Sears Brands, L.L.C. Patent applications |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20150339625 | MERCHANDISE PICKUP SYSTEM, METHOD, AND MEDIA FOR ALLIED MERCHANTS - Systems, methods, and apparatus are disclosed that provide a pickup process for items purchased from stores of allied merchants. In some embodiments, a customer may place an order via an e-commerce storefront that includes products from multiple merchants in a geographic region. In response to receiving the order, a merchandise pickup system may assign associates to collect the ordered products from the allied merchants and return the collected products to a pickup location. The merchandise pickup system may send a pickup notification to the customer indicating the products are ready for pickup from the pickup location. | 11-26-2015 |
20150292501 | SUMP PUMP MONITORING DEVICE AND METHOD - Embodiments for monitoring and powering one or more sump pumps of a sump pump system are disclosed. In one embodiment, a monitoring device includes a battery, a power inverter, a power outlet, and a power cord to receive AC power from an AC power outlet. A sump pump system includes a sump and an AC pump coupled to the power outlet of the monitoring device. The monitoring device is configured to select between AC power received from the AC power outlet and AC power supplied by the battery and the power inverter, and provide the selected AC power to the AC pump via the power outlet of the monitoring device. | 10-15-2015 |
20150254666 | MERCHANDISE RETURN AND/OR EXCHANGE SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND MEDIA - Systems, methods, and apparatus are disclosed that provide a merchandise return and/or exchange process for items purchased from brick-and-mortar and/or e-commerce stores. In some embodiments, a mobile computing device of a customer may determine whether the mobile computing device and therefore the customer are in a defined zone for a store. In response to determining that the mobile computing device is in the defined zone, the mobile computing device may notify the customer and request whether the customer wishes to initiate a return and/or exchange of purchased items to the store. The mobile computing device may notify a merchandise pickup system of the customer's desire to return the purchased items. | 09-10-2015 |
20150246399 | MITER SAW ASSEMBLY WITH DETACHABLE CIRCULAR SAW - Various embodiments provide a miter saw assembly including a circular saw detachably coupled to a miter base. The circular saw includes a circular blade, a motor, a power supply, and an attachment mechanism. The motor is operable to rotate the circular blade. The power supply is operable to provide power to the motor. The attachment mechanism detachably couples with a coupling arm of the miter base. The miter base includes a base and a support arm. The support arm includes the coupling arm, a vertical pivot, and a horizontal pivot. The vertical pivot is operable to pivot the coupling arm in a vertical plane. The horizontal pivot is rotatably coupled with the base. The horizontal pivot is operable to rotate the coupling arm in a horizontal plane. | 09-03-2015 |
20150240803 | SUMP PUMP MONITORING DEVICE AND METHOD - A method and device are disclosed for monitoring a sump pump system. The monitoring device may include electrical sensors to sense electrical characteristics of the sump pump system. The sensors may include one or more current clamps which may be clamped around an electrical lead or wire of the sump pump system. The monitoring device may further include control logic circuitry configured to monitor sensed electrical characteristics of the sump pump system and deduce an operating status based on the sensed electrical characteristics. The monitoring device may further include a communications interface configured to report the deduced operating status to an interested party via a communications device. | 08-27-2015 |
20150227987 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING LEVEL OF INFLUENCE IN A SOCIAL E-COMMERCE ENVIRONMENT - A system and method for generating and publishing an indicator or score representative of influence, reliability, and/or trustworthiness of reviews and other forms of commentary is based upon actions of individuals over a communication network such as a social e-commerce environment. | 08-13-2015 |
20150227962 | A/B TESTING AND VISUALIZATION - A/B testing methods, apparatus, systems and presentations of A/B testing results are disclosed. An A/B testing method may include presenting a first version and second version under test to first and second groups of customers. The method may further include collecting, during a first test period, data based on responses to the first and second versions under test, and determining, based on data collected during the first test period, a probability representative of a likelihood that the second version outperforms the first version. The method may also include calculating an estimate for a second test period over which additional data regarding responses to the first and second version is to be collected before the likelihood that the second version outperforms the first version has a predetermined relationship to a target probability. | 08-13-2015 |
20150213680 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATED SELECTION OF TARGETED PRIZES - Systems and methods support automated targeted selection of product items and management of post-award delivery of prizes for promotional activities such as sweepstakes, contests, giveaways, and/or instant wins in an e-commerce environment. Information identifying consumer trends enables dynamic selection of promotional items having a high value proposition for target participants of a promotional activity, resulting in increased consumer participation, reduced prize fulfillment issues, improved ease of use, and lower cost per promotional activity. | 07-30-2015 |
20150194007 | CONSUMER GAME - A system and method that engages consumers in a consumer game experience that isolates member preferences and fills in the social graph/personal profile of the consumer, to aid in the targeting of various forms of content to the consumer. | 07-09-2015 |
20150188270 | SLIDE BATTERY AND POWER TOOL FOR USE WITH BOTH SLIDE AND POST BATTERIES - Batteries having different form factors and power tools that are capable of using such batteries are described. In some embodiments, a power tool may use batteries having a post form factor as well as batteries having a slide form factor. | 07-02-2015 |
20150178681 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CREATING STEP BY STEP PROJECTS - A system and method supporting the assisted creation of media content documenting the details of completing a step-by-step project by a consumer in an Internet-based, social networking/social e-commerce environment. | 06-25-2015 |
20150142580 | HEURISTIC CUSTOMER CLUSTERING - Methods and apparatus are disclosed regarding an e-commerce system that places customers into a plurality of clusters and tailors services provided to a customer based on the cluster in which the customer is placed. In one embodiment, the e-commerce system defines the clusters based on purchase history data for customers having sufficient purchase history data. The e-commerce system then places customers without sufficient purchase history data into one of the defined clusters based on demographic data for the customer and demographic data for the customers in the cluster. | 05-21-2015 |
20150142521 | CUSTOMER CLUSTERING USING INTEGER PROGRAMMING - Methods and apparatus are disclosed regarding an e-commerce system that clusters customers based on demographic data and purchase history data for the customers. In some embodiments, the e-commerce system solves an Integer Program that accounts for the demographic data and purchase history data in order to identify a hyperplane that splits a selected cluster of customers. | 05-21-2015 |
20150134429 | WIRELESS IDENTIFIER DEVICE ENABLED INTERACTIVE CONSUMER EXPERIENCE - A system and method supporting user engagement in consumer activities at one or more locations of a merchant. | 05-14-2015 |
20150089063 | MAINFRAME MIGRATION TOOLS - Methods, systems, and computer readable storage media are disclosed that aid migration team members with migrating software applications from one platform to another platform, and more particularly, with tools that aid in migrating mainframe applications to a lower cost platform. The tools include legacy statistical generators that scan and analyze components of a mainframe application as well as the datasets associated with the mainframe application. The legacy statistical generators as a result of such analysis extract various statistical information regarding the application and datasets and provide such extracted information to a web-enabled application. Migration team members may use the web-enabled application to gain insight into the structure of the mainframe application as well as determine progress of migrating the mainframe application to the lower cost platform. | 03-26-2015 |
