PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-8160991-B2
Application Number: US-201113179478-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Automated estimation of a country where a client computer is configured to operate

Abstract:
A method for automatically estimating a country where a client computer is configured to operate. The method gathers information of the client computer (e.g., GMT offset, time zone name, daylight savings status, desktop language, etc.) and estimates a country where the client computer is configured to operate using the gathered information and country estimation programming. The method may send information regarding the identity of the estimated country to a server and then receive information from the server based on the estimated country. In other embodiments, the gathered information is sent to the server and the server estimates the country where the client computer is configured to operate. In some embodiments, the country estimation programming comprises a rule engine implemented by rule programming. In some embodiments, the rule engine comprises a recursive rule program.

Claims:
1. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a computer program for estimating, by a computer server, a country in which a computing device is configured to operate, the computer program executable by a processor, the computer program comprising sets of instructions for:
 receiving system setting information from the computing device that does not expressly identify the country in which the computing device operates; 
 using the system setting information to identify a particular country as the country in which the computing device operates; and 
 from a set of products associated with a plurality of countries, identifying a subset of products that is associated with the identified particular country by excluding products that are not associated with the particular country from the set of products. 
 
     
     
       2. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the set of products comprises different products that are available in different countries in the plurality of countries, wherein the subset of products comprises all products that are available in the identified particular country from the set of products. 
     
     
       3. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the computer program further comprises a set of instructions for sending digital data related to the subset of products associated with the identified particular country to the computing device. 
     
     
       4. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the system setting information comprises at least one of Greenwich Mean Time offset, time zone name, daylight savings status, and desktop language settings. 
     
     
       5. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the computer program further comprises a set of instructions for identifying, from a set of data formats associated with the plurality of countries, a subset of data formats that is associated with the identified particular country by excluding data formats that are not associated with the particular country from the set of data formats. 
     
     
       6. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 5 , wherein the set of data formats comprises a plurality of currency types associated with the plurality of countries, wherein the subset of data formats comprises a currency type associated with the particular country. 
     
     
       7. A method performed by a set of servers for estimating a country where a client computing device is configured to operate, the method comprising:
 sending to the client computing device a set of country estimation programming instructions for the client computing device to automatically estimate the country in which the client computing device is configured to operate; 
 receiving, from the client computing device, information indicating the estimated country, the information indicating the estimated country derived by the client computing device by applying the country estimation programming instructions to a plurality of configuration settings of the client computing device; 
 identifying, from a set of products associated with a plurality of countries, a subset of products that is associated with the estimated country by excluding products that are not associated with the estimated country from the set of products; and 
 sending, to the client computing device, digital data related to the subset of products that the set of servers identified as associated with the estimated country. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7  further comprising sending a plurality of rules for estimating the country to the client computing device, wherein at least one rule in the plurality of rules comprises an antecedent and an inference, wherein the inference is determined if the antecedent is determined to be true, wherein the country estimation programming instructions comprise a rule engine that processes the plurality of rules to estimate the country. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , wherein at least one inference identifies the estimated country. 
     
     
       10. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a computer program for estimating, by a client computing device, a country in which the computing device is configured to operate, the computer program executable by a processor, the computer program comprising sets of instructions for:
 gathering a set of system settings that does not expressly identify a country in which the client computing device operates; 
 sending the gathered set of system settings to a server in order to allow the server to use country estimation programming instructions to estimate a particular country as the country in which the client computing device operates; 
 receiving, from the server, digital data related to a group of products that the server automatically identifies as associated with the particular country by applying the server&#39;s automatic estimation of the particular country to the set of system settings, wherein the group of products is selected by excluding products that are not associated with the particular country from a set of products that are associated with a plurality of countries; and 
 displaying, on an electronic display device, the digital data related to the group of products. 
 
     
     
       11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 10 , wherein the computer program further comprises a set of instructions for receiving, from the server, information indicating a group of data formats that the server automatically identifies as associated with the particular country by applying the server&#39;s automatic estimation of the particular country to the set of system settings, wherein the group of data formats is selected by excluding data formats that are not associated with the particular country from a set of data formats that are associated with a plurality of countries. 
     
