WO2001071602A1

WO2001071602A1 - Network navigation methods, systems, and databases for an article having a product code

Info

Publication number: WO2001071602A1
Application number: PCT/US2000/007312
Authority: WO
Inventors: William L. Reber; Cary D. Perttunen
Original assignee: Motorola, Inc.
Priority date: 2000-03-17
Filing date: 2000-03-17
Publication date: 2001-09-27
Also published as: AU2000237627A1

Abstract

A network navigation method includes steps of reading a product code (14) from an article (12), and determining an electronic address (20) based upon the product code (14). A network navigation system is provided to perform the aforementioned steps. A database (32, 34) associates the product code (14) with the electronic address (20).

Description

NETWORK NAVIGATION METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND DATABASES FOR AN ARTICLE HAVING A PRODUCT CODE

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to methods and systems for navigating an electronic network.

Background of the Invention

The introductory chapter of Discover the World Wide Web with Your Sportster, Second Edition, provides a commentary on the present state of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Here, it is stated that the Internet is in need of an application which will transform the "much-hyped but difficult-to-use linking of computers around the world to being a highly informative, highly usable database and communications tool." It is further stated that the various available Web browsers all have difficulties and limitations which make them insufficient to handle the complexity of the Internet.

Part of the problem is in the complexity of addressing a resource on the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web uses an addressing system known as a URL

(Uniform Resource Locator) that defines the location of a resource on the Internet. URLs are comprised of up to four parts: a protocol, a domain name, a path, and a filename. The combination of these four parts can produce a complex address for a resource. For example, the address for information on two-way pagers on the Motorola home page is: http://www.mot.com/MIMS/MSPG/ Products/Two-way/tango/desc . html .

Another part of the problem is in the rapid increase of the number of entities and the number of resources on the World Wide Web. Many entities are finding that domain names which they desire are already reserved. As a result, some entities have to purchase their desired domain name from another holder, or have to reserve a less than desirable domain name. Further, as the number of resources increases, newly-formed URLs become less intuitive and greater in length.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention is pointed out with particularity in the appended claims. However, other features of the invention are disclosed in the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a system for navigating an electronic network using an article having a product code;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a network navigation method using the article having the product code;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of records in a database for determining the electronic address;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example of the data reader and the network access apparatus at the user location;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an example of the article;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method of processing electronic orders; and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a system for processing electronic orders.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments Embodiments of the present invention advantageously provide methods, systems, and databases for automatically navigating an electronic network to a destination associated with a product having a product code. An end user can navigate to the destination using the product without necessarily knowing the electronic address for the destination. As a result, the electronic address and the format for the electronic address become more transparent to the end user.

Additionally, embodiments of the present invention provide methods and systems for processing electronic orders. Preferably, each electronic order is generated by reading a product code at a user location. The electronic order is communicated to a processing node via an electronic network. The processing node processes each electronic order in dependence upon its delivery priority. A high priority order is fulfilled by a product source local to the user location. A low priority order is fulfilled by a centrally-located product source.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a system for navigating an electronic network 10 using an article 12 having a product code 14. Preferably, the electronic network 10 includes an open, wide area network such as the Internet, the World Wide Web, or an online service. Other examples of the electronic network 10 include but are not limited to: an intranet, an extranet, a local area network, a telephone network such as a public switched telephone network, a cellular telephone network, a personal communication system (PCS) network, a television network such as a cable television system, a paging network such as a local paging network, a regional paging network, a national paging network, or a global paging network, and a wireless data network such as a satellite data network or a local wireless data network.

The article 12 is associated with a product identified by the product code 14. Examples of the article 12 include, but are not limited to, the product itself, a housing or a container for the product, packaging material for the product, a price tag for the product, and a coupon for the product. The packaging material can include a wrapper or a package to contain the housing and/or the product. Alternatively, the packaging material can include a sheet of material, a booklet, or an instruction manual associated with the product. The price tag can be attached to either the product, the housing, or the packaging material.

The product code 14 preferably includes a printed code such as a one-dimensional or a two-dimensional bar code to identify the product. Alternatively, the product code 14 can include magnetic data, electronic data, or optical data to identify the product. If desired, the product code 14 can be readable in more than one mode. For example, printed data can be printed with a magnetic substance, such as magnetic ink, so as to be both optically readable and magnetically readable.