20150088845 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING ALTERNATIVE RESULT FOR AN ONLINE SEARCH PREVIOUSLY WITH NO RESULT - A computing device hosting a website of a business may be operable to receive a first search input comprising a term submitted via a search bar on the website. Upon performing an internal search for the term with no result, the computing device may output information on the no-result. The computing device may then perform, using one or more external search engines, a search for the term. Search results of the search, performed using the external search engine(s), may be analyzed. Based on a result of the analysis, one or more particular character strings related to the term may be identified. The computing device may generate and store, based on the identifying of the particular character string(s), one or more alternative search suggestions. Upon subsequently receiving an input comprising at least a portion of the term entered in the search bar, the computing device may output the alternative search suggestion(s). | 03-26-2015 |
20150088661 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR GESTURE-BASED CROSS CHANNEL COMMERCE AND MARKETING - A computing device (e.g., a server) coupled to a digital signage device may receive characteristic information associated with a visitor of the digital signage device. The received characteristic information may be analyzed, and based on a result of the analysis, advertisement attributes may be determined. The computing device may select, based on the determined advertisement attributes, a particular advertisement from a plurality of advertisement bids. The computing device may cause display of the selected particular advertisement on the digital signage device for the visitor. The characteristic information may be generated by the digital signage device utilizing a video analytics. The computing device may receive particular gesture information associated with a mobile device of the visitor who responds to the displayed particular advertisement. The computing device may cause a cloud computing platform to push content associated with the particular advertisement into the mobile device for the visitor to place an order. | 03-26-2015 |
20150073947 | PLANOGRAM ATTRIBUTE RESOLUTION - Methods, systems, and computer readable storage media are disclosed that aid in the creation and/or updating of floor plans and associated planograms. Some embodiments utilize an assignment table to maintain relationships between floor plans and associated planograms. Some embodiments also locate planograms for display fixtures of a floor plan based on attributes for the display fixture and products to be displayed. | 03-12-2015 |
20150058173 | SALES PROMOTION USING PRODUCT COMPARISON - Methods and apparatus are disclosed regarding an e-commerce system that promotes sales of products based on product comparisons. Some embodiments may present a marketing message that justifies a price difference between presented products based on attribute differences between the presented products. | 02-26-2015 |
20150028026 | SLIDABLE BIN WITHIN A REFRIGERATOR DRAWER - A bin positioned within a refrigerator drawer and slidable across the refrigerator drawer at one or more edges of the refrigerator drawer and/or at one or more sliding mechanisms attached to at least one side of the refrigerator drawer. | 01-29-2015 |
20150012357 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR LOCATION SPECIFIC MARKETING CHANNELS - A method and system are provided for enabling or supporting location specific marketing. In this regard, location specific marketing may comprise selecting a plurality of products for marketing in a particular location, and generating media output comprising promotional information relating to the plurality of products. The generated media output may be communicated to a plurality of interactive devices in the particular location, for outputting of the media output thereby. The particular location may comprise a retail store. The media output may sometimes be configured as a plurality of media sub-outputs, with each of the plurality of media sub-outputs corresponding to one of a plurality of sub-sections of the particular location. | 01-08-2015 |
20140358662 | CONSUMER GAME SYSTEM - Systems and methods that support playing of an online game by consumers to qualify for rewards based on the purchase of products in categories represented in cells of an interactive electronic/online game card issued to them by merchant(s) that sponsor the online game. The cells of each online game card appear in a geometric arrangement in which each contains an image, a graphic, and or a textual description representing a product or product category available from the merchant. The consumer may customize their game card(s) to include product categories of specific interest to them, thereby maximizing the reward they may realize. This further promotes consumer exploration of the product offerings of the merchant, resulting in increased likelihood of follow-on purchases from the merchant. | 12-04-2014 |
20140329210 | LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - Systems and methods that support the creation and timely electronic scheduling and delivery of course materials for training of individuals in an organization, in which course recommendations, scheduling, and rollout are based upon a number of factors including, for example, specific individual and/or business day-to-day operational performance measures, sales performance, and seasonal weather conditions by geographical region. | 11-06-2014 |
20140282134 | PROXIMITY NAVIGATION - A system and method that that triggers actions or sets of actions within a software application executed on a mobile device based at least in part on location identifiers. | 09-18-2014 |
20140281931 | E-PUB CREATOR - A system and method for the preparation of electronic publications or “ePubs” that provide a rich multimedia experience to readers using any of a variety of user devices, without requiring those individuals wishing to prepare such ePubs to install proprietary client applications on the computing device used to prepare the ePubs, and without the need to download a large portion or all of the ePub to enable viewing on an electronic device of an end-user. | 09-18-2014 |
20140279277 | OUT-OF-STORE PURCHASE ROUTING SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND MEDIA - Systems, methods, and media for picking-up and delivering products are disclosed. Some embodiments route shoppers to acquire products for multiple customers orders from multiple suppliers using a variety of transportation modes. The transportation modes may differing maximum weight carrying and volume carrying capacities, maximum vehicle speeds. Moreover, some embodiments may account for a different number vehicles for each transportation mode and may further account for the availability of shoppers and vehicles. | 09-18-2014 |
20140279207 | JOINT GIFT REGISTRY - Various embodiments provide a system and method that enables negotiation, creation, and distributed fulfillment of joint gift registries supporting enhanced social interaction among registrants and prospective purchasers. | 09-18-2014 |
20140279202 | Recommendations Based Upon Explicit User Similarity - A system and method for providing recommendations to individuals on a social network, in which the recommendations include information indicating the similarity of the individuals to one another, to aid the individuals in judging the degree to which the opinions of the others are applicable to the themselves. | 09-18-2014 |
20140279191 | CHECKOUT AND/OR ORDERING SYSTEMS AND METHODS - Methods and apparatus are disclosed provide various enhancements and/or improvements to the conventional shopping process used by brick-and-mortar stores. In some embodiments, a customer may use a mobile computing device, such as a smart phone, to select and pay for items in a brick-and-mortar store. Such shopping process may permit the customer to purchase numerous items without the using of shopping basket or a wheeled shopping cart. The shopping process may further permit the customer to pay for items and leave the store with such items without waiting in a checkout line. | 09-18-2014 |
20140258428 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING AND ACCESSING VISUAL PRODUCT REPRESENTATIONS OF A PROJECT - Various embodiments include systems and methods that provide a socially interactive application for requesting, searching, and sharing visual step-by-step instructions and related information to complete a project. | 09-11-2014 |
20140236813 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PAYMENT CARD INDUSTRY ENTERPRISE ACCOUNT NUMBER ELIMINATION - A system and method replaces credit card numbers in systems that are customer facing with token Ids to thereby reduce exposure to credit card number theft. | 08-21-2014 |
20140180847 | Methods and systems for device management with sharing and programming capabilities - A system which includes a network of appliances functions to retrieve from a data repository, such as a centralized server, at least one data set containing food preparation instructions and to control one or more operations of at least one food preparation device, such as cooking temperatures and times associated with a stove, in accordance with the retrieved at least one data set containing food preparation instructions. The retrieved data set may additional be utilized to cause one or more devices to provide voice prompts to assist a user in the performance of the corresponding food preparation task. The data sets provided for this purpose may be standardized to allow recipes to be shared and used across multiple different appliance types. | 06-26-2014 |
