Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090292584 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTEXT AND COMMUNITY BASED CUSTOMIZATION FOR A USER EXPERIENCE - A system and method for context and community based customization for a user experience is disclosed. The apparatus in an example embodiment includes a user experience customizer to gather context information, automatically produce user experience customization selections based on the context information, collect user activity feedback from a community of users, and use the user activity feedback to adjust the user experience customizer to automatically produce user experience customization selections likely favored by a user based on a correlation of the user activity feedback with the context information. | 11-26-2009 |
20100169361 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING A DATA DICTIONARY - There is provided a method and system generate a data dictionary for searching data items stored in an information resource. In one embodiment, the system generates a list of synonyms for keywords entered in search queries to the system. A keyword and synonym form a token pair. Token pairs are evaluated according to a bidirectional divergence value calculated for distributions of search results, wherein the searches are based on the token pairs. Token pairs are then selected based on the divergence value. The selected token pairs are compiled into a data dictionary. In one embodiment, the data dictionary is a synonym dictionary used for user search query expansion to find matching items. | 07-01-2010 |
20100179956 | ANALYZING QUERIES TO GENERATE PRODUCT INTENTION RULES - A method to generate a first product intention rule is described. The method includes generating a keyword support value for a keyword in a query, the keyword support value representing a level of use of the keyword in one or more queries received at an e-commerce portal. A keyword confidence value is generated to represent uses of the keyword in the one or more queries associated with a purchase of a first product. A first product intention rule is generated based on the keyword support value transgressing a support threshold and the keyword confidence value transgressing a confidence threshold. The first product intention rule is stored in a database. | 07-15-2010 |
20100262601 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR ASSESSING THE QUALITY OF AN ITEM LISTING - Methods and systems for assessing the quality of an item listing are described. In an example embodiment, a listing quality score for an item listing is derived as a weighted sum of first and second parts. The first part represents a predicted score based on a comparison of item attributes for the item listing that are known at listing time, with item attributes of similar item listings that have historical data available for assessing their actual performance. The second part is based on one or more observed demand metrics representing actual historical performance of the item listing. The weighting factor is derived, such that over time, the emphasis shifts from the predicted to the observed score. | 10-14-2010 |
20100306205 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING AN ORDER OF PRESENTATION OF SEARCH RESULTS - A method and system for determining an order of presentation of the search results is provided. An example system comprises a search request detector, a search engine, and an intermingler. The search request detector may be configured to receive a search request, and the search engine may be configured to determine search results based on the search request. The search results may comprise a first set of items in a first format and a second set of items in a second format. The number of items in the first set and the number of items in the second may reflect a predetermined target ratio and respective exposure percentages for items in the first format and items in the second format. The intermingler may be configured to determine an order of presentation of the search results in a list of search results based on the target ratio. | 12-02-2010 |
20110184883 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR SIMULATING A SEARCH TO GENERATE AN OPTIMIZED SCORING FUNCTION - Methods and systems for deriving a scoring function, for use in ordering a set of search results, are described. Consistent with some embodiments, a simulation platform includes an offline simulator module that receives search result sets for search queries that result in the conclusion of a transaction. The result set is then processed by the offline simulation platform to derive a set of weighting factors for use with one or more parameters in a parametric scoring function. The weighting factors are determined, for example, by specifying an equation setting one or more constraints and then solving the equation for the weighting factors. | 07-28-2011 |
20110184941 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR SELECTING AN OPTIMIZED SCORING FUNCTION FOR USE IN RANKING ITEM LISTINGS PRESENTED IN SEARCH RESULTS - Methods and systems for simulating a search, for the purpose of evaluating one or more scoring functions used in ordering item listings for presentation in a search results page are described. Consistent with some embodiments, a simulation platform includes a real-time simulation module that receives search result sets for search queries that result in the conclusion of a transaction. The result set is then processed by the simulation platform with one or more test scoring functions, such that the resulting position of the item listing that has resulted in the transaction can be compared with the actual position at which the item listing was displayed in the actual search results. For each test scoring function, an average rank shift metric is determined, and displayed, thereby providing a metric with which to base decisions about which scoring functions to use in the production system. | 07-28-2011 |
20110235902 | PRE-COMPUTING DIGESTS FOR IMAGE SIMILARITY SEARCHING OF IMAGE-BASED LISTINGS IN A NETWORK-BASED PUBLICATION SYSTEM - A system and method, which may be an offline method, extracts relevant image features about listing items in a network-based publication system for enabling image similarity searching of such listing items. When a seller lists an item, an image of the item is uploaded and may be sent to a picture processing service, which generates several digests. The digests are compressed data structures each representing a particular image feature such as edge, color, texture, or words. These digests are then stored in a search database, where the digests can be used to retrieve listings by image similarity at scale. A similar process can be performed for a query listing for searching the search database for items similar to the query listing. | 09-29-2011 |
