Patents by Inventor Neil C. Thier

Neil C. Thier has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11361363
    Abstract: A recommendation appliance, system and method are provided for generating and deploying additional web page content or functionality (e.g., retail recommendations) to an existing web page server system. For example, the present invention may be embodied as a reverse proxy server that is inserted as an intermediate network node between a web server and the end users accessing the web server. In this position, the recommendation appliance can introduce recommendation messages to web pages generated by the web server without requiring any modification to the code or architecture of the web server. In addition, the appliance may separately track the transaction activities of end users who receive recommendation messages and the transaction activities of end users who do not receive recommendation messages, so that a comparison of the effectiveness of the recommendations may efficiently be demonstrated without requiring any modification to the code or architecture of the web server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: Versata Development Group, Inc.
    Inventors: James Singh, Neil C. Thier, Chris Hyams, Thomas W. Wilbur
  • Patent number: 10664895
    Abstract: A recommendation appliance, system and method are provided for generating and deploying additional web page content or functionality (e.g., retail recommendations) to an existing web page server system. For example, the present invention may be embodied as a reverse proxy server that is inserted as an intermediate network node between a web server and the end users accessing the web server. In this position, the recommendation appliance can introduce recommendation messages to web pages generated by the web server without requiring any modification to the code or architecture of the web server. In addition, the appliance may separately track the transaction activities of end users who receive recommendation messages and the transaction activities of end users who do not receive recommendation messages, so that a comparison of the effectiveness of the recommendations may efficiently be demonstrated without requiring any modification to the code or architecture of the web server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: VERSATA DEVELOPMENT GROUP, INC.
    Inventors: James Singh, Neil C. Thier, Chris Hyams, Thomas W. Wilbur
  • Patent number: 9767506
    Abstract: A recommendation appliance, system and method are provided for generating and deploying additional web page content or functionality (e.g., retail recommendations) to an existing web page server system. For example, the present invention may be embodied as a reverse proxy server that is inserted as an intermediate network node between a web server and the end users accessing the web server. In this position, the recommendation appliance can introduce recommendation messages to web pages generated by the web server without requiring any modification to the code or architecture of the web server. In addition, the appliance may separately track the transaction activities of end users who receive recommendation messages and the transaction activities of end users who do not receive recommendation messages, so that a comparison of the effectiveness of the recommendations may efficiently be demonstrated without requiring any modification to the code or architecture of the web server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: Versata Development Group, Inc.
    Inventors: James Singh, Neil C. Thier, Chris Hyams, Thomas W. Wilbur
  • Publication number: 20140214594
    Abstract: A recommendation appliance, system and method are provided for generating and deploying additional web page content or functionality (e.g., retail recommendations) to an existing web page server system. For example, the present invention may be embodied as a reverse proxy server that is inserted as an intermediate network node between a web server and the end users accessing the web server. In this position, the recommendation appliance can introduce recommendation messages to web pages generated by the web server without requiring any modification to the code or architecture of the web server. In addition, the appliance may separately track the transaction activities of end users who receive recommendation messages and the transaction activities of end users who do not receive recommendation messages, so that a comparison of the effectiveness of the recommendations may efficiently be demonstrated without requiring any modification to the code or architecture of the web server.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2014
    Publication date: July 31, 2014
    Applicant: Versata Development Group, Inc.
    Inventors: James Singh, Neil C. Thier, Chris Hyams, Thomas W. Wilbur
  • Patent number: 8688536
    Abstract: A recommendation appliance, system and method are provided for generating and deploying additional web page content or functionality (e.g., retail recommendations) to an existing web page server system. For example, the present invention may be embodied as a reverse proxy server that is inserted as an intermediate network node between a web server and the end users accessing the web server. In this position, the recommendation appliance can introduce recommendation messages to web pages generated by the web server without requiring any modification to the code or architecture of the web server. In addition, the appliance may separately track the transaction activities of end users who receive recommendation messages and the transaction activities of end users who do not receive recommendation messages, so that a comparison of the effectiveness of the recommendations may efficiently be demonstrated without requiring any modification to the code or architecture of the web server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2014
    Assignee: Versata Development Group, Inc.
