Patent ID: 7058598
Filing Date: 2006-06-06
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method of searching for, calculating and displaying an approximately optimized rank of prices of a plurality of designated items in a package on the Internet, the method comprising the steps of: establishing an Internet Web site, the site operating as a computer interface for a user who wishes to search for and approximately optimize prices of at least two designated items a package of the items; receiving a search request for the plurality of items from the user uses communications equipment and software to access the Web site to obtain prices about the plurality of items; executing a multiple, simultaneous computer search on the Internet for prices of the items offered at a plurality of Internet stores for all of the items designated in the search request; establishing a first matrix in a pre-computation algorithm, and receiving and storing in the first matrix data representing the lowest and second lowest prices retrieved in the search for each of the items from the stores; establishing a second matrix, and receiving and storing in the second matrix data representing each store that carries all items for sale: calculating, using algorithms including Cartesian product and set union operations performed on the data stored in the first and second matrices, an approximately optimized rank of all of the items considered as a package; and displaying the approximately optimized rank to the user in table format.