     
       12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the set of data formats comprises a plurality of currency types associated with the plurality of countries, wherein the group of data formats comprises a currency type associated with the particular country. 
     
     
       13. A method performed by a client computing device for estimating a country where the client computing device is configured to operate, the method comprising:
 receiving, from a server, country estimation programming for automatically estimating a particular country as the country in which the client computing device operates based on a set of configuration settings; 
 gathering the set of configuration settings of the client computing device; 
 estimating the particular country as the country in which the client computing device operates by applying the received country estimation programming to the gathered set of configuration settings; 
 sending country information indicating the particular country as the country in which the client computing device operates to the server; 
 receiving, from the server, digital data related to a group of products that the server automatically identifies as associated with the particular country, wherein the group of products is selected by excluding products that are not associated with the particular country from a set of products that are associated with a plurality of countries; and 
 displaying, on an electronic display device, the digital data related to the group of products. 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 13  further comprising receiving, at the client computing device, a plurality of rules for estimating the particular country from the server, wherein at least one rule in the plurality of rules comprises an antecedent and an inference, wherein the inference is determined if the antecedent is determined to be true, wherein the country estimation programming comprises a rule engine that processes the plurality of rules to estimate the particular country. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , wherein at least one inference identifies the particular country. 
     
     
       16. A method performed by a set of servers for estimating a country in which a computing device operates, the method comprising:
 receiving, from the computing device, system setting information of the computing device that does not expressly identify the country in which the computing device operates; 
 using the system setting information to identify a particular country as the country in which the computing device operates; and 
 identifying, from a set of data associated with a plurality of countries, a subset of data that is associated with the identified particular country by excluding data that is not associated with the particular country from the set of data. 
 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 16 , wherein the set of data comprises different products that are available in different countries in the plurality of countries, wherein the subset of data comprises only products that are available in the identified particular country. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 16  further comprising sending, from the server to the computing device, digital data related to the subset of data associated with the identified particular country. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 16 , wherein the set of data comprises a set of data formats that are associated with different countries in the plurality of countries, wherein the subset of data comprises only data formats that are available in the identified particular country. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 19 , wherein the set of data formats comprises different measurement units, wherein the different measurement units comprise inch and centimeter.

