U.S. patent application number 10/460681 was filed with the patent office on 2004-12-16 for catalog taxonomy for storing product information and system and method using same.
Invention is credited to Musgrove, Timothy A., Walsh, Robin Hiroko.
Application Number | 20040254950 10/460681 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33511066 |
Filed Date | 2004-12-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040254950 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Musgrove, Timothy A. ; et
al. |
December 16, 2004 |
Catalog taxonomy for storing product information and system and
method using same
Abstract
A catalog taxonomy organized in a tree-like configuration
including at least one first tier product category having at least
one first tier attribute associated with products in the first tier
category, and a plurality of second tier product categories
branching from the first tier product category and defining
subcategories, at least one of the plurality of second tier product
categories having a second tier attribute associated with products
in a subcategory defined by the plurality of second tier product
categories, wherein each of the second tier product categories
inherits the first tier attribute of the first tier product
category from which the plurality of second tier product categories
branches. In addition, a system and method utilizing such catalog
taxonomy.
Inventors: |
Musgrove, Timothy A.;
(Morgan Hill, CA) ; Walsh, Robin Hiroko; (San
Francisco, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
NIXON PEABODY, LLP
401 9TH STREET, NW
SUITE 900
WASHINGTON
DC
20004-2128
US
|
Family ID: |
33511066 |
Appl. No.: |
10/460681 |
Filed: |
June 13, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 ;
707/999.102; 707/E17.032 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0603 20130101;
G06Q 50/00 20130101; G06F 7/08 20130101; G06F 30/00 20200101; G06F
16/2246 20190101; G06F 16/904 20190101; G06F 16/24575 20190101;
G06F 16/2453 20190101 |
Class at
Publication: |
707/102 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/00 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A catalog taxonomy organized in a tree-like configuration
recorded on media for organization of product information in a
catalog, said catalog taxonomy comprising: at least one first tier
product category having at least one first tier attribute
associated with products in said at least one first tier category;
and a plurality of second tier product categories branching from
one of said at least one first tier product category and defining
subcategories of said at least one first tier product category, at
least one of said plurality of second tier product categories
having at least one second tier attribute associated with products
in a subcategory defined by said at least one of said plurality of
second tier product categories; wherein each of said second tier
product categories inherits said at least one first tier attribute
of said first tier product category from which said plurality of
second tier product categories branches.
2. The catalog taxonomy of claim 1, wherein said one first tier
product category and said plurality of second tier product
categories branching therefrom are expressed as a schema.
3. The catalog taxonomy of claim 1, wherein said media is computer
readable.
4. The catalog taxonomy of claim 1, wherein said at least one first
tier attribute includes a first tier scalar index value associated
therewith.
5. The catalog taxonomy of claim 4, wherein said first tier scalar
index value is editable.
6. The catalog taxonomy of claim 5, wherein said first tier scalar
index value is edited based on a usage parameter of products in
said at least one first tier product category.
7. The catalog taxonomy of claim 4, wherein each of said plurality
of second tier product categories inherits said first tier scalar
index value associated with said at least one first tier
attribute.
8. The catalog taxonomy of claim 1, wherein said at least one
second tier attribute includes a second tier scalar index value
associated therewith.
9. The catalog taxonomy of claim 8, wherein said second tier scalar
index value is editable.
10. The catalog taxonomy of claim 9, wherein said second tier
scalar index value is edited based on a usage parameter of products
in one of said plurality of second tier product categories.
11. The catalog taxonomy of claim 8, further comprising a plurality
of third tier product categories branching from one of said
plurality of second tier product categories and defining
subcategories of said second tier product category from which said
plurality of third tier product categories branches, at least one
of said plurality of third tier product categories having at least
one third tier attribute associated with products in a subcategory
defined by said at least one of said plurality of third tier
product categories.
12. The catalog taxonomy of claim 11, wherein each of said
plurality of third tier product categories inherits said at least
one second tier attribute of said second tier product category from
which said plurality of third tier product categories branches.
13. The catalog taxonomy of claim 1, further comprising a plurality
of third tier product categories branching from one of said
plurality of second tier product categories and defining
subcategories of said second tier product category from which said
plurality of third tier product categories branches, at least one
of said plurality of third tier product categories having at least
one third tier attribute associated with products in a subcategory
defined by said at least one of said plurality of third tier
product categories.
14. The catalog taxonomy of claim 13, wherein each of said
plurality of third tier product categories inherits said at least
one second tier attribute of said second tier product category from
which said plurality of third tier product categories branches.
15. The catalog taxonomy of claim 1, wherein said at least one
first tier product category are a plurality of first tier product
categories, said at least one first tier attribute is a plurality
of first tier attributes, and said catalog taxonomy further
comprises a derivative first tier product category that is derived
from said plurality of first tier product categories.
16. The catalog taxonomy of claim 15, wherein said derivative first
tier product category is derived based on said plurality of first
tier attributes.
17. The catalog taxonomy of claim 1, further comprising a
derivative second tier product category that is derived from said
plurality of second tier product categories.
18. The catalog taxonomy of claim 17, wherein said at least one
second tier attribute is a plurality of second tier attributes, and
said derivative second tier product category is derived based on
said plurality of second tier attributes.
19. A catalog taxonomy organized in a tree-like configuration
recorded on media for organization of product information in a
catalog, said catalog taxonomy comprising: a plurality of first
tier product categories, at least one of said first tier product
categories having at least one first tier attribute corresponding
to products in said first tier category; and a plurality of second
tier product categories branching from one of said plurality of
first tier product categories and defining a subcategory of said
first tier product category from which said second tier product
category branches, at least one of said second tier product
categories having at least one second tier attribute corresponding
to products in a subcategory defined by said second tier product
category.
20. The catalog taxonomy of claim 19, further comprising a
plurality of third tier product categories branching from one of
said plurality of second tier product categories and defining
subcategories of said second tier product category from which said
plurality of third tier product categories branches, at least one
of said plurality of third tier product categories having at least
one third tier attribute associated with products in a subcategory
defined by said third tier product category.
21. The catalog taxonomy of claim 19, wherein said plurality of
first tier product categories and said plurality of second tier
product categories branching therefrom are expressed as a
schema.
22. The catalog taxonomy of claim 19, wherein said media is
computer readable.
23. The catalog taxonomy of claim 19, wherein said at least one
first tier attribute includes an editable first tier scalar index
value associated therewith that is edited based on a usage
parameter of products in one of said plurality of first tier
product categories.
24. The catalog taxonomy of claim 19, wherein said at least one
second tier attribute includes an editable second tier scalar index
value associated therewith that is edited based on a usage
parameter of products in one of said plurality of second tier
product categories.
25. The catalog taxonomy of claim 19, wherein said at least one
first tier attribute is a plurality of first tier attributes, and
said catalog taxonomy further comprises a derivative first tier
product category that is derived from said plurality of first tier
attributes.
26. The catalog taxonomy of claim 19, wherein said at least one
second tier attribute is a plurality of second tier attributes, and
said catalog taxonomy further comprises a derivative second tier
product category that is derived from said plurality of second tier
attributes.
27. A catalog taxonomy organized in a tree-like configuration
recorded on media for organization of product information in a
catalog, said catalog taxonomy comprising: a plurality of first
tier product categories, at least one first tier product category
having at least one first tier attribute associated with products
in said first tier category; and a plurality of second tier product
categories branching from one of said plurality of first tier
product categories, at least one second tier product category
having at least one second tier attribute that is associated with
products in said at least one second tier product category.
