Categorization of items based on attributes

• US 10,127,595 B1
• Filed: 12/31/2014
• Issued: 11/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hipschman, Daniel, Butts, III, James F., Brock, Zachary, Kumar, Abhay Raj, O'Connor, Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): Obaid, Fateh M
• Application Number:
  US14/587,758
• Time in Patent Office: 1,413 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0629 for generating comparisons
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0639 Item locations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants

Abstract

Item-level information of a particular item may be processed to categorize the particular item. In some instances, the particular item may be ranked across multiple merchants that are offering the particular item for acquisition. The ranking may be based on the item-level information that relates to an attribute of the particular item for the individual merchants. For example, the item-level information may include a cost of the particular item at a merchant, a rating of the particular item for a merchant, a number of calories of the particular item for a merchant, and so on. Information regarding the ranking may be displayed or otherwise output to enable the user to identify and order the particular item from a merchant that satisfies the user'"'"'s needs.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

causing, by a computing device of a service provider that facilitates items being ordered from merchants, display of a user interface via a mobile device associated with a user, the user interface enabling the user to place an order for an item;

receiving, by the computing device and via the user interface, user input requesting information pertaining to merchants that offer a specified item for acquisition;

determining, by the computing device and based on a signal received at least partly over a cellular network from the mobile associated with the user, a current geographical location of the mobile device;

identifying, by the computing device, a first merchant and a second merchant that each offer the specified item for acquisition, the first merchant and the second merchant being identified based on location information received at the computing device from a respective point of sale device associated with each of the first merchant and the second merchant, each one of the first merchant and the second merchant having a respective establishment located within a threshold distance of the current geographical location of the mobile device;

retrieving, by the computing device and for each of the first merchant and the second merchant, cost data from a menu of an online site associated with the respective merchant;

determining, by the computing device and for each of the first merchant and the second merchant, a cost at which the specified item is being offered for acquisition at the respective merchant based at least in part on the cost data for the respective merchant;

retrieving, by the computing device and for each of the first merchant and the second merchant, at least one of rating data or attribute data from an online source;

determining, by the computing device and for each of the first merchant and the second merchant, at least one of;

a rating of the specified item for the respective merchant based at least in part on the rating data for the respective merchant;

or

an attribute of the specified item for the respective merchant that is related to a category of the specified item based at least in part on the attribute data for the respective merchant;

determining, for each of the first merchant and the second merchant, a value for the respective merchant based on the cost of the specified item for the respective merchant and at least one of the rating of the specified item for the respective merchant or the attribute of the specified item for the respective merchant;

ranking, by the computing device, the specified item for each of the first merchant and the second merchant based at least in part on the value for the first merchant and the value for the second merchant;

sending, by the computing device and at least partly over the cellular network, the ranking to the mobile device to be output via the user interface;

receiving, by the computing device and via the user interface, user input requesting to order the specified item from the first merchant; and

sending instructions, by the computing device and to the respective point of sale device of the first merchant, to place an order of the specified item with the first merchant.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a range of costs at which the specified item is being offered for acquisition within a geographical region; and

dividing the range of the costs into sub-ranges of costs;

wherein the ranking includes ranking the specified item for each of the first merchant and the second merchant according to the sub-ranges of costs.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the geographical region is defined by at least one of a geo-fence surrounding the current geographical location of the mobile device or a boundary of a city, county, state, or country for the current geographical location of the mobile device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute of the specified item comprises a number of calories of the specified item.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising causing display of a map having a visual representation for each of the first merchant and the second merchant located at the establishment of the respective merchant, each visual representation indicating the ranking of the specified item for the respective merchant.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, for each of a plurality of couriers, a geographical location of a courier device associated with the respective courier; and

estimating, for each of the first merchant and the second merchant, an amount of time to deliver the specified item to the current geographical location of the mobile device if the specified item were ordered from the respective merchant;

wherein the ranking is based at least in part on the amount of time estimated for each of the first merchant and the second merchant to deliver the specified item to the current geographical location of the mobile device.

6. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a computing device of a service provider that facilitate items being ordered from merchants, cause the one or more processors to:

cause display of a user interface via a mobile device associated with a user, the user interface enabling the user to place an order;

receive, via the user interface, user input requesting information pertaining to merchants that offer a specified item for acquisition;

determine, based on a signal received at least partly over a cellular network from the mobile associated with the user, a current geographical location of the mobile device;

identify a first merchant and a second merchant that each offer the specified item for acquisition, the first merchant and the second merchant being identified based on location information received at the computing device from a respective point of sale device associated with each of the first merchant and the second merchant, each one of the first merchant and the second merchant having a respective establishment located within a threshold distance of the current geographical location of the mobile device;

determine, for each of the first merchant and the second merchant, a cost at which the specified item is being offered for acquisition at the respective merchant;

retrieve, for each of the first merchant and the second merchant, at least one of rating data or attribute data from an online source;

determine, for each of the first merchant and the second merchant, at least one of;