Description:
CLAIM OF BENEFIT TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/016,673, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,996,351, entitled “AUTOMATED ESTIMATION OF A COUNTRY WHERE A CLIENT COMPUTER IS CONFIGURED TO OPERATE,” filed Dec. 16, 2004 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,996,351. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/016,673, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,996,351 is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed towards automated estimation of a country where a client computer is configured to operate. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Product purchases made through the Internet (e.g., via the World Wide Web) have increased rapidly with the growing popularity of the Internet. On-line retail ordering allows users/buyers to conveniently place orders for products from a client computer. For example, users can order products from a seller&#39;s Web site by submitting a purchase order to the seller&#39;s server which receives and processes the purchase order. 
     The Internet also allows users/buyers from around the world to place orders to the seller&#39;s server regardless of where the server is located. Often sellers provide different product sets depending on the country where the user/buyer is located. As such, sellers typically send different product information (for the different product sets) to the user&#39;s client computer depending on the country where the user is located. This product information typically comprises a listing of the products (i.e., product set) available in the particular country of the user and the price of each product in the product set in the currency type of the country of the user. 
     Conventional methods for determining the country of the user require the user to enter and submit information identifying the country of the user. Conventional methods for determining the country of the user, however, do not offer a seamless interactive experience with the server. As such, there is a need for a method for determining or estimating the country of the user/client computer without requiring the user to enter and submit such information. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A method for automatically estimating a country where a client computer is configured to operate is provided. The method gathers configuration information/settings of the client computer (e.g., Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) offset, time zone name, daylight savings status, desktop language, etc.) and estimates a country where the client computer is configured to operate using the gathered configuration information and country estimation programming. In some embodiments, the method sends information/data regarding the identity of the estimated country to a server and receives information/data from the server based on the estimated country. In other embodiments, the method receives information/data from the server and then identifies a sub-set of the received information/data based on the estimated country. In further embodiments, the gathered configuration information is sent to the server and the server estimates the country where the client computer is configured to operate using country estimation programming. 
     In some embodiments, the country estimation programming comprises a rule engine implemented by rule programming, the rule engine comprising one or more sets of rules and a processing relationship between the sets of rules and the rules in each set of rules. In some embodiments, the rule engine comprises a recursive rule program. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a conceptual diagram of a network environment in which the present invention operates. 
         FIG. 2  is a flowchart for a client-side method for automatically estimating the country where a client computer is configured to operate, the estimation being made by the client computer itself. 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart for a server-side method for automatically estimating the country where a client computer is configured to operate, the estimation being made by the client computer itself. 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart for an alternative client-side method for automatically estimating the country where a client computer is configured to operate, the estimation being made by the client computer itself. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a conceptual diagram of the processes of a rule engine. 
         FIG. 6  shows a conceptual example of a sets of rules used for estimating the country associated with a client computer. 
         FIG. 7  is a flowchart of a method of the rule engine for processing the set of rules shown in  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8  is a flowchart of the processes of the rule engine as a recursive rule program. 
         FIG. 9  is a flowchart for another alternative client-side method for automatically estimating the country where a client computer is configured to operate, the estimation being made by a server connected with the client computer. 
         FIG. 10  is a flowchart for an alternative server-side method for automatically estimating the country where a client computer is configured to operate, the estimation being made by a server connected with the client computer. 
         FIG. 11  presents a computer system with which some embodiments of the invention are implemented. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following description, numerous details are set forth for purpose of explanation. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the invention may be practiced without the use of these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order not to obscure the description of the invention with unnecessary detail. 