28. The catalog taxonomy of claim 27, further comprising a
plurality of third tier product categories branching from one of
said plurality of second tier product categories, at least one
third tier product category having at least one third tier
attribute that is associated with products in said at least one
third tier product category.
29. The catalog taxonomy of claim 27, wherein said plurality of
first tier product categories and said plurality of second tier
product categories are expressed as a schema.
30. The catalog taxonomy of claim 27, wherein said at least one
first tier attribute includes an editable first tier scalar index
value associated therewith that is edited based on a usage
parameter of products in one of said plurality of first tier
product categories.
31. The catalog taxonomy of claim 27, wherein said at least one
second tier attribute includes an editable second tier scalar index
value associated therewith that is edited based on a usage
parameter of products in one of said plurality of second tier
product categories.
32. The catalog taxonomy of claim 27, wherein said at least one
first tier attribute is a plurality of first tier attributes, and
said catalog taxonomy further comprises a derivative first tier
product category that is derived from said plurality of first tier
attributes.
33. The catalog taxonomy of claim 27, wherein said at least one
second tier attribute is a plurality of second tier attributes, and
said catalog taxonomy further comprises a derivative second tier
product category that is derived from said plurality of second tier
attributes.
34. A catalog taxonomy organized in a tree-like configuration
recorded on media for organization of product information in a
catalog, said catalog taxonomy comprising: a plurality of first
tier product categories each having a plurality of first tier
attributes associated with products in said first tier category;
and a plurality of second tier product categories branching from
said plurality of first tier product categories, said second tier
product categories having a plurality of second tier attributes
associated with products in said second tier product
categories.
35. The catalog taxonomy of claim 34, further comprising a
plurality of third tier product categories branching from said
second tier product categories, said plurality of third tier
product categories having third tier attributes that are associated
with products in said third tier product categories.
36. The catalog taxonomy of claim 34, wherein said plurality of
first tier product categories and said plurality of second tier
product categories are expressed as a schema.
37. The catalog taxonomy of claim 34, wherein said plurality of
first tier attributes each includes an editable first tier scalar
index value associated therewith that is edited based on a usage
parameter of products in said plurality of first tier product
categories.
38. The catalog taxonomy of claim 34, wherein said at least one
second tier attribute includes an editable second tier scalar index
value associated therewith that is edited based on a usage
parameter of products in said plurality of second tier product
categories.
39. The catalog taxonomy of claim 34, wherein said catalog taxonomy
further comprises a derivative first tier product category that is
derived from said plurality of first tier attributes.
40. The catalog taxonomy of claim 34, wherein said catalog taxonomy
further comprises a derivative second tier product category that is
derived from said plurality of second tier attributes.
41. A system for organizing product information in accordance with
a catalog taxonomy, said system comprising: a processor; an
input/output module adapted to allow inputting and outputting of
product information associated with a plurality of products; and a
database for storing said product information, said database having
a catalog taxonomy structure organized in a tree-like configuration
having: at least one first tier product category having at least
one first tier attribute associated with products in said at least
one first tier category; and a plurality of second tier product
categories branching from one of said at least one first tier
product category and defining subcategories of said at least one
first tier product category, at least one of said plurality of
second tier product categories having at least one second tier
attribute associated with products in a subcategory defined by said
at least one of said plurality of second tier product categories;
wherein each of said second tier product categories inherits said
at least one first tier attribute of said first tier product
category from which said plurality of second tier product
categories branches.
42. A method of organizing a catalog having product information of
a plurality of products in a tree-like configuration, said method
comprising the steps of: providing at least one first tier product
category having plurality of products; associating at least one
first tier attribute with products in said at least one first tier
category; providing a plurality of second tier product categories
branching from one of said at least one first tier product category
and defining subcategories of said at least one first tier product
category, at least one of said plurality of second tier product
categories having a plurality of products; associating at least one
second tier attribute with products said subcategory defined by
said at least one of said plurality of second tier product
categories; and each of said second tier product categories
inheriting said at least one first tier attribute of said first
tier product category from which said plurality of second tier
product categories branches.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention is directed to a catalog taxonomy and
systems and methods for storing product information in a catalog.
In particular, the present invention is directed to a catalog
taxonomy in which product categories and subcategories are
organized in multiple tiers, and a system a method that utilizes
such catalog taxonomy.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Various on-line services and merchants provide on-line
catalogs that allow users to obtain information regarding many
different types of products and/or purchase these from various
different product categories. For example, on-line merchants such
as www.amazon.com.TM. provide various tabs for categories of
products in their catalog including tabs for books, apparel,
electronics, etc. Upon selection of one of these tabs representing
a category, a listing of plurality of subcategories is generated
for selection by the user. Upon selection of a subcategory, further
subcategories or plurality of products are displayed so that the
user can again, select the desired subcategory to display the
products of the subcategory, or select the desired product to
obtain information and/or purchase the desired product.
[0005] Websites such as www.cnet.com.TM. and www.mysimon.com.TM.
that provide users with product information and reviews, as well as
www.yahoo.com.TM. which is a search site, provide links to catalogs
that allow users to shop for products from a various on-line
merchants that sell the desired product. Upon selection of an
appropriate shopping link, these websites typically display a
catalog with a plurality of product categories to allow the user to
select a desired category of products. The user interface of the
catalog then functions in a similar manner to the interface
provided by on-line merchants such as described above. In
particular, upon selection of a category, a plurality of
subcategories are displayed to allow the user to select the desired
subcategory of products. Upon selection of a subcategory, further
subcategories or plurality of products are displayed so that the
user can select the desired subcategory, or select the desired
product.
[0006] The above described catalogs have user interfaces with
ontological structures as described in which plurality of product
subcategories branch from parent product categories or parent
subcategories so that the catalogs also have a tree-like
configuration. Such ontological structure of user interfaces for
catalogs is desirable to enhance the experience of the user so that
the user can quickly and easily navigate through the catalog and
identify the desired product. Such ease of use is very important
because many different categories of products from many different
manufacturers are generally made available to the users by on-line
merchants and services.
[0007] In particular, on-line services and merchants typically
offer various types of products within a given category of
products, each group of products targeting a particular group of
users and/or meeting the specific needs of a market segment. As
previously described, to allow proper organization of products,
various subcategories of products are provided for a particular
category. For example, in the product category of computing
devices, various subcategories may include PDAs, personal
computers, or enterprise servers. In the subcategory of personal
computers, the computing device may also include the subcategories
of desktop and notebook computers, etc. Similarly, in the product
category of vacuum cleaners, categories may include whether the
vacuum cleaner is upright, canister or handheld. In the subcategory
of upright vacuums, additional subcategories may be provided such
as bag/bagless operation, with/without exhaust filtration,
self-propelled or not, etc.
[0008] As described above, the tree-like ontological structures
that have plurality of product subcategories branching from parent
product categories or parent subcategories are well suited for user
providing interfaces of catalogs. On-line merchants as well as
other on-line services typically utilize a catalog taxonomy
structure that is similarly organized in a tree-like configuration
to organize the actual product information that is displayed or
rendered in accordance with the tree-like ontological structure of
the catalog.