20110238659 | TWO-PASS SEARCHING FOR IMAGE SIMILARITY OF DIGESTS OF IMAGE-BASED LISTINGS IN A NETWORK-BASED PUBLICATION SYSTEM - Using a processor, receiving, a query including a query image. A database is searched for a set of images similar to the query image, using a two-pass search. The results of the searching are then provided, the results including image members of the set of images similar to the query image. The first pass may be performed using a TF-IDF algorithm and the second pass ranks a predetermined number of results from the first pass by a best match algorithm or other type of algorithm. The type of second pass algorithm may be selectable by a user. If an end signal is not detected, a further two-pass search may be made based on a subsequent query having a subsequent query image. The subsequent query image may one of the results of the previous two pass search. A subsequent query image may change from an image of a product of a first product category to an image of a product of a second product category. | 09-29-2011 |
20110314031 | PRODUCT CATEGORY OPTIMIZATION FOR IMAGE SIMILARITY SEARCHING OF IMAGE-BASED LISTINGS IN A NETWORK-BASED PUBLICATION SYSTEM - A weighted combination of attributes including but not limited to color, shape, pattern, brand, style, size, and material may be used to rank items when searching for similar items of a given category on an ecommerce system website. The weights on each attribute may be optimized by using feedback from users, the feedback indicating the importance of each attribute to a purchaser when searching for similar items of various categories. Alternatively, click-through patterns from the ecommerce system website can be mined and used to optimize the importance of each attribute to users by item category. The optimum attribute weights for that items category are used to rank the results in a search for similar items in that category. | 12-22-2011 |
20120016873 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR RANKING SEARCH RESULTS BASED ON CATEGORIES - Described herein are methods and systems for promoting item listings that satisfy a query based on the item listings being assigned to certain categories that have, based on historical click data, exhibited high demand characteristics for the query. Consistent with some embodiments, a certain number of leaf-level categories are identified based on demand data for those categories, and the item listings assigned to those categories are promoted through a weighting factor derived in part based on the click probability score associated with the category. In some embodiments, certain sub-categories may be selected when the demand associated with the child categories of the sub-category is well balanced. | 01-19-2012 |
20120128239 | IMAGE QUALITY ASSESSMENT TO MERCHANDISE AN ITEM - Image-based features may be significantly correlated with click-through rates of images that depict a product, which may provide a more formal basis for the informal notion that good quality images will result in better click-through rates, as compared to poor quality images. Accordingly, an image assessment machine is configured to analyze image-based features to improve click-through rates for shopping search applications (e.g., a product search engine). Moreover, the image assessment machine may rank search results based on image quality factors and may notify sellers about low quality images. This may have the effect of improving the brand value for an online shopping website and accordingly have a positive long-term impact on the online shopping website. | 05-24-2012 |
20120191717 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING A DATA DICTIONARY - There is provided an ecommerce method and system to generate a data dictionary for searching data items stored in a database. In one embodiment, the system comprises a candidate list generator module to generate a list of keywords from search query information and generate a set of token pairs including a keyword from the list of keywords and a token, the token being a synonym of the keyword. Demand information retrieved from query logs maintained for user-provided query entries is used to apply candidate selection rules to token pairs. The system also comprises a validation module and a data dictionary module to receive validated token pairs as entries in a vocabulary. | 07-26-2012 |
20120207389 | IDENTIFYING PRODUCT METADATA FROM AN ITEM IMAGE - A metadata extraction machine accesses an image that depicts an item and identifies an attribute of the item and a descriptor that specifies a value for the identified attribute. The machine identifies the attribute and the descriptor based on an analysis of the accessed image that includes distinguishing a foreground portion of the image from a background portion of the image. Distinguishing a foreground portion from the background portion may include segmenting the image to identify the foreground and background portions. Some or all of the analysis may be performed by the machine. The machine then stores the identified descriptor of the item as metadata of the item. | 08-16-2012 |
20120310787 | SELECTING DIVERSE PRODUCT TITLES TO DISPLAY ON A WEBSITE - A system and method for selecting diverse product titles to display on a website are disclosed. In some example embodiments, the methods and systems described herein identify available products to be displayed, cluster the identified products based on their similarity to one another, select one or more products from each of the clusters, and display information, such as a title, associated with the randomly selected products. | 12-06-2012 |
20130132824 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTEXT AND COMMUNITY BASED CUSTOMIZATION FOR A USER EXPERIENCE - A system and method for context and community based customization for a user experience is disclosed. The apparatus in an example embodiment includes a user experience customizer to gather context information, automatically produce user experience customization selections based on the context information, collect user activity feedback from a community of users, and use the user activity feedback to adjust the user experience customizer to automatically produce user experience customization selections likely favored by a user based on a correlation of the user activity feedback with the context information. | 05-23-2013 |
