Abstract:
The present invention relates generally to the field of E-commerce, and more particularly to distributing commercial data associated with a plurality of commercial entities over a wireless communication channel to a remote vendee computer. A commercial data viewer application is provided to a vendee for installation on the remote vendee computer. Commercial data is received at a transmission server that comprises a microprocessor and a memory that stores the vendee&#39;s preference for an information format, a commerce object, a vendor, a transaction type. The microprocessor filters the received commercial data; generates a commercial notification comprising a name, a price, a transaction type, and a URL, which specifies the location of the server; formats the commercial notification; and transmits the formatted commercial notification the remote vendee computer. The commercial notification is displayed on the remote vendee computer to allow the vendee to finalize a commercial transaction associated with the commercial notification.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a 371 application of PCT/US16/19371 filed Feb. 24, 2016, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/120,853 filed Feb. 25, 2015, which are each hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to electronic commerce and specifically to programs for facilitating the simultaneous purchase of commercial objects from a plurality of electronic commerce entities. Electronic commerce (“Ecommerce”) can generally be ascribed to any type of business or commercial transaction that involves the transfer of information across the Internet. The term generally applies to all four of the major market segments: business to business, business to consumer, consumer to consumer and consumer to business. Ecommerce can generally allow consumers and businesses to electronically exchange goods and/or services with no barriers of time or distance. E-commerce can assist businesses and/or entrepreneurs in establishing a market presence, or to enhance an existing market position, by providing a cost effective distribution chain for their goods and/or services as compared to traditional brick-and-mortar establishments. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0003]      FIG. 1  depicts an environment, generally  100 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0004]      FIG. 2  depicts a data transmission scheme, generally  200 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0005]      FIG. 3A  depicts the operational steps of the task execution program, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0006]      FIG. 3B  depicts additional operational steps of the task execution program, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0007]      FIG. 4  depicts a block diagram of the components of a computing device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0008]    As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present invention may be embodied as a system, method or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in any tangible medium of expression having computer-usable program code embodied in the medium. 
         [0009]    Any combination of one or more computer usable or computer readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable medium could even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via, for instance, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted, of otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory. 
         [0010]    In the context of this document, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The computer-usable medium may include a propagated data signal with the computer-usable program code embodied therewith, either in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. The computer usable program code may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc. 
         [0011]    As used herein, real-time information refers to information that is received by a recipient computing device without perceived delay subsequent to its input in a transmitting computing device. The term “goods” as used herein reflects tangible commodities that may be consumed and/or provides utility. The term “services” as used herein represent an act or acts performed for a recipient or purchaser. Applicable services can include, but are not limited to, medical services, health services, vehicular installation services, vehicular repair services, household repair services, utility installation services, utility repair services, personal grooming services, pet grooming services, hardware installation services, expert services, and/or hardware repair services. Services are typically intangible. The terms “goods” and “products” are herein utilized interchangeably. The term preferred refers to a vendee preference. The term “commercial transaction” refers to purchasing, selling, scheduling, and/or delivering goods and services. 
         [0012]    Electronic commerce (“E-commerce”) generally refers to the trading of goods and/or services (“commerce objects”) using computer networks, such as the Internet. E-commerce can generally be ascribed to any type of business or commercial transaction that involves the transfer of information across the Internet. The term generally applies to all four of the major market segments: business to business, business to consumer, consumer to consumer and consumer to business. E-commerce can generally allow consumers and businesses to electronically exchange commerce objects with no barriers of time or distance. Typically, vendees generate a shopping list having a plurality of preferred commerce objects. For each commerce object on the list, vendees typically visit a plurality of E-commerce sites individually to ascertain pricing, object availability, and to purchase commerce objects. Alternatively, for local brick-and-mortar vendors proximate to vendees, the vendees typically have to visit each vendor separately to ascertain commerce object availability as well as conduct commercial transactions. 
         [0013]    Embodiments of the present invention seek to provide a program that simultaneously searches commercial data associated with a plurality of brick-and-mortar vendors following a preferred criteria. Other embodiments of the present invention seek to provide a program that determines the commercial availability of preferred commerce objects within a predefined geographical region. Additional embodiments of the present invention seek to provide a program that schedules commerce objects deliveries according to a preferred criteria. Yet still other embodiments of the present invention seek to provide a program that schedules service appointments according to a preferred criteria. 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram that depicts an environment, generally  100 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Environment  100  includes computing devices  110 ,  130   a,b , and  140 , in communication via network  150 . Computing devices  110 ,  130   a,b , and/or HO can be a desktop computer, a wearable computer, a mobile computing device, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a computer server, a vehicular-based computer, a home-integrated computer, a thin client, and/or any computing device that can cute code and communicate, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Computing devices  110 ,  130   a,b , and/or  140  can transmit information in real-time. Network  150  can be, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, or a combination of the two, and can include wired, wireless, or fiber optic connections. In general, network  150  can be any combination of connections and protocols that support communications between computing devices  110 ,  1300 , and  140 . 