[0009] The distinction between the terms "taxonomy" and "ontology"
(and variations thereof) as used herein should be clearly
understood. Taxonomy as referred to herein can be thought of as a
set of relations among categories. Taxonomy may be representable as
an acyclic graph, for example, a "tree" graph, such that every
relation is "a kind of" relation (i.e. categories are related), and
that for every such relation, there is a set of attributes, jointly
necessary and individually sufficient for a product to genuinely be
"a kind of" product to which that node in the taxonomy refers. Of
course, there can also be non-essential or optional attributes as
well. Taxonomy does not allow multiple inheritance so that the
graph representing the taxonomy cannot be cyclic.
[0010] In contrast, ontology as referred to herein may be thought
of as a set of relations representable by either an acyclic or
cyclic graph, which may or may not mirror (either partly or
completely) an underlying taxonomy. Rather than being limited to
the conditions of taxonomy described above, ontology may group
products together which merely share an affinity, are associated
with the same lifestyle, occasion or purpose, etc. In this sense
ontologies are used primarily for "navigation" of an "information
space" or for "browsing", etc., rather than for strict functional
or material classification of products. The items in every node of
a well-formed ontology will indeed share certain attributes.
However, these attributes are not required to be internal, material
properties to the products themselves. They can be secondary
properties such as "styled to appeal to youths" or "products on
clearance sale."
[0011] FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of an example
conventional catalog taxonomy structure 100 that is organized in a
tree-like manner with plurality of product subcategories branching
from parent product categories or parent subcategories. As shown, a
plurality of 1.sup.st Tier Categories 104 are provided in the
catalog taxonomy structure, each of the plurality of 1.sup.st Tier
Categories 104 having a plurality of 2.sup.nd Tier categories 108
branching therefrom. The 1.sup.st Tier Categories 104 may be any
appropriate categories of products or services. For example,
1.sup.st Tier Category 2 may be the category of Computing Devices
as shown, while the 1.sup.st Tier Category 1 may be for audio/video
electronics and the 1.sup.st Tier Category 3 may be for household
electronics.
[0012] A plurality of product 2.sup.nd Tier Categories 108
branching from the 1st Tier Categories 104 may be any appropriate
subcategories thereof. For example, in the illustrated conventional
catalog taxonomy structure 100, various subcategories branching
from the 1.sup.st Tier Category 2 for Computing Devices may include
the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 1 for PDAs, 2.sup.nd Tier Category 2 for
PCs, and 2.sup.nd Tier Category 3 for Servers.
[0013] Various products 110 branch from the 2.sup.nd Tier
Categories 108 that are the final or last subcategories in this
example. For example, in the illustration of FIG. 1, the 2.sup.nd
Tier Category 1 for PDAs is a final subcategory so that a plurality
of products 110 which are various models of PDAs branch therefrom.
Similarly, the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 3 for Servers is a final
subcategory so that a plurality of products 110 which are various
models of Servers branch therefrom.
[0014] Referring again to the conventional catalog taxonomy
structure of FIG. 1, 3.sup.rd Tier Categories 114 branch from the
2.sup.nd Tier Category 2 for PCs. In particular, the 3.sup.rd Tier
Category 1 for Desktops, and the 3.sup.rd Tier Category 2 for
Notebooks, both branch from the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 2 for PCs.
These 3.sup.rd Tier Categories for Desktops and Notebooks are the
final subcategories in this example. Consequently, a plurality of
products 116 branch from these 3.sup.rd Tier Categories as shown,
these products being desktops and notebooks.
[0015] In the commonly used catalog taxonomy structure, attributes
of the products such as its characteristic features, are associated
with the final (last) subcategory. Thus, the various parent
categories and parent subcategories of the catalog taxonomy merely
provide an organizational structure for organizing product
information and do not have any associated attributes themselves
Thus, in the catalog taxonomy structure 100, product information of
the various products classified under the 1.sup.st Tier category 2
for Computing Devices are all associated with the final
subcategory.
[0016] For instance, for the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 1 for PDAs
which is a final subcategory, various attributes of PDAs are
associated with the subcategory. In particular the attributes of
physical size of PDAs such as height, width, depth, and weight, as
well as input/output attributes such as keyboard, viewscreen,
touchscreen, mini-keyboard, and handwriting recognition, are all
associated with the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 1 for PDAs. Similarly,
various attributes including the physical size attributes (height,
width, depth, and weight), the input attributes (keyboard), and
storage attributes such as hard drive, floppy, CD and/or DVD are
also associated with the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 3 which is also a
final subcategory.
[0017] Furthermore, with respect to the 3.sup.rd Tier Category 1
for Desktops and 3.sup.rd Tier Category 2 for Notebooks that branch
from the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 2 for PCs, various attributes are
associated with these subcategories as well. As shown in FIG. 1,
the 3.sup.rd Tier Category 1 for Desktops is associated with
physical attributes (height, width, depth, weight), input/output
attributes (keyboard, viewscreen), storage attributes (hard drive,
floppy, CD/DVD), and form factor attributes such as horizontal,
tower, and mini-tower form factors. Similarly, the 3.sup.rd Tier
Category 2 for Notebooks has various associated attributes
including physical attributes (height, width, depth, weight),
input/output attributes (keyboard, viewscreen, pointing stick,
touchpad), and storage attributes (hard drive, floppy, CD/DVD).
[0018] Hence, in the illustrated example of product category for
computing devices, various attributes of products are associated
with the final subcategory in the conventional catalog taxonomy
structure 100 shown. As previously noted, various other categories
and subcategories merely provide a catalog taxonomy structure for
organizing product information, and do not have any associated
attributes in and of themselves.
[0019] The disadvantage of the above noted conventional catalog
taxonomy structure 100 shown in FIG. 1 is that it requires
significant hardware and processing resources due to the repetitive
association of the same attributes for numerous final
subcategories. As can be seen by careful examination of the
attributes associated with the final subcategories in conventional
catalog taxonomy structure 100, many attributes are the same for
the various final subcategories. For instance, the 2.sup.nd Tier
Category 1 for PDAs, the 2.sup.nd Tier Category for Servers, the
3.sup.rd Tier Category for Desktops, and the 3.sup.rd Tier Category
for Notebooks all have physical attributes and input/output
attributes associated therewith.
[0020] Moreover, such a catalog taxonomy structure further does not
allow easy modification of the catalog ontology which is the
structure and manner in which the catalog is rendered and displayed
to the users of the catalog. For instance, in order to provide
another final subcategory, each of the attributes of the products
in the final subcategory must be again associated with the final
subcategory.
[0021] There is no one right way to classify products, and the
pitfall of many systems is that they become anchored to one way of
classifying products. This presents a dilemma because taxonomy
systems that attempt to allow multiple ontologies are often not
normalized, not unified, not navigable, or not maintainable. In
this regard, some shopping websites have comparable products
splintered apart from each other in different nodes of the ontology
because they merged disparate ontologies together. For example, in
e-commerce sites, consumers can find different models of the same
kind of products such as 20 different models handheld TVs. However,
these products are not found in the same location in the catalog's
ontology. Some of the products may be found in
"TVs.vertline.Handhelds" category/subcategory, some of the products
may be found in "Handheld electronics.vertline.TVs"
category/subcategory, and some in both.