     A method for automatically estimating a country where a client computer is configured to operate is provided. The method gathers configuration information/settings of the client computer (e.g., Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) offset, time zone name, daylight savings status, desktop language, etc.) and estimates a country where the client computer is configured to operate using the gathered configuration information and country estimation programming. In some embodiments, the method sends information/data regarding the identity of the estimated country to a server and receives information/data from the server based on the estimated country. In other embodiments, the method receives information/data from the server and then identifies a sub-set of the received information/data based on the estimated country. In further embodiments, the gathered configuration information is sent to the server and the server estimates the country where the client computer is configured to operate using country estimation programming. 
     In some embodiments, the country estimation programming comprises a rule engine implemented by rule programming, the rule engine comprising one or more sets of rules and a processing relationship between the sets of rules and the rules in each set of rules. In some embodiments, the rule engine comprises a recursive rule program. 
     Several embodiments are described below in relation to a multimedia application through which a client computer can receive information regarding photo products from a server connected with the client computer. One of ordinary skill in the art, however, will realize that the processes of the invention can relate to any application executing on a client computer that interfaces with a server. 
     Network Environment 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a conceptual diagram of a network environment  100  in which the present invention operates. The environment  100  includes a network  105  (such as a LAN, WAN, the Internet, an Intranet, etc.) connecting a plurality of client computers  110  and a plurality of server computers  125 . 
     A client computer  110  may be any form of device that is configured to interface with a network  105  and to send and receive data to and from a server  125 . Examples of client computers  110  are desktop computers, laptop computers, server computers, portable computing devices (such as personal data assistants or cellular phones), etc. 
     The client computer  110  comprises a system configuration  117  that specifies configuration settings for the client computer  110 . These configuration settings include information/settings that help indicate in which country the client computer  110  is configured to operate, such information/settings being referred to herein as country configuration information/settings of the client computer  110 . In some embodiments, country configuration information/settings include Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) offset, time zone name, daylight savings status, and/or desktop language. Daylight savings status can be specified as “Yes”/“Daylight” (indicating that daylight savings is active and it is presently summer) or specified as “No”/“Standard” (indicating that daylight savings is not active and it is presently winter). 
     The client computer  110  typically executes an application  115  that interfaces with the network  105  and interacts with a server  125  to send and retrieve data to and from the server  125 . In some embodiments, the application  115  is configured/programmed to perform the methods of the present invention. Examples of applications  115  include web browsers, multimedia applications, etc. As an example, the client computer  110  may execute a multimedia application for editing, managing, and publishing photos and ordering photo prints or other products from a server, the application having a custom interface with the server for exchanging data. An example of such a multimedia application is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/042,944, filed Jan. 6, 2002, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Image Acquisition, Organization, Manipulation, and Publication,” now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,850,247, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     In some embodiments, the application  115  and client computer  110  is used by a user to interact with a server  125  to receive information (e.g., product information for a product set) from the server and to display the received information to the user. In some embodiments, the application  115  also comprises country estimation programming for estimating the country where the client computer  110  is configured to operate, the estimated country being referred to herein as the country associated with the client computer  110 . In some embodiments, the application  115  is configured/programmed to gather configuration information/data (e.g., GMT offset, time zone name, daylight savings status, desktop language, etc.) regarding the client computer  110 , estimate a country where the client computer is configured to operate using the gathered configuration information and the country estimation programming, send information/data regarding the identity of the estimated country to the server  125 , and receive information/data (e.g., product information) from the server  125  based on the estimated country. 
     The server computer  125  may be accessed by multiple client computers  110  that request and receive data and/or executable programming instructions from the server. The server  125  may execute a client-management application  135  that receives requests from client computers, retrieves requested data and/or programming instructions from the storage structure  130 , and sends the data and/or programming instructions to the client computers  110 . In some embodiments, the storage  130  of the server contains country estimation programming instructions. In some embodiments, the storage  130  of the server  125  contains different sets of information for different countries (e.g., different product information for different product sets available in different countries). In some embodiments, the server  125  receives information/data identifying an estimated country for a client computer, retrieves information/data based on the estimated country, and sends the retrieved information/data to the client computer. 
