Method of and system for managing and serving consumer-product related information on the world wide web (WWW) using universal product numbers (UPNS) and electronic data interchange (EDI) processes

• US 20030139975A1
• Filed: 12/12/2002
• Published: 07/24/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thomas J. Perkowski
• Original Assignee: Thomas J. Perkowski
• Inventors: Perkowski, Thomas J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,516,094 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9554 by using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0611 Request for offers or quotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/45 Network directories; Name-to-address mapping
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor

Abstract

A novel Internet-based consumer product information system and method for use in retail shopping environments, wherein each Web-enabled bar code driven consumer product information kiosk deployed therewithin embodies e-mail messaging capabilities which enable consumers to automatically save and record the URLs of CPI-related Web documents within the message field of a preformatted e-mail message that is transmitted from a retailer-operated e-mail server, to a remote e-mail address specified by the consumer within the retail shopping environment. One or more central e-mail servers are used to collect copies of e-mail documents (and records thereof) transmitted from the Web/e-mail enabled kiosks within each retail shopping environments, for consumer and demographic information analysis, compilation, and storage within RDBMSs that are made accessible to retailers and manufacturers alike for use in product marketing, sales forecasting, customer intelligence, and like operations which enable more effective marketing of consumer products and services in both physical and electronic forms of commerce.

Claims

1. An IP-based network installed in a publishing organization and Internet-based system comprising:

a plurality of publisher-operated client computer subsystems connected to said IP-based network, for enabling different departments within said publishing organization to manage different types of UPN/URL links based on the type of information contained within the URL-specified information resource on the WWW and within the UPN-specified section of an article of print media.

2. The Internet-based system of claim 1, wherein each said publisher-operated computer-based publishing system enables the electronic layout of:

(i) a Web-based publication having different content and advertising sections associated with each Web-page thereof and each such Web-page being located on the WWW at a particular URL; and

(ii) a print-media based publication having different content sections and advertising sections associated with each printed-page thereof;

wherebetween each such content section and advertising section is assigned a Universal Product Number (UPN) which is symbolically linked to a particular content or advertising section on the corresponding Web-page.

3. The Internet-based system of claim 1, wherein each said publisher-operated computer-based publishing system enables the electronic layout of:

(i) a Web-based publication having different content and advertising sections associated with each Web-page thereof and each such Web-page being located on the WWW at a particular URL; and

(ii) a print-media based publication having different content sections and advertising sections associated with each printed-page thereof;

wherebetween each such content section and advertising section is assigned a Universal Product Number (UPN) which is symbolically linked to a particular content or advertising section on the corresponding Web-page.

4. The Internet-based system of claim 3, wherein each said computer-based publishing subsystem is capable of automatically generating UPN/URL data link tables listing the URLs of each Web page symbolically linked to UPN assigned to a corresponding printed media page, and that such UPN/URL data link tables are transportable to a UPN/URL database management subsystem using electronic data interchange techniques, thereby enabling consumers (e.g. readers) to link from print-media to corresponding Web-based media using the UPNs printed on documents.

5. An Internet-based consumer product information system for use in a retail shopping environment, comprising:

an e-mail server; and

a plurality of Web-enabled bar code driven consumer product information kiosks deployed within a retail shopping environment, and each said Web-enabled bar code driven consumer product information kiosk embodying e-mail messaging capabilities which enable consumers to automatically save and link CPI-related Web documents as individual attachments to-a preformatted e-mail envelope that is transmitted from said e-mail server, to a remote e-mail address specified by the consumer within said retail shopping environment.

6. The Internet-based consumer product information system of claim 5, wherein said preformatted e-mail envelope is addressed with the consumer/shopper'"'"'s home, office or like e-mail address by either reading an e-mail address encoded within a bar code (or magnetic-stripe) structure or manually entering the same within the addressee field, and said e-mail envelope is transported to its destination by manual selection of a “

send-button”

within the displayed e-mail envelope.

7. The Internet-based consumer product information system of claim 5 which further comprises:

a central e-mail server for collecting copies of e-mail documents or transmitted from the Web/e-mail enabled kiosks within said retail shopping environment.

8. The Internet-based consumer product information system of claim 7, which further comprises a relational data base management subsystem (RDBMS) for use in analyzing compiling and storing data contained within said central e-mail server, and for making such information accessible to retailers and manufacturers alike for use in product marketing, sales forecasting, customer intelligence, and like operations.

9. An Internet-based consumer product information system for use in a retail shopping environment, comprising:

an e-mail server; and

a plurality of Web-enabled bar code driven consumer product information kiosks deployed within a retail shopping environment, and each said Web-enabled bar code driven consumer product information kiosk embodies e-mail messaging capabilities which enable consumers to automatically save and record the URLs of CPI-related Web documents within the message field of a preformatted e-mail envelope that is transmitted from said e-mail server, to a remote e-mail address specified by the consumer within said retail shopping environment.

