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System and method for facilitating commercial transactions over a data network

  • US 9,881,329 B1
  • Filed: 12/17/2004
  • Issued: 01/30/2018
  • Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2000
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A method for storing and retrieving product configuration data, the method comprising:

  • performing by a server-side computer system programmed with code stored in a memory and executing by a processor of the computer system to configure the computer system into a machine for;

    receiving client-side, user specified product configuration selection data during a first web session;

    processing the user specified product configuration selection data received including transitions from a current state of a user specified product configuration and actions taken by the user while in the current state in a state machine model in accordance with a state machine model to generate a state of a configured product;

    storing a state of a configured product by the user in a server-side storage medium, wherein the configured product corresponds to product configuration data associated with the received user specified product configuration selection data, wherein storing the state of the configured product further comprises;

    storing a state of a configured product by the user in a server-side storage medium in a services layer and make the state of the configuration available to other functions of server-side computer system without further intervention by a user of a client-side computer system coupled to the service-side computer system and to allow a user to subsequently retrieve the state of the configured product without having to reenter configuration information, wherein the configured product corresponds to product configuration data associated with the received user specified product configuration selection data;

    identifying the configuration data with a user specific identifier;

    retrieving the stored product configuration data corresponding to the configured product in response to a request from a client-side web browser application during a second web session, wherein the request includes the user specific identifier and the second web session is a separate web site access from the first web session;

    providing data to the requesting client-side web browser application during the second session that allows a user to view the product configured in accordance with the stored state;

    receiving further user specified product configuration selection data from the client-side web browser application during the second web session that reconfigures the configured product, wherein the data that reconfigures the configured product varies one or more previous configured features of the configured product;

    generating a first set of product configurations;

    generating a second set of product configurations by adding to the first set of product configurations additional product configurations requested from users of client-side computer systems;

    retrieving one or more product configurations from the second set of product configurations;

    retrieving base-product model data from a memory, wherein the base-product model data represents a configuration by a manufacturer of a base-product model; and

    providing data to the client-side computer system to display a comparison of the product configured in accordance with the stored state with the retrieved one or more product configurations from the second set of product configurations and with the base-product model data.

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