         [0015]    Computing device  110  is a computing device that can be used to engage in E-commerce activity, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Computing device  110  can include program  112 , which can be a mobile application, the can access commercial data and/or receive formatted commercial data to conduct commercial transactions. 
         [0016]    Program  112  can retrieve, present, and traverse information resources (“IR”) available on the Internet, private networks, and/or network  150 . Program  112  can receive formatted commercial data from TEP  142 . Program  112  can generate and transmit E-commerce search queries (“ESQs”) to TEP  142 . ESQs can comprise purchase requests for preferred commercial objects and/or vendor delivery dates, such as commercial objects associated with computing devices  130   a,b . ESQs can also comprise shopping lists comprising one or more preferred commercial objects for immediate and/or future purchase. Here, ESQs can comprise preferred purchase dates/times, vendee availability date/times, delivery date/times, quantities, geospatial locations, prices, price ranges, vendorIDs, vendor ratings, and/or price thresholds. 
         [0017]    Computing devices  130   a,b  are computing devices that may be associated with vendors, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Computing devices  130   a,b  can generate and/or transmit commercial data. Commercial data can comprise data generate by inventory management systems and/or appointment scheduling systems, such as inventory levels, orders, sales data, and/or scheduling information. Commercial data may be associated radio transponder tagged commerce objects. Such tagged commerce objects can provide location-based data points. Computing devices  130   a,b  may be associated with brick-and-mortar commercial entities (“BAMCEs”). 
         [0018]    Commercial data can be generated using RFID transponders, serial numbers, barcodes, lot numbers, and/or revision numbers associated with commercial objects. Commercial data can be used to track commercial objects that are picked, packed, and/or shipped from a warehouse. Computing device  140  is a computing device that can receive, analyze, and/or format commercial data, and transmits at least a portion of that data for display on a vendee&#39;s computer device, such as computing device  110 , to facilitate commercial transactions, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Computing device  140  can include task execution program  142 , which is in communication with data store  147 . Data store  147  is an information repository that can comprises commercial data, such as commercial data received from computing devices  130   a,b.    
         [0019]    Data store  147  can receive real-time commercial data from computing devices  130   a,b  in response to the input and/or update of the commercial data included therein. Data store  147  may be external to computing device  140  and directly in communication with network  150 . Data store  147  can include commercial data formatted by date/time availability, quantities, discounts, special offerings, geolocational information, commercial objectIDs, vendee reviews, commercial object prices, and/or vendorIDs. 
         [0020]    Task execution program (“TEP”)  142  is software that analyzes, formats, and/or transmits commercial data, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. TEP  142  can analyze commercial data from a plurality of commercial entities. TEP  142  can format commercial data according to vendee specified criteria. TEP  142  can service ESQs received from program  112 . TEP  142  can include commercial object search module (“COSM”)  141 , vendor search module (“VSM”)  143 , scheduling module (“SM”)  144 , and/or SPM  145 . 
         [0021]    COSM  141  can provide purchase information for commercial objects, for example, commercial objectID, cost, vendorID, vendor location, and/or in-store item location. PSSM  141  can generate a list of preferred and/or similar commercial objects having prices at, above, and/or below a preferred value and/or value range. PSSM  141  can determine whether preferred and/or similar commercial objects are available in data store  147 . For example, similarity between commercial objects can be determined by the commercial object&#39;s type, quantity, volume, brand, vendor, price, and/or service region. 
         [0022]    VSM  143  is software that searches data store  147  for preferred and/or similar vendors using a preferred criteria, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. VSM  143  can generate the directions for locating vendors that are included in data store  147 . VSM  143  can generate a list of vendors that provide preferred and/or similar commercial objects. 
         [0023]    For example, the vendor list can comprise commercial data formatted by price, vendor distance from a preferred location, vendor location, and/or preferred brand. Vendor lists can format merchants by price, distance from a predefined location, and/or brand, wherein at least a portion of the merchants may be included data store  147 . SM  144  is software that can schedule and confirm commercial object delivery and/or appointments according to preferred criteria. SM  144  can suggest alternative appointment times (i.e. the next available date/time), if there is a scheduling conflict. SM  144  can generate notifications of future appointments at preferred intervals. SM  144  can generate notifications for commercial transaction confirmations and/or conflicts. 
