System and method for obtaining merchandise information
First Claim
1. A method of obtaining merchandise information from a merchandise locating digital processing system for a store, comprising:
- receiving into the merchandise locating digital processing system via a communication network a spoken information inquiry from a customer regarding a location of a particular product in the store;
using speech recognition technology within the merchandise locating digital processing system to recognize the content of the spoken information inquiry from the customer;
processing information received via the communication network to determine a location of the customer;
using the customer location to determine a location of a branch of the store closest to the customer;
searching for the inquired information regarding the particular product in a merchandise database within the merchandise locating digital processing system by initially comparing the spoken information inquiry from the customer only to products within the merchandise database that are available at the branch of the store closest to the customer location to thereby enhance the accuracy of recognizing the content of the spoken information inquiry from the customer;
retrieving the inquired information from the merchandise database based on the content of the information inquiry recognized by the merchandise locating digital processing system, the retrieved information including whether the particular product is available at the branch of the store and including a physical location of the product within the branch of the store when the product is available; and
transmitting the inquired information from the merchandise locating digital processing system to the customer via the communication network to inform the customer whether the particular product is available at the branch of the store and to inform the customer where the particular product is physically located within the branch of the store when the product is available.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a method of obtaining merchandise information from a store system using speech processing technology to determine a spoken query entry, an information inquiry from a customer regarding a particular product is received via a communication network. The location of the customer is determined, which is then used to determine a store closest to the customer. A merchandise database is searched for the inquired information regarding the particular product, wherein searching the merchandise database is limited to products available at the store closest to the customer location. The inquired information is retrieved from the merchandise database, and transmitted to the customer.
71 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of obtaining merchandise information from a merchandise locating digital processing system for a store, comprising:
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receiving into the merchandise locating digital processing system via a communication network a spoken information inquiry from a customer regarding a location of a particular product in the store; using speech recognition technology within the merchandise locating digital processing system to recognize the content of the spoken information inquiry from the customer; processing information received via the communication network to determine a location of the customer; using the customer location to determine a location of a branch of the store closest to the customer; searching for the inquired information regarding the particular product in a merchandise database within the merchandise locating digital processing system by initially comparing the spoken information inquiry from the customer only to products within the merchandise database that are available at the branch of the store closest to the customer location to thereby enhance the accuracy of recognizing the content of the spoken information inquiry from the customer; retrieving the inquired information from the merchandise database based on the content of the information inquiry recognized by the merchandise locating digital processing system, the retrieved information including whether the particular product is available at the branch of the store and including a physical location of the product within the branch of the store when the product is available; and transmitting the inquired information from the merchandise locating digital processing system to the customer via the communication network to inform the customer whether the particular product is available at the branch of the store and to inform the customer where the particular product is physically located within the branch of the store when the product is available. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A system for obtaining merchandise information, comprising a store system coupled to a communication network to receive an information inquiry from a customer regarding a particular product, wherein the store system comprises:
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means for receiving via a communication network a spoken information inquiry from a customer regarding a location of a particular product in a store; means for processing information received via the communication network to determine a location of the customer; means for using the customer location to determine a location of the store closest to the customer; means for recognizing speech to recognize the spoken information inquiry from the customer; means for searching a merchandise database for the inquired information regarding the particular product based on the recognized spoken information inquiry from the customer, the means for searching initially comparing the spoken information inquiry from the customer only to products within the merchandise database that are available at the branch of the store closest to the customer location to thereby enhance the accuracy of recognizing the spoken information inquiry from the customer; means for retrieving the inquired information from the merchandise database based on the content of the recognized information inquiry, the retrieved information including whether the particular product is available at the branch of the store and including the physical location of the product within the branch of the store when the product is available; and means for transmitting the inquired information to the customer via the communication network to inform the customer whether the particular product is available at the branch of the store and to inform the customer where the particular product is physically located within the branch of the store when the product is available. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification