U.S. patent application number 14/270227 was filed with the patent office on 2014-08-28 for method and system for appraising a collection of products.
This patent application is currently assigned to Amazon Technologies, Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is Amazon Technologies, Inc.. Invention is credited to Varun Narang, Hilliard B. Siegel.
Application Number | 20140244430 14/270227 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50635737 |
Filed Date | 2014-08-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140244430 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Siegel; Hilliard B. ; et
al. |
August 28, 2014 |
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR APPRAISING A COLLECTION OF PRODUCTS
Abstract
A system and method for a librarian facilitates appraising the
value of all or selected products in a collection of products. The
collection of products may be part of a library that includes one
or more photographic images of the library, and an inventory of the
products revealed in those images. The librarian facilitates
appraising the value of products in the collection with reference
to the images. Appraisals may be automatically updated, and users
notified in accordance with user notification preferences. An
automated referral may be provided to the user to sell all or
selected ones of the appraised inventory of products, individually
or together. An extended appraisal may be provided to facilitate
enhancing the value of a collection in the library.
Inventors: |
Siegel; Hilliard B.;
(Seattle, WA) ; Narang; Varun; (Issaquah,
WA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Amazon Technologies, Inc. |
Reno |
NV |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Amazon Technologies, Inc.
Reno
NV
|
Family ID: |
50635737 |
Appl. No.: |
14/270227 |
Filed: |
May 5, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11097832 |
Mar 31, 2005 |
8725595 |
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14270227 |
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10920149 |
Aug 17, 2004 |
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11097832 |
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10864291 |
Jun 9, 2004 |
8438084 |
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10920149 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/26.7 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0631 20130101;
G06Q 10/087 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/26.7 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/06 20060101
G06Q030/06 |
Claims
1. (canceled)
2. A system comprising: an electronic data store configured to at
least store images of items associated with a user; and a computing
system comprising one or more hardware computing devices, said
computing system in communication with the electronic data store
and configured to at least: identify at least one of the items
associated with the user, wherein the at least one item is
identified at least in part by analyzing visual elements of at
least one of the images stored in the electronic data store;
determine a recommended item for the user based at least in part on
a determination that the recommended item is complementary to the
identified at least one item; and generate a user interface that
provides a selectable option to purchase the recommended item.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the items associated with the
user comprise items owned by the user.
4. The system of claim 2, wherein the items associated with the
user are items in an inventory associated with the user.
5. The system of claim 2, wherein identifying the at least one of
the items associated with the user comprises identifying a product
identifier of a product depicted in an image stored in the
electronic data store.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein the product identifier includes
product identification information that is part of the product and
is visible in the image.
7. The system of claim 2, wherein the recommended item is
determined to be complementary to the identified at least one item
based at least in part on predefined recommendation
information.
8. The system of claim 2, wherein the recommended item is further
determined based at least in part on at least one of a genre or a
category associated with the at least one item.
9. The system of claim 2, wherein the recommended item is further
determined based at least in part on an age group.
10. The system of claim 2, wherein the recommended item is further
determined based at least in part on purchasing history of the
user.
11. The system of claim 2, wherein the recommended item is further
determined based at least in part on a determination that the
recommended item is complementary to a collection of items owned by
the user.
12. A computer-implemented method comprising: as implemented by one
or more computing devices configured with specific executable
instructions, identifying an item depicted in an image, wherein the
item is identified based at least in part by analyzing visual
elements of the image; determining a recommended item based at
least in part on a determination that the recommended item is
complementary to the item identified in the image; and generating a
selectable option to purchase the recommended item.
13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising
identifying a plurality of items that are each depicted in one or
more of a plurality of images, wherein the recommended item is
determined to be complementary to two or more of the plurality of
items.
14. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising
enabling a user to select the image prior to identifying the item
depicted in the image.
15. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the item
depicted in the image comprises a book.
16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the item
is identified based at least in part on at least one of an author
or a title visible in the image.
17. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the item
is identified based at least in part on a heuristic application of
one or more image recognition techniques.
18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, wherein the one or
more image recognition techniques include at least one of text
recognition, optical character recognition or feature
recognition.
19. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the item
is identified based at least in part by comparing the image to a
reference image of a product.
20. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the image
is retrieved from a data store configured to store images
associated with each of a plurality of products in a library
associated with at least one of warehousing, retailing, reading,
reference or lending operations.
21. A computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium storing
computer executable instructions that, when executed by one or more
computing devices, configure the one or more computing devices to
perform operations comprising: identifying an item depicted in an
image, wherein the item is identified based at least in part by
analyzing visual elements of the image; determining a recommended
item based at least in part on a determination that the recommended
item is complementary to the item identified in the image; and
generating a user interface element that facilitates purchase of
the recommended item.
22. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim
21, wherein identifying the item depicted in the image comprises
identifying a product identifier of a product depicted in the
image.
23. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim
22, wherein the product identifier includes product identification
information that is part of the product and is visible in the
image.
24. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim
21, wherein the item is identified based at least in part on a
heuristic application of one or more image recognition
techniques.
25. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim
21, wherein the image is retrieved from an electronic data store
that stores a plurality of images that are each associated with one
of a plurality of items, wherein the plurality of items comprise
items owned by a user or items included in an inventory.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 10/920,149, filed on Aug. 17, 2004 and
entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR A PERSONAL LIBRARIAN, which, in
turn, is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
10/864,291, filed on Jun. 9, 2004 and entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM
FOR INVENTORY VERIFICATION, priority from the filing dates of both
of which is hereby claimed under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.120. The subject
matter of applications numbered Ser. Nos. 10/920,149 and 10/864,291
are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is directed to methods and systems for
appraising a collection of products.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The information age has produced an explosion of media for
people to enjoy, whether a book, a video or audiocassette, a CD, or
DVD, including music, movies, and video games. Keeping track of
which titles a consumer has in their media library can be
challenging.
[0004] Systems to help home and other users catalog books, movies
and other media are known in the art. For example, there are a
number of proprietary database applications that help users create
databases to store and manage information about their collections.
The information may be typed in, or even scanned from a barcode
that is affixed to the product, as is done in large scale inventory
control systems for libraries or retailers. In at least one
application, the information may be obtained from online sources,
such as library or retailer web sites.
[0005] One of the problems with current systems is that they are
typically standalone products that require manual entry of
information about each title in a user's physical library or media
inventory. The database resides on the user's computer, which can
make it difficult to access remotely. The database may also not be
readily transportable by the user. Moreover, the information in the
database is only accurate and up-to-date if the user takes the time
to maintain the database.
[0006] Another problem with known database catalogs is that there
is no direct connection between the information about a particular
title and its current physical location (e.g., in a bookcase(s), CD
tower(s), etc.). In addition, the user's physical library may be
distributed amongst multiple geographic locations (e.g., different
rooms in a home, both at a home and an office, at multiple homes,
etc.). Further, it may be difficult to ascertain the value of the
products in a user's library.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] To address the above-described problems and other
shortcomings in the prior art, the present invention provides a
method for a user to obtain an appraisal of all or selected
products in a collection of products. The products in the
collection may include products depicted in an image from which an
inventory of the products has been generated. Included is a method
for updating the appraisal of the products, periodically or on
demand, and notifying the user about the appraisal in accordance
with the user's notification preferences.
[0008] In one aspect of the invention, an automated referral may be
provided to the user to sell all or selected products in the
appraised collection of products, individually or together. An
appraisal interface may also be provided to, among others,
facilitate the selection of products for which an appraisal is
requested, including by product or by collection, link to the
automated referral to sell the appraised products, indicate a
condition of the products for which the appraisal is requested,
including by product or by collection, display additional products
that may be acquired to increase the appraised value of a
collection, link to an interface to purchase the additional
products, and indicate preferences for the frequency of and
notification about the appraisal.
[0009] In another aspect of the invention, the collection of
products may be inventoried as part of a library to which a user
has access. The library's inventory may include one or more images
of the products as they are stored in the library, and an inventory
of the products revealed in those images. The library may include
any type of product that is typically stored in a manner that
reveals a side of the product or the product packaging that
contains product identification information, such as books or CDs
that are stored vertically or horizontally on a shelf to reveal the
book spine or the title edge of the CD case, or any other type of
product, either packaged or without packaging, which can be
identified and inventoried. Certain embodiments of the invention
may use methods for identifying and maintaining an inventory of
products that are described in commonly assigned co-pending U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 10/864,291, filed on Jun. 9, 2004, and
entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR INVENTORY VERIFICATION, the content
of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages
of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same
become better understood by reference to the following detailed
description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, wherein:
[0011] FIG. 1 is a pictorial diagram showing an exemplary operating
environment for implementing a method and system for appraising
products in a library in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting an arrangement of
certain computing components for implementing an embodiment of a
library appraisal system and method consistent with the operating
environment depicted in FIG. 1;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting an arrangement of
functional components for implementing an embodiment of a library
appraisal system and method consistent with the operating
environment and computing components shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;
[0014] FIGS. 4A-4E are flow diagrams a library appraisal method
formed in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0015] FIG. 5 depicts a browser program with an example Web page
presenting a librarian administrator interface to a user in
accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0016] FIG. 6 depicts a browser program with an example Web page
presenting a librarian create/update interface to a user in
accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0017] FIG. 7 depicts a browser program with an example Web page
presenting a librarian viewer interface to a user in accordance
with an embodiment of the invention;
[0018] FIG. 8 depicts a browser program with an example Web page
presenting a librarian inventory interface to a user in accordance
with an embodiment of the invention;
[0019] FIG. 9 depicts a browser program with an example Web page
presenting a librarian viewer interface to a user in accordance
with an embodiment of the invention illustrating an updated
inventory from FIG. 8;
[0020] FIG. 10 depicts a browser program with an example Web page
presenting a librarian locator interface to a user in accordance
with an embodiment of the invention;
[0021] FIG. 11 depicts a browser program with an example Web page
presenting a user interface to a user to send a library to another
user in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0022] FIG. 12 depicts a browser program with an example Web page
presenting a librarian adviser interface to a user in accordance
with an embodiment of the invention;
[0023] FIGS. 13A-13C depict a browser program with example Web
pages presenting a librarian appraisal interface to a user in
accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0024] FIG. 14 depicts a browser program with an example Web page
presenting a librarian acquisition interface to a user in
accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and
[0025] FIG. 15 depicts a browser program with an example Web page
presenting a librarian organizer interface to a user in accordance
with an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0026] FIG. 1 illustrates one environment for implementing an
embodiment of the present invention. The environment shown includes
a librarian system 100 with database and librarian servers that use
images of products stored in a library to facilitate the
maintenance of the library. The environment also includes various
electronic user devices, such as a computer system 102 and a PDA
104 that individuals can use to communicate with the librarian
system 100. In the environment shown in FIG. 1, the user devices
102, 104 communicate with the librarian system 100 via one or more
computer networks, such as the Internet 106. Protocols and
components for communicating via the Internet are well known to
those of ordinary skill in the art of computer network
communications. Communication between user devices 102, 104 and the
librarian system 100 may also be enabled by local wired or wireless
computer network connections.
[0027] The librarian system 100 depicted in FIG. 1 operates in a
distributed computing environment comprising several computer
systems that are interconnected via communication links, e.g.,
using one or more computer networks or direct connections. However,
it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that
the system 100 could equally operate in a computer system having
fewer or greater number of components than are illustrated in FIG.
1. Thus, the depiction of the librarian system 100 in FIG. 1 should
be taken as exemplary, and not limiting to the scope of the
invention.
[0028] The librarian system 100, as illustrated, includes a
librarian server 108, a database server 110, and a back-end
interface 112. Each of the servers 108 and 110 are described below
in more detail. The back-end interface 112 allows an operator of
the librarian system 100 to monitor and adjust the operation of the
servers 108 and 110 as needed.
[0029] In brief, the librarian server 108 is generally responsible
for providing front-end user communication with various user
devices, such as devices 102 and 104. The front-end communication
provided by the librarian server 108 may include generating user
interfaces comprising text and/or graphics, possibly organized as a
Web page using hypertext transfer protocols, for communicating
images and information about the users' home libraries to and from
the various user devices 102, 104.
[0030] In one suitable implementation, the librarian server 108
enables a user to upload images of products stored in a library to
the database server 110. The library may comprise products stored
for warehousing, retailing, reading, reference, lending, or any
other purpose, and may even comprise products that are stored in
separate physical locations, such as separate buildings, rooms, or
shelves. From the images the librarian server 108 generates an
inventory of the products depicted in the images, stores the images
and inventory on the database server 110, and enables the user to
view the images and inventory in an easy to use graphical user
interface. In a typical embodiment, the inventory is generated as
described in commonly assigned co-pending U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 10/864,291, which was previously incorporated herein by
reference. Through the interface, the user is given an opportunity
to verify that the inventory accurately reflects the products
stored in the library, as well as to view and locate products in
the library online. In one embodiment, the images may be obtained
from digital images of products stored in the library, e.g., on the
bookshelves. The digital images may be actively uploaded on demand
or passively uploaded at predetermined times directly to the
librarian server 108. The uploaded images may be optionally stored
in a database maintained by the database server 110.
[0031] In one embodiment, the inventory database stored in database
server 110 includes information about various stored products,
including (but not limited to) books, audiobooks (cassettes or
CDs), music CDs, DVDs, or any other type of product that is capable
of being stored in a library such that the product identification
information is revealed on one or more sides of the product when
captured in a photographic image of the stored product, and from
which a visual identification of the product may be readily made.
Typically, the product identification information includes any
human-comprehensible text or other features that appear on a
visible part of a product, such as a book spine, or the edge of a
CD case, and that help to identify the product without machine
intervention. For example the product identification information
might include such information as the title, author, or performer,
or a logo associated with an author or performer. In one
embodiment, the inventory information included in the inventory
database may be obtained directly from the product identification
information revealed on the product as captured in the
above-described photographic images using various text and feature
recognition techniques. In one embodiment, the inventory
information includes information that indicates a relative or
absolute location of the product, or a combination of both. The
relative location may be the location of a product as compared to
other products captured in the image. The absolute location may be
identified in a visible label affixed to the bookshelf or media
storage unit depicted in the image. In some cases, the location may
be represented by a filename associated with the image in which the
product is depicted.
[0032] Alternatively, or in addition, the inventory information may
be manually input by a user into the librarian server 108 by
reading and entering the information in conjunction with an upload
or display of the image of the stored product. For example, the
location of products captured in the image may be the location of
the bookshelf in a user's home as the user indicated when actively
uploading the image using their digital camera, such as the living
room, or den. As another example, the location of products captured
in the image may the location of a bin in a warehouse, as
automatically captured during a passive uploading of the image of
the contents of the bin using an embedded camera. Regardless of how
the information is obtained, whether actively or passively, or
whether from the image itself or from information supplied with the
image, or a combination of both, the inventory information may
include various attributes that describe and identify the
inventoried products, including (but not limited to) title,
author/performer, publisher, and storage location. The inventory
database may further include an index that enables the librarian
server 108 to organize and present the inventoried products and
corresponding images to a user according to one or more of these
attributes. In a typical embodiment, the inventory information is
generated or obtained as described in commonly assigned co-pending
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/864,291, which was previously
incorporated herein by reference.
[0033] The librarian server 108 further provides back-end inventory
services in cooperation with the database server 110, including
generating inventory transactions to update the information and
attributes contained in the inventory database. The database server
110, as will be further described below, maintains the databases
from which the librarian server 108 generates the user interfaces,
including the above-described image and inventory databases.
[0034] FIG. 2 illustrates certain exemplary computing components
that are responsible for the operation of the librarian system 100
shown in FIG. 1. The database server 110 includes a master library
images database 208, a current library images database 210, a
history database 212, and a searchable library inventory database
214. The master library images database 208 contains images that
capture the stored products at a certain point in time and from
which the inventory information has already been verified using the
services of the librarian server 108. The current library images
210 contain new images of some or all of the same locations
captured in the master images 208 of the library, but at a later
point in time.
[0035] The history database 212 contains historical data relating
to the purchasing history and behavior of the owner of the library.
The historical data are used to complement the recognition of
stored products when the images of the products are not of
sufficient quality to recognize the products that they depict.
Lastly, the inventory database 214 contains the product
identification and storage location information that make up the
inventory of the library. In one embodiment, the inventory database
214 contains product appraisal information associated with the
inventory of the library, if any, including appraisals of
individual products and appraisals of all or a subset of products
taken together as a whole, i.e., a collection of products.
[0036] In one embodiment, the database server 110 is configured to
receive instructions from the librarian server 108 and return
images from the image databases 208, 210, as well as information
from the inventory database 214. The images and inventory
information enable the librarian server 108 to display to the user
in an integrated manner the presence, location, and identification
of books, CDs, and other products stored in the library for
purposes of taking and verifying an inventory, determining whether
a product is in inventory, and where it is located. For example,
the librarian server 108 may display to the user an image of a bin
or bookshelf superimposed with a graphic that points to the
location of a product that is already present in the library. Since
the latest available image of the product may be out-of-date, the
graphic may point to the location where the product was when last
captured in an image.
[0037] In the illustrated embodiment, the librarian server 108 and
database server 110 are shown including an operating system 202B
and 202A, respectively, that provide executable program
instructions for the general administration and operation of the
servers 108, 110. Suitable implementations for the operating
systems 202B and 202A are known or commercially available, and are
readily implemented by persons having ordinary skill in the art,
particularly in light of the disclosure herein. Those of ordinary
skill in the art will recognize that the librarian server 108 and
database server 110 will also typically employ a memory 204B and
204A, respectively, and processor 206B and 206A in which program
instructions are stored and executed for operation of the servers.
The librarian server 108 further includes computer program
instructions for implementing a librarian 300 that operates in
cooperation with the database server 110 to facilitate the
maintenance of a library. Likewise, the database server 110 further
includes executable program instructions for maintaining and
updating the databases 208, 210, 212, and 214, and responding to
requests received from the librarian server 108.
[0038] For the sake of convenience, much of the description herein
is provided in the context of maintaining an inventory of books in
a library, but it should be well understood that the description
herein is also applicable to facilitating the maintenance of an
inventory of CD and DVD products, as well as other media and
non-media products that can be stored in various commercial or
private environments, such as a warehouse, a retail store, a
lending library, public or private, or a user's home. References
herein to specific types of products, such as books, audiobooks,
etc., are only illustrative and do not serve to limit the general
application of the invention.
[0039] FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting an arrangement of
certain exemplary functional computing components for implementing
the librarian 300, as shown and described in the illustrated
embodiment with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The librarian 300
includes, among others, a process for a user interface 302 to
generate a user-friendly graphical user interface for use when
maintaining a library, as will be described in further detail with
reference to FIGS. 5-15.
[0040] In one embodiment, the librarian 300 further includes an
administrator 304 that is responsible for administrative functions
310 such as library creation, inventory taking, library update, and
sharing the library with others via email or other communications
medium. The librarian 300 may further include a viewer/locator 306
process that is responsible for functions 312 of generating and
displaying a view of the library images and inventory to a user in
response to a request from a user to view, verify, change, or
otherwise use the inventory information derived from the images,
and to locate particular items of inventory by searching for search
terms that may appear in the inventory information associated with
an item in the library. In one embodiment, the function 312 of
generating and displaying a view of the library to the user in
response to the user's request includes a function 312 that will
serve to restrict searching the library to a particular collection
of the library. A collection is an arbitrary grouping of one or
more items of inventory in the library as defined by the user.
[0041] The librarian 300 may further include an adviser process 308
that is responsible for performing functions 314 such as appraisals
of all or selected products in a collection of products stored in a
library, making acquisition recommendations based on the inventory
of the library to enhance the library in some manner, including
increasing an appraised value of a collection of products in the
library, and further making organization recommendations, also
based on the inventory of the library as well as any current
organization, e.g., the user's collection designations, where a
collection is defined as an arbitrary grouping of one or more items
of inventory in the library.
[0042] FIGS. 4A-4E are flow diagrams describing one embodiment of a
librarian process 400 that enables an implementation of a librarian
system 100, as illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. Beginning with reference
to FIG. 4A, at process block 402, the librarian process 400
displays a librarian user interface, examples of which are
illustrated in detail below with reference to FIGS. 5-15, each of
which illustrate a browser program 500 displaying Web pages in
which a user is able to interface with the librarian 300 in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The Web
pages may be generated by the librarian server 108 and delivered to
the user's computing device 102, 104 via the Internet 106.
[0043] With reference to FIG. 4A and FIG. 5, the process 400
initially displays, at process block 402, an administrator Web page
502 in which a user is able to select an existing library or to
create a new library. In the illustrated example in FIG. 5, the
administrator Web page 502 includes a title "The Librarian" and a
subtitle "Administrator" at reference numerals 504 and 506,
respectively, to identify the page function, along with two
options, "Select a Library," at reference numeral 508, and "Enter
New Library Name," at reference numeral 514. For the "Select a
Library" option 508, the user is prompted to enter an existing
library name at reference numeral 510, in this case by pulling down
the list of existing library names at reference numeral 511, and
selecting the desired name, here "John's Library." For the "Enter
New Library Name" option 514, the user is prompted to enter a new
library name at reference numeral 516 in text box 517, here "Mary's
Library." Once the name has been supplied, the user is prompted to
enter "GO" in command buttons at reference numerals 512, 518,
respectively, to branch to the next Web page, illustrated in FIG.
6.
[0044] Continuing now with the description in FIG. 4A, at process
block 404, the librarian process 400 uploads images of a library
into the current library images database 210 to be stored on the
database server 110 using the example Web page interface
illustrated in FIG. 6. The Web page interface includes a create Web
page 602, identified here with the title "Create or Update A
Library" at reference numeral 604, to receive user input for
creating or updating a library, beginning with the prompt "Enter
new or existing library name" and accompanying text box 606, in
this example "Mary's Library." At reference numeral 608, the user
is further prompted to "Supply new/updated images" with multiple
input areas 610A-C, and 612A-C, in which to enter the image
filename and, optionally, a collection name that the user wishes to
use to identify the subset of books, CDs, etc. that that comprise a
collection, and happen to be stored on the particular bookshelf or
other storage unit depicted in the image stored in the file
designated by the corresponding filename. In the illustrated
example in FIG. 6, the user has entered the filename "Shelf1.jpg"
at reference numeral 610A and a collection name of "Mysteries" at
reference numeral 612A, the filename "Shelf2.jpg" at reference
numeral 610B and a collection name of "Kids" at reference numeral
612B, and the filename "CDSHELF.jpg" at reference numeral 610C and
a collection name of "Music" at reference numeral 612C. Greater or
fewer filenames and corresponding collection names may be entered,
depending on how many images the user wishes to upload. Although
the image filenames in the illustrated example are all files of
type ".jpg" indicating a JPEG type of image file, other kinds of
image file formats may be used, e.g., TIFF, BMP, etc.
[0045] Once the filenames of the images have been supplied along
with any of the optional collection names, the user is further
prompted to upload the images into his or her library, the name of
which was input at reference numeral 606, at command button labeled
"UPLOAD IMAGES" at reference numeral 614. Activating the command
button "UPLOAD IMAGES" at reference numeral 614 will cause the
librarian process 400 to begin the process of uploading the images
to a new or existing library in the current library images database
210 as explained in further detail below.
[0046] Continuing now with the description in FIG. 4A, at process
block 406, the librarian process 400 generates inventory to be
stored in the library inventory database 214 for the library named
in text box 606 in FIG. 6. The generation of the inventory is based
primarily on the identification information revealed in the images
that were uploaded to the current library images database 210 at
process block 404. In a typical embodiment, the inventory is
generated as described in commonly assigned co-pending U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 10/864,291, which was previously incorporated
herein by reference. For example, in one embodiment, the product
identification information may include various distinguishing
attributes of the product or the product's packaging. The
attributes may include text, e.g., author, performer, title,
publisher, ISBN number, etc., graphics, e.g. cover artwork, logo,
typeface, etc., and/or physical characteristics, e.g., product
dimensions, shape, color, reflectivity, etc., with or without
packaging, however the product is stored. Generating the inventory
from the product identification information may include recognizing
the product identification through the heuristic application of one
or more recognition techniques to the image in an effort to resolve
ambiguities and improve the reliability of the recognition without
having to resort to manual efforts to determine what products are
stored on a particular shelf or location. The recognition
techniques include the application of text recognition or other
optical character or feature recognition techniques to the
attributes contained in the product identification information,
e.g., the product's text, graphics, and/or other physical
characteristics.
[0047] In one embodiment, since the image or images of the library
may include more than one product stored in a particular location,
in one embodiment recognizing the product identification may employ
various pattern recognition techniques known in the art, such as
edge detection, to first isolate a portion of the photographic
image before attempting to recognize the product identification,
where the isolated portion of the image is of a single product
stored in the location. In addition, the method for recognizing the
product identification may rotate the image in different
orientations prior to the application of the recognition technique
so as to maximize the chances of recognizing products stored in
different orientations, e.g., horizontal, vertical, or somewhere in
between.
[0048] In one embodiment, recognition of the product identification
may be achieved through comparison to a reference image of the
product. This is particularly useful when the received photographic
image, or isolated portion of the image, carries insufficient
detail for proper recognition or is otherwise deficient, such as
when the storage location is in partial shadow, improperly lighted,
or where the stored products are worn or used such that the
appearance of the distinguishing attributes comprising the
product's identification information has deteriorated. The
reference image typically includes a complete reference
identification of a product, such as an image of a book spine
complete with title and author, and in some cases may be obtained
from a photographic image or digital scan of the product carried
out especially for that purpose when the item is initially unboxed
and added to inventory. The reference image may be further inferred
from an image of the product that includes that portion of the
image that is to be used as the reference image, such as when the
reference image is an image of the spine of a book that has been
inferred from one or more images of the book's front and back
covers.
[0049] In one embodiment, recognizing the product identification
revealed on one or more sides of the product as captured in the
photographic image may rely on a previous recognition of that
product, i.e., the method is self-learning. For example, the
reference image may be obtained from previously-received
photographic images of the product from which accurate recognition
was achieved. Comparison to such a reference image may increase the
reliability of recognition when receiving subsequent photographic
images that include the product in question.
[0050] In one embodiment, should the identification information
revealed in the images be inadequate to fully recognize the
identity of the books, CDs, etc. depicted in the images, the
librarian process 400 consults historical data obtained from the
history database 212 to determine whether there exists any
information associated with the user that provides a hint as to the
identity of the books, CDs, etc. depicted in the image. The
historical data may be any data gathered about the user with
respect to the contents of his or her library. For example, the
historical data may provide information as to the identity of books
and CDs that the user has purchased in the past, or the genres that
the user is most likely to have in their library.
[0051] After exhausting attempts to recognize products directly
from the uploaded photographic image, either alone or in
combination with a reference image or a hint present in the
historical data, recognition may be achieved through display of the
image of the home library to the user and prompting him or her to
resolve any remaining ambiguities in recognizing the identification
of the product by entering the product identification information,
such as author, title, etc., as necessary. The entered product
identification information is associated with the uploaded
photographic image of the product, thereby further increasing the
chances of accurate recognition when receiving subsequent uploaded
photographic images that include the product in question.
[0052] Continuing now with the description in FIG. 4A, at process
block 408, the librarian process 400 updates the master library
images database 208 with the current library images 210. Any
previous images of the library may be archived or discarded. At
process block 410, the librarian process 400 generates a view of
the library, the view comprising a display of the images of the
library as stored on the master library images database 208, in
conjunction with the list of the inventory depicted in the image as
stored on the library inventory database 214. An example of the
view generated by the librarian process 400 at process block 410 is
illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 9, with FIG. 7 illustrating a view of
the "Kids" collection in "Mary's Library" before any corrections to
the inventory data as described in FIG. 8 (and process block 412 in
FIG. 4B, below), and FIG. 9 illustrating the same view after
corrections. Specifically, FIGS. 7 and 9 illustrate an example Web
page interface for a library viewer, including a viewer Web page at
reference numerals 702, 902, identified here with the title "View
My Library" at reference numeral 704, 904. The viewer Web page 702,
902 further includes a prompt to enter the library name in the
accompanying text box 706, 906, in this example "Mary's Library."
At reference numeral 708, 908, is a command button labeled "GO,"
which, when activated, will cause the librarian process 400 to
display an image associated with Mary's Library, as well as the
inventory information corresponding to the image. In the
illustrated example, at reference numeral 710, 910, the user is
further prompted to select from a drop-down box at reference
numeral 712, 912, the name of the collection in "Mary's Library"
that the user would like to view, in this example the "Kids"
collection. After the selection has been made, the image from the
master library images database 208 associated with the "Kids"
collection of "Mary's Library" is displayed at reference numeral
720, 920. Alongside the display of the image, the librarian process
400 further displays the corresponding inventory information as
obtained from the library inventory database 214, here entitled
"Titles-Top to Bottom and Left to Right" at reference numeral 714,
914, followed by the inventory information identifying the titles
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" at reference numeral 716A,
916A "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" at reference numeral
716B, 916B "Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix" [sic], at
reference numeral 716C (corrected at reference numeral 916C), and
"Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams," at reference numeral
716D, 916D.
[0053] Returning now to FIG. 4B, the librarian process 400
continues at process block 412 to update, correct, and reorganize
the inventory in response to user input to the viewer interface
generated at process block 410. In the illustrated viewer interface
in FIG. 7, the user has selected the third Harry Potter title at
reference numeral 716C, "Harry Potter and the Order of the
Pheonix," [sic] to correct the error in the spelling of Phoenix, as
further described below. As shown in the illustrated example, when
the user selects a particular title, the images appearing at
reference numerals 720, 920 are overlaid with a graphic 718, 918
that calls attention to the location in the image of the selected
title as described in further detail with reference to process
block 416 in FIG. 4B. In this example, the graphic 718, 918 is an
arrow that contains the title of the selection, and whose endpoint
clearly points to the selected title.
[0054] Continuing now with process block 412, once a particular
title in the library has been selected, the user may navigate to a
detailed inventory interface as illustrated in FIG. 8. FIG. 8
illustrates an example Web page interface for a library inventory
at reference numeral 802, identified here with the title "Librarian
Inventory Detail," at reference numeral 804, followed by
identification information obtained form the library inventory
database 214, here including the title at reference numeral 806A,
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the author at
reference numeral 806B, "J. K. Rowling," the location at reference
numeral 806C, "Kids Collection, second shelf, first book on the
left," the book type at reference numeral 806D, "Hardbound," and
the date of the last update at reference numeral 806E, "Jun. 1,
2004." The user is prompted to "Please enter corrections to
inventory data above," at reference numeral 810, and is further
provided with a command button at reference numeral 808 that is
labeled "ENTER/UPDATE." Activating the command button 808 causes
the librarian process 400 to update the library inventory database
214 with the edited input as it appears on the Web page inventory
interface 802. In this example, the user has re-entered the title
to correct the spelling of "Phoenix." The user may also choose to
reorganize the contents of their library by updating the location
and collection designations associated with the title. Reorganizing
the contents of the library is discussed in further detail with
reference to process block 434 in FIG. 4D and FIG. 15 below.
[0055] Returning now to FIG. 4B, the librarian process 400
continues at process block 414 to search for locate particular
products, e.g., particular titles, in the library in response to
the entry by the user of a search term, and at process block 416,
to display a located product with the image depicting the product,
a graphic overlaid on the image, and/or a textual description of
the location of the product in the library. In the illustrated
locator interface 1002 illustrated in FIG. 10, the user has
selected the library named "Mary's Library" at reference numeral
1004 in which to search for products containing the search term
"SUSPICIOUS" as entered in text box 1006, to locate the Nora
Roberts mystery entitled "Suspicious." When the user activates the
command button labeled "LOCATE" appearing at reference numeral
1008, the librarian process 400 commences a text search of the
inventory information contained in the library inventory database
214 for "Mary's Library," to determine whether there are any items
in inventory containing the search term "SUSPICIOUS." In one
embodiment, the librarian 400 restricts the text search of the
inventory information to a particular subset of the inventory, such
as a particular subset of the inventory belonging to a collection,
e.g., the "Mystery" collection. The particular subset within which
to restrict the search includes subsets identified as collections
as specified by a user before or during the uploading of an image
to a library. The particular subset within which to restrict the
search may also include subsets identified as collections during an
update or reorganization of the identified as collections during an
update or reorganization of the library. In the illustrated
example, the title "SUSPICIOUS" is found in the "Mystery"
collection in "Mary's Library." The library. In the illustrated
example, the title "SUSPICIOUS" is found in the "Mystery"
collection in "Mary's Library." The librarian process 400 displays
the corresponding image at reference numeral 1018 of the bookshelf
entitled the Mystery collection at reference numeral 1012, and
superimposes a graphic in the form of a location arrow at reference
numeral 1016 to point out the location of the title on the
bookshelf (or, at least, the location of the book at the time that
the image was taken). To the left of the image is displayed a list
of inventory captured in the image, the list captioned "Titles-Left
to Right" at reference numeral 1010 to indicate that the list
corresponds to the appearance of the titles on the bookshelf in
order from left to right. The caption 1010 is followed by the
inventory information obtained from the library inventory database
214, here listed as "A Sight for Sore Eyes by Ruth Rendell" at
reference numeral 1014A, "Hidden Riches by Nora Roberts" at
reference numeral 1014B, "Suspicious by Nora Roberts" at reference
numeral 1014C, "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander
McCall Smith" at reference numeral 1014D, "Morality for Beautiful
Girls by Alexander McCall Smith" at reference numeral 1014E, "Tears
of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith" at reference numeral
1014F, "The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall
Smith" at reference numeral 1014G, and "Heavenly Date: And Other
Flirtations by Alexander McCall Smith," at reference numeral 1014H.
In addition to calling out the location of the title in the image
with the location arrow at reference numeral 1016, the librarian
process 400 may also highlight the listing of the inventory
information associated with the located title as illustrated in the
highlighting appearing around the listing of "Suspicious by Nora
Roberts," at reference numeral 1014C. In one embodiment, the
location of the title is also described in text, as illustrated in
the example text "SUSPICIOUS is located on Mystery shelf, 3rd book
from the left," appearing at reference numeral 1020, below the
image 1018.
[0056] Returning now to FIG. 4B, the librarian process 400
continues at process block 418, to allow the user to send the
library to another user upon request. As illustrated in FIG. 4B,
the process of sending the library to another user includes
generating a library object at reference numeral 420, where the
library object is a file that contains the image or images that
comprise the library, as well as the inventory information derived
from those images, and possibly corrected, changed, and/or added
during user interaction with the librarian 300. The library object
420 is typically in a file format that allows the object to be
attached to an electronic mail message for sending to another user
via the Internet 106, e.g., attached to a message "Here's my
bookshelf!" The user receiving the library object 420 may open it
to browse the sender's library using the view interface of the
library as described with reference to process block 410 in FIG.
4A, and as illustrated with reference to FIGS. 7 and 9. In one
embodiment, the library object 420 is self-executing so that it may
operate on any number of client devices 102 even though the device
has no access to the library and database servers 108, 110.
[0057] In the illustrated send interface 1102 in FIG. 11, entitled
"Send My Library to Others" at reference numeral 1104, the user has
entered the library named "Mary's Library" in a text box at
reference numeral 1106, and optionally a collection within the
library, here entered in a text box at reference numeral 1110 as
the "Kids" collection. The user is further prompted to enter in a
text box appearing in reference numeral 1112, a recipient email
address of the other user to whom the library is to be sent, in
this example entered as "jane@doe.com." The librarian process 400
further provides a command button at reference numeral 1108 labeled
"SEND," which, when activated, will cause the process 400 to
prepare to send the library to the other user. In one embodiment,
sending the library may include packaging the specified library, or
collection from the library, into an object that comprises the
image or images and inventory associated with the images, where the
object is capable of transport to another user on another computer,
in this case to the email addressee "jane@doe.com." In an alternate
embodiment, the "SEND" button will cause the process 400 to
generate or obtain a pointer to the specified library, or
collection from the library, and to send or otherwise notify the
other user that the pointer may be used to access the library. It
should be understood that the example in FIG. 11 is provided for
the sake of illustration only. Other means of communication besides
electronic mail, objects, and pointers may be used to provide
access to a library to another user.
[0058] Referring now to FIG. 4C, the librarian process 400
continues at process block 422, to display an adviser user
interface to the user in response to a request for advice from the
librarian 300 regarding a particular library. In the illustrated
adviser interface in FIG. 12 at reference numeral 1202, entitled
"Advise Me About My Library" at reference numeral 1204, the user
has entered the name of the library "Mary's Library" at reference
numeral 1206 for which the user is seeking advice. The user is
optionally prompted to select the name of a particular collection
at reference numeral 1210 within the library for which advice is
sought using a drop-down box at reference numeral 1212, here
selecting the "Kids" collection. The librarian process 400 further
prompts the user to specify at reference numeral 1214 "Please check
type of advice," what type of advice he or she is seeking, below
which appears selection options for the type of advice. In this
example, the selection options provided include an appraisal of the
library at reference numeral 1216, acquisition recommendations at
reference numeral 1218, and organization advice at reference
numeral 1220. The librarian process 400 provides the user with a
command button at reference numeral 1208 labeled "ADVISE," that may
be activated by the user to cause the librarian process 400 to, in
turn, cause the Web browser program 500 to display the selected
interface for the type of advice that is being sought, for the
specified library and collection. The librarian process 400 further
prompts the user with the text at reference numeral 1222 "Please
specify notification preferences," to specify his or her
preferences when generating the selected advice, below which
appears preference options to use when generating the selected
advice. In this example, the preference options provided include
options for specifying preferences related to the frequency 1224 of
generating the advice, here shown as "WEEKLY," and/or communication
method 1226 for notifying the user about the advice, here shown as
"EMAIL." Other preference options related to frequency may include,
without limitation, daily, bi-weekly, monthly, etc. or on demand.
Other preference options related to the communication method may
include, without limitation, voicemail, instant message, text
message, etc. The preference options that are provided may differ
from that shown in FIG. 12, depending on the type of advice that
has been selected.
[0059] Returning now to FIG. 4C, when the user has requested advice
regarding an appraisal of their library at process block 424, the
librarian process 400 computes or otherwise obtains an appraisal of
the inventory associated with the designated library as stored in
the library inventory database 214, and, optionally, confines the
appraisal to a collection of products in the library if so
designated by the user in the adviser interface described above
with reference to FIG. 12. The process 400 further continues at
decision block 426 to determine whether user wishes to sell their
library, and, if so, branches to process block 428, where the user
can link to a seller interface to arrange to sell the contents of
their library online.
[0060] Referring now to FIG. 4E, as an example of the appraisal
process, at process block 442, the librarian process 400 causes the
Web program 500 to display an appraisal interface in response to
the user's request, as illustrated in FIGS. 13A-13C. With reference
to FIG. 13A at reference numeral 1302, entitled "LIBRARY
APPRAISAL," at reference numeral 1304. The librarian process 400
continues at process block 444 to obtain the name of the library,
collection, or product for which an appraisal has been requested,
as the case may be. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, the name of
the library, "Mary's Library," for which an appraisal is requested
appears in a text box at reference numeral 1306 along with the name
of the collection at reference numeral 1310, here selected as the
"Kids" collection as appears in drop-down box at reference numeral
1312. In one embodiment, an appraisal may be requested for a
particular product in the library by library by selecting, for
example, the particular title similar to the title selection shown
in FIG. 10.
[0061] The librarian process 400 continues at process block 446 to
determine the condition of the product or products, e.g., the title
or collection, for which an appraisal is requested, as needed. For
example, as shown in FIG. 13, the user is prompted at reference
numeral 1310 to enter or select a description of the overall
condition of the collection, e.g., whether the condition is fair,
poor, good, missing dust covers, missing liner notes, etc. In the
illustrated example, the overall condition of the selected "Kids"
collection is specified as "GOOD," as appears in drop-down box at
reference numeral 1310. It is understood, however, that the
condition of a product may not always be relevant to the
computation of a particular appraisal. For example, when the
product is a compact disk (CD), the medium is generally very
durable, and will not deteriorate to any great degree over a period
of time, unless the wear is excessive. Accordingly, at process
block 446, in one embodiment the librarian process 400 instead
determines an expected condition of the product based on the age of
the product, and without further reference to the actual condition
of the product, whether or not that information has been indicated
by the user. In some cases, the condition of the product may be
determined from the absence or presence of any parts of the
product, e.g. a book's dust cover, a CD's liner notes, etc., as
indicated by the user in the description of the condition of the
product at reference numeral 1310.
[0062] The librarian process 400 continues at process block 448, by
providing the user with a command button 1308 labeled "APPRAISE,"
which may be activated by the user to cause the librarian process
400 to compute an appraisal for the product, collection and/or
library already specified prior to navigating to the appraisal
interface, or to compute or otherwise obtain an appraisal for a
newly specified product, collection and/or library. The librarian
process 400 may compute or otherwise obtain appraisals in various
ways, including prompting the user to self-assess the condition of
each product in a collection, and consulting a resale value
database (not shown) to obtain resale values for a product in the
assessed condition. Other ways of computing and/or otherwise
obtaining the appraisal for the specified product, collection
and/or library may include, as previously described, determining an
expected condition of the product based on the age of the product,
and consulting a resale value database (not shown) to obtain resale
values for the product in the described condition.
[0063] Once computed, the resale values comprising the appraisal
may be listed for individual products in the library, a collection
of products, or for the entire library. Returning again to FIGS.
4C, 4D, and FIG. 13A, the librarian process 400 notifies the user
about the appraisal as requested, at process block 450, and returns
the computed appraisal to the adviser user interface at process
block 452. The librarian process 400, in turn, at process block
424, displays the appraisal of the collection (or library) in the
form of text appearing at reference numeral 1314, in this example
"In good condition, your KIDS collection is valued at approximately
$32.50 if sold together as a collection." Along with the textual
appraisal, the library appraisal interface 1304 typically includes
a detailed appraisal of each product in the inventory associated
with the library and/or collection. For example, at reference
numeral 1316, the text "For a detailed appraisal of an individual
book, please click on any of the titles below:" appears above a
list of the individual products in the KIDS collection, here
including the books entitled "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's
Stone," at reference numeral 1318A, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of
Fire", at reference numeral 1318B, "Harry Potter and the Order of
the Phoenix," at reference numeral 1318C, and "Fantastic Beasts
& Where to find Them," at reference numeral 1318D. The detailed
appraisal may appear as described with reference to FIG. 13B. In
another embodiment, the appraisal for the collection (or library)
and/or detailed appraisal may be displayed with the image of the
corresponding product(s). In addition or in the alternative, the
appraisal may be displayed with the corresponding inventory
information for the product(s).
