System and method for data collection, evaluation, information generation, and presentation

• US 6,711,581 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2002
• Issued: 03/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bizrate Insights, Inc. (IAC, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Bizrate.Com, Co.
• Inventors: Rebane, George J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mizrahi, Diane D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mofiz, Apu M
• Application Number:
  US10/225,673
• Publication Number:
  US 20030130983A1
• Time in Patent Office: 580 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/3, 707/10, 707/102, 707/104.1, 705/1, 705/10, 705/14, 709/238
• US Class Current: 707/607
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0202 Market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/922 Communications
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/959 Network
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/966 Distributed
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A system and method for data collection, evaluation, information generation and/or presentation is described. More particularly the description relates to a system for collecting, evaluating, generating and presenting data and/or information relating to electronic commerce. The system and methods include predictor modules that use recent historical data along with an estimated and/or available population function as the basis for a differential equation that defines the growth of the population to a saturation or maximum attainable level.

Claims

1. A system for forecasting population values comprising:

one or more databases containing data for processing;

a plurality of processing modules in communication with each other and/or the one or more databases, each processing module performing a predefined operation on data stored in a database or received from a processing module, at least one processing module being a saturation limited forecasting (“

SLF”

) for using available historical or recently captured data along with an estimated and/or available saturation population function as the basis for an algorithm that defines the growth of the population to a maximum attainable level;

one or more databases in communication with the SLF processing module for storing data that has been processed through the SLF processing module; and

a presentation server in communication with a database with the processed data for presenting selected items of data.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein data on the presentation server is accessible by a plurality of remote computer systems via the Internet.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the system further comprises a data capture server in communication one or more data sources over the Internet, the data capture server providing data to the one or more databases.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the remote computer systems include a plurality of merchant computer systems.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein the remote computer systems include a plurality of consumer computer systems.

6. The system of claim 2 further comprising a survey server that serves a survey questionnaire to one or more remote computer systems comprising data sources so that a user of a remote computer system comprising a data source can complete the survey questionnaire, a completed survey questionnaire being returnable to the data capture server over the Internet.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the remote computer systems includes a plurality of consumer computer systems, and completed survey questionnaires include data relating to an online transaction between a consumer and a merchant.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the presentation server is accessible by a merchant and a consumer computer system.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the presentation server serves ratings about online merchants, the ratings being based on data collected from consumer computer systems.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the SLE processing module uses available recent historical data along with an estimated and/or available saturation population function as the basis for a differential equation that defines the growth of a population to a maximum attainable level.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the presentation server includes web pages containing data or information relating to a forecasted e-commerce population, the data or information being derived from an SLF processing module.

12. A system for forecasting population values comprising:

a data capture server capable of communicating with one or more data sources over a computer network, a data source providing data related to e-commerce;

one or more databases for receiving data from the data capture server;

a plurality of processing modules in communication with each other and/or the one or more databases, each processing module performing a predefined operation on data stored in a database or received from a processing module, one processing module comprising a saturation limited forecasting (“

SLE”

) module and one processing module comprising a statistical analysis processing module in communication with the SLF module, the SLF module for using available historical or recently captured data along with an estimated and/or available saturation population function as the basis for an algorithm that defines the growth of the population to a maximum attainable level;

one or more databases in communication with the one or more processing modules for storing data received from a selected processing module; and

a presentation server in communication with one or more of the databases, the presentation server being capable of accessing the data passed through the SLF module and presenting selected items of data as data or information, the presentation server being accessible to remote computer systems via a network.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the one or more data sources include consumer computer systems, and the presentation server is capable of communicating with one or more merchant computer systems to communicate processed data relating to transactions between consumers and merchants, the processed data originating as raw data from consumer computer systems.

14. A presentation server that includes files containing data or information relating to a forecasted e-commerce population, the data or information being derived from an SLF processing module for using available historical or recently captured data along with an estimated and/or available saturation population function as the basis for an algorithm that defines the growth of the population to a maximum attainable level.

15. A presentation server that includes web pages containing data or information relating to a forecasted e-commerce population, the data or information being derived from an SLE processing module for using available historical or recently captured data along with an estimated and/or available saturation population function as the basis for an algorithm that defines the growth of the population to a maximum attainable level, the web pages being accessible to a plurality of remote consumer computer systems over a computer network.

16. The presentation server of claim 15 wherein the network comprises the Internet.

17. A method of presenting data or information relating to a forecasted e-commerce population, comprising providing a presentation server that includes files containing data or information relating to a forecasted e-commerce population the data being derived from an SLF processing module for using available historical or recently captured data along with an estimated and/or available saturation population function as the basis for an algorithm that defines the growth of the population to a maximum attainable level, and making the web pages being accessible to a plurality of remote consumer computer systems over a computer network.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the network comprises the Internet.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the method further comprises capturing data in a data capture server and then transferring captured data for input into the SLE processing module.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the data is captured from survey questionnaires.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the survey questionnaires are completed by consumers and delivered to a data capture server over the Internet.