     In some embodiments, the product information (stored in the storage  130  of the server  125 ) for a product set available in a particular country comprises a listing and description of the products in the product set and the price of each product in the product set in the currency type of the particular country. Available product sets typically vary from country to country. For example, a product set comprising a plurality of different sized photo prints may vary in terms of size depending on country. For example, a product set available for a first country may comprise a “3 inch×5 inch” print, a “5 inch×7 inch” print, and a “8 inch×10 inch” print, whereas a product set available for a second country may comprise a “6 cm×10 cm” print, a “10 cm×15 inch” print, and a “18 cm×25 cm” print. If a product set is made available to users of a particular country, the country is referred to as a “supported” country. Typically, only some countries are supported by the server where others are not supported. 
     Client-Side Estimation of the Country Associated with the Client Computer 
       FIG. 2  is a flowchart for a client-side method  200  for automatically estimating (without human intervention) the country where a client computer is configured to operate, the estimation being made by the client computer itself. The client-side method  200  may be implemented, for example, by a client computer and an application executing on the client computer. In some embodiments, the application (e.g., web browser, multimedia application, etc.) is configured/programmed to perform the methods of the present invention. 
     The method  200  begins when it establishes (at  205 ) a connection (e.g., via a network) with a server. As an optional step, the method receives (at  207 ) country estimation programming instructions (for estimating the country where the client computer is configured to operate) from the server. In some embodiments, the country estimation programming is received (at  207 ) from the server, whereas in other embodiments, the country estimation programming is already contained in the application executing on the client computer. Upon establishing (at  205 ) the connection with the server, the method then loads (at  210 ) the country estimation programming instructions. 
     The method then gathers (at  215 ) configuration information relating to the client computer such as one or more country configuration settings (e.g., GMT offset, time zone name, daylight savings status, desktop language, etc.) of the client computer. This step may be performed, for example, by querying the system configuration of the client computer for the one or more country configuration settings. Using the gathered configuration information and the country estimation programming instructions, the method then estimates (at  220 ) the country where the client computer is configured to operate. 
     The method then sends (at  230 ) information/data identifying the estimated country to the server. In response, the method receives (at  235 ) information/data from the server based on the estimated country. For example, the received information/data may comprise product information for a product set made available in the estimated country by the server, the product information including the price of products in the product set in the particular currency type of the estimated country. The method displays (at  240 ) the received information/data and ends. 
     In some embodiments, the country estimation programming instructions comprises a rule engine implemented by rule programming, the rule engine comprising one or more sets of rules and a processing relationship between the sets of rules and the rules in each set of rules. In some embodiments, the rule engine comprises a recursive rule program implemented by rule programming. In some embodiments, the method estimates (at  220 ) the country of the client computer by applying the rule engine to the gathered configuration information. These embodiments are described below in relation to  FIGS. 5 ,  6 ,  7 , and  8 . 
       FIG. 3  is a flowchart for a server-side method  300  for automatically estimating (without human intervention) the country where a client computer is configured to operate, the estimation being made by the client computer itself. The server-side method  300  may be implemented, for example, by a server computer connected with the client computer and a client-management application executing on the server computer. In some embodiments, the client-management application is configured to perform the methods of the present invention. 
     The method  300  begins when it establishes (at  305 ) a connection (e.g., via a network) with a client computer. As an optional step, the method sends (at  307 ) country estimation programming instructions (for estimating the country where the client computer is configured to operate) to the client computer. The method then receives (at  330 ) information/data identifying the estimated country from the client computer. In response, the method retrieves (at  332 ) information/data based on the estimated country (e.g., from a storage of the server). For example, the retrieved information/data may comprise product information for a product set available in the estimated country, the product information including the price of the products in the particular currency type of the estimated country. The method then sends (at  335 ) the retrieved information/data to the client computer. The method then ends. 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart for an alternative client-side method  400  for automatically estimating (without human intervention) the country where a client computer is configured to operate, the estimation being made by the client computer itself. The method  400  is similar to the method  200  of  FIG. 2  and only those steps that differ are discussed in detail here. 
     The method  400  begins when it establishes (at  205 ) a connection with a server. Upon establishing (at  205 ) the connection with the server, the method then receives (at  406 ) information (e.g., product information) for two or more various countries from the server. As an optional step, the method receives (at  207 ) country estimation programming instructions from the server as well. The method then loads (at  210 ) the country estimation programming instructions and gathers (at  215 ) configuration information relating to the client computer. Using the gathered configuration information and the country estimation programming instructions, the method then estimates (at  220 ) the country where the client computer is configured to operate. 