Preferably, the product code 14 includes a manufacturer code to identify a manufacturer of the product, and a product number associated with the product. As such, it is preferred that the product code 14 includes a Universal Product Code (UPC) presently associated with most products in the United States. Examples of UPC codes include but are not limited to UPC-A codes and UPC-E codes. The UPC-A bar code encodes a one-digit system number, a five-digit manufacturer number, a five-digit product number, and a checksum character. The manufacturer number is assigned by the Uniform Code Council. The product number is selected by the manufacturer. The UPC-E bar code is a shortened version of the UPC-A bar code in which zeros are suppressed. Both the UPC-A and the UPC-E codes can include a supplemental bar code to further distinguish the product. The supplemental bar code can include a two-digit or a five-digit supplemental bar code used for books and periodicals, for example.

Optionally, the product code 14 further includes a code identifying a country of origin of the product. In this case, a European Article Numbering (EAN) code, a Japanese Article Numbering (JAN) code, or an ISBN code can be used. Examples of EAN/JAN codes include but are not limited to EAN/JAN-8 codes and EAN/JAN-13 codes. EAN/JAN codes include two characters to identify the country of origin.

The product code 14 can be used to navigate to a destination of the electronic network 10 such as an electronic address 20. Preferably, the electronic address 20 identifies the destination using at least a portion of a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) , a URN (Uniform Resource Name), an IP (Internet Protocol) address, or an electronic mail address. It is noted that a URL can include up to four parts: a protocol, a domain name, a path, and a filename. URL protocols include: "file:" for accessing a file stored on a local storage medium; "ftp:" for accessing a file from an FTP (file transfer protocol) server; "http:" for accessing an HTML (hypertext marking language) document; "gopher:" for accessing a Gopher server; "mailto:" for sending an e-mail message; "news:" for linking to a Usenet newsgroup; "telnet": for opening a telnet session; and "wais:" for accessing a WAIS server. Consequently, the article 12 can be utilized for automatically initiating any of the above tasks.

A data reader 22 is used to read the product code 14 from the article 12. The form of the data reader 22 is dependent upon the form of the product code 14.- For printed data, the data reader 22 can include an optical data reader such as a bar code reader, a scanning wand, a handheld scanner, a page scanner, a business card reader, a photograph reader, a fax machine, or generally, a linear CCD (charge coupled device) reader or a two-dimensional CCD reader. For magnetically- stored data, the data reader 22 can include a magnetic read head. For electronically-stored data, the data reader 22 can include an electronic interface or a receiver.

The data reader 22 communicates a signal representative of the product code 14 to a network access apparatus 24. In response to receiving the product code 14, the network access apparatus 24 can execute any combination of: a predetermined client routine (e.g. a predetermined Internet browser routine) , a predetermined network provider access routine (e.g. to dial and log on to a predetermined service provider) , and navigation instructions for automatically linking the network access apparatus 24 either to the electronic address 20 or to a node 26 via the electronic network 10.

Additionally, the network access apparatus 24 can initiate a transaction based on the product code 14. Here, for example, an end user 30 can electronically order a product (which may be either a first-time purchase or a refill or a replacement of the product) identified by the product code 14. Further, customer information such as warranty information for the product can also be obtained. It is noted that the network access apparatus 24 can have a variety of forms, including but not limited to, a general purpose computer, a network computer, a network television, an Internet television, an Internet telephone, a portable wireless device, a television receiver, a game player, a video recorder, and an audio component. Regardless of its form, the network access apparatus 24 typically includes a processor in communication with at least one input device, a memory, and at least one storage device. The processor can include a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit, or another suitable integrated circuit. The memory can include a read-only memory and/or a random access memory in communication with the processor. The at least one input device can include a keyboard and/or a pointing device for receiving user- initiated events from the end user 30. The at least one storage device can include a floppy disk drive, a PC card storage device, an optical drive, a DVD drive, a CD-ROM drive, or a hard drive to store computer- readable data.

To communicate with the electronic network 10, the network access apparatus 24 includes a modem, a network adapter, a wireless transceiver, a wireline transceiver, or another transceiver. The network access apparatus 24 can communicate with the electronic network 10 via a line such as a telephone line, an integrated service digital network ISDN line, a coaxial line, a cable television line, a fiber optic line, a computer network line, or the like. Alternatively, the network access apparatus 24 can wirelessly communicate with the electronic network 10.

Based upon the product code 14, the electronic address 20 is determined using a database. The database can be local to the network access apparatus 24, such as a database 32, or can be accessible via the electronic network 10, such as a database 34 at the node 26. In these cases, the database 32 and/or the database 34 each includes a plurality of records associating product codes with electronic addresses.