         [0024]    SM  144  can arrange and/or confirm delivery of commercial objects via unmanned vehicles. For example, SM  144  can receive delivery confirmations from either of computing devices  130   a,b  and transmit the received confirmations to program  112  for display on computing device  110 . In response to receiving SEQs comprising delivery requests, SM  144  can transmit the received delivery requests to either of computing devices  130   a,b  for processing and verification. SM  144  can store scheduling information in data store  147 . SPM  145  is software that can generate reports that format preferred commercial objects by price, availability, and/or distance, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0025]      FIG. 2  illustrates an information transmission scheme (“ITS”) that occurs within environment  100 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. ITS  100  depicts the information transmissions required for TEP  142  to facilitate the purchase of commercial objects according to a preferred criteria. Computing devices  130   a,b  are associated with brick-and-mortar establishment (“BAMEs”) that desire to sell their commercial objects via E-commerce methods. In response, the BAMEs transmit the associated commercial data to computing device  140 . 
         [0026]    In addition, each BAME links their inventory management system and/or scheduling software to computing device  140 , which allows any resulting commercial data to be transmitted to computing device  140  in real-time. For example, computing device  130   a  has commercial products that can be purchased and delivered to a preferred location and/or pre-purchased for in-store pickup. This particular brick and mortar establishment updates their inventory list to reflect the receipt of a new shipment of commercial objects A, B, and C. 
         [0027]    Computing device  130   b  is associated with a service provider, for example, a dental service provider, that is located in region A and operates during normal business hours (9:00 AM to 5:00 PM) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays and is expanding their serviceable regions to include regions A and B. In response to receiving inventory updates for products A, B, and C, computing device  130   a  transmits, via transmission A, the commercial data updates to computing device  140  for storage in data store  147 . In response to receiving the update for service B, computing device  130   b  transmits, via transmission B, the commercial data update for product B to computing device  140  for storage in data store  147 . 
         [0028]    For example, vendors A and B can be associated with computing devices  130   a,b , respectively. The vendee associated computing device  110  generates an ESQ for the purchase of product A (“goods request”) and service B (“service request”) from the primary website included in data store  147 . Computing device  110  transmits the ESQ to computing  140  via transmission C. COSM  141  analyzes the data in data store  147  and determines that product A and service B are available for purchase. SPM  145  generates a delivery request for product A using the vendee&#39;s preferred information included in data store  147  and transmits the delivery request via transmission I. 
         [0029]    In response to receiving an associated scheduling confirmation, computing device  140  generates a delivery scheduling confirmation for product A and transmits the confirmation to program  112  for display on computing device  110 . Computing device  140  also determines that service B is available on the preferred date/time. SM  144 , via computing device  140 , transmits a scheduling request for service B to computing device  130   b  via transmission F. Program  132   b  confirms the appointment and in response transmits the confirmation to computing device  140  via transmission G. Upon receipt, computing device  142  formats the confirmation according to a preferred criteria and transmits the formatted data to program  112  for display on computing device  110  via transmission H. 
         [0030]      FIG. 3  depicts the operational steps of TEP  142 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. TEP  142  monitors vendee input (step  300 ). TEP  142  receives an ESQ (step  302 ). If TEP  142  determines that the ESQ includes goods (“yes” branch, decisional  304 ), TEP  142  sets X to the goods quantity and moves to the first goods item (step  306 ). If TEP  142  determines that the goods item is not available in a first preferred quantity (“no” branch decisional  308 ), TEP  142  determines whether the goods item is available in a second preferred quantity (decisional  320 ). 
         [0031]    If TEP  142  determines that the goods item is not available in the second preferred quantity (“no” branch decisional  320 ), TEP  142  generates a notification of unavailability (step  322 ) and proceeds to step  314 . If TEP  142  determines that goods item are available in a second preferred quantity (“yes” branch decisional  320 ), TEP  142  proceeds to step  310 . If TEP  142  determines that goods item is available in a first preferred quantity (“yes” branch decisional  308 ), TEP  142  determines whether an in-store pickup of the goods item is preferred (decisional  310 ). 
         [0032]    If TEP  142  determines that there is a desire for an in-store pickup of the goods item is preferred (“yes” branch decisional  310 ), TEP  142  schedule an in-store pick up (step  312 ). Task manager program  142  decreases X by 1 (step  314 ). If TEP  142  determines that X is not greater than 0 (“no” branch decisional  316 ), TEP  142  stops. If TEP  142  determines that X is greater than 0 (“no” branch decisional  316 ), TEP  142  moves to the next goods item (step  318 ) and proceeds to step  308  (discussed above). 
         [0033]    If TEP  142  determines that there is no desire for an in-store pick-up of the goods item (“no” branch decisional  310 ), TEP  142  determines whether the goods item is available for delivery in the preferred region (decisional  308 ). If TEP  142  determines that the goods item is available for delivery in the preferred region (“yes” branch decisional  342 ), TEP  142  arranges for delivery (step  352 ) and proceeds to step  314 . If TEP  142  determines that the goods item is not available for delivery in the preferred region (“no” branch decisional  342 ), TEP  142  determines whether an in-store pick up is preferred (decisional  346 ). 
