Apparatus and methods for providing an estimated time of arrival based marketplace
First Claim
1. A method of providing service provider information to a client device in a distributed computer system, comprising:
- obtaining bids from a plurality of service providers for providing a service;
responsive to obtaining the bids, obtaining route information from a route determination provider based on a first location associated with the client device and a second location associated with a corresponding service provider;
obtaining historical travel data from a historical database;
calculating an estimated time of travel for each of the plurality of service providers based on the route information and the historical travel data;
electronically determining an estimated time of completion for the service for each of the plurality of service providers based on the calculated estimated time of travel for each of the plurality of service providers; and
providing the bids from the plurality of service providers and the estimated time of completion for the service for each of the plurality of service providers to the client devices, wherein the each bid includes a price for providing the service, wherein the each bid further includes an estimated time to perform the service at the second location, and wherein determining an estimated time of completion for the service for each of the plurality of service providers comprises adding the estimated time of travel to the estimated time to perform the service at the second location.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and methods for providing an estimated time of arrival based marketplace are provided. The apparatus and methods solicit bids from one or more service providers for a requested service. The service providers may respond with bids that may include a price for providing the requested service along with an estimated time to perform the requested service in a location associated with the service provider. The bids are used, along with travel data obtained from a travel data provider, to generate service search results that are provided to a client device. The service search results include the price charged by the service provider as well as estimated times of completion (ETAs) for obtaining the service from the service provider. The ETA may be a combination of travel time determined from the travel data and time of performance determined from the bid submitted by the service provider. The service search results may further include a service provider rating that provides an indication as to the accuracy of the ETAs. From the service search results, a user of the client device may submit an order for having a particular service provider from the service search results provide the requested service.
40 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of providing service provider information to a client device in a distributed computer system, comprising:
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obtaining bids from a plurality of service providers for providing a service; responsive to obtaining the bids, obtaining route information from a route determination provider based on a first location associated with the client device and a second location associated with a corresponding service provider; obtaining historical travel data from a historical database; calculating an estimated time of travel for each of the plurality of service providers based on the route information and the historical travel data; electronically determining an estimated time of completion for the service for each of the plurality of service providers based on the calculated estimated time of travel for each of the plurality of service providers; and providing the bids from the plurality of service providers and the estimated time of completion for the service for each of the plurality of service providers to the client devices, wherein the each bid includes a price for providing the service, wherein the each bid further includes an estimated time to perform the service at the second location, and wherein determining an estimated time of completion for the service for each of the plurality of service providers comprises adding the estimated time of travel to the estimated time to perform the service at the second location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An apparatus for providing service provider information to a client device in a distributed computer system, comprising:
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a first interface which obtains bids from a plurality of service providers for providing a service; a processor which, responsive to obtaining the bids, obtains route information from a route determination provider based on a first location associated with the client device and a second location associated with a corresponding service provider, obtains historical travel data from a historical database, calculates an estimated time of travel for each of the plurality of service providers based on the route information and the historical travel data, and determines an estimated time of completion for the service for each of the plurality of service providers based on the calculated estimated time of travel for each of the plurality of service providers; and a second interface which provides the bids from the plurality of service providers and the estimated time of completion for the service for each of the plurality of service providers to the client device, wherein each bid includes a price for providing the service, wherein each bid further includes an estimated time to perform the service at the second location, and wherein the processor adds the estimated time of travel to the estimated time to perform the service at the second location. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for providing service provider information to a service consumer in a distributed computer system, comprising:
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instructions for obtaining bids from a plurality of service providers for providing a service; instructions, responsive to obtaining the bids, for obtaining route information from a route determination provider based on a first location associated with the client device and a second location associated with a corresponding service provider; instructions for obtaining historical travel data from a historical database; instructions for calculating an estimated time of travel for each of the plurality of service providers based on the route information and the historical travel data; instructions for determining an estimated time of completion for the service for each of the plurality of service providers based on the calculated estimated time of travel for each of the plurality of service providers; and instructions for providing the bids from the plurality of service providers and the estimated time of completion for the service for each of the plurality of service providers to a service consumer, wherein each bid includes a price for providing the service, wherein each bid further includes an estimated time to perform the service at the second location, and wherein the instructions for determining an estimated time of completion for the service for each of the plurality of service providers comprises instructions for adding the estimated time of travel to the estimated time to perform the service at the second location. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification