Patent Document ID: 20110125614
Application ID: 12984685
Patent Status: 0

Claim One:
1. A method for displaying and managing products in a virtual display environment, comprising: creating with an application in a computer readable medium on a server network device with one or more processors connected to a communications network, a first set of a plurality of vector images from a plurality of corresponding raster images of consumer products, wherein the created first set of the plurality of vector images include selected ones of the first set of the plurality of vector images created at different views of the consumer products and also include other selected ones of the plurality the first set of plurality of vector images included vector images created at varying levels of detail from general details to specific details for the consumer products included in the created first set of the plurality of vector images; creating with the application in the computer readable medium a second set of a plurality of vector images for pre-determined groups of consumer products comprising a plurality of visual overlays; adding with the application in the computer readable medium a first set of electronic links to individual vector images in the created first set of plurality of vector images, wherein only selected ones of electronic links from a set of electronic links added to an individual vector image are visible and displayable when the individual vector image for a consumer product is displayed; adding with the application in the computer readable medium a second set of electronic links to the second set of the plurality of vector images for the created plurality of visual overlays, wherein only selected ones of electronic links from the second set of electronic links added to an individual vector image are visible and displayable when the individual vector image for a visual overlay is displayed; creating with the application in the computer readable medium an N-layer digital image stored in a progressive resolution format for a pre-determined display layout of the consumer products with the created first set and second set of the plurality of vector images and the added first and second sets of electronic links, wherein the N-layer digital image includes an M-layer vector image hierarchy of the created first set and second set of the plurality of vector images and wherein the M-layer vector image hierarchy includes selected ones of vector images from the created first set of the plurality of vector images displaying general details for the consumer products or groups of consumer products at a first set of highest levels in the M-layer vector image hierarchy and other selected ones of vector images from the created first set of plurality of vector images displaying specific details for the consumer products at lowest levels in the M-layer hierarchy and selected ones from the created second set of vector images displaying visual overlays of varying level of details from general to specific for the pre-determined groups of consumer products at a second set of highest levels in the M-layer vector image hierarchy; and displaying with the application from the computer readable medium the created N-layer digital image with a progressive resolution display via the communications network to allow virtual shopping via the communications network, thereby creating a seller customized on-line store of consumer products with the created N-layer digital image, wherein the created N-layer digital image allows progressive resolution display of consumer products with the created plurality of vector images in the M-layer vector image hierarchy, wherein the progressive resolution display allows displaying, zooming in and zooming out on selected portions of the created N-layer digital image and allows displaying selected ones of the added one or more sets of electronic links in the plurality of vector image layers and allows linking to one or more sets of electronic information from different vector image layers in the plurality of vector image layers during the progressive resolution display of the created N-layer digital image, wherein the progressive resolution display of the N-layer digital image displays only those one or more sets of electronic links added to a vector image layer currently being viewed in the N-layer digital image, wherein the progressive resolution display allows display of different vector images and different sets of electronic links providing vector images and electronic links to selected electronic information varying from general electronic information to specific electronic information as lower layers are viewed in the plurality of vector image layers, wherein the progressive resolution display of the N-layer digital image allows display of the N-layer digital image from the computer readable medium with the created plurality of vector images in the plurality of vector image layers without converting any of the created plurality of vector images to another format or having to download any raster images associated with the created plurality of vector images over the communications network.