20140164040 | SCALABLE TRAINING - Methods and apparatus are disclosed that utilizes voice mail messages to direct personalized employee training. Voice mail messages instruct an employee to perform various tasks. Employee actions are monitored to determine whether the various tasks were performed as instructed. | 06-12-2014 |
20140096025 | INTEGRATED EXPERIENCE FOR APPLICATIONS WITHIN A MOBILE APPLICATION - A system and method that supports an integrated user interface experience with third party hosted applications selected and installed by a user within a user-installed native application of a user communication device. | 04-03-2014 |
20140052690 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR STAGING AND PROPAGATING DATA - A method and system for propagating database records from staging database to a production database so that the production database reflects record changes made in the staging database. The system of the present disclosure propagates record changes from the staging database to the production database in a flexible, customizable, and reliable way. The system consolidates database record changes to cull out any unnecessary record changes that do not need to be propagated. The system may also track the status of the database record changes, and send alerts related to the propagation status. | 02-20-2014 |
20140052517 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USING DATA POINTS COLLECTED FROM A CUSTOMER TO PROVIDE CUSTOMER SPECIFIC OFFERINGS - A retailer computer system receives from a first computing device a shopping recap Having data indicative of one or more products that were shown to a customer by the sales associate while the customer was within a retail establishment. The received shopping recap is stored within a data repository where it is linked to a customer identifier that is associated with the customer and an associate identifier that is associated with the sale associate. If the customer later purchases a product, data indicative of the product being purchased is compared against data within any shopping recap that is linked to that customer to determine if a sales associate that is also linked to any shopping recap linked to that customer is to be awarded a commission for the product being purchased. The purchase of the product by the customer may further generate a digital receipt where the digital receipt includes a notice that the customer is being awarded an incentive, such as a coupon. The incentive may be automatically linked to a rewards account of the customer whereupon, if the customer purchases a product that is associated with the incentive, the incentive will be automatically redeemed for the customer. | 02-20-2014 |
20140046987 | FILE SYSTEM QUEUE - A method and system that enables operation of a file system-based queue that supports the efficient and fair distribution of messages among a plurality of processors. | 02-13-2014 |
20140019977 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ECONOMICAL MIGRATION OF LEGACY APPLICATIONS FROM MAINFRAME AND DISTRIBUTED PLATFORMS - An economical system and method of migrating legacy applications running on proprietary mainframe computer systems and distributed networks to commodity hardware-based software frameworks, by offloading the batch processing from the legacy systems, and returning the resultant data to the original legacy system to be consumed by the unaltered applications. An open source code tool is used to transfer the software, and rewrite it on a faster and more economical hardware system, while leaving a seamless integration of offloaded processing with existing batch processing flow. | 01-16-2014 |
20140019377 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF TARGETED INTERACTIONS FOR INTEGRATED RETAIL APPLICATIONS - Example gesture based cross-channel commerce retail systems and methods are provided. Some of the example systems and methods permit a consumer to complete a Store Pick Up order, i.e., an order placed by the consumer via computer, mobile device, telephone, fax, mail-order, etc., by gesturing with a mobile device near a digital kiosk and optical sensor at a store pick up location. The mobile device and/or the digital kiosk may display media content to the consumer while the consumer completes the Store Pick Up order. In another example system, a digital kiosk is located in a public area such as an airport, shopping mall, train station, or stadium. The digital kiosk displays media content to the consumer, and the consumer may transfer to a mobile device such media by gesturing with the mobile device near the digital kiosk. | 01-16-2014 |
20130346295 | EXCHANGING VALUE BETWEEN A SERVICE BUYER AND A SERVICE PROVIDER - Described herein is technology for, among other things, exchanging value between a service buyer and a service provider. The technology involves establishing a virtual funds account associated with the service buyer. A request for services is received from the service buyer, which includes an amount that the service buyer is willing to pay for the services. An indication that the service provider will perform the services for the service buyer is received, and a hold is placed in the buyer's virtual funds account on an amount of virtual funds corresponding to the amount that the service buyer is willing to pay for the services. | 12-26-2013 |
20130339190 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR A DIGITAL INTERFACE FOR DISPLAYING RETAIL SEARCH RESULTS - A user interface for displaying retail search results is disclosed. The system and methods allow users to search for a plurality of retail items while simultaneously viewing a plurality of search results for each of the plurality of retail items. This interface allows users to easily compare the search results for each retail item, and to purchase a plurality of retail items simultaneously. In one example of the present disclosure, users may enter a plurality of retail items into a shopping list. The system may then display multiple results for each item on the shopping list in a carousel-like user interface, so users may view a plurality of results for a plurality of items simultaneously. | 12-19-2013 |
20130339120 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING OFFER ELIGIBILITY USING A PREDICATE LOGIC TREE AGAINST SETS OF INPUT DATA - Example computer executable instructions for determining result eligibility using a predicate logic tree against sets of input data are provided. In particular, the disclosed instructions identify a plurality of rules that have a logical relationship and select input data for analysis under the plurality of rules. The instructions evaluate a set of requirements defining the plurality of rules against the input data and resolve the logical relationship of the plurality of rules to determine result eligibility. | 12-19-2013 |
20130339119 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING OFFER ELIGIBILITY USING A PREDICATE LOGIC TREE AGAINST SETS OF INPUT DATA - Example computer executable instructions for determining a consumer's offer eligibility using a predicate logic tree against sets of input data are provided. In particular, the disclosed examples recite a rewards engine capable of determining a consumer's offer eligibility using a predicate logic tree against sets of input data. The rewards engine applies rules that are relevant to a particular deal offered by a retail establishment to the consumer's records to determine the consumer's offer eligibility. In some examples, the rewards engine sorts or partially sorts some or all of the consumer's records to determine the consumer's offer eligibility. | 12-19-2013 |
20130332273 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR HIGH-PRECISION INDOOR POSITIONING, NAVIGATION AND SHOPPING BEHAVIOR PROFILING - A positioning system for determining the location of a portable device includes a radio network. The radio network includes radio network nodes for communicating with the portable device and measuring signal strength from the portable device. The radio network also includes a Near Field Communication node for communicating with the portable device and at least initially providing the portable device with configuration information to enable the portable device to pair with the radio network nodes. The system also includes a positioning server for receiving signal strength information from the radio network, determining a location of the portable device, providing the portable device with a graphical representation of its location within a floorplan, receiving an indication of a desired product from the portable device, determining a location of the product, calculating and providing the portable device with a route from the location of the portable device to the product. | 12-12-2013 |
20130332272 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR PROVIDING CUSTOM ERROR PAGES FOR RETAIL APPLICATIONS - Example methods and systems for providing custom error pages for retail applications are disclosed. In general, the disclosed example systems provide error pages which are presented after a user attempts to access an inactive, unavailable, or nonexistent website address. In one aspect of the present disclosure, the system provides an error page which is customized, for example, based upon the website address that the user was attempting to access; based upon the user's history; based upon the system's most popular products and/or categories; and/or based upon some combination of those criteria. | 12-12-2013 |
20130317949 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MOBILE INTEGRATED ORDERING - Methods and apparatus are disclosed regarding an e-commerce environment with integrated mobile ordering capabilities. One method includes receiving, from a mobile computing device, an order for at least one item, detecting a location of the mobile computing device, and requesting deliver of the at least one item to the detected location. | 11-28-2013 |
20130297455 | SOCIAL PRODUCT PROMOTION - Methods and apparatus are disclosed regarding an e-commerce system having social networking aspects. The e-commerce system leverages such social networking aspects to help promote the sale of products. | 11-07-2013 |
20130268392 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRESENTING PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS - Product recommendations are presented to a consumer by presenting to the consumer a plurality of thumbnail images that correspond to a plurality of products. The plurality of thumbnail images are presented to the consumer in a plurality of tier groupings and each of the plurality of tier groupings is indicative of a relative ranking of products within a trend that is being tracked. In response to a user interacting with a one or more of the plurality of presented thumbnail images, the consumer is further presented with at least one of a zoomed-in version of the one or more of the plurality of presented thumbnail images interacted with by the consumer and a product detail page for a product corresponding to the one or more of the plurality of presented thumbnail images interacted with by the consumer. | 10-10-2013 |
20130268331 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR PROVIDING ONLINE GROUP SHOPPING SERVICES - A method and system for providing an online group shopping experience via a computing device includes hosting a database of information regarding a first and second user, and associating the two user records. The group shopping experience is provided with a user interface for the first user and a user interface for the second user. The first user is provided with the ability to selectively share a summary of the information displayed on the first user's interface and the second user is provided with the ability to selectively navigate to and display the information displayed by the first user on the second user's interface. | 10-10-2013 |
20130262167 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR CONNECTED SALES ASSOCIATE SERVICES - A method and system for providing a connected sales associate service application via a mobile device. The application provide for an integrated platform upon which various tools for providing support to a sales associate are built. The application includes a database of information regarding the sales associates and operational information regarding a retail establishment, and provides a user interface for allowing the sales associate to access a central server for the retail establishment along with multiple additional sales associates on multiple additional mobile devices. The user interface displays information regarding trending sales data for the retail establishment and information regarding the sales associates accessing the central server. A sales associate can select and display information regarding one of the sales associates accessing the central server to at least one of view, create, delete, or assign a task to the selected sales associate | 10-03-2013 |
20130231990 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR PROVIDING PERSONAL SHOPPING SERVICES - A method and system for providing personal shopping assistance via a computing device includes hosting a database of information regarding a customer, hosting a database of information regarding a personal shopper, and associating the customer with the personal shopper. The personal shopper is provided the ability to recommend at least one of a product or a service relevant to the customer and receiving an indication of the purchase of the recommended product or service by the customer. An incentive system may provide a reward to the personal shopper based upon the purchased product or service, including a commission or other reward. The system may be implemented on a desktop and/or mobile device as desired to provide flexibility in implementation. | 09-05-2013 |
20130204714 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CREATING AND MANAGING MARKETING APPLICATIONS, EVENTS, PROMOTIONS, AND PUBLICATIONS - Certain embodiments provide systems and methods for creation and management of marketing applications, events, promotions and publications. The system includes a user input device configured to provide a user input for one or more applications. The system includes a display configured to display information from the one or more applications. The system includes a processing unit communicatively coupled to the user input device and the display. The processing unit is configured to execute one or more application to create the promotional activity, configure the promotional activity, and associate an offer with the configured promotional activity. | 08-08-2013 |
20130203439 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR PROVIDING LOCATION BASED ASSISTANCE VIA A MOBILE DEVICE - A method and system for providing location based assistance. The method and system including hosting a database of information regarding a customer, hosting a database of information regarding sale associate availability, and receiving a customer assistance request. The system determines the location of the customer and determines the availability of at least one sale associate within a predetermined location threshold of the location of the customer to service the customer assistance request. The customer assistance request is then routed to the at least one sale associate within the predetermined location threshold of the location of the customer for assistance. | 08-08-2013 |
20130201190 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DISCLOSING TARGET ELEMENTS IN HIGH DEFINITION IMAGES - High definition images are utilized in marketing, gaming, retail, e-commerce, multi-channel retail, mobile, tablet and/or social applications. A system displays the high definition image in its entirety, and in various states wherein portions of the high definition image are magnified. The various states show details of the portions of the high definition image that were not previously apparent. The system allows users to look for and detect certain target elements in the high definition image. These target elements may be used for gaming and/or marketing purposes. | 08-08-2013 |
20130117106 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR COUPON SERVICE APPLICATIONS - A coupon service application operated on multiple platforms, including mobile devices, PC/Internet and display screens on home appliances. The application maintains a home inventory defining the consumable products within a user's home and a shopping list defining the consumable products the user wishes to purchase, and compares the home inventory and shopping list against a database of available coupons. Users can share and save coupons, use coupons for online purchases, check their home inventory while away from home, monitor the price of certain products and compare the price against an average price and track historical savings. The application maintains a recipe bank, suggests recipes based on the home inventory, and enables users to select recipes, adding ingredients therefrom to the shopping list, all while identifying coupons for items on the shopping list and the home inventory. Users can input a budget, and tracks spending against the budget. | 05-09-2013 |
20130103470 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DISTRIBUTING CUSTOMIZABLE AND SHAREABLE TIERED OFFERS - Offers are distributed by providing a plurality of offers to a first user and directing the first user to distribute the offers to selected additional users. The plurality of offers may be customized by the system and may be further customized by the first user before sending the offers to the selected additional users. The additional users may include any user including known and/or unknown users and/or contacts in the first's user networks including business and/or social networks. The system may also track and store information relating to the distribution, access, and redemption of the offer by the first user and the selected additional users and provide additional incentives based upon the access and redemption, and based upon interactions between the first user and the selected additional users. The system may further distribute restricted offers to selected users, and/or allow selected users to share restricted offers with additional users. | 04-25-2013 |
20130103469 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DISTRIBUTING CUSTOMIZABLE AND SHAREABLE TIERED OFFERS - Offers are distributed by providing a plurality of offers to a first user and directing the first user to distribute the offers to selected additional users. The plurality of offers may be customized by the system based on the first user's previous interactions with the system, and may be further customized by the first user before sending the offers to the selected additional users. The additional users may include any user including known and/or unknown users and/or contact in the first's user networks including business and/or social networks. The system may also track and store information relating to the distribution, access, and redemption of the offer by the first user and the selected additional users and provide additional incentives based upon the access and redemption, and based upon interactions between the first user and the selected additional users. | 04-25-2013 |
20130095807 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING A DISTRIBUTED MOBILE CALL CENTER FOR A SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT - A method and system for distributing a service center call. The method and system include hosting an electronic database of information regarding service agent availability, providing a user interface for allowing a service agent to update the database regarding the availability of the service agent to receive service calls, and receiving a customer service call request. To route the customer service call request, the method and system determines the location of a customer originating the customer service call request, determines availability of at least one service agent within a predetermined location threshold of the location of the customer, and routing the customer service call request to the local service agent or to a service agent outside of the predetermined location threshold of the location of the customer if there are no available service agents within the predetermined location threshold of the location of the customer. | 04-18-2013 |
20130085889 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING RETURNS OR EXCHANGES MADE VIA A COMPUTER NETWORK - A method for allowing a user to manage at least one of a return or exchange of an ordered item. The method includes hosting an electronic database of information regarding item purchases, providing a user interface to allow a user to specify at least one return/exchange item, performing an authorization verification against the return/exchange of the item, providing to the user an identifier reflective of the authorization, and receiving and accepting the item(s) at the physical location within a predefined time limit. | 04-04-2013 |
20130085823 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING LOCALIZED PRODUCT OFFERINGS PUBLICATIONS - A retailer system responds to a request to view an electronic product offerings publication by using data indicative of a geographic location to select from a plurality of retailer locations at least one retailer location and by retrieving inventory related information for the selected at least one retailer location. The retrieved inventory related information is then used to select product offerings from a repository of product offerings whereupon an electronic product offerings publication container is populated with the product offerings selected from the repository of product offerings. The populated electronic product offerings publications container is then returned to the requester as the requested product offerings publication. | 04-04-2013 |
20130073690 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR APPLIANCE COMMUNITY SERVICE MANAGEMENT - A method and system for networking a plurality of appliances. The method and system include providing an appliance on a network, controlling operation of the appliance with a microcontroller, storing on a memory coupled with the microcontroller, computer executable instructions for operating the appliance, sensing the operation of the appliance, displaying information regarding the operation of the appliance, and communicating the operational data on a network. Network connectivity includes communication directly with a network, and with another appliance. A host system is connected to the network and adapted to receive the usage data and to transmit data to the appliance to influence operation of the appliance. | 03-21-2013 |
20130047694 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REMOVING DENTS FROM A DENTED SURFACE - Described herein is technology for, among other things, removing a dent from a dented surface. The technology includes an automated hammering device positioned on a first side of the dent, and a dolly positioned on a second side of the dent. The automated hammering device repeatedly strikes the dent, thereby restoring proper curvature to the dented surface. | 02-28-2013 |
20130030879 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USING DATA POINTS COLLECTED FROM A CUSTOMER TO PROVIDE CUSTOMER SPECIFIC OFFERINGS - A retailer computer system receives from a first computing device a shopping recap having data indicative of one or more products that were shown to a customer by the sales associate while the customer was within a retail establishment. The received shopping recap is stored within a data repository where it is linked to a customer identifier that is associated with the customer and an associate identifier that is associated with the sale associate. If the customer later purchases a product, data indicative of the product being purchased is compared against data within any shopping recap that is linked to that customer to determine if a sales associate that is also linked to any shopping recap linked to that customer is to be awarded a commission for the product being purchased. The purchase of the product by the customer may further generate a digital receipt where the digital receipt includes a notice that the customer is being awarded an incentive, such as a coupon. The incentive may be automatically linked to a rewards account of the customer whereupon, if the customer purchases a product that is associated with the incentive, the incentive will be automatically redeemed for the customer. | 01-31-2013 |
20120321093 | MANAGEMENT UNIT WITH MICROPHONE - An example energy management unit (EMU) with diagnostic capabilities is provided. The EMU with can receive and identify the operational status of a device by receiving an audio signal from the device generated by the device's self diagnostic system. The EMU can decode the diagnostic information and retransmit the decoded information as necessary for further processing. | 12-20-2012 |
20120319491 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR PROVIDING AN APPLIANCE HYBRID MODE - A hybrid energy management method and system which provides a main power supply and a secondary power supply. The main power supply is electrically coupled to the utility power grid, while the secondary power supply is electrically isolatable from the utility power grid. A switch is provided to selectably power the appliance through the main alternating current power supply when the utility is not in a reduced demand operating mode and to selectably power the appliance through the secondary alternating current power supply when the utility is in a reduced demand mode. | 12-20-2012 |
20120316984 | SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR INTERACTING WITH NETWORKED HOME APPLIANCES - An appliance having a processing device and at least one sensor in communication with the processing device gathers data indicative of usage of a consumable with the appliance. The gathered data is used to determine an amount of the consumable remaining and, when the amount of the consumable remaining is at a predetermined level, a notification is provided to indicate to a user that the consumable needs to be replaced. | 12-13-2012 |
20120296484 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR COMMUNITY ENERGY MANAGEMENT - A community based energy management method which avoids energy peaks oftentimes associated with the restart of appliances after the delayed start of an appliance due to energy use restrictions is lifted by a utility company. The method includes the application of a queue model, such as a first-in, first-out model for the restart time of any delayed electrical device. | 11-22-2012 |
20120285030 | ILLUMINATED TAPE MEASURE - A tape measure includes a housing having an opening and a measuring tape retractably carried within the housing and extendable via the opening. A locking mechanism is provided for maintaining the measuring tape in an extended position relative to the housing and the locking mechanism includes a lock actuator that is mounted to the housing. An illumination device is incorporated into the lock actuator. The illumination device includes a light emitting diode (LED) wherein the light emitting diode may be arranged on the locking mechanism to illuminate the measuring tape in an area adjacent to the opening and a user activatable switch for causing power to be selectively provided to the LED wherein the user activatable switch is mounted to an exterior surface of the lock actuator. | 11-15-2012 |