The network access apparatus 24 can access the database 32 to translate the product code 14 to the electronic address 20 by matching at least a portion of the product code 14 with one of the records. Alternatively, a computer 35 can access the database 34 to translate the product code 14 to the electronic address 20 by matching at least a portion of the product code 14 with one of the records.

Each database includes a storage device to read and optionally to store its data in a computer-readable form with a computer-readable storage medium. Examples of the computer-readable storage medium include, but are not limited to, an optical storage medium such as a compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) or a digital versatile disk (DVD), a magnetic storage medium such as a hard disk or a floppy disk, and an electronic storage medium such as a memory.

The network access apparatus 24 communicates the at least a portion of the product code 14 either locally to the database 32 or remotely to the database 34 via the electronic network 10. The database 32 or the database 34 receives the data, matches the data to a record, and returns the electronic address 20. Data representative of the electronic address 20 is communicated to the network access apparatus 24 via either a local connection or the electronic network 10. Typically, the node 26 and the electronic address 20 have different URLs. For example, the node 26 can have a different domain name than the electronic address 20. Further, the node 26 and a node which provides the electronic address 20 can be geographically distant from each other (e.g. can be in different cities, different states or provinces, or different countries) .

After determining the electronic address 20 from the product code 14, the network access apparatus 24 can perform any combination of: linking to the electronic address 20, communicating data to the electronic address 20, and receiving data from the electronic address 20. By linking to the electronic address 20, the end user 30 can link to a Web page or an online document associated with either the product or the manufacturer of the product. By communicating data to the electronic address 20, the end user 30 can initiate a transaction involving the product. By receiving data from the electronic address 20, the end user 30 can receive information associated with the product . Preferably, the steps of linking, communicating data and/or receiving data are performed to facilitate a transaction. For example, the end user 30 can purchase refills for the product, from a user location 36, using the article 12 having the product code 14. The user location 36 can include a residence of the end user 30.

A display device 40, such as a monitor, a television, or a liquid crystal display, is either coupled to or included with the network access apparatus 24 to display visual information received from the electronic address 20. To reinforce the intuitive association between the article 12 and either the electronic address 20 or the node 26, the visual information includes an image 42 similar to (or can be equivalent to) at least a portion of a human-readable image 44 associated with the article 12. Generally, the human-readable image 44 can include textual information and/or graphical information. Alternatively, the image 42 can include an image of the product .

It is noted that the node 26 can perform any of the functions of the nodes described in the patent application entitled "Methods and Systems for Providing a Resource in an Electronic Network" incorporated by reference into this disclosure. Examples of these functions include, but are not limited to, monitoring a usage parameter for electronic network navigation using product codes, limiting electronic network navigation when the usage parameter attains a usage limit, and providing a proxy server for resources of the electronic network 10. Additionally, the node 26 can specify a level of service with which to provide a resource to the end user 30. Further, it is noted that as an alternative to the herein-described examples of electronic addresses, the article 12 can be used to navigate to a telephone number (either wireless or wireline) , a fax number, a pager number, or a personal communication system (PCS) number. In these cases, the databases 32 and 34 can store records which associate a telecommunication code with the product code 14. By reading the product code 14 using the data reader 22, the end user 30 can automatically initiate a telephone call, a fax, a paging message, or a PCS call to an individual associated with the product (e.g. a service representative, a merchant, a manufacturer, an advertiser, or another individual) . FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a network navigation method using the article 12 having the product code 14. As indicated by block 50, the method includes a step of reading the product code- 14 from the article 12. The product code 14 is read using the data reader 22. The step of reading the product code 14 can include reading a manufacturer code, a product number, a system number, a country code, and/or a supplementary code for a product. Preferably, the step of reading the product code 14 includes reading a printed code such as at least one of a UPC code, an EAN code, a JAN code, and an ISBN code associated with the article 12.

As indicated by block 52, a step of executing a network access routine is performed. The network access routine is executed by the network access apparatus 24. If desired, the network access routine can be automatically initiated upon reading the product code in block 50, or upon receiving another user- initiated action. Alternatively, the step of executing the network access routine can be executed prior to reading the product code 14 in block 50.