     The method then identifies (at  425 ) a sub-set of information/data in the information/data received (at  406 ) from the server. For example, the identified sub-set of information/data may comprise product information for a product set made available in the estimated country, the product information including the price of products in the product set in the particular currency type of the estimated country. The method displays (at  430 ) the identified sub-set of information/data and ends. 
     Set of Rules and Rule Engine 
     In some embodiments, the country estimation programming instructions comprises a rule engine implemented by rule programming, the rule engine comprising one or more sets of rules and a processing relationship between the sets of rules and the rules in each set of rules.  FIG. 5  illustrates a conceptual diagram of the processes of a rule engine  515 . In some embodiments, the processes shown in  FIG. 5  comprise step  220  of  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the rule engine  515  receives as input one or more sets of rules  505  (for estimating the country in which a client computer is configured to operate) and gathered information  510  about the client computer (e.g., country configuration information/settings such as GMT offset, time zone name, daylight savings status, desktop language, etc.). Using these inputs, the rule engine outputs the identity of the estimated country  520 . 
     Typically, the set of rules  505  is configured such that the estimated country  520  is identified from a limited number of countries specified in the set of rules  505 . The countries specified in the set of rules  505  are referred to as “supported” countries. In some embodiments, if the gathered information  510  about the client computer indicates a country that is not a supported country, the rule engine  515  may identify a default country (such as the United States) as the country associated with the client computer. 
       FIG. 6  shows a conceptual example of a sets of rules  600  for estimating the country associated with the client computer. In the example of  FIG. 6 , only seven countries are supported (United States, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and Ireland), although in other embodiments, any country and any number of countries can be supported. 
     Each rule in the set of rules  600  comprises an antecedent/qualification (left hand side)  610  and an inference/consequence (right hand side)  620 . A rule is processed by the rule engine that examines the antecedent of the rule to determine if the antecedent is true using the gathered information about the client computer. If the antecedent of the rule is true, the inference of the rule is made/determined and examined. 
     In some embodiments, an inference of a rule comprises another set of rules  640  or a string value  630 . For illustrative purposes, in  FIG. 6 , all string values  630  are shown in between quotation marks where a set of rules  640  are not shown between quotation marks. In some embodiments, a string value comprises characters that uniquely identify a country. In some embodiments, a string value comprises two characters that uniquely identify a country as conventionally used in e-mail or Web addresses (as a two-character component of the e-mail or Web address), such as “US” for the United States, “JP” for Japan, “FR” for France, etc. 
     If the antecedent of a rule is determined to be true and the inference of the rule contains a set of rules, the set of rules identified in the inference is called for processing by the rule engine. Take for example the following rule: ((GMToffset=+1) AND (Daylight=No)) OR ((GMToffset=+2) AND (Daylight=Yes))----&gt;CountryCodebyLanguage. If the antecedent (((GMToffset=+1) AND (Daylight=No)) OR ((GMToffset=+2) AND (Daylight=Yes))) of the rule is determined to be true, the inference (CountryCodebyLanguage) is made/determined. Since the inference comprises another set of rules (CountryCodebyLanguage) and not a string value, the CountryCodebyLanguage set of rules is called for processing. As shown in the example of  FIG. 6 , the CountryCodebyLanguage set of rules comprises three rules: 
     (DeskTopLanguage=French)---&gt;CountryCodebyLanguage=“FR” 
     (DeskTopLanguage=German)---&gt;CountryCodebyLanguage=“DE” 
     (DeskTopLanguage=Italian)---&gt;CountryCodebyLanguage=“IT” 
     The rule engine calls and processes rules in a set of rules until an estimated country is identified (i.e., a string value is reached/determined in an inference of a rule) or a default country is identified (where the rule engine determines that the country associated with the client computer is not supported). If, for example, the antecedent for the rule ((DeskTopLanguage=French)---&gt;CountryCodebyLanguage=“FR”) is found to be true, the inference CountryCodebyLanguage=“FR” is made. Since “FR” is a string value (that identifies an estimated country), processing of the set of rules  600  ends. 
       FIG. 7  is a flowchart of a method  700  of the rule engine for processing the exemplary set of rules  600  shown in  FIG. 6  to estimate a country associated with a client computer. In the following description, the method  700  determines whether an antecedent of a rule is true by using gathered information about the client computer. 
     The method  700  begins by determining (at  710 ) whether the antecedent ((GMToffset&gt;−10) AND (GMToffset&lt;−4)) of the first rule in the set of rules is true. If so, the method identifies (at  715 ) the United States as the estimated country associated with the client computer. In some embodiments, the following antecedent (not shown) is used to determine if the United States is to be identified as the estimated country: 
     ((GMToffset≧−8) AND (GMToffset≦−5) AND (Daylight=No)) OR 
     ((GMToffset≧−7) AND (GMToffset≦−4) AND (Daylight=Yes)) 