20120259476 | ENERGY MANAGEMENT UNIT WITH DIAGNOSTIC CAPABILITIES - An example energy management unit (EMU) with diagnostic capabilities is provided. The EMU with diagnostic capabilities can identify a potential failure or end-of-life condition by detecting a higher power consumption, an abnormal power waveform or by receiving a signal from an appliance or piece of equipment itself generated by the appliance's or piece of equipment's self diagnostic system. The EMU can be incorporated into a system that permits various power consumption and time-current information to be transmitted to a variety of devices and parties via a communication. | 10-11-2012 |
20120242277 | PORTABLE BATTERY CHARGING APPARATUS - An embodiment of the present invention is directed to a portable battery charging apparatus. The portable battery charging apparatus includes a main body, wheels attached to a base portion of the main body, a battery charger disposed within the main body, and an electrical functional unit disposed within the main body that has a function other than battery charging. | 09-27-2012 |
20120226764 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING SMART APPLIANCES - A method and system for networking a plurality of appliances. The method and system include providing an appliance on a network, controlling operation of the appliance with a microcontroller, storing on a memory coupled with the microcontroller, computer executable instructions for operating the appliance, sensing the operation of the appliance, displaying information regarding the operation of the appliance, and communicating the operational data on a network. Network connectivity includes communication directly with a network, and with another appliance. A host system is connected to the network and adapted to receive the usage data and to transmit data to the appliance to influence operation of the appliance. | 09-06-2012 |
20120179582 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING A STREAMLINED CHECKOUT PROCESS - Once a purchaser has proceeded through a check out experience with an online retail system, the settings established during that checkout experience will be applied to future checkout experiences by that purchaser. By capturing and thereafter using checkout settings in this manner, a purchaser can proceed from a shopping cart directly to a checkout review page with the checkout review page being pre-populated with such prior established settings. Furthermore, the methodology allows the purchaser to have a virtually unlimited number of goods in their shopping cart and to have multiple different types of order fulfillment options (e.g., shipping, store pickup, delivery to an organization, etc.) automatically established for those goods. | 07-12-2012 |
20120150681 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FACILITATING THE PURCHASE OF PRODUCTS DETERMINED TO BE USEFUL IN THE PERFORMANCE OF A TASK - A retailer computer system facilitates the purchase of products that are determined to be useful in the performance of a task by presenting to a consumer a first user interface by which the consumer may select a task from a repository of tasks, each task stored in the repository of tasks having documented instructions, such as a recipe, for performing the task, by presenting in a web page the documented instructions of the selected task, by using one or more keywords within the documented instructions of the selected task to select at least one product from an electronic product catalog, the selected at least one product being one or more of a part, such as a recipe ingredient, and a tool, such as an appliance, usable in performing the task, and by presenting to the consumer a second user interface for allowing the consumer to purchase via use of an online retail channel the selected at least one product. | 06-14-2012 |
20120072295 | SYSTEM FOR FACILITATING MULTI-CHANNEL PURCHASE OF FSA ELIGIBLE ITEMS - In a database that is associated with the retailer POS system, inventory is flagged as being FSA-eligible and a retailer POS system is programmed to support FSA debit card auto-adjudication, i.e., the retailer POS system is IIAS certified. The FSA-eligible information that is stored in the retailer POS database is also used to flag for a customer FSA-eligible items presented to the user online, e.g., in an online catalog. When an FSA-eligible item is purchased on-line or at a retailer POS, the FSA debit card information is captured and the purchase transaction is processed by the retailer POS system so the customer has easy access to FSA purchases via either channel. | 03-22-2012 |
20120046958 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING A MULTI-CHANNEL RETAIL LAYAWAY SERVICE - Multi-channel layaway services are provided whereby a customer may use an online retail channel or a physical retail channel to form a layaway contract to purchase one or more ordered items and then use the online retail channel and/or the physical retail channel to make payments on, view, or otherwise manage the formed layaway contract. Upon completion of the terms of the formed layaway contract the customer is able to receive the ordered items. | 02-23-2012 |
20120017389 | VACUUM CLEANING DEVICE WITH AIR QUALITY MONITORING SYSTEM - An air quality monitoring system is associated with a housing of a vacuum cleaner and includes at least one sensor for measuring data of an air quality parameter and a display, such as a color screen, for presenting information regarding the air quality parameter that is measured by the at least one sensor. The air quality monitoring system may be a self contained unit that may be removed from the housing of the vacuum cleaner or may be included as an integral part of the vacuum cleaner. | 01-26-2012 |
20110320309 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING ORDERS MADE VIA A COMPUTER NETWORK - A system and method for allowing a user to schedule pickup of an ordered item provides a user interface having user interface elements for allowing a user to specify a frequency with which an order is it to be picked up, for informing a user as to availability of the item for pickup, and/or for allowing a user to request that an item be held in reserve for pickup within a given period of time, such as 24 hours. Frequency options provided to the user for selection when scheduling an order for pickup may include a one-time frequency, a daily frequency, a weekly frequency, a monthly frequency, and user specified dates. The information as to availability of the item for pickup is determined considering a time of order and real-time stocking information for the item. | 12-29-2011 |
20110281059 | PADDING SYSTEM FOR PROTECTING A HOME APPLIANCE - A padding system for protecting an outer surface of an appliance. The padding system includes a securing device that is attached to opposed first and second ends of a pad. The securing device consists of a first securing member that is releasably attachable to a second securing member when the pad is secured around the outer surface of the appliance. The padding system additionally includes a hand strap that is attached to the first end of the pad. A slit is formed in the pad adjacent to the second end of the pad. The hand strap is passable through the slit to provide a hand grip when the pad is secured around the outer surface of the appliance. | 11-17-2011 |
20110225858 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USING COLOR TO INDICATE A STATE OF A HOME APPLIANCE, SUCH AS AN IRON - A system and method for using color to indicate a state of a home appliance, such as an iron. The iron has a sole plate and a water tank in fluid communication with the sole plate, a heater for heating the sole plate, a sensor for sensing a temperature of the sole plate, a user interface for setting a desired temperature for the sole plate, and a controller in communication with user interface and the sensor for controlling the heater. An illumination device under the control of the controller is provided to illuminate the water tank, particularly the interior thereof, in a color that is representative of a state of the iron, such as a power condition of the iron and/or a temperature of the sole plate. | 09-22-2011 |
20110218957 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES - A request to diagnose a problem with an appliance is provided to a diagnostic system whereupon the diagnostic system functions to interpret the information indicative of the problem with the appliance to thereby normalize the information indicative of the problem with the appliance. The normalized information indicative of the problem with the appliance is then used to select from a knowledge base in which is maintained a plurality of solutions each having associated tags that function to identify concepts and values in a domain model a set of possible solutions for the problem with the appliance. As necessary, information within the set of possible solutions for the problem with the appliance is used to dynamically generate additional questions to thereby obtain further information indicative of the problem with the appliance. The further information indicative of the problem with the appliance may then be used to identify from with the set of possible solutions for the problem with the appliance a subset of best possible solutions for the problem with the appliance. This subset of best possible solutions for the problem with the appliance may then be presented to an end user to thereby allow the end user to perform the repair(s) needed to correct the problem. | 09-08-2011 |