[0064] Continuing with reference to FIG. 13A, the library appraisal
interface 1304 may include a display entitled "CURRENT RESALE VALUE
KIDS COLLECTION," at reference numeral 1320, beneath which is
displayed the appraised value of the collection, here "$32.50," at
reference numeral 1322. As shown, the library appraisal interface
1304 may further includes a command button labeled "SELL COLLECTION
NOW!" at reference numeral 1324, so that the user can navigate to
an interface that will assist the user in placing the collection up
for sale. In FIG. 13B, the resale values comprising the appraisal
may be also be displayed individually, i.e., the detailed
appraisal, to provide the user with a more comprehensive appraisal
of their library.
[0065] Returning again to FIGS. 4C, 4D, and also to FIG. 13B, the
librarian process 400, at process block 424, displays a detailed
appraisal interface at reference numeral 1326, here for products
contained in "MARY'S LIBRARY>KIDS COLLECTION>" as identified
at reference numeral 1328. As shown, the detailed appraisal of the
products may be displayed in the form of a tabulated list with a
column entitled "TITLE," at reference numeral 1330, below which is
listed the titles or other identifying information of each product
for which a detailed appraisal is displayed, a column entitled
"CONDITION," at reference numeral 1332, below which is provided a
pull-down list of choices for describing the condition of the
product, such as good, fair, or poor, and a column entitled
"APPRAISAL," at reference numeral 1334, below which is provided the
detailed appraised value of the product in the collection. As shown
in the illustrated example, the detailed appraisal of products in
the KIDS COLLECTION of MARY'S LIBRARY includes the titles "Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," in GOOD condition, valued at
$5.95 at reference numeral 1338A, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of
Fire," in FAIR condition, valued at $4.95 at reference numeral
1338B, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," in POOR
condition, valued at $2.95 at reference numeral 1338C, and
"Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them," in GOOD condition,
valued at $7.95 at reference numeral 1338D.
[0066] Continuing with reference to FIG. 13B, the detailed library
appraisal interface 1326 further includes command buttons labeled
"SELL" at reference numeral 1336 to sell each individual title
shown at reference numerals 1338A, 1338B, 1338C, and 1338D,
respectively, and a command button labeled "SELL ALL" to aggregate
the sale of all of the selected titles, e.g., an entire inventory
of titles associated with a selected collection or library, at
reference numeral 1344. As shown in the illustrated example, the
text "TOTAL APPRAISED VALUE IF SOLD INDIVIDUALLY," at reference
numeral 1340 is displayed together with the value "$21.80," at
reference numeral 1342 to indicate to the user the total value of
selling each of the listed titles individually at their detail
appraised values. The total value may or may not be the same as
selling all of the products together as a collection, i.e., the
collection as a whole may be worth more or less than the individual
products comprising the collection. In one embodiment, the
librarian process 400 may provide the user with additional
information related to the appraised value. For example, text such
as "FOR VALUABLE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO INCREASE THE VALUE OF
YOUR COLLECTION, CLICK HERE!" at reference numeral 1346 may be
displayed to alert the user to information that may help them
increase the value of their collection. In the illustrated example,
clicking on the text will transfer the user to another interface,
such as the extended appraisal interface described with reference
to FIG. 13C below.
[0067] Continuing with reference to FIG. 13B, when the sell links
are activated by the user, the librarian process 400 transfers the
user to another Web page (not illustrated) containing a seller
interface in which the user may arrange to sell the contents of
their library by listing their books for sale on a merchant web
site. In a typical embodiment, the librarian process 400
pre-populates the various data fields used to present the titles
for sale on the merchant web site wherever possible to facilitate
the sale.
[0068] Referring now to FIG. 4E, as an example of an extended
appraisal process, at process block 442, the librarian process 400
causes the Web program 500 to display an extended appraisal
interface in response to the user's request, e.g., when the user
clicks on the additional information link at reference numeral 1346
in FIG. 13B. For example, the librarian process 400 at process
block 448 may have computed an extended appraisal, such as
identifying one or more additional products that a user may add to
a collection in a library to enhance the summary appraised value of
the collection. Alternatively, or in addition to a monetary value,
the librarian process 400 at process block 448 may have computed an
extended appraisal that includes such non-monetary information as a
relative scarcity of a particular product, e.g., rare vs. common,
or such information as whether the collection is or is not
complete, e.g., adding a third and final book in a series would
complete a collection of books in a series. Once computed, the
extended appraisal may be displayed as shown in the illustrated
example in FIG. 13C, in which the librarian process 400 displays an
extended appraisal interface at reference numeral 1348, here for
products contained in "MARY'S LIBRARY>KIDS COLLECTION>MORE
INFO>" as identified at reference numeral 1355. As in FIG. 13A,
the librarian process 400, at process block 424, displays the
summary appraisal of the collection (or library) in the form of
text appearing at reference numeral 1352, in this example "In good
condition, your KIDS collection is valued at approximately $32.50
if sold together as a collection." Beneath the summary appraisal is
displayed a command button captioned "CLICK HERE TO SELL KIDS
COLLECTION NOW FOR $32.50," at reference numeral 1354, so that the
user may navigate away from the extended appraisal at reference
numeral 1348, to immediately sell the collection as it currently
stands. However, if the user is interested in extending the value
of their collection, the user is further alerted to the extended
appraisal in highlighted text "IF YOU ADD THE BELOW TITLES 5-8 TO
YOUR COLLECTION:" "YOUR COLLECTION WOULD BE VALUED AT" at reference
numerals 1356 and 1320, and a monetary value comprising the
extended appraisal, here "$52.00" at reference numeral 1322, an
increase in value of nearly $20 more than the KIDS collection as it
currently exists. Such extended appraisal information may function
as an incentive for a user to augment their collection with
products that are identified as part of the extended appraisal,
particularly if they can obtain them for less than $20.00, thereby
insuring a subsequent profitable sale of the KIDS collection. In
the illustrated example, a list of the products that were
identified as part of the extended appraisal appears beneath the
highlighted text, in this case including the titles "Harry Potter
and the Prisoner of Azkaban," at reference numeral 1358A, "Harry
Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," at reference numeral 1358B,
"Quidditch Through the Ages," at reference numeral 1358C, and
"Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis (Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone, Latin edition)," at reference numeral 1358D.
As shown, the extended appraisal interface 1348 may further
includes a command button labeled "ADD TO YOUR COLLECTION NOW!" at
reference numeral 1360, which, when activated by the user, cause
the librarian process 400 to transfer the user to another Web page
(not illustrated) containing a merchant interface in which the user
may arrange to purchase the recommended titles, similar to the
librarian process 400 for library acquisition as described below
with reference to FIG. 4D and FIG. 14.