[0022] The present inventors have found that this may occur because
the e-commerce sites obtain product data from different data
sources that have different taxonomy structures, and the e-commerce
sites attempted to merge and map them together, with limited
success. The deficiency results from mapping the taxonomies to each
other at the node level, having no reference to the attributes, or
from mapping and merging taxonomies, one ore more of which were not
built originally with strict taxonomical inheritance defined.
[0023] Therefore, there is an unfulfilled need for a catalog
taxonomy structure, system and method that minimizes hardware and
processing resources. In addition, there also exists an unfulfilled
need for such a catalog taxonomy structure, system and method that
allows easy modification of the catalog ontology. Furthermore,
there still exists a need for a catalog taxonomy structure, system
and method that facilitates attribute based queries to identify
products having a particular attribute, and facilitates intelligent
merging of multiple taxonomies upon the basis of the associated
attributes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0024] In view of the foregoing, one aspect of the present
invention is a catalog taxonomy organized in a tree-like
configuration recorded on media for organizing of product
information in a catalog. The catalog taxonomy includes at least
one first tier product category having at least one first tier
attribute associated with products in the first tier category, and
a plurality of second tier product categories branching from one of
the first tier product category and defining subcategories of the
first tier product category, at least one of the plurality of
second tier product categories having at least one second tier
attribute associated with products in a subcategory defined by the
second tier product categories, wherein each of the second tier
product categories inherits the first tier attribute of the first
tier product category from which the plurality of second tier
product categories branches.
[0025] Another aspect of the present invention is a catalog
taxonomy for organization of product information in a catalog, the
catalog taxonomy comprising a plurality of first tier product
categories, at least one of the first tier product categories
having at least one first tier attribute corresponding to products
in the first tier category, and a plurality of second tier product
categories branching from one of the plurality of first tier
product categories and defining a subcategory of the first tier
product category from which the second tier product category
branches, at least one of the second tier product categories having
at least one second tier attribute corresponding to products in a
subcategory defined by the second tier product category.
[0026] Still another aspect of the present invention is a catalog
taxonomy for organization of product information in a catalog, the
catalog taxonomy comprising a plurality of first tier product
categories, at least one first tier product category having at
least one first tier attribute associated with products in the
first tier category, and a plurality of second tier product
categories branching from one of the plurality of first tier
product categories, at least one second tier product category
having at least one second tier attribute that is associated with
products in the at least one second tier product category.
[0027] Yet another aspect of the present invention is a catalog
taxonomy for organization of product information in a catalog, the
catalog taxonomy comprising a plurality of first tier product
categories each having a plurality of first tier attributes
associated with products in the first tier category, and a
plurality of second tier product categories branching from the
plurality of first tier product categories, the second tier product
categories having a plurality of second tier attributes associated
with products in the second tier product categories.
[0028] Still another aspect of the present invention is a system
for organizing product information in accordance with a catalog
taxonomy, the system comprising a processor, an input/output module
adapted to allow inputting and outputting of product information
associated with a plurality of products, and a database for storing
said product information, the database having a catalog taxonomy
structure organized in a tree-like configuration.
[0029] In accordance with the present invention, the database has a
catalog taxonomy structure having at least one first tier product
category having at least one first tier attribute associated with
products in the first tier category, and a plurality of second tier
product categories branching from the first tier product category
and defining subcategories of the first tier product category, at
least one of the plurality of second tier product categories having
at least one second tier attribute associated with products in a
subcategory defined by the plurality of second tier product
categories. Each of the second tier product categories inherits the
first tier attribute of the first tier product category from which
the plurality of second tier product categories branches.
[0030] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention,
a method of organizing a catalog having product information of a
plurality of products in a tree-like configuration comprises the
steps of providing at least one first tier product category having
plurality of products, associating at least one first tier
attribute with products in the at least one first tier category,
providing a plurality of second tier product categories branching
from one of the at least one first tier product category and
defining subcategories of the at least one first tier product
category, at least one of the plurality of second tier product
categories having a plurality of products, associating at least one
second tier attribute with products the subcategory defined by the
at least one of the plurality of second tier product categories,
and each of the second tier product categories inheriting the at
least one first tier attribute of the one first tier product
category from which the plurality of second tier product categories
branches.
[0031] These and other aspects of the present invention will become
more apparent from the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiments of the present invention when viewed in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0032] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a conventional catalog
taxonomy structure.
[0033] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a catalog taxonomy
structure in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0034] FIG. 3A is a schematic illustration of an example catalog
ontology derived from the catalog taxonomy structure of FIG. 2.
[0035] FIG. 3B is a schematic illustration of the catalog ontology
of Figure 3A in modified form.
[0036] FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of various catalog
ontologies for televisions derived from the same catalog taxonomy
in accordance with another embodiment.
[0037] FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of various catalog
ontologies for computer chipmakers derived from the same catalog
taxonomy in accordance with yet another embodiment.
[0038] FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of various catalog
ontologies for software plug-ins derived from the same catalog
taxonomy in accordance with still another embodiment.
[0039] FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a system for
organizing product information in accordance with a catalog
taxonomy.
[0040] FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of a method of organizing
a catalog having product information of a plurality of
products.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0041] FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of a catalog taxonomy
structure 10 in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention which is shown to generally correspond to the
conventional catalog taxonomy structure 100 of FIG. 1 so that the
distinctions of the present invention can be fully appreciated.
[0042] As can be seen, the catalog taxonomy structure 10 in
accordance with the present invention is organized in a tree-like
manner with plurality of child product subcategories branching from
parent product categories or parent subcategories. It should be
readily apparent that the terms "child" and "parent" refer to the
relative relationship between product subcategories and/or product
categories. In particular, the term "child" refers to product
subcategories that branch from another product category or product
subcategory, while the term "parent" refers to the product category
or product subcategory from which the child product subcategories
branch.
[0043] It should also be noted that although various
implementations described herein below are specifically directed to
products and catalogs for categorizing such products, the taxonomy
structure in accordance with the present invention is not limited
thereto. The taxonomy structure of the present invention may be
readily applied in categorizing any type of information such as
information related to services. In this regard, the product
categories and/or product subcategories are also referred to herein
as "nodes" so that child nodes branch from the parent nodes.
Moreover, as used herein, the term "attribute" refers to any
characteristic of a product or service, or data representing such
characteristic.
[0044] Referring again to FIG. 2, a plurality of 1.sup.st Tier
Categories 14 are provided in the catalog taxonomy structure 10,
each of the plurality of 1.sup.st Tier Categories 14 having a
plurality of 2.sup.nd Tier categories 16 branching therefrom. The
1.sup.st Tier Categories 14 may be any appropriate categories of
products or services such as Computing Devices for the 1.sup.st
Tier Category 2. The plurality of product 2.sup.nd Tier Categories
16 branching from the 1.sup.st Tier Categories 14 may be any
appropriate subcategories thereof.
[0045] In the illustrated example catalog taxonomy structure 10,
various subcategories branching from the 1.sup.st Tier Category 2
for Computing Devices may include the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 1 for
PDAs, 2.sup.nd Tier Category 2 for PCs, and 2.sup.nd Tier Category
3 for Servers. Various products branch from two of the 2.sup.nd
Tier Categories 16. For example, a plurality of products 18 which
are various models of PDAs, branch from the 2.sup.nd Tier Category
1 for PDAs. Similarly, a plurality of products 18 which are various
models of Servers branch from the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 3 for
Servers.