20110196732 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR HANDLING AN OFFER TO PURCHASE A FOLLOWED ITEM - A system receives from a customer having an associated rewards points account a price offer for an item. The system determines if the price offer for the item is below an established threshold price, e.g., a price a retailer would accept for the item. When the price offer for the item is below the established threshold price, the system determines an amount of rewards points to be redeemed by the customer to thereby allow the customer to purchase the item at the price offer for the item as received from the customer. The system then allows the item to be purchased by the customer at the price offer for the item as received from the customer in the event that the customer indicates a willingness to redeem the determined amount of rewards points from their associated rewards points account. | 08-11-2011 |
20110191207 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USING A MOBILE DEVICE TO LOCATE A FOLLOWED ITEM IN A RETAIL STORE - A computing device receives information that is representative of a location of a mobile device and uses the information representative of the location of the mobile device to select one or more maps corresponding to a retail establishment. The computing device also receives information that is representative of a customer and uses the information representative of the customer to place on the one or more selected maps indicia indicative of one or more locations within the retail establishment at which one or more items determined to be of interest to the customer are located. The one or more selected maps with the indicia are then provided to the mobile device for display. | 08-04-2011 |
20110153451 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR USING A SOCIAL NETWORK TO PROVIDE PRODUCT RELATED INFORMATION - Social product related content, such as user reviews, comments, and catalogs, are presented to a user via an e-commerce website by assembling, in response to the user requesting accesses to a webpage of the e-commerce website having information for a product, such as a product detail page, a set of documents that have been cross-referenced to the product and by extracting from the set of documents a subset of documents that have been cross-referenced to individuals within a related persons map of the user. The requested webpage is then presented to the user in a manner that additionally provides the user with access to the subset of documents. | 06-23-2011 |
20110138517 | GLOVE SYSTEM - An embodiment of the present invention is directed to a glove system including a glove and a wrist attachment. The glove has a base portion, which includes a first fastener. The wrist attachment includes one or more straps for enabling wearing of the wrist attachment on a human wrist, a functional feature, and a second fastener adapted to couple with the first fastener and for selectively attaching the first wrist attachment to the glove. | 06-16-2011 |
20110126123 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING TO-DO LIST TASK ITEMS VIA A COMPUTER NETWORK - A system and method for managing to-do list task items provides a user interface having user interface elements for allowing the user to add one or more task items to a to-do list, for allowing the user to edit one or more fields associated with a task item added to the to-do list, and for allowing the user to designate a task item within the to-do list as completed whereupon the designated task item is placed into a completed list and removed from the to-do list. Within the system, a task item is defined by at least a title, a description, a due date, and a tag. The tags provide a means for the task items to be organized within lists as well as within the system to, for example, allow task items to be shared, searched on, and the like. | 05-26-2011 |
20110122723 | THROUGH-HEAD STAND MIXER - An embodiment of the present invention is directed to a stand mixer including a base with an upstanding pedestal portion and a mixer head supported on the pedestal portion, the mixer head having a upward-facing side, a downward-facing side and an aperture passing through the mixer head from the upward-facing side to the downward-facing side. | 05-26-2011 |
20110088281 | SHOE HAVING AN AIR CUSHIONING BED - An air cushioning system for use in a shoe is formed from a first layer of a plastic material and a second layer of plastic material both of which are sized to fit within an interior of the shoe. The periphery of the second layer is joined to the periphery of the first layer and one or more interior locations within the periphery of the second layer are also joined to correspondingly adjacent interior locations within the periphery of the first layer. The unjoined surfaces of the second layer are spaced from the first layer and thereby function to define a trapped air chamber within the joined peripheries of the second layer and the first layer. | 04-21-2011 |
20110040651 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING ORDERS MADE VIA A COMPUTER NETWORK - A system and method for allowing a user to schedule pickup of an ordered item provides a user interface having user interface elements for allowing a user to specify a frequency with which an order is it to be picked up, for informing a user as to availability of the item for pickup, and/or for allowing a user to request that an item be held in reserve for pickup within a given period of time, such as 24 hours. Frequency options provided to the user for selection when scheduling an order for pickup may include a one-time frequency, a daily frequency, a weekly frequency, a monthly frequency, and user specified dates. The information as to availability of the item for pickup is determined considering a time of order and real-time stocking information for the item. | 02-17-2011 |
20110030148 | Automated Laundry System - An embodiment of the present invention is directed to an automated laundry system. The system includes a number of perforated clothes drums, each of which holds a single load of laundry, and a washer/dryer unit. The washer/dryer unit includes a loading rack for queuing the drums for subsequent washing, a clothes washing component adapted to sequentially receive the drums from the loading rack and wash the respective loads of laundry therein, a clothes drying component adapted to sequentially receive the drums from the clothes washing component and dry the loads of laundry therein, and a holding rack for sequentially receiving the drums from the clothes drying component and holding the drums for a period of time. | 02-10-2011 |
20110006114 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USING A MOBILE DEVICE TO FOLLOW A PRICE FOR AN ITEM - A mobile device, such as a cellular telephone, is used to obtain information that is indicative of an item, such as a photograph of the item or a scan of an information carrying indicia associated with the item. The information obtained is then used to present on the mobile device a page by which a user can establish parameters for following the price of the item. | 01-13-2011 |
20110006021 | HANGING DEVICE FOR RESEALABLE STORAGE BAGS - An embodiment of the present invention is directed to a device for hanging a storage bag having a resealable mechanical seal. The device includes an elongate body. The body includes at least two opposing flaps, a longitudinal slit passing a distance between the opposing flaps and having a width that is narrower than the mechanical seal of the storage bag, and a tapered opening at an edge of the body. The tapered opening is adapted to guide a leading edge of the storage bag that is below the mechanical seal into the slit. | 01-13-2011 |
20100269359 | DUAL WHEEL PIZZA CUTTER - A pizza cutter has a body portion, a front cutting wheel rotatably coupled to the body portion, and a rear cutting wheel rotatably coupled to the body portion. The front cutting wheel and the rear cutting wheel are aligned in a cutting direction. A top of the body portion opposite the front cutting wheel and the rear cutting wheel has a graspable handle. Adjacent to the handle and positioned generally over the front cutting wheel and/or the rear cutting wheel the body portion is provided with an upswept corner. The body portion also provides a front cutting wheel well and a rear cutting wheel well with the front cutting wheel well covering a portion of one side of the front cutting wheel, the rear cutting wheel well covering a portion of one side of the rear cutting, and the opposite sides of the front cutting wheel and the rear cutting wheel remain exposed. | 10-28-2010 |
20100262477 | ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKING SYSTEM FOR CONDUCTING COMMERCE - An online social networking system for conducting commerce utilizes a grid environment, a widget architecture including a widget operating system, and semantic integration technologies to provide personalized bundling of products and services tied to an individual's life, emergent marketplaces that support collaboratively-based product and service development, merchandising, and recommendations, emergent user experiences, emergent gaming, emergent behavior predictions, collaborative discovery, i.e., social searching, and content and/or people voyeurism. These features are achieved through the use of various techniques including emergent programming, emergent widget processing, emergent computations, emergent applications, widget composition, data integration and exchange, complex system management, security graphs, trust/reputation management, intersecting graphs, database sharding, use of fractal graphs (which may be thinned and expanded), and content mashups. | 10-14-2010 |