     If the antecedent is determined (at  710 —No) to not be true, the method  700  then determines (at  720 ) whether the antecedent ((GMToffset=+9)) of the next rule in the set of rules is true. If so, the method identifies (at  725 ) Japan as the estimated country associated with the client computer. If not, the method  700  then determines (at  730 ) whether the antecedent (((GMToffset=+1) AND (Daylight=No)) OR ((GMToffset=+2) AND (Daylight=Yes))) of the next rule in the set of rules is true. If so, the method determines (at  735 ) that the associated country will be determined by the CountryCodebyLanguage set of rules. As such, the method loads and examines (at  740 ) the CountryCodebyLanguage set of rules. If the antecedent (DeskTopLanguage=French, DeskTopLanguage=German, or DeskTopLanguage=Italian) of any of the rules in the CountryCodebyLanguage set of rules is met, the country (France, Germany, or Italy, respectively) indicated by the inference of the met rule is identified as the estimated country. Otherwise, the method identifies a default country as the estimated country. 
     If the antecedent is determined (at  730 —No) to not be true, the method  700  then determines (at  745 ) whether the antecedent (((GMToffset=0) AND (Daylight=No)) OR ((GMToffset=1) AND (Daylight=Yes))) of the next rule in the set of rules is true. If so, the method determines (at  750 ) that the associated country will be determined by the CountryCodebyTimezoneName set of rules. As such, the method loads and examines (at  755 ) the CountryCodebyTimezoneName set of rules. If the antecedent ((TimezoneName=BST) OR (TimezoneName=GMT) or (TimezoneName=IST)) of any of the rules in the CountryCodebyTimezoneName set of rules is met, the country (Great Britain or Ireland, respectively) indicated by the inference of the met rule is identified as the estimated country. Otherwise, the method identifies a default country as the estimated country. 
     If the antecedent is determined (at  745 —No) to not be true, the method  700  identifies (at  760 ) a default country as the estimated country. 
     Rule Engine as a Recursive Program 
     As described above, the rule engine continues to call and process rules in a set of rules until an estimated country is identified (i.e., a string value is reached/determined in an inference of a rule) or a default country is identified (where a supported country is not identified). As such, the rule engine can be viewed as a recursive rule program that calls upon itself. 
       FIG. 8  is a flowchart of the processes of the rule engine as a recursive rule program that processes a set of rules to estimate a country associated with a client computer. In some embodiments, the processes of the rule engine described in relation to  FIG. 8  comprise step  220  of  FIG. 2 . 
     The method  800  begins by setting (at  805 ) a current rule in the set of rules. The method  800  determines (at  810 ) whether the current rule applies (i.e., whether the antecedent/qualification of the current rule is true) by using the gathered information about the computer (e.g., configuration information/data such as GMT offset, time zone name, daylight savings status, desktop language, etc.). If the method determines that the antecedent is not met (at  810 —No), the method then determines (at  815 ) whether there are more rules in the set of rules to process. If so, the method sets (at  820 ) a next rule in the set as the current rule. If not, the method identifies (at  825 ) a default country as the estimated country associated with the client computer. 
     If the method determines that the antecedent of the current rule is met (at  810 —Yes), the method then determines (at  830 ) if the inference of the current rule comprises a string value. If not, this indicates that the inference contains a new set of rules to be processed. As such, the method loads (at  835 ) the new set of rules (identified in the rule inference) and recurses/calls the method  800  (at  840 ) to process the new set of rules. For example, if the inference of the current rule is determined to be CountryCodebyLanguage, the method would load (at  835 ) the CountryCodebyLanguage set of rules and recurse (at  840 ) the method  800  for the CountryCodebyLanguage set of rules. 
     If the method determines (at  830 —Yes) that the inference of the current rule comprises a string value, this indicates that the identity of the estimated country has been reached. As such, the method sets (at  845 ) the estimated country as the country indicated by the string value. For example, if the inference is determined to be the string value “JP,” the method sets the estimated country as Japan. The method then ends. 
     Server-Side Estimation of the Country Associated with the Client Computer 
       FIG. 9  is a flowchart for another alternative client-side method  900  for automatically estimating (without human intervention) the country where a client computer is configured to operate, the estimation being made by a server connected with the client computer. The client-side method  900  may be implemented, for example, by a client computer and an application executing on the client computer. In some embodiments, the application is configured to perform the methods of the present invention. 
     The method  900  begins when it establishes (at  905 ) a connection (e.g., via a network) with a server. The method then gathers (at  915 ) configuration information relating to the client computer such as one or more country configuration settings (e.g., GMT offset, time zone name, daylight savings status, desktop language, etc.) of the client computer. This step may be performed, for example, by querying the system configuration of the client computer for the one or more country configuration settings. 
     The method then sends (at  920 ) the gathered configuration information to the server. The method then receives (at  935 ) information/data from the server based on an estimated country where the client computer is configured to operate. The method displays (at  940 ) the received information/data and ends. 
       FIG. 10  is a flowchart for an alternative server-side method  1000  for automatically estimating (without human intervention) the country where a client computer is configured to operate, the estimation being made by a server connected with the client computer. The server-side method  1000  may be implemented, for example, by a server computer connected with the client computer and a client-management application executing on the server computer. In some embodiments, the client-management application is configured to perform the methods of the present invention. 