    Inventors: James Singh, Neil C. Thier, Chris Hyams, Thomas W. Wilbur
  • Publication number: 20110213676
    Abstract: A recommendation appliance, system and method are provided for generating and deploying additional web page content or functionality (e.g., retail recommendations) to an existing web page server system. For example, the present invention may be embodied as a reverse proxy server that is inserted as an intermediate network node between a web server and the end users accessing the web server. In this position, the recommendation appliance can introduce recommendation messages to web pages generated by the web server without requiring any modification to the code or architecture of the web server. In addition, the appliance may separately track the transaction activities of end users who receive recommendation messages and the transaction activities of end users who do not receive recommendation messages, so that a comparison of the effectiveness of the recommendations may efficiently be demonstrated without requiring any modification to the code or architecture of the web server.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2011
    Publication date: September 1, 2011
    Inventors: James Singh, Neil C. Thier, Chris Hyams, Thomas W. Wilbur
  • Patent number: 7966219
    Abstract: A recommendation appliance, system and method are provided for generating and deploying additional web page content or functionality (e.g., retail recommendations) to an existing web page server system. For example, the present invention may be embodied as a reverse proxy server that is inserted as an intermediate network node between a web server and the end users accessing the web server. In this position, the recommendation appliance can introduce recommendation messages to web pages generated by the web server without requiring any modification to the code or architecture of the web server. In addition, the appliance may separately track the transaction activities of end users who receive recommendation messages and the transaction activities of end users who do not receive recommendation messages, so that a comparison of the effectiveness of the recommendations may efficiently be demonstrated without requiring any modification to the code or architecture of the web server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2011
    Assignee: Versata Development Group, Inc.
    Inventors: James Singh, Neil C. Thier, Chris Hyams, Thomas W. Wilbur
  • Patent number: 7720720
    Abstract: A data processing system generates recommendations for on-line shopping by scoring recommendations matching the customer's cart contents product page, configuration page, email and/or history using predetermined scoring criteria, such as item availability, item price, relevance of the item to the customer, item clarity, item exposure, total purchase amount in the cart, margin, recommendation confidence and lift, shopper profile matches, seasonality, customer history, time dependency, product marketing emphasis, substitutability, item popularity and/or product attributes associated with the recommended item. The scored recommendations may be ranked and/or filtered to prioritize the recommendations so that the best recommendation is selected for presentation to the customer. In addition, one or more scoring criteria or product attributes for the recommended item may be used to select a specific selling point/message text for inclusion with the selected recommendation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Versata Development Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Nirad Sharma, Michael K. Grant, Neil C. Thier, Alex Devine, Sherrill J. Packebush, Thomas H. Dillon, James Singh, Jeremy S. Wacksman, Chris Hyams, Timothy P. Darr
  • Patent number: 7698170
    Abstract: A data processing system normalizes data sets (such as low-resolution transaction data) into high-resolution data sets by mapping generic information into attribute-based specific information that is stored in a database. By establishing a shared domain model for representing items in the recommendation context, catalog and quote history with common terms and concepts, a recommendation engine operating in the shared domain may process the attribute-based representations to make specific and relevant recommendations to the customer. In addition, when certain attribute values are normalized over time, recommendations derived from past order history can be intelligently applied to current orders. The normalized representation of elements in the shared domain may also be used to generate compelling selling point text for each recommendation that is specific to the marketing objectives of the seller and identifies the objectives of the buyer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2010
    Assignee: Versata Development Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy P. Darr, Thomas H. Dillon, Sherrill J. Packebush, Michael K. Grant, James Singh, Jacob D. Leffler, Jeremy S. Wacksman, Neil C. Thier