[0046] In the illustrated embodiment of the catalog taxonomy
structure 10, 3.sup.rd Tier Categories 20 branch from the 2.sup.nd
Tier Category 2 for PCs, the 3.sup.rd Tier Category 1 being for
Desktops, and the 3.sup.rd Tier Category 2 being for Notebooks. As
shown, a plurality of products 22 branch from these 3.sup.rd Tier
Categories, these products being desktops and notebooks in
accordance with the subcategories.
[0047] In contrast to the commonly used catalog taxonomy structure
in which attributes of the products are associated only with the
final subcategory, the catalog taxonomy structure 10 of the present
invention associates attributes of the products with other
categories and subcategories. As shown, the 1.sup.st Tier Category
2 for Computing Devices (which is not a final category) has
associated therewith, physical attributes including height, width,
depth, and weight, as well as input/output attributes including
keyboard and viewscreen. Moreover, the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 2 for
PCs (which is also not a final category) has associated therewith,
storage attributes such as hard drive, floppy, and/or CD/DVD.
[0048] Thus, whereas in conventional catalog taxonomy structures,
attributes are only associated with the final subcategories so that
various parent categories and parent subcategories merely provide
an organizational structure for organizing product information, the
catalog taxonomy structure in accordance with the present invention
associates one or more attributes with parent categories and parent
subcategories. The attributes associated with a parent category are
generic, and common to all subcategories of the parent
category.
[0049] Furthermore, in accordance with the catalog taxonomy
structure of the present invention, various attributes are
associated with the final subcategories as well. For instance, for
the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 1 for PDAs, input/output attributes such
as touchscreen, mini-keyboard, and handwriting recognition are
associated therewith. Similarly, storage attributes such as hard
drive, floppy, CD and/or DVD are also associated with the 2.sup.nd
Tier Category 3 for Servers which is also a final subcategory. Such
attributes are unique to the subcategory.
[0050] With respect to the 3.sup.rd Tier Category 1 for Desktops
and 3.sup.rd Tier Category 2 for Notebooks that branch from the
2.sup.nd Tier Category 2 for PCs, various attributes are associated
with these final subcategories as well. As shown, form factor
attributes such as horizontal, tower, and mini-tower is associated
with the 3.sup.rd Tier Category 1 for Desktops. The input/output
attributes including pointing stick and touchpad are associated
with the 3.sup.rd Tier Category 2 for Notebooks.
[0051] It should be evident from comparing the conventional catalog
taxonomy structure 100 shown in FIG. 1 with the catalog taxonomy
structure 10 of the present invention as shown in FIG. 2, that the
final subcategories of the catalog taxonomy structure 10 do not
have all the attributes of the final subcategories of the
conventional catalog taxonomy structure 100 associated therewith.
For example, the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 1 for PDAs of the catalog
taxonomy structure 10 of the present invention is merely provided
with the input/output attributes instead of both the input/output
attributes and physical attributes as provided in the conventional
catalog taxonomy structure 100. In addition, the 2.sup.nd Tier
Category 2 for Servers of the catalog taxonomy structure 10 of the
present invention is merely provided with the storage attributes
instead of the physical attribute, input/output attribute, and
storage attribute as provided in the conventional catalog taxonomy
structure 100 shown in FIG. 1.
[0052] This aspect of the present invention is more clearly shown
in comparison of the 3.sup.rd Tier Categories. As can be seen,
merely the form factor attribute is associated with the 3.sup.rd
Tier Category 1 for Desktops in the catalog taxonomy structure 10,
and the physical attributes, input/output attributes, and storage
attributes are not associated with the 3.sup.rd Tier Category 1
like the conventional catalog taxonomy structure 100. Likewise,
only the input/output attribute is associated with the 3.sup.rd
Tier Category 2 for Notebooks in the catalog taxonomy structure 10,
and the physical attributes and storage attributes are not
associated with the 3.sup.rd Tier Category 1 like the conventional
catalog taxonomy structure 100.
[0053] Of course, just because the final subcategory is not
provided with a particular attribute does not mean that the
products properly categorized in the subcategories do not possess
these attributes. In this regard, in accordance with the catalog
taxonomy structure of the present invention, the common attributes
that are associated with the parent category or parent subcategory
are inherited by the child subcategory that branches therefrom.
[0054] In particular, referring to catalog taxonomy structure 10 of
the present invention as shown in FIG. 2, the products 18 that are
categorized under the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 1 for PDAs would not
only have associated therewith the input/output attributes of the
2.sup.nd Tier Category 1, but also have the physical attributes and
the input/output attributes that are associated with the 1.sup.st
Tier Category 2 which is the parent category to the 2.sup.nd Tier
Category 1. Likewise, the products 18 that are categorized under
the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 3 for servers would not only have the
storage attributes of the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 3, but also have
the physical attributes and the input/output attributes that are
associated with the 1.sup.st Tier Category 2 as well.
[0055] Similarly, the products 22 that are categorized under the
3.sup.rd Tier Category 1 for Desktops would not only have the form
factor attributes associated therewith, but would also have the
storage attribute associated with the parent subcategory 2.sup.nd
Tier Category 2, as well as the physical attributes and the
input/output attributes that are associated with the 1.sup.st Tier
Category 2, which is the parent category to the subcategory
2.sup.nd Tier Category 2. Furthermore, the products 22 that are
categorized under the 3.sup.rd Tier Category 2 for Notebooks would
not only have the storage attributes of the 2.sup.nd Tier Category
2, but would also have the physical attributes and the input/output
attributes that are associated with the 1.sup.st Tier Category
2.
[0056] Thus, the catalog taxonomy structure 10 in accordance with
the present invention allows the child nodes to inherit attributes
associated with the parent nodes from which the child nodes branch.
Attribute inheritance in accordance with the present invention
provides a mechanism for automatically communicating attributes of
a category/subcategory to another subcategory, i.e. from a parent
node to a child node. Another way to look at this embodiment is to
consider the attribute as being pushed "up" the tree as far as
possible for attributes that are common to all subcategories.
[0057] The described attribute inheritance and association of
attributes to categories and/or subcategories may be attained in
any appropriate manner. In accordance with one implementation of
the present invention, attribute inheritance and association of
attributes may be attained by creating attribute groups and mapping
the attribute groups to various parent nodes and/or child nodes,
i.e. categories. An attribute group is a collection of attributes
that are functionally similar to each other. For example, relative
to computing devices of FIGS. 1 and 2, physical attributes of
height, width, depth, weight constitutes an attribute group, this
group being delineated with brackets "< >". Thus,
input/output attributes of keyboard, viewscreen, touchscreen,
mini-keyboard, handwriting recognition, pointing stick, and
touchpad also form are attribute groups.
[0058] In accordance with the catalog taxonomy structure 10 of the
embodiment, attribute groups may be associated with a
category/subcategory by mapping the attribute groups to the desired
node, whether the node is a category or a subcategory.
Alternatively, the attribute group or one or more attributes of the
group may be inherited from the parent of the subcategory as noted
above. Thus, in the illustrated example catalog taxonomy structure
10 of FIG. 2, a physical attribute group and an input/output
attribute group are mapped to the 1.sup.st Tier Category 2 for
Computing Devices. Also, an input/output attribute group is mapped
to the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 1 for PDAs, a storage attribute group
is mapped to the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 2 for PCs, and storage
attribute group is mapped to the 2nd Tier Category 3 for Servers.