10. The Internet-based consumer product information system of claim 9, wherein said preformatted e-mail envelope is addressed with the consumer/shopper'"'"'s home, office or like e-mail address by either reading an e-mail address encoded within a bar code (or magnetic-stripe) structure or manually entering the same within the addressee field, and said e-mail envelope is transported to its destination by manual selection of a “

send”

button within the displayed e-mail envelope.

11. The Internet-based consumer product information system of claim 9 which further comprises:

a central e-mail server for collecting copies of e-mail documents (and records thereof) transmitted from the Web/e-mail enabled kiosks within said retail shopping environment.

12. The Internet-based consumer product information system of claim 11, which further comprises a relation data base management subsystem for use in analyzing compiling and storing data contained within said central e-mail server, and for making such information accessible to retailers and manufacturers alike for use in product marketing, sales forecasting, customer intelligence, and like operations which enable more effective marketing of consumer products and services in both physical and electronic forms of commerce.

13. The Internet-based information system of claim 12, wherein each said publisher-operated client subsystem has a publishing software program having a composition/editing mode of operation and a UPN/URL data linking mode of operation, wherein said computer-based publishing software program simultaneously enables the composition and edition a Web-based document and corresponding a print-media based document.

14. The Internet-based information system of claim 13, wherein said publishing software program has a split-screen GUI having left-side and right-side display frames, wherein the layout of said Web-based document is displayed in said left-side display frame of said split-screen GUI, and said print-media based document is displayed on said right-side display frame of said split-screen GUI.

15. The Internet-based information system of claim 13, wherein said publishing software program generates, during said UPN/URL data linking mode, a UPN/URL data link table indicating the symbolic links established between particular content sections within said Web-based document and particular content sections within said print-media based document.

16. The Internet-based information system of claim 15, wherein said publishing software program supports electronic data interchange functionalities for transporting said UPN/URL data link table to a UPN/URL database management subsystem.

17. The Internet-based information system of claim 14, wherein said left-side display frame has a first set of independent scroll bars, and said right-side display frame has a second set of independent scroll bars, thereby facilitating alignment of corresponding sections during said composition/editorial mode of operation and said UPN/URL data linking mode of operation.

18. The Internet-based information system of claim 14, wherein during said UPN/URL data linking mode of operation, each content section in said Web-based document is assigned a Universal Product Number (UPN) which is symbolically linked to a particular content section in said corresponding Web-page located at a specified URL.

19. The Internet-based information system of claim 14, wherein said Web-based document also includes one or more advertising sections and said corresponding print-based document also includes one or more advertising sections, and wherein at least one of said content sections in said print-based document is assigned a Universal Product Number (UPN) which is symbolically linked to a particular content section on said corresponding Web-based document.

20. The Internet-based information system of claim 19, wherein at least one of said advertising sections in said print-based document is assigned a UPN which is symbolically linked to a URL in at least one Web-based document published on the Internet.

21. The Internet-based information system of claim 12 which further comprises a network information server on said IP-network for maintaining a secure firewall.

12-1. An Internet-based information system, comprising:

an IP-based network installed in a retail shopping environment and connected to the infrastructure of the Internet by way of an IP-based router; and

a plurality of publisher-operated client subsystems connected to said IP-based network, for the purpose of enabling different departments within the publishing organization (e.g. advertising, world news, business, technology, sports, finance, education, arts and leisure, etc.) to manage different types of UPN/URL links based on the type of information contained within the URL-specified information resource on the WWW.

22. An Internet-based client subsystem for operation by a publisher of print-media based documents and Web-based documents, comprising:

a computing platform; and

a publishing software program for executing on said computing platform, and having a composition/editing mode of operation and a UPN/URL data linking, mode of operation, wherein said publishing software program simultaneously enables the composition and edition a Web-based document and corresponding a print-media based document.

23. The Internet-based client subsystem of claim 22, wherein said publishing software program has a split-screen GUI having left-side and right-side display frames, wherein the layout of said Web-based document is displayed in said left-side display frame of said split-screen GUI, and said print-media based document is displayed on said right-side display frame of said split-screen GUI.

24. The Internet-based client subsystem of claim 23, wherein said publishing software program generates, during said UPN/URL data linking mode, a UPN/URL data link table indicating the symbolic links established between particular content sections within said Web-based document and particular content sections within said print-media based document.

25. The Internet-based client subsystem of claim 24, wherein said publishing software program supports electronic data interchange functionalities for transporting said UPN/URL data link table to a UPN/URL database management subsystem.

26. The Internet-based client subsystem of claim 23, wherein said left-side display frame has a first set of independent scroll bars, and said right-side display frame has a second set of independent scroll bars, thereby facilitating alignment of corresponding sections during said composition/editorial mode of operation and said UPN/URL data linking mode of operation.

27. The Internet-based client subsystem of claim 23, wherein during said UPN/URL data linking mode of operation, each content section in said Web-based document is assigned a Universal Product Number (UPN) which is symbolically linked to a particular content section in said corresponding Web-page located at a specified URL.