a rating of the specified item for the respective merchant based at least in part on the rating data for the respective merchant;

or

an attribute of the specified item for the respective merchant that is related to a category of the specified item based at least in part on the attribute data for the respective merchant;

determine, for each of the first merchant and the second merchant, a value for the respective merchant based on the cost of the specified item for the respective merchant and at least one of the rating of the specified item for the respective merchant or the attribute of the specified item for the respective merchant;

rank the specified item for each of the first merchant and the second merchant based at least in part on the value for the first merchant and the value for the second merchant to yield a ranking;

send, at least partly over a cellular network, the ranking to the mobile device to be output via the user interface;

receive, via the user interface, user input requesting to order the specified item from the first merchant; and

send instructions to the respective point of sale device of the first merchant to place an order of the specified item with the first merchant.

7. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 6, wherein the execution of the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

determine a range of costs at which the specified item is being offered for acquisition within a geographical region;

determine multiple sub-ranges of costs for the range of the costs; and

rank the specified item for each of the first merchant and the second merchant according to the sub-ranges of costs.

8. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 7, wherein the execution of the instructions further cause the one or more processors to cause display of information that indicates the sub-ranges of costs.

9. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 6, wherein the attribute comprises a number of calories of the specified item for the respective merchant.

10. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 6, wherein the execution of the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

receive transaction information from the first merchant and the second merchant; and

determine the cost at which the specified item is being offered for acquisition by the respective merchant based at least in part on the transaction information for the respective merchant.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 6, wherein the execution of the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

determine, for each of a plurality of couriers, a geographical location of a courier device associated with the respective courier; and

estimate, for each of the first merchant and the second merchant, an amount of time to deliver the specified item to the current geographical location of the mobile device if the specified item were ordered from the respective merchant;

wherein the ranking is based at least in part on the amount of time estimated for each of the first merchant and the second merchant to deliver the specified item to the current geographical location of the mobile device.

11. A service provider system configured to facilitate items being ordered from merchants, the service provider system comprising:

one or more processors; and

memory communicatively coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to;

cause display of a user interface via a mobile device associated with a user, the user interface enabling the user to place an order;

receive, via the user interface, user input requesting information pertaining to merchants that offer a specified item for acquisition;

determine, based on a signal received at least partly over a cellular network from the mobile associated with the user, a current geographical location of the mobile device;

identify a first merchant and a second merchant that each offer the specified item for acquisition, the first merchant and the second merchant being identified based on location information received at the service provider system from a respective point of sale device associated with each of the first merchant and the second merchant, each one of the first merchant and the second merchant having a respective establishment located within a threshold distance of the current geographical location of the mobile device;

determine, for each of the first merchant and the second merchant, a cost at which the specified item is being offered for acquisition at the respective merchant;

retrieve, for each of the first merchant and the second merchant, at least one of rating data or attribute data from an online source;

determine, for each of the first merchant and the second merchant, at least one of;

a rating of the specified item for the respective merchant based at least in part on the rating data for the respective merchant;

or

an attribute of the specified item for the respective merchant that is related to a category of the specified item based at least in part on the attribute data for the respective merchant;

determine, for each of the first merchant and the second merchant, a value for the respective merchant based on the cost of the specified item for the respective merchant and at least one of the rating of the specified item for the respective merchant or the attribute of the specified item for the respective merchant;

rank the specified item for each of the first merchant and the second merchant based at least in part on the value for the first merchant and the value for the second merchant to yield a ranking;

send the ranking to the mobile device to be output via the user interface;

receive, via the user interface, user input requesting to order the specified item from the first merchant; and

send instructions to the respective point of sale device of the first merchant to place an order of the specified item with the first merchant.

12. The service provider system of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the instructions to send information to the mobile device to be output via the user interface, the information indicating a cost range associated with the specified item for the first merchant.

13. The service provider system of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the instructions to send information to the mobile device to be output via the user interface, the information indicating a calorie range associated with the specified item for the first merchant.

14. The service provider system of claim 11, wherein the ranking is output on the user interface on a map with a visual representation for the first merchant and the second merchant located at an establishment of the respective merchant.

15. The service provider system of claim 11, wherein the ranking is output on the user interface in a list, the first merchant and the second merchant being ordered in the list according to the ranking.

16. The service provider system of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the instructions to:

receive transaction information from the first merchant and the second merchant; and

determine the cost at which the specified item is being offered for acquisition by the respective merchant based at least in part on the transaction information for the respective merchant.

17. The service provider system of claim 11, wherein the attribute comprises a number of calories of the specified item for the respective merchant.

20. The service provider system of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the instructions to:

determine, for each of a plurality of couriers, a geographical location of a courier device associated with the respective courier; and

estimate, for each of the first merchant and the second merchant, an amount of time to deliver the specified item to the current geographical location of the mobile device if the specified item were ordered from the respective merchant;

wherein the ranking is based at least in part on the amount of time estimated for each of the first merchant and the second merchant to deliver the specified item to the current geographical location of the mobile device.