Patent ID: 7680705

Claim:
A system for automating placement of orders from a catalog, comprising: means for using a bar code to uniquely identify the catalog, the catalog having a layout comprising one or more display pages with a plurality of items being located on each display page; means for using bar codes to uniquely locate each of said items by reference to said layout of display pages and by further reference to a location of said item on one of said display pages, said item locating means further comprising at least means for uniquely locating a display page of said layout, and means for uniquely locating said item on said uniquely located display page, the means for uniquely locating said item being commonly usable for catalog items on different display pages; a scanner for designating an item in the catalog by scanning a sequence of said bar codes, the sequence in combination uniquely locating the item, said sequence uniquely locating at least said display page within the catalog and said item on said display page, both said display page locating means and said means for uniquely locating the item on the display page being part of said catalog; and automated means for converting the locating sequence of bar codes into an order at an e-commerce web site, wherein the bar code uniquely locating the display page within the catalog is located on the page in the catalog on which said item is located and uniquely locates said catalog and said page within said catalog; and the bar code uniquely locating the item on the display page is contained on a common reference that displays an ordered series of symbols and corresponding bar codes, where each item is uniquely located on each catalog page by a symbol in said series.