     The method  1000  begins when it establishes (at  1005 ) a connection (e.g., via a network) with the client computer. The method then loads (at  1010 ) country estimation programming instructions (e.g., from a storage of the server). The method receives (at  1015 ) gathered configuration information/data regarding the client computer from the client computer. Using the gathered configuration information and the country estimation programming instructions, the method then estimates (at  1020 ) the country where the client computer is configured to operate. 
     The method retrieves (at  1030 ) information/data based on the estimated country (e.g., from a storage of the server). For example, the retrieved information/data may comprise product information for a product set available in the estimated country, the product information including the price of the products in the particular currency type of the estimated country. The method then sends (at  1035 ) the retrieved information/data to the client computer. The method then ends. 
     In some embodiments, the country estimation programming instructions comprises a rule engine implemented by rule programming, the rule engine comprising one or more sets of rules and a processing relationship between the sets of rules and the rules in each set of rules. In some embodiments, the rule engine comprises a recursive rule program implemented by rule programming. In some embodiments, the method estimates (at  1020 ) the country of the client computer by applying the rule engine to the gathered configuration information. In some embodiments, the processes of the rule engine described in relation to  FIGS. 5 ,  6 ,  7 , and  8  comprise step  1020  of the alternative server-side method  1000 . 
       FIG. 11  presents a computer system  1100  with which some embodiments of the invention are implemented. In some embodiments, a client computer and/or server computer comprises the computer system  1100 . The computer system  1100  includes a bus  1105 , a processor  1110 , a system memory  1115 , a read-only memory  1120 , a permanent storage device  1125 , input devices  1130 , and output devices  1135 . 
     The bus  1105  collectively represents all system, peripheral, and chipset buses that communicatively connect the numerous internal devices of the computer system  1100 . For instance, the bus  1105  communicatively connects the processor  1110  with the read-only memory  1120 , the system memory  1115 , and the permanent storage device  1125 . 
     The read-only-memory (ROM)  1120  stores static data and instructions that are needed by the processor  1110  and other modules of the computer system. The permanent storage device  1125 , on the other hand, is read-and-write memory device. This device is a non-volatile memory unit that stores instruction and data even when the computer system  1100  is off. Some embodiments of the invention use a mass-storage device (such as a magnetic or optical disk and its corresponding disk drive) as the permanent storage device  1125 . Other embodiments use a removable storage device (such as a floppy disk or Zip® disk, and its corresponding disk drive) as the permanent storage device. 
     Like the permanent storage device  1125 , the system memory  1115  is a read-and-write memory device. However, unlike storage device  1125 , the system memory is a volatile read-and-write memory, such as a random access memory (RAM). The system memory stores some of the instructions and data that the processor needs at runtime. 
     In some embodiments, instructions and/or data needed to perform methods of the present invention are stored in the system memory  1115 , the permanent storage device  1125 , the read-only memory  1120 , or any combination of the three. For example, the various memory units may contain country estimation programming instructions and/or data relating to product sets and prices of products in the product sets for one or more various countries. From these various memory units, the processor  1110  retrieves instructions to execute and data to process in order to execute the processes of the present invention. 
     The bus  1105  also connects to the input and output devices  1130  and  1135 . The input devices  1130  enable a user to communicate information and select commands to the computer system  1100 . The input devices  1130  include alphanumeric keyboards and cursor-controllers. The output devices  1135  display images generated by the computer system  1100 . For instance, these devices display may be used to display product information to the user or be used to display a user interface (e.g., graphical user interface) through which the user can interface with the computer system  1100 . The output devices include printers and display devices, such as cathode ray tubes (CRT) or liquid crystal displays (LCD). 
     Finally, as shown in  FIG. 11 , the bus  1105  also couples the computer system  1100  to a network  1165  through, for example, a network adapter (not shown). In this manner, the computer system  1100  can be a part of a network of computers (such as a local area network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), or an Intranet) or a network of networks (such as the Internet). Any or all of the components of the computer system  1100  may be used in conjunction with the present invention. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that any other system configuration may also be used in conjunction with the present invention. 
     While the invention has been described with reference to numerous specific details, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit of the invention. Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the invention is not to be limited by the foregoing illustrative details, but rather is to be defined by the appended claims.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20110708
Publication Date: 20120417
Grant Date: 20120417
Priority Date: 20041216
Inventors: LEFFERT JONATHAN B.
GAUTIER PATRICE
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G06Q30/02", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q30/02", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 44350853