28. The Internet-based client subsystem of claim 23, wherein said Web-based document also includes one or more advertising sections and said corresponding print-based document also includes one or more advertising sections, and wherein at least one of said content sections in said print-based document is assigned a Universal Product Number (UPN) which is symbolically linked to a particular content section on said corresponding Web-based document.

29. The Internet-based client subsystem of claim 28, wherein at least one of said advertising sections in said print-based document is assigned a UPN which is symbolically linked to a URL in at least one Web-based document published on the Internet.

30. The Internet-based information system of claim 22, wherein each said publisher-operated client subsystem has a operating system (OS) based UPN/URL data linking functionality having a composition/editing mode of operation and a UPN/URL data linking mode of operation, wherein said OS-based based UPN/URL data linking functionality simultaneously enabling the composition and edition a Web-based document and corresponding a print-media based document.

31. The Internet-based information system of claim 30, wherein said OS-based based UPN/URL data linking functionality enables the simultaneous operation of at least first and second content creating/browsing application on a common computing platform having a GUI, wherein said OS-based based UPN/URL data linking functionality having a composition/editing mode of operation and a UPN/URL data linking mode of operation, wherein said first content creating/browsing application enables the creation and browsing of a Web-based document during said composition/editing mode of operation, whereas said second content creating/browsing application enables the creation and browsing of a print-media based document during said composition/editing mode of operation.

32. The Internet-based information system of claim 30, wherein during said UPN/URL data linking mode of operation, symbolic links can be established between particular content sections within said Web-based document and particular content sections within said print-media based document.

33. The Internet-based information system of claim 30, wherein during said UPN/URL data linking mode of operation, said symbolic links can be drawn graphically while alpha-numeric representations on said symbolic links are created and stored in a UPN/URL data link table.

34. The Internet-based information system of claim 30, wherein said OS-based UPN/URL data linking functionality supports electronic data interchange functionalities for transporting said UPN/URL, data link table to a UPN/URL database management subsystem.

35. The Internet-based information system of claim 34, wherein during said UPN/URL data linking mode of operation, each content section in said Web-based document is assigned a Universal Product Number (UPN) which is symbolically linked to a particular content section in said corresponding Web-page located at a specified URL.

36. The Internet-based information system of claim 34, wherein said Web-based document also includes one or more advertising sections and said corresponding print-based document also includes one or more advertising sections, and wherein at least one of said content sections in said print-based document is assigned a Universal Product Number (UPN) which is symbolically linked to a particular content section on said corresponding Web-based document.

37. The Internet-based information system of claim 36, wherein at least one of said advertising sections in said print-based document is assigned a UPN which is symbolically linked to a URL in at least one Web-based document published on the Internet.

38. A retail-based system for installation in retail store comprising:

a subsystem of shelves for supporting one or more UPN-encoded products; and

a plurality of Web-enabled bar code symbol driven kiosks mounted relative to said subsystem of shelves, for reading UPN-encoded symbols on said UPN-encoded products and automatically linking to a plurality of URLs pointing to one or more Web-based documents on the WWW linked to the read UPN by the manufacturer of the product and/or agents thereof using a manufacturer-operated client computer subsystem connected to the infrastructure of the Internet and having electronic data interchange capabilities.

39. An Internet-enabled bar code driven consumer product information kiosk for deployment within a retail shopping environment, comprising:

a computing platform having embodying e-mail messaging capabilities which enable consumers to automatically save and link CPI-related Web documents as individual attachments to a preformatted e-mail envelope that is transmitted from said e-mail server, to a remote e-mail address specified by the consumer within said retail shopping environment.

40. Internet-enabled bar code driven consumer product information kiosk of claim 39, wherein said preformatted e-mail envelope is addressed with the consumer/shopper'"'"'s home, office or like e-mail address by either reading an e-mail address encoded within a bar code (or magnetic-stripe) structure or manually entering the same within the addressee field, and said e-mail envelope is transported to its destination by manual selection of a “

send”

button within the displayed e-mail envelope.

41. Internet-enabled bar code driven consumer product information kiosks for deployment within a retail shopping environment, comprising:

a computing platform having embodying e-mail messaging capabilities which enable embodies e-mail messaging capabilities which enable consumers to automatically save and record the URLs of CPI-related Web documents within the message field of a preformatted e-mail envelope that is transmitted from said e-mail server, to a remote e-mail address specified by the consumer within said retail shopping environment.

42. The Internet-enabled bar code driven consumer product information kiosk of claim 43, wherein said preformatted e-mail envelope is addressed with the consumer/shopper'"'"'s home, office or like e-mail address by either reading an e-mail address encoded within a bar code (or magnetic-stripe) structure or manually entering the same within the addressee field, and said e-mail envelope is transported to its destination by manual selection of a “

send”

button within the displayed e-mail envelope.