Lastly, the form factor attribute group is mapped to the 3.sup.rd
Tier Category 1 for Desktops, and the input/output attribute group
is mapped to the 3.sup.rd Tier Category 2 for Notebooks.
[0059] In accordance with the embodiment, the 2.sup.nd Tier
Category for PDAs inherits the physical attribute group from the
1.sup.st Tier Category 2 with all the attributes including height,
width, depth, and weight. As shown, the input/output attribute
groups are mapped to both the 1.sup.st Tier Category 2 for
Computing Devices as well as the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 1 for PDAs.
However, the attributes of the input/output attribute group mapped
to the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 1 differs from the attributes of the
attribute group mapped to the 1.sup.st Tier Category 2. In
particular, attributes of the input/output attribute group mapped
to the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 1 includes touchscreen,
mini-keyboard, and handwriting recognition, whereas the attributes
of the input/output attribute group mapped to the 1.sup.st Tier
Category 2 includes keyboard and viewscreen.
[0060] When attribute groups of the same name are provided in both
a child node and a parent node, the catalog taxonomy structure of
the present invention merges the attribute groups of the child node
with the attribute groups of the parent so that the child node
inherits the attributes of the attribute group of the parent which
the attribute group of the child node is missing. Thus, referring
again to the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 1 for PDAs, because the
input/output attribute group names are the same, the input/output
attribute groups are merged together so that the input/output
attribute group mapped to the 2.sup.nd Tier Category 1 for PDAs
inherits the attributes of keyboard and viewscreen from the
input/output attribute group mapped to the 1.sup.st Tier Category
2.
[0061] If for some reason, the same attributes are provided in the
attribute groups of the parent node as well as the child node
having the same attribute group name, the attribute of the parent
node is not inherited by the child node so that redundant
attributes are not created in the attribute group of the child
node. Such mapping and merging of attribute groups may be attained
in any appropriate manner, and will be readily attainable in view
of the disclosure herein, including mapping and merging techniques
that are known in the art, and need not be described in detail.
[0062] Correspondingly, referring again to FIG. 2, the 2.sup.nd
Tier Category 3 for Servers inherits the physical attribute group
and the input/output attribute group from the 1.sup.st Tier
Category 2. No merging is required since attribute groups of the
same name are not present. Likewise, the 3.sup.rd Tier Category 1
for Desktops inherits the storage attribute group from the 2.sup.nd
Tier Category 2 for PCs, and further inherits the physical
attribute group and the input/output attribute group from the
1.sup.st Tier Category 2. Again merging is not required since
attribute groups of the same name are not present.
[0063] Lastly, the 3.sup.rd Tier Category 2 for Notebooks which has
the input/output attribute group mapped thereto, inherits the
storage attribute group from 2.sup.nd Tier Category 2 for PCs, and
inherits the physical attribute group from the 1.sup.st Tier
Category 2. Furthermore, the input/output attribute group mapped to
the 3.sup.rd Tier Category 2 for Notebooks is merged with the same
attribute group of the 1.sup.st Tier Category 2 so that it inherits
the attributes for keyboard and viewscreen.
[0064] Of course, it should be understood that the above discussed
embodiment of the catalog taxonomy structure 10 in accordance with
the present invention is merely one example implementation thereof.
The details regarding the products and the associated attributes
are provided to facilitate understanding of the present invention.
In this regard, it should also be understood that the terms
1.sup.st tier, 2.sup.nd tier, and 3.sup.rd tier categories are
relative terms used to illustrate the relative relationship between
the categories and do not refer to the actual category tiers of a
catalog taxonomy structure. Thus, the 1.sup.st tier category as
referred to herein, may be a 4.sup.th tier category in the actual
catalog taxonomy to which the present invention is applied, the
2.sup.nd tier category actually a 5.sup.th tier category, and so
forth. Stated in another manner, the present invention is equally
applicable to catalog taxonomy structure in which products in a
5.sup.th tier category inherits attributes from a 4.sup.th tier
category which in turn, inherits attributes from a 3.sup.rd tier
category, etc.
[0065] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention,
each of the attributes in an attribute group may have a scalar
index value which can be used in emphasizing or deemphasizing
relative importance of the each of the attributes. These scalar
index values of each of the attributes may be used in ranking
products of a given subcategory of products. In particular, various
methods for ranking products of a category are known and
implemented on a distributed network such as the Internet to
facilitate purchase decisions of consumers. Typically, such methods
rank products based on several primary attributes that define the
category of products. For example, some primary attributes of
notebook computers may include weight, viewscreen size, hard drive
memory, and processor speed, etc.
[0066] Methods of ranking products generally convert these primary
attributes into scalar values and derive attribute ranks for each
of the products of the product category. The primary attribute
ranks indicate the rank of each product relative to the other
products in the product category based on each of the attributes,
and may be determined in any appropriate manner. For example, the
conventional method of percentile ranks may be used to obtain the
primary attribute ranks. Of course, more sophisticated methods may
be used to determine the primary attribute ranks instead.
[0067] By mathematically processing the attribute ranks, a final
ranking of the products may be determined which takes into
consideration each of the primary attributes by weighing each of
the various attribute ranks to allow ranking of the products in a
given category/subcategory. The scalar index values of each of the
attributes may be used to weigh each of the various attribute
ranks.
[0068] In particular, referring again to the example of notebook
computers, the scalar index values for the primary attributes of
notebook computers may be as follows: weight (0.25), viewscreen
size (0.25), hard drive memory (0.25), and processor speed (0.25).
As previously noted, these scalar index values may be used in
conjunction with the determined attribute ranks to allow
determination of the final ranking of the products. For example,
each of the scalar index values may be multiplied together with the
attribute ranks and each of the products added together. The final
sum provides a ranking of each of the products based on the
attributes of each product while weighing the importance of each of
the attributes appropriately. Of course, the above described method
of ranking products is merely provided as one example and other
methods that utilize different process steps may be used in other
implementations.
[0069] In view of the above, the catalog taxonomy structure 10 as
shown in FIG. 2 may be further adapted to allow inheritance of the
scalar index values for each of the attributes in an attribute
group. When a conventional catalog taxonomy is utilized,
modification of such scalar index values is not required since the
attributes with scalar index values are all associated with the
final subcategory. However, modification of such scalar index
values are desirable when the catalog taxonomy structure of the
present invention is utilized because various attributes are
associated with parent product categories/subcategories which can
result in unintended weighing of the various attributes.
[0070] Referring again to the above example, whereas weight is a
very important attribute for notebooks due to their portability,
the weight attribute is relatively unimportant for desktops
computers. Thus, if the catalog taxonomy structure 10 of the
present invention as shown in FIG. 2 is utilized, an inappropriate
scalar index value for the attribute of weight will be inherited by
the 3.sup.rd Tier Category 1 for Desktops from the physical
attribute group mapped to the 1.sup.st Tier Category 2.
Correspondingly, in the preferred embodiment, the catalog taxonomy
structure 10 is further adapted to allow editing and/or
modification of the scalar index value for weight of the product,
for example, from scalar index value of 0.25 to scalar index value
of 0.01 for desktops.
[0071] The above described editing of scalar index values may be
attained in any appropriate manner. In one implementation, such
editing of scalar index values may be attained by providing a child
node with a filter, the filter providing instructions for editing a
scalar index value of a particular attribute as the attribute is
inherited from a parent node. Preferably, filter should be additive
meaning that scalar index values are edited by each of the filters
of the parent nodes as it is inherited by the child node. In other
words, the scalar index value is modified each time by each of the
filters as the attribute is inherited.