[0069] Referring once again to FIG. 4E, the librarian process 400
at process block 450, notifies the user about the appraisal of the
title, collection, or selected library as requested. The
notification is made in accordance with the notification
preferences previously specified, e.g., weekly updates via email
containing a link to the appraisal interface 1304 described above.
Accordingly, the process at reference number 448 may be performed
on demand, or may be repeated in accordance with the notification
preferences of frequency 1224 and communication method 1226 as
previously described with reference to FIG. 12. In the illustrated
example, the notification may have been sent to the user in the
form of an email message that, when activated, caused the Web
browser 500 to display the library user interface as shown in FIG.
13, populated with appraisals in the form of resale values at
reference link 1320.
[0070] Referring now to FIG. 4D, the librarian process 400
continues at process block 429, to display an acquisition user
interface to the user in response to a request for advice from the
librarian 300 regarding suggested acquisitions for a particular
library. The process 400 further continues at decision block 430 to
determine whether user wishes to buy the recommended titles, and,
if so, branches to process block 432, where the user can link to a
merchant interface to arrange to purchase the recommended titles
online.
[0071] In the illustrated acquisition interface in FIG. 14 at
reference numeral 1402, entitled "Library Acquisition" at reference
numeral 1404, the user has entered the name of the library "Mary's
Library" at reference numeral 1406 for which the user is seeking
acquisition recommendations or suggestions. The user is optionally
prompted to select the name of a particular collection at reference
numeral 1410 within the library for which acquisition
recommendations are sought using a drop-down box at reference
numeral 1412, here selecting the "Kids" collection. The librarian
process 400 prompts the user with the acquisition recommendations
for the specified collection (or library) in the form of text
appearing at reference numeral 1414, in this example "We suggest
acquiring the below titles to complement your KIDS collection."
[0072] In one embodiment, the librarian process 400 generates the
acquisition recommendations in consultation with an acquisition
database (not shown), in which is stored pre-defined
recommendations by genre, category, age group, etc. In one
embodiment, the recommendations may be dynamically generated to
complement historical data obtained from the history database 212
for the user. Below the text 1414, the library acquisition
interface 1402 typically includes a list of one or more items that
the librarian 300 recommends adding to the library. In the
illustrated example, the librarian process 400 causes the Web
browser program 500 to display three items, including "Harry Potter
and The Chamber of Secrets," at reference numeral 1416A, "Harry
Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban," at reference numeral 1416B,
and "Quidditch Through the Ages" at reference numeral 1416C. Along
with the list of each book is displayed a command button labeled
"PURCHASE" at reference numerals 1418A, 1418B, and 1418C, which,
when activated by the user, cause the librarian process 400 to
transfer the user to another Web page (not illustrated) containing
a merchant interface in which the user may arrange to purchase the
recommended titles.
[0073] Returning now to FIG. 4D, the librarian process 400
continues at process block 434, to display an organization user
interface to the user in response to a request for advice from the
librarian 300 regarding suggestions for organizing a particular
library. The process 400 further continues at decision block 436 to
determine whether the user wishes to organize their library as
suggested, and, if so, branches to process block 438, where the
user is transferred to the library creation and update interface
illustrated at FIG. 6 so that the user can begin the process of
uploading new images of their reorganized library. Alternatively,
the user is transferred to the library viewer and inventory
interfaces at FIGS. 7-9 so that the user may update the inventory
information directly to reflect the new organization.
[0074] For example, in the illustrated organization interface in
FIG. 15 at reference numeral 1502, entitled "Library Organizer" at
reference numeral 1504, the user has entered the name of the
library "Mary's Library" at reference numeral 1506 for which the
user is seeking organization advice. The user is optionally
prompted to select the name of a particular collection at reference
numeral 1510 within the library for which organization advice is
sought using a drop-down box at reference numeral 1512, here
selecting the "Kids" collection. The librarian process 400 prompts
the user with organization advice for the specified collection (or
library) in the form of text appearing at reference numeral 1514,
in this example "We suggest organizing the following 3 titles in a
new collection entitled "CHILDREN'S FANTASY," below which the
library organization interface 1502 typically includes a list of
one or more items that the librarian 300 recommends reorganizing to
a different shelf or collection within the library. In the
illustrated example, the librarian process 400 causes the Web
browser program 500 to display three items, including "Harry Potter
and the Sorcerer's Stone" at reference numeral 1516A, "Harry Potter
and the Goblet of Fire" at reference numeral 1516B, and "Harry
Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," at reference numeral 1516C.
Along with the list of each book is displayed a command button
labeled "MOVE" at reference numerals 1518A, 1518B, and 1518C,
which, when activated by the user, cause the librarian process 400
to automatically update the inventory using the generated
suggestions displayed in the library organizer interface 1502.
Activating the "MOVE" buttons 1518A, 1518B, and 1518C may
alternatively transfer the user to the library create/update
interface 602 illustrated in FIG. 6 so that the user may reorganize
their home bookshelves according to the suggestions, and upload new
images of the reorganized bookshelves. Alternatively, the process
400 may transfer the user to the library viewer and inventory
interfaces at reference numerals 702 and 802 in FIGS. 7 and 8, to
allow the user the opportunity to update the inventory to reflect
the suggested organization, which update may be performed
manually.
[0075] It will be appreciated that describing the librarian process
400 by reference to the flow diagrams in FIGS. 4A-4E enables one
skilled in the art to develop computer-executable instructions to
carry out the process on suitably configured computers. The flow
diagrams do not, however, constrain the execution of such
instructions to carry out the process in any particular order, nor
do they require that every aspect of the librarian process 400
described herein be carried out in every embodiment. In addition,
the computer-executable instructions to carry out the process
described in FIGS. 4A-4E may be written in a computer programming
language or may be embodied in firmware logic. If written in a
programming language conforming to a recognized standard, such
instructions can be executed on a variety of hardware platforms and
interface with a variety of operating systems.
[0076] It will be further appreciated that the present invention is
not described with reference to any particular programming
language, and it will be appreciated that a variety of programming
languages may be used to implement the teachings of the invention
as described. Furthermore, it is common in the art to speak of
software, in one form or another (e.g., program, procedure,
process, application . . . ), as taking an action or causing a
result. Such expressions are merely a shorthand way of saying that
execution of the software by a computer causes the processor of the
computer to perform an action or a produce a result.
[0077] It will be further appreciated that the Web page interfaces
described for the librarian 300 with reference to FIGS. 5-15 are
only illustrative and do not serve to limit the general application
of the invention. For example, links as referenced herein may be
embodied by the command buttons illustrated and described at
reference numerals 512, 518, 614, 708, 808, 1008, 1108, 1208, 1308,
1322, 1324, 1336, 1344, 1360, 1418, and 1518, by hypertext links,
or by other selectable connections that, when activated, will cause
the librarian process 400 to take the described action, such as
transferring the user to another Web page interface, or generating
an additional or updated display on the current Web page
interface.
[0078] While typical embodiments of the invention have been
illustrated and described above, it will be appreciated that
various changes can be made therein without departing from scope of
the claims that follow. For example, although the described
embodiments refer primarily to implementations of the invention in
the context of appraising a collection of products in a library
containing books, other implementations in the context of
appraising a collection of products in a library of music and
videos, or other media products, are contemplated as being within
the scope of the present invention.
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