20100186256 | SHOE HAVING AN AIR CUSHIONING SYSTEM - An air cushioning system for use in a shoe has a molded heel absorber member the includes a center member that forms a sealed center air chamber and a peripheral member that extends about at least a portion of the periphery of the center member and that forms a vented peripheral air chamber. A vented air conduit is in communication with the vented peripheral air chamber. | 07-29-2010 |
20100173572 | MULTI-DRUM SANDER AND/OR RASP - Described herein is technology for, among other things, a multi-purpose sanding or filing apparatus. The apparatus includes a motor, a plurality of drive mechanisms in mechanical communication with the motor, and a plurality of drums, where each of the drums has an axis passing therethrough, the drums are coupled with respective drive mechanisms, and the drive mechanisms are operable to rotate the drums about their respective axes. | 07-08-2010 |
20100151774 | INTERCHANGEABLE SANDING SYSTEM - An embodiment of the present invention is directed to a multi-purpose sanding system. The sanding system includes a motor, a drive mechanism in mechanical communication with the motor, and a plurality of interchangeable sanding devices. Each of the interchangeable sanding devices is interchangeably coupleable with the drive mechanism. | 06-17-2010 |
20100121727 | EXCHANGING VALUE BETWEEN A SERVICE BUYER AND A SERVICE PROVIDER - Described herein is technology for, among other things, exchanging value between a service buyer and a service provider. The technology involves establishing a virtual funds account associated with the service buyer. A request for services is received from the service buyer, which includes an amount that the service buyer is willing to pay for the services. An indication that the service provider will perform the services for the service buyer is received, and a hold is placed in the buyer's virtual funds account on an amount of virtual funds corresponding to the amount that the service buyer is willing to pay for the services. | 05-13-2010 |
20100077553 | TOOLS HAVING MARKINGS FOR MEASURING - An embodiment of the present invention is directed to a tool that includes an elongated surface. The elongated surface has a plurality of spaced markings thereon for enabling a user of the tool to measure a length of an object or a depth by comparing the length of the object to the spaced markings. | 04-01-2010 |
20100042461 | GROUPING SERVICE ORDERS IN AN ELECTRONIC SERVICES MARKETPLACE - Described herein is technology for, among other things, grouping service orders in an electronic services marketplace. The technology involves receiving first and second service orders, comparing the first and second service orders, determining whether a relationship exists between certain criteria of the first and second service orders, and routing the first and second service orders together to a service provider that is to perform the services associated with the first and second service orders, when there is a relationship between the certain criteria of the first and second service orders. | 02-18-2010 |
20100018090 | THREE-DIMENSION GIFT CARD ASSEMBLY - A gift card assembly includes a substrate, a gift card, and a card carrying member interposed between the substrate and the gift card. The card carrying member is releasably attached to the substrate and releasably attached to the gift card. The card carrying member resiliently or movably carries the gift card relative to the substrate such that the gift card is allowed to be spaced from the substrate when the gift card assembly is in a displayed configuration (which thereby provides a three-dimensional effect to the gift card assembly) and is allowed to achieve a position adjacent to the substrate when the gift card assembly is in a stowed configuration. | 01-28-2010 |
20090294527 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PAYMENT CARD INDUSTRY ENTERPRISE ACCOUNT NUMBER ELIMINATION - A system and method replaces credit card numbers in systems that are customer facing with token Ids to thereby reduce exposure to credit card number theft. | 12-03-2009 |
20090114787 | VERSATILE BRACKET SYSTEM FOR DISPLAY DEVICES - A versatile bracket system for display devices includes a component that is attached to a backside of the display device. The component is moveable about the attachment between a first position relative to the backside of the display device and a second position relative to the backside of the display device. The first position of the component allows the component to be attached to an underside surface to thereby place the display device in a hanging viewing position. The second position of the component allows the component to cooperate with the display device and a topside surface to thereby place the display device in a standing viewing position. | 05-07-2009 |
20090106034 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MAKING THIRD PARTY PICKUP AVAILABLE TO RETAIL CUSTOMERS - Third party pickup for an ordered item is made available to a customer by authenticating the identity of the customer. The identity of the customer is authenticated by retrieving information associated with the customer from a public record; posing a question to the customer based upon the retrieved information; receiving a response to the question from the customer; and evaluating the received response to determine if the response achieves a threshold score. | 04-23-2009 |
20090100971 | FASTENER REMOVING TOOL - A fastener removing tool is provided. The fastener removing tool includes an extractor portion having an inside surface adapted to grip a fastener. The extractor portion further defines an outside surface with a cutting edge is adapted to cut a bore when the tool grips and removes a fastener. The fastener removing tool further includes a main body fixed relative to the extractor portion. The main body is adapted to engage with a driving tool for powering rotation of the fastener removing tool. The fastener removing tool also includes a cutter portion fixed relative to the main body opposite the extractor portion. The cutter portion includes a plurality of cutting members defining a plug forming space therebetween. A formed plug is to be placed into the bore formed during extraction of the fastener. | 04-23-2009 |
20080313007 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SCHEDULING AN IN-HOME APPLIANCE REPAIR SERVICE - A system for scheduling an in-home appliance repair service is disclosed. The system receives inputs from a user via a client device. The inputs are used to identify one or more home appliances in need of repair. For example, the user may have a clogged dishwasher. Data identifying the appliance is then transmitted to a repair scheduling server. The repair scheduling server executes a program which determines a plurality of available repair time slots and transmits a list of choices to the client device for display. The available repair time slots may depend on the type of appliance, the brand of the appliance, the particular model, the user's identify, and/or the geographical location of the appliance. Preferably, time slots are dynamically determined in cooperation with a plurality of service providers. Once the user selects a timeslot, the service is confirmed and scheduled. | 12-18-2008 |
20080295359 | Shoe with detachable and flexible heel strap - A shoe manufactured from a moldable foam material having a heel strap formed of a flexible and elastic material. The heel strap has a first end which is fixedly attached to an interior outer side of an upper portion of shoe. The heel strap also has a second end which is removeably attachable to an exterior outer side of the upper portion of the shoe though use of a Velcro loop arrangement and a cooperating Velcro hook arrangement which are attached each to one of the exterior outer side of the upper portion of the shoe and the second end of the heel strap. | 12-04-2008 |
20080237340 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING SELF SERVICE CHECKOUT AND PRODUCT DELIVERY USING A MOBILE DEVICE - A mobile device, such as a cellular telephone, is used to extract information from an information carrying indicia, such as a barcode. The information extracted from the information carrying indicia is then used to redirect a browser of the mobile device to a first web/WAP page having information related to a product, the first web/WAP page having a link that is activatable to allow for the purchase of the product. In response to activation of the link, the mobile device is caused to display a second web/WAP page that provides a means for the user to specify a method for paying for the product, such as by using an e-commerce like wallet, via a customer-service representative, etc., and a third web/WAP page that provides a means for the user to specify a method by which the product is to be delivered to the user, such as at home, in-store, at an in-car pickup facility etc. | 10-02-2008 |