         [0034]    If TEP  142  determines that an in-store pick up is preferred (“yes” branch decisional  346 ), TEP  142  proceeds to step  312  (discussed above). If TEP  142  determines that an in-store pick up is not preferred (“no” branch decisional  346 ), TEP  142  generates a notification of unavailability (step  350 ) and proceeds to step  314  (discussed above). 
         [0035]      FIG. 3B  depicts additional operational steps of TEP  142 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. If TEP  142  determines that the ESQ does not strictly comprise goods item (“no” branch decisional  304 ), TEP  142  proceeds to step B. Specifically, if TEP  142  determines that the ESQ does not strictly comprise goods items (“no” branch decisional  304 ), TEP  142  sets Y to the service item quantity and moves to the first service item (step  330 ). If TEP  142  determines that the service item is not available in the preferred region (“no” branch decisional  332 ), TEP  142  generates a notification of unavailability (step  334 ) and proceeds to step  338  (discussed below). 
         [0036]    If TEP  142  determines that the service item is available in the preferred region (“yes” branch decisional  332 ), TEP  142  schedules an appointment for the service item (step  336 ). TEP  142  decreases Y by one (step  338 ) and determines whether Y is greater than 0 (step  340 ). If TEP  142  determines that Y is greater than zero (“yes” branch decisional  340 ), TEP  142  moves to the next service item (step  342 ) and proceeds to decisional  332  (discussed above). If TEP  142  determines that Y is not greater than zero (“no” branch decisional  340 ), TEP  142  returns to step A and stops. 
         [0037]      FIG. 4  depicts a block diagram of components of computing device  140 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Data processing system  500 ,  600  is representative of any electronic device capable of executing machine-readable program instructions. Data processing system  500 ,  600  may be representative of a smart phone, a computer system, PDA, or other electronic devices. Examples of computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may represented by data processing system  500 ,  600  include, but are not limited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thin clients, thick clients, wearable computer, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, network PCs, minicomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices. 
         [0038]    Computing device  140  includes respective sets of internal components  500  and external components  600  as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . Each of the sets of internal components  500  includes one or more processors  520 , one or more computer-readable RAMs  522  and one or more computer-readable ROMs  524  on one or more buses  526 , and one or more operating systems  528  and one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices  530 . One or more of TEP  142  and data store  147  are stored on one or more of the respective computer-readable tangible storage devices  530  for execution by one or more of processors  520  via one or more of the respective RAMs  522  (which typically include cache memory). In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 4 , each of the computer-readable tangible storage devices  530  is a magnetic disk storage device of an internal hard drive. 
         [0039]    Alternatively, each of the computer-readable tangible storage devices  530  is a semiconductor storage device, such as ROM  524 , EPROM, flash memory or any other computer-readable tangible storage device that can store a computer program and digital information. Internal components  500  also include a R/W drive or interface  532  to read from and write to one or more portable computer-readable tangible storage devices  636 , such as a CD-ROM, DVD, memory stick, magnetic tape, magnetic disk, optical disk or semiconductor storage device. TEP  142  and/or data store  147  can be stored on one or more of the respective portable computer-readable tangible storage devices  636 , read via the respective R/W drive or interface  532  and loaded into the respective computer-readable tangible storage devices  530 . 
         [0040]    Each set of internal components  500  also includes network adapters or interfaces  536  such as a TCP/IP adapter cards, wireless Wi-Fi interface cards, or 3G or 4G wireless interface cards or other wired or wireless communication links. TEP  142  and/or data store  147  can be downloaded to computing device  140 , respectively, from an external computer via a network (for example, the Internet, a local area network or other, wide area network) and respective network adapters or interfaces  536 . From the network adapters or interfaces  536 , TEP  142  and/or data store  147  in computing devices  140  are loaded into the respective computer-readable tangible storage devices  530 . The network may comprise copper wires, optical fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. 
         [0041]    Each of the sets of external components  600  can include a computer display monitor  620 , a keyboard  630 , and a computer mouse  634 . External components  600  can also include touch screens, virtual keyboards, touch pads, pointing devices, and other human interface devices. Internal components  500  also include device drivers  540  to interface to computer display monitor  620 , keyboard  630  and computer mouse  634 . The device drivers  540 , R/W drive or interface  532  and network adapters or interfaces  536  comprise hardware and software (stored in storage device  530  and/or ROM  524 ). 
         [0042]    Computer program code for carrying out operations of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (“LAN”) or a wide area network (“WAN”), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, though the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). 
         [0043]    As various modifications could be made in the constructions and methods herein described and illustrated without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting. Thus the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims appended hereto and their equivalents.