[0072] The above described catalog taxonomy structure in accordance
with the present invention minimizes the computational resources
needed since only certain attributes and/or attribute groups are
associated with the parent categories and parent/child
subcategories. As described, the remaining attributes and/or
attribute groups of the child subcategories are inherited from the
parent category/subcategory. The inheritance feature of the catalog
taxonomy structure further allows the ontology of the catalog to be
readily modified or reconfigured so that the products are grouped
together in any desired manner. For example, in accordance with one
implementation, grouping of the products may be attained by
implementing rules which allows selection of products from the
catalog taxonomy structure based on various desired attributes.
Such rules can be used to group the products in any desired manner
to provide the desired catalog ontology as explained by way of
examples below.
[0073] For example, the catalog taxonomy structure 10 of FIG. 2 may
be utilized in substantially unmodified form to provide a catalog
ontology that substantially mimics the catalog taxonomy structure.
Catalog ontology 30 of FIG. 3 shows such an ontology in which PDAs,
PCs, and Enterprise Servers are subcategories of Computing Devices.
The shown catalog ontology 30 of FIG. 3 may be a navigable catalog
of a merchant via the Internet, for example, to allow consumers to
view information, and purchase desired products.
[0074] The catalog taxonomy structure in accordance with the
preferred embodiment of the present invention is further adapted to
allow regrouping of products under new subcategories, or to
generate a new derivative subcategory based on products of already
existing subcategories. In particular, a rule may be used to
generate a new derivative subcategory of products in the catalog
ontology 30 of FIG. 3A called "Mobile Computing Devices".
[0075] The rule may be attribute-based queries so that rapid
tree-based search can be performed rather than an exhaustive
index-based search of all the products stored in a database of the
catalog. More specifically, a search of the taxonomy nodes can be
conducted to determine which nodes have the attribute being
searched, thereby immediately allowing grouping of these nodes in a
new category or a derivative category. Thus, the organization of
product information in accordance with the catalog taxonomy
structure of the present invention allows extremely efficient
searching. In contrast, conventional catalog taxonomy structures
would require searching of thousands of product records, and then
clustering them by categories.
[0076] An example of a new derivative subcategory is schematically
illustrated in the modified catalog ontology 36 of FIG. 3B. The new
subcategory of Ultra-Mobile Computing Devices may be comprised of
both PDA's as well as the smallest sub-notebooks, so as to allow
comparison of such products in a side-by-side manner thereby
providing alternative portable products for the consumer.
Preferably, such a rule would also cause the merging of any
commonly named attribute groups. In particular, referring again to
the catalog taxonomy structure 10 of the present invention, the
input/output attribute groups for PDAs and Notebooks would be
merged together for the new derivative subcategory of "Ultra-Mobile
Computing Devices," resulting in input/output attribute group
having attributes of keyboard, viewscreen, touchscreen,
mini-keyboard, handwriting recognition, pointing stick, and
touchpad.
[0077] Of course, the derivative subcategory of Ultra-Mobile
Computing Devices may be further restricted to have certain
attributes so that only selected Notebooks and PDAs populate the
newly created subcategory in the catalog ontology. For example, the
attribute of weight may be limited so that only devices under 2.5
pounds are selected to be included in the Ultra-Mobile Computing
Devices subcategory.
[0078] The above described use of rules would enable, for example,
a catalog to generate the following output with a product
comparison table in response to a consumer's query:
1 Physical Model Characteristics Input/Output: Palm VIIx 4.2"
.times. 3.1" .times. 0.4" Viewscreen, TouchScreen, HWR Nokia 9020
6.8" .times. 2.4" .times. 1.3" Viewscreen, Mini-Keyboard Fujitsu
Lifebook 10.5" .times. 7.3" .times. 2.1" Viewscreen, P-2000
Keyboard, Pointing Stick
[0079] Of course, the product comparison table of the generated
output shown above merely sets forth two attributes of such
devices, as an example only. Moreover, it should be noted that some
embedded display logic may be provided for the input/output
attribute group to actually only display the specific attributes of
the attribute group that is possessed by the particular product.
For instance, as shown in the product comparison table, the display
logic may display a particular attribute if the product has a True
value for that particular attribute, and not display a particular
attribute if the product has a False value for the particular
attribute.
[0080] Furthermore, in accordance with another aspect of the
present invention, the above described catalog taxonomy structure
where attributes are inherited from parent nodes provides a
distinct advantage as compared to conventional catalog taxonomy
structures. In particular, the catalog taxonomy structure of the
present invention is independent of the ontologies for catalogs.
This facilitates generation of different ontologies for catalogs
using rules that specify particular attributes, each ontology being
tailored to a specific demographic or market, for example. In other
words, the catalog taxonomy structure 10 in accordance with the
present invention allows quick and easy modification of the
ontological arrangement of products in various desirable manner as
described below.
[0081] For example, FIG. 4 shows a high level schematic
illustration 40 of various catalog ontologies 44, 46, and 48, that
may be derived from a common catalog taxonomy 42 for televisions,
each of the derived catalog ontologies being structured differently
from each other to provide different user navigation. In
particular, online catalog of CNET Shopper may use the catalog
taxonomy 42 to generate a catalog ontology 44 in which TVs are
categorized by their size, i.e. Large, Medium, and Small.
Alternatively, the online catalog of ZDNet Shopper may use the
catalog taxonomy 42 to generate a catalog ontology 46 in which TVs
are categorized by the quality of reception and resolution, for
example, standard or Hi-Definition. In still another alternative,
the on-line catalog of mySimon may use the catalog taxonomy 42 to
generate a catalog ontology 48 in which TVs are categorized by the
screen type, i.e. cathode ray tube or flat-panel. Of course, these
are merely example catalog ontologies and other ontologies may be
generated as well.
[0082] It should be noted that whereas the above examples have
focused on consumer products, the catalog taxonomy structure in
accordance with the present invention may be readily applied to any
type of categorized information. For example, FIG. 5 shows a high
level schematic illustration 50 of various catalog ontologies that
may be derived for classifying computer chipmakers from a common
catalog taxonomy 52. In the illustrated example, the catalog
taxonomy 52 may be used to derive a catalog ontology 54 that
categorizes computer chipmakers based on their market recognition
such as "Standard-Setters" which may include Intel and Motorola,
and "Clones" which may include AMD and Transmeta.
[0083] The same catalog taxonomy 52 may be used to derive a catalog
ontology 56 for categorizing chipmakers based on common application
of the products such as "Enterprise" for servers, "Personal
Computers", and "Embedded" processors. Thus, chipmakers Sun
Microsystems and Intel may be categorized under Enterprise, whereas
chipmakers Intel, Motorola, and AMD may be categorized under
Personal Computers. Moreover, chipmakers from Texas Instruments,
Intel, Motorola, and Transmeta, may be categorized under for
Embedded Processors.
[0084] It should be noted that the chipmaker Intel is categorized
under all three of the subcategories in the catalog ontology 56
while the chipmaker Motorola is categorized under two of the
subcategories. The various ontological arrangements as well as
multiple categorization of a chipmaker is facilitated by the
catalog taxonomy structure of the present invention which allows
child nodes to inherit attributes associated with corresponding
parent nodes.
