Patent Document ID: 8554639
Application ID: 12984685
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method for displaying and managing products in a virtual display environment, comprising: creating with an application in a non-transitory 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 created first set of the plurality of vector images created at different views of the consumer products and also include other selected ones of the created first set of the plurality of vector images created at varying levels of detail from general details to specific details for the consumer products; creating with the application in the non-transitory 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 non-transitory computer readable medium a first set of electronic links to individual vector images in the created first set of the plurality of vector images, wherein only selected ones of electronic links from the first 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 non-transitory computer readable medium a second set of electronic links to the created 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 from the plurality of visual overlays is displayed; creating with the application in the non-transitory computer readable medium a multi-resolution mosaic (MRM) digital image stored in a progressive resolution format for a pre-determined display layout of the consumer products with the created first set and the created second set of the plurality of vector images and the added first and the added second sets of electronic links, wherein the MRM digital image includes a layered vector image hierarchy of the created first set and the created second set of the plurality of vector images and wherein the layered vector image hierarchy includes selected ones of vector images from the created first set of the plurality of vector images displaying the general details for the consumer products or groups of consumer products at a first set of highest levels in the layered vector image hierarchy and other selected ones of vector images from the created first set of the plurality of vector images displaying the specific details for the consumer products at lowest levels in the layered hierarchy and selected ones from the created second set of the plurality of vector images displaying visual overlays of varying level of details from the general details to the specific details for the pre-determined groups of consumer products at a second set of highest levels in the layered vector image hierarchy; displaying with the application from the non-transitory computer readable medium the MRM 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 MRM digital image; displaying with the application in the non-transitory computer readable medium the MRM digital image with the progressive resolution display of the consumer products with the created plurality of vector images in the layered vector image hierarchy, the progressive resolution display displaying, zooming in and zooming out on selected portions of the MRM digital image and displaying selected ones of the added one or more sets of electronic links in the plurality of vector image layers and allowing 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 MRM digital image, wherein the progressive resolution display of the MRM digital image displays only those one or more sets of electronic links added to a vector image layer currently being viewed in the MRM digital image; displaying with the application in the non-transitory computer readable medium with the progressive resolution 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; displaying with the application in the non-transitory computer readable medium with the progressive resolution display of the MRM digital image 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 downloading any raster images associated with the created plurality of vector images over the communications network; displaying with the application in the non-transitory computer readable medium a graphical product selection tool via the communications network; displaying from the graphical product selection tool a plurality of types of different consumer product categories and a plurality of pre-determined demographic groups; receiving one or more selection inputs on the graphical product selection tool on the application in the non-transitory computer readable medium to select one or more of the plurality of types of different consumer product categories or one or more of the plurality of pre-determined demographic groups; creating from the graphical product selection tool on the application in the non-transitory computer readable medium on the created plurality of vector images from the MRM digital image a plurality of graphical markers and a third set of electronic links only for any selected ones of the plurality of the selected types of the different consumer product categories or the pre-determined demographic groups received in the one or more selection inputs, thereby creating a further seller customized on-line store of consumer products with the MRM digital image; and displaying with the application in the non-transitory computer readable medium in the progressive resolution display the MRM digital image with the plurality of graphical markers and the plurality of electronic links created with the graphical product selection tool in on the created plurality of vector images and on the MRM digital image.