System, program product, and methods for online image handling

• US 7,979,340 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2006
• Issued: 07/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Overstock.com Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Overstock.com Incorporated
• Inventors: Peterson, Samuel Jacob, MacDonald Korth, Holly C.
• Primary Examiner(s): CAMPEN, KELLY SCAGGS
• Application Number:
  US11/524,985
• Publication Number:
  US 20070078726A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,755 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/37, 705/27, 705/14, 705/3, 705/1, 705/10, 705/36.R, 705/26.5, 705/26.7, 705/26.1, 705/1.1, 705/7.11, 705/7.29, 705/14.1
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0621 Item configuration or customization
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

Electronic commerce over a computer network is facilitated by a computer system that forms a community of computers that enable the users to buy and sell items in an online marketplace. To list the item on an online marketplace website, for example, the selling user posts an item with a seller marketplace item management website by completing an online-item marketplace item creation form. The form requires input related to the item, such as a description, sale price or minimum bid, shipping instructions, and the like, and an image file or image file location illustrating the marketplace item. The seller marketplace item management server provides a marketplace administrator server the marketplace item data including original image file or image file location. The server contains a random image size generator that generates at least two additional images of the marketplace item for display in a seller marketplace item web page to advertise the marketplace item.

Claims

1. A system to facilitate electronic commerce associated with an online website between a plurality of selling users and a plurality of potential buyers over a computer network, the system comprising:

a computer accessible to the computer network to host the online website to thereby define a marketplace administrator server, the marketplace administrator server having a processor and memory coupled to the processor to store operating instructions therein;

online e-commerce program instructions stored in the memory of the marketplace administrator server to facilitate electronic commerce over the computer network between a plurality of selling users and a plurality of potential buyers, the online e-commerce program instructions including a set of instructions that, when executed by the marketplace administrator server, cause the marketplace administrator server to perform the operations of;

receiving over the network a plurality of original image files each related to a separate one of a plurality of marketplace items and each providing an item image of the respective one of the plurality of marketplace items, and

forming from each of the original item image files a set of at least two item image files to provide random image size variations of each respective item image of each of the plurality of marketplace items; and

wherein the set of at least two item image files includes a first item image file providing a first image sized randomly based on a first preselected size range and a second item image file providing a second image sized randomly based on a second preselected size range, the second item image substantially larger than the first item image;

wherein the system further includes a marketplace administrator server database accessible to the processor of the marketplace administrator server and having a plurality of marketplace item database records each related to a separate one of the plurality of marketplace items, each marketplace item database record including a unique item identification number, item title, item description, and at least two unique item image file names corresponding with the at least two item image files;

wherein the system further includes a marketplace administrator image file server accessible to the processor of the marketplace administrator server and having image files related to the plurality of marketplace items, each image file having a unique image file name;

wherein the system further includes a lookup table organized by image file name and mapping the marketplace administrator image file server; and

wherein the online e-commerce program instructions further include instructions that, when executed by the marketplace administrator server, cause the marketplace administrator server to perform the operation of;

storing each set of first and second item image files in the marketplace administrator image file server;

receiving an item identification number identifying one of the plurality of marketplace items defining a selected marketplace item,

accessing one of the plurality of marketplace item database records associated with the selected marketplace item, responsive to receiving the item identification number for the selected marketplace item, to thereby determine an associated item title and description for the selected marketplace item and an item image file name of each of the first and the second item image files for the selected marketplace item,

determining a location of the first item image file associated the selected marketplace item and a location of the second item image file associated with the selected marketplace item, responsive to the respective item image file names, using the look-up table organized by image file name, adding the item image file locations for the first and second item images and associated title and description of the selected marketplace item to a seller marketplace item web page, and presenting the seller marketplace item web page to at least one of the plurality of potential buyers.

2. A system to facilitate electronic commerce associated with an online website between a plurality of selling users and a plurality of potential buyers over a computer network, the system comprising:

a computer accessible to the computer network to host the online website to thereby define a marketplace administrator server, the marketplace administrator server having a processor and memory coupled to the processor to store operating instructions therein;

online e-commerce program instructions stored in the memory of the marketplace administrator server to facilitate electronic commerce over the computer network between a plurality of selling users and a plurality of potential buyers, the online e-commerce program instructions including a set of instructions that, when executed by the marketplace administrator server, cause the marketplace administrator server to perform the operations of;

receiving over the network a plurality of original image files each related to a separate one of a plurality of marketplace items and each providing an item image of the respective one of the plurality of marketplace items, and

forming from each of the original item image files a set of at least two item image files to provide random image size variations of each respective item image of each of the plurality of marketplace items; and

wherein the set of at least two item image files includes a first item image file providing a first image sized randomly based on a first preselected size range and a second item image file providing a second image sized randomly based on a second preselected size range, the second item image substantially larger than the first item image;

wherein the system further includes a marketplace administrator server database accessible to the processor of the marketplace administrator server and having a plurality of marketplace item database records each related to a separate one of the plurality of marketplace items, each marketplace item database record including a unique item identification number, item title, item description, and at least two unique item image file names corresponding with the at least two item image files;

wherein the system further includes a marketplace administrator image file server accessible to the processor of the marketplace administrator server and having image files related to the plurality of marketplace items, each image file having a unique image file name;

wherein the system further includes a lookup table organized by image file name and mapping image files stored in the marketplace administrator image file server; and

wherein the online e-commerce program instructions further include instructions that, when executed by the marketplace administrator server, cause the marketplace administrator server to perform the operation of;

receiving search criteria presented by a potential buyer web browser, accessing a subset of the plurality of the marketplace item database records associated with a respective plurality of marketplace items satisfying the search results criteria, responsive to the search criteria, to thereby determine an associated item title and description for each of the plurality of marketplace items satisfying the search results criteria and an item age file name of a first item image of the at least two item image files for each of the plurality of marketplace items satisfying the search results criteria, determining the item description and the image location of the first item image associated therewith for each of the plurality of marketplace items satisfying the search results criteria, providing data to the potential buyer web browser, the data including the item description and the image location of the first item image associated therewith for each of the plurality of marketplace items satisfying the search results criteria and instructions to display a search results web page including those to display within the search results web page each item title and description and each first item image,

receiving a request from the potential buyer web browser for each respective first item image of each of the plurality of marketplace items satisfying the search results criteria, and

providing each requested first item image to the potential buyer web browser.