[0085] As another example, FIG. 6 shows a high level schematic
illustration 60 of various catalog ontologies that may be derived
from a common catalog taxonomy 62 for software plug-ins for office
suite software. In this example, the catalog taxonomy 62 may be
used to derive a catalog ontology 64 in which the plug-ins are
categorized based on their compatibility, i.e. whether the plug-ins
are compatible with Microsoft, Lotus, or Macintosh products.
Alternatively, the catalog taxonomy 62 may be used to derive a
catalog ontology 66 in which the plug-ins are categorized based on
their function, i.e. whether the plug-ins are for use in
conjunction with software for mathematical/statistical analysis,
presentation/publishing, or back-office management.
[0086] In addition, it should also be noted that the catalog
taxonomy of the present invention may be used by a vendor of
products or the like to propose products that are related to a
particular sub-category of products. Such related products may
include accessories or components in systems that are configurable
and/or used with products sharing common or related attributes. For
example, a sub-category for PDAs that are configured with a
Bluetooth port may be related to other products that also have
Bluetooth ports so that these other products may be proposed by the
vendor. This would also facilitate substantially automated
generation of product bundles or packages, or help in the
recognition and organization of product bundles in the offerings,
listings, and data feeds of various vendors, merchants,
manufacturers, etc.
[0087] Furthermore, the catalog taxonomy in accordance with the
present invention may be utilized to facilitate management of
"harvesting" jobs where data feeds or web-crawled (screen scraped)
data and/or text content is organized around the catalog taxonomy,
and to facilitate merging multiple overlapping sources. Because the
catalog taxonomy of the present invention is provided with
hierarchical attributes that are inheritable, the data and/or text
content that is harvested can be propagated downward in the tree to
the deepest node that is appropriate. This is applicable to any
kind of content where the attributes (or their synonymous terms
that may be provided, for example, in an alias table) are found,
and may be content that is indirectly related to products and not
just the products themselves. For example, the content may be
descriptions, editorials, reviews, user opinions, forum threads,
press releases, software updates and downloads, rebates, recall
notices, etc.
[0088] The catalog taxonomy in accordance with the present
invention may further be used in conjunction with another
partner-system that provides a similar organizational structure for
such content, and even non-catalog and non-editorial content. Such
partner-system may be adapted to catalog any content that can be
described as fitting into, or being attached to, a similar
heirarchy of well-defined attributes which are inheritable in the
manner previously described. The content may also include
non-product data such as metadata that is used in helping to manage
program structures or states of such non-product entities. For
example, the non-product metadata may be a periodical, author, date
of a review or opinion or lab test of a product, the statistical
percentage of users that praise or condemn the excellence or
deficiency of a certain product in respect of one of its
attributes, the expiration date of a rebate offer, and the URL
addresses where the rebate form can be found, etc.
[0089] The catalog taxonomy of the present invention allows these
associated groups of attributes to "ride along" with their
appropriate content in the partner-system, and be mapped to the
product attributes of the catalog taxonomy which are the basis of
how the content is "harvested". In other words, the partner-system
may provide a similar organizational structure for peripherally
related content and the nodes of the partner-system may be mapped
to the nodes of the catalog taxonomy structure to thereby provide
easy access to, and generation of, peripheral information regarding
products and/or sub-categories of the catalog taxonomy. For
example, peripheral information regarding sales and rebates that
are available for 4-megapixel cameras in the market, and other data
such as expiration dates for the sales/rebates may be generated for
the user. Of course, the above discussion merely provides example
benefits that may be realized by utilizing the catalog taxonomy of
the present invention, and other benefits may be realized in other
implementations.
[0090] FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a system 70 for
organizing product information in accordance with a catalog
taxonomy described above. In the illustrated implementation, the
system 70 for organizing product information includes a processor
72, an input/output module 74, and a database 76 for storing said
product information.
[0091] The system 70 of FIG. 7 may be implemented with any type of
hardware and software, and may be a pre-programmed general purpose
computing device. For example, the system 70 may be implemented
using a server, a personal computer, a portable computer, a thin
client, or any other appropriate device, or any combination of such
devices. In addition, whereas the system 70 of the illustrated
embodiment is shown as a single device, at a single location, it
may also be multiple devices at a single, or multiple, locations
that are connected together using any appropriate communication
protocols over any communication medium such as electric cable,
fiber optic cable, any other cable, or in a wireless manner using
radio frequency, infrared, or other technologies.
[0092] The processor 72 of the system 70 is connected to the
input/output module 74 and the database 76 and may be any
appropriate computational processor. The input/output module 74 may
include any input device or devices appropriate for allowing
inputting of product information associated with a plurality of
products such as a keyboard, mouse, etc., and may also include data
links, modems, memory devices, etc. to allow rapid inputting of
product information and data into the system 70. In addition, the
input/output module 74 may also include output device or devices
for outputting product information. Such output devices may include
monitors, printers, memory devices, etc. The details of such
devices are well known in the art and hence, discussion thereof are
omitted herein.
[0093] The database 76 of the system 10 for organizing product
information has a catalog taxonomy structure organized in a
tree-like configuration as described above relative to FIG. 2. In
particular, in accordance with the present invention, the database
76 has a catalog taxonomy structure having at least one first tier
product category having at least one first tier attribute
associated with products in the first tier category, and a
plurality of second tier product categories branching from the
first tier product category and defining subcategories of the first
tier product category, at least one of the plurality of second tier
product categories having at least one second tier attribute
associated with products in a subcategory defined by the plurality
of second tier product categories. In the manner previously
described, each of the second tier product categories inherits the
first tier attribute of the first tier product category from which
the plurality of second tier product categories branches. The
structure of the catalog taxonomy provided in the database 76
should be evident from the discussion above relative to FIG. 2.
Thus, further discussion is omitted herein to avoid repetition.
[0094] FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram 80 that schematically
illustrates a method of organizing a catalog having product
information of a plurality of products in accordance with another
aspect of the present invention. As shown in the flow diagram 80,
the method includes step 82 in which at least one first tier
product category is provided, the first tier category having
plurality of products. In step 84, at least one first tier
attribute is associated with products in the first tier
category.
[0095] A plurality of second tier product categories branching from
the first tier product category is provided in step 86, the second
tier product categories defining subcategories of the first tier
product category and having a plurality of products. At least one
second tier attribute is associated with products of the
subcategory defined by at least one of the plurality of second tier
product categories in step 88. Finally, in step 90, each of the
second tier product categories inherit the first tier attribute of
the first tier product category from which the plurality of second
tier product categories branches. Of course, it should be
understood that the method as set forth in the flow diagram 80 is
merely one example method of organizing a catalog having product
information of a plurality of products in accordance with the
present invention.
[0096] It should now be evident how the catalog taxonomy structure,
system and method of the present invention minimize processing
requirements while facilitating generation of alternative catalog
ontologies as compared to conventional catalog taxonomies of the
prior art. It should also be apparent to one of ordinary skill in
the art that the present invention may also be effectively applied
for categorizing any type of products, services, and/or
information.
[0097] While various embodiments in accordance with the present
invention have been shown and described, it is understood that the
invention is not limited thereto. The present invention may be
changed, modified and further applied by those skilled in the art.
Therefore, this invention is not limited to the detail shown and
described previously, but also includes all such changes and
modifications.
* * * * *
References