20140052547 | GENERATING PRODUCT PURCHASE PAGES FOR CONTAINERS OF ITEMS - Methods and systems to build containers of uncategorized items are described. In some example embodiments, the methods and systems generate a title for a container of uncategorized items available for purchase within a network-based publication system, associate two or more uncategorized items available for purchase within the network-based publication system to the container based on a comparison of titles of the two or more uncategorized items and the generated title for the container of uncategorized items, and cause a display of a container-based product purchase page within the network-based publication system that presents product description information for at least one of the associated two or more uncategorized items available for purchase within the network-based publication system. | 02-20-2014 |
20140052579 | BUILDING CONTAINERS OF UNCATEGORIZED ITEMS AT MULTIPLE LOCATIONS - Methods and systems to build containers of uncategorized items are described. In some example embodiments, the methods and systems access a search request for items available for purchase via a network-based location, collect information associated with available items having product description information satisfying the search request and located at multiple network-based locations, determine one or more containers that associate items available for purchase based on the collected information, and publish a result for the search request that is based on the determined containers. | 02-20-2014 |
20140052589 | BUILDING CONTAINERS OF UNCATEGORIZED ITEMS - Methods and systems to build containers of uncategorized items are described. In some example embodiments, the methods and systems collect information from titles of items available for purchase within a network-based publication system, generate a title for a container of uncategorized items available for purchase within the network-based publication system that is based on the collected information, and associate two or more uncategorized items available for purchase within the network-based publication system to the container based on a comparison of titles of the two or more uncategorized items and the generated title for the container of uncategorized items. | 02-20-2014 |
20140052719 | PRESENTING INFORMATION FOR CONTAINERS IN SEARCH RESULTS - Methods and systems to build containers of uncategorized items are described. In some example embodiments, the methods and systems access a search query received by a network-based publication system, identify a container of uncategorized items having a title that satisfies the search query, and return a result for the search query that is associated with the identified container. | 02-20-2014 |
20140105489 | PRE-COMPUTING DIGESTS FOR IMAGE SIMILARITY SEARCHING OF IMAGE-BASED LISTINGS IN A NETWORK-BASED PUBLICATION SYSTEM - A system and method, which may be an offline method, extracts relevant image features about images in a network-based publication system for enabling image similarity searching of such images. An image is uploaded and may be sent to a picture processing service, which generates digests. The digests are compressed data structures each representing a particular image feature such as edge, color, texture, or words. These digests are then stored in a search database, where the digests can be used to retrieve images by image similarity at scale. A similar process can be performed for an image query for searching the search database for images similar to the query image. | 04-17-2014 |
20140164146 | IMAGE QUALITY ASSESSMENT TO MERCHANDISE AN ITEM - Image-based features may be significantly correlated with click-through rates of images that depict a product, which may provide a more formal basis for the informal notion that good quality images will result in better click-through rates, as compared to poor quality images. Accordingly, an image assessment machine is configured to analyze image-based features to improve click-through rates for shopping search applications (e.g., a product search engine). Moreover, the image assessment machine may rank search results based on image quality factors and may notify sellers about low quality images. This may have the effect of improving the brand value for an online shopping website and accordingly have a positive long-term impact on the online shopping website. | 06-12-2014 |
20140164387 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING A DATA DICTIONARY - Systems and methods for generating data dictionaries are disclosed. In one example, a system comprises a candidate list generator module to generate a list of keywords from search query information, a validation module to validate candidate token pairs based on a divergence value wherein candidate token pairs having divergence values exceeding a divergence threshold are valid token pairs, and a data dictionary module to receive the validated token pairs as entries in a vocabulary, and provide the validated token pairs in response to a search query containing a keyword corresponding to at least one entry in the vocabulary. | 06-12-2014 |
20140310119 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING AN ORDER OF PRESENTATION OF SEARCH RESULTS - A method and system for determining an order of presentation of the search results is provided. An example system comprises a search request detector, a search engine, and an intermingler. The search request detector may be configured to receive a search request, and the search engine may be configured to determine search results based on the search request. The search results may comprise a first set of items of a first type and a second set of items of a second type. The number of items in the first set and the number of items in the second may reflect a predetermined target ratio. The intermingler may be configured to determine an order of presentation of the search results in a list of search results based on the target ratio. | 10-16-2014 |
20140324836 | FINDING SIMILAR ITEMS USING WINDOWS OF COMPUTATION - A first database search is performed for images similar to a first query image, and a first plurality of images that result from the first database search are provided. The first plurality of images are selectable to provide a second query image. A second database search is performed for images similar to the second query image, and a second plurality of images that result from the second search are provided. The second plurality of images are selectable to provide a third query image. A third database search is performed for images similar to the third query image; and a third plurality of images that result from the third database search are provided. The third plurality of images are selectable for providing a fourth query image. The search can continue to additional depths. Similarity may be determined by pixel color gradients using windows of computation. | 10-30-2014 |