Patents Examined by Shannon Saliard
  • Patent number: 7983926
    Abstract: In an automated method for providing personalised recommendations to a user, a global probabilistic purchase model based on prior interactions of a group of users of a system, is used in the generation of personalised recommendations for future purchases for a given user. Attributes of the given user are used to identify characteristics relating to the user's personal purchasing, correction factors are calculated to update the output of the global probabilistic purchase model to personalise the recommendations for the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2011
    Assignee: Conopco, Inc.
    Inventors: Iqbal Adjali, Malcolm Benjamin Dias, Wael El-Deredy, Carmen Maria Sordo-Garcia, Ming Li, Paulo Jorge Lisboa Gomes
  • Patent number: 7610208
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and system for booking a reservation in a booking system and synchronizing bookings in several booking systems comprising at least one booking systems; at least one service provider; a mediator service; a client, and at least one client terminal device that can be a mobile device and that includes a dialogue. In addition, the system comprises telecommunication connections that are used to connect the booking systems, the service providers, the mediator, and the client terminal device. The client uses the dialogue to enter information into the system. There mediator gets inquiries and answers from booking systems, service providers, and dialogues, and transfers and adapts information between them.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2009
    Assignee: Bookit Oy Ajanvarauspalvelu
    Inventor: Jukka Salonen
  • Patent number: 7457761
    Abstract: The method of managing the delivery of an order from at least one supplier to a respective delivery agent, and from the delivery agent to a respective buyer, given a requested order date and the respective buyers address, consisting of the steps including: determining a first potential arrival date of the order at a respective delivery agents location based on the order request date and the buyer's address; calculating the capacity of the delivery agent to ship the order based the first potential arrive date request; and finally, determining when there is sufficient capacity to ship the order to the buyer's address.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2008
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Timothy Jay Smith, Terry Ray Stout, Jeffrey Allen Hume, Gregory Ellington
  • Patent number: 7353185
    Abstract: An ETC system for a toll road includes a road-side device. The road-side device transmitting a polling signal. The road-side device receives a response of an on-vehicle device to the transmitted polling signal. A decision is made as to whether or not the response is received a plural number of times. In cases where it is decided that the response is received a plural number of times, next radio communications with the on-vehicle device are started.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2008
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Seiji Fuyama
  • Patent number: 7349855
    Abstract: This invention relates to a device for statistically following up postal products for electronic franking system, comprising a random access memory (RAM) used for recording communication statements, in which a saved part of this RAM contains a plurality of communication counters each associated with a determined postal product and corresponding to the total number of postal products considered as priority or secondary by the Postal Service.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2008
    Assignee: Neopost Industrie
    Inventor: Claude Tetard
  • Patent number: 7127434
    Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus, system, and method for postage stamp generation. The apparatus includes print module configured to print a customized image or text based stamp, and a communication module for receiving verification from a server. The apparatus may include a creation module for creating an image or text based stamp, and a selection module for selecting a stamp from a pre-approved selection of stamps. In one embodiment, the apparatus may comprise a personal computer configured for postage stamp generation. Alternatively, the apparatus may include handheld electronic devices, notebooks, or the like. The system may comprise the apparatus, a verification server, and a printer operatively coupled to the apparatus. The method comprises selecting or creating a stamp, sending the stamp to the server for verification, receiving verification, previewing the stamp, purchasing the stamp, and printing the stamp.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2006
    Inventor: Leonard W. Burningham
  • Patent number: 7085727
    Abstract: An automated movie rental and notification system includes a computer having a movie database containing hold and reservation lists and movie records. The system receives rental requests, each request including a selected movie title, reservation mode, reservation time, and submitter contact information. If the reservation mode is a hold mode, the request is added to the hold list. If the mode is a reserve mode and the selected title will be available by the selected reservation time, then the request is added to the reserve list. When the movie title is available, submitters of the hold list requests associated with that title are successively contacted using respective submitter information to inform the submitter of availability until a positive response is returned from a submitter. Requests on the reserve list are selected for contact a predetermined amount of time before the selected reservation time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2006
    Inventor: Stacy L. VanOrman