least one of said remote service providers; transmitting said requested service map from said host computer to said subscriber over a communications link; in response to the selection of one of said products by said subscriber, receiving at said host computer a code from said subscriber identifying the selected product; and transmitting data associated with the selected product from said host computer to said subscriber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A method of selling products from multiple service providers through an on-line system, comprising:
-
generating a menu associated with each service provider that defines a plurality of options that may be selected by a remote on-line purchaser, with each menu being customized by the associated service provider to define the options and products that are available from that service provider; uploading the menu to a remote host computer via a communications link, said host computer storing said menu as a service map and being capable of interactively completing transactions with remote on-line purchasers based on said service map; and receiving, from said host computer, data that provides information on transactions between remote on-line purchasers and the host computer. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
-
-
24. A method of providing an on-line service, comprising:
-
storing customized service maps from a plurality of remote service providers at a host computer, said service maps listing products that are available for purchase on-line from said service providers, wherein said products are determined by the service provider as part of the customization of its associated service map; receiving from remote users, via a communications link, a signal selecting one of the plurality of remote service providers; transmitting, front said host computer to the remote user, the service map associated with the selected service provider, said service map including a plurality of options that may be remotely selected by the remote user; and receiving from said remote user a map code that indicates the option selected by the user from said service map. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
-
-
31. A method of remotely providing an on-line service on a host computer between a plurality of remote service-providers and a plurality of remote users, comprising:
-
(a) storing a service map for each individual remote service provider, the service map capable of being remotely edited or updated by said individual remote service provider, wherein the service map includes a set of products customized by the individual remote service provider that can be ordered from the associated individual remote service provider through the host computer; (b) communicating with a plurality of remote user terminals; (c) associating the remote user terminals with the service map of a particular service provider as selected by said remote users; and (d) interactively providing said remote user terminals with the set of products included in the service map of a particular individual remote service provider. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
-
-
38. A system for hosting a remote on-line shopping system for a plurality of remote service providers, comprising:
-
a host processor that executes program instructions; a host memory coupled to said host processor; a host communications interface coupled to said host processor, said host communications interface capable of communicating with remote user terminals; a plurality of service maps stored in said host memory, each of said service maps being customized to include data representing options available from and determined by the remote service providers that may be selected by a remote user, said options including a list of products for sale from the associated remote service provider; and software executed by said host processor that identifies options from the service maps selected by said remote user terminals. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
-
-
49. A method of hosting an on-line shopping system in which products from a plurality of remote service providers may be purchased by a plurality of remote subscribers, comprising:
-
storing service maps for service providers in a host computer, each service map defining a customized set of products that are offered for sale by one of said service providers and that may be selected for purchase by the plurality of remote subscribers, wherein the products are specified by the remote service providers as part of the customization of the associated service map; receiving a request from at least one of said remote subscribers for the service map of any of said remote service providers; transmitting said requested service map from said host computer to said subscriber over a communications link; in response to the selection of one of said products by said subscriber, receiving at said host computer a code from said subscriber identifying the selected product; and transmitting data associated with the selected product from said host computer to said subscriber.
-
-
50. A method of hosting an on-line shopping system in which products from a plurality of remote service providers may be purchased by a plurality of remote subscribers, comprising:
-
storing service maps for service providers in a host computer, each service map defining a customized set of products that are offered for sale by one of the service providers and that may be selected for purchase by the plurality of remote subscribers, wherein the products are specified by the remote service providers as part of the customization of the associated service map; receiving a request from at least one of said remote subscribers for the service map of any of said remote service providers, said request transmitted over a TCP/IP compatible network; transmitting said requested service map from said host computer to said subscriber over the TCP/IP compatible network; in response to the selection of one of said products by said subscriber, receiving at said host computer a code from said subscriber over the TCP/IP compatible network identifying the selected product; and transmitting data associated with the selected product from said host computer to said subscriber over said TCP/IP compatible network.
-
Specification