The step of executing the network access routine can include any of: (i) executing a routine to connect and/or to log on to a service provider (e.g. executing a dial-up routine or a wireless authentication routine to connect to a service provider); and (ii) executing a client routine for subsequent user interaction via the electronic network 10 (e.g. executing a graphical user interface routine or a Web browsing routine) . Optionally, a step of decoding the product code 14 is performed as indicated by block 5 . The product code 14 is decoded in accordance with a predetermined bar code standard, such as UPC, EAN/JAN, or ISBN. As indicated by block 56, a step of determining the electronic address 20 based upon the product code 14 is performed. The step of determining the electronic address 20 preferably includes determining at least a portion of, and optionally, an entire portion of a URL, a URN, an IP address, or an electronic mail address associated with the product identified by the product code 14.

The electronic address 20 can include at least a portion of the product code 14. For example, the electronic address 20 can include at least a portion of a manufacturer code included in the product code 14. In this case, it is preferred that the electronic address 20 has a domain name which includes the manufacturer code. For example, for a manufacturer code of "99999", the electronic address 20 can include "99999.com" such as in "http://www.99999.com".

The electronic address 20 can include at least a portion of a product number included in the product code 14. In this case, it is preferred that the electronic address 20 has at least one of a path name and a file name which includes the product number. For example, for a product number of "12345", the electronic address 20 can include "/12345" such as in "http: //www.motorola. com/12345" . Alternatively, the step of determining the electronic address 20 includes retrieving the electronic address 20 from a database based upon at least a portion of the product code 14. In this case, the electronic address 20 can be determined by a look- up operation using either the database 32 or the database 34.

The electronic address 20 can have a domain name based upon a manufacturer code included in the product code 14. In this case, it is preferred that the manufacturer code translates to a domain name independent of the product number. For example, a manufacturer number of "99999" can translate to "motorola" or "motorola.com". A manufacturer number of "99998" can translate to another domain name.

The electronic address 20 can have at least one of a path name and a file name based upon a product number included in the product code 14. For example, for a product number of "12345", the electronic address 20 can include "/12345" such as in

"http://www.motorola.com/12345". Alternatively, the path name or the file name can be translated from the product number. For example, a product number "12345" can translate to "/pagers" such as in "http://www.motorola.com/pagers". Optionally, two or more product numbers can translate to a single path name or a single file name.

The electronic address 20 can have a domain name extension based upon a country code included in the product code 14. For example, if the product code 14 indicates that Germany is a country of origin of a product, the electronic address 20 can include the extension " . de" assigned for German Internet sites. If the product code indicates the product is manufactured by Motorola, Inc., the electronic address 20 can include "http://www.motorola.de", for example. Similarly, the electronic address 20 can include the extension ".it" assigned for Italian Internet sites if the product code 14 indicates Italy as a country of origin. For example, the electronic address 20 can include "http://www.motorola.it" in this case. In this way, equivalent products originating from different countries can translate to electronic addresses which differ by the domain name extension.

Optionally, as indicated by block 58, the method includes a step of linking to the electronic address 20 via the electronic network 10. This step can incl-ude transmitting data representative of the electronic address 20 to the electronic network 10 to establish a link to the electronic address 20.

As indicated by block 60, the method optionally includes a step of communicating data to the electronic address 20 via the electronic network 10. The data can be included in an electronic mail message to the electronic address 20, or in data communicated upon linking to the electronic address 20 in block 58.

To initiate an electronic order of the product identified by the product code 14, the data can include user identification data, user location data, delivery priority data, and product identification data. Additional information to authenticate and/or to pay for the transaction can be communicated as well. Examples of this information include, but are not limited to, credit card information, smart card information, and authentication information described in the patent application incorporated by reference entitled "Transaction Methods, Systems, and Devices".

Portions of the data can be manually entered using the network access apparatus 24. Other portions of the data can be prestored in either the network access apparatus 24 or the data reader 22. Prestored data, such as user identification data, user location data, and authentication data, can be automatically communicated to the electronic address 20 when submitting an electronic order.

As indicated by block 62, the method optionally includes a step of receiving data from the electronic address 20 via the electronic network 10. The data can encode audible information and/or visual information, such as graphical information and/or textual information, from the electronic address 20. Examples of data content include, but are not limited to, any combination of a file from a local hard drive, a file from a FTP server, an HTML document, content from a Gopher server, a message from a newsgroup, a transmission from a Telnet session, a transmission from a WAIS server, an animation file, a movie file, an audio file, downloadable software, and an electronic book file, or an audio/video teleconference. For electronic orders, the data can include prompts for entering information, an electronic receipt for the transaction, and/or information describing a location of a local source from which the product can be purchased.

As indicated by block 64, the method includes a step of displaying visual information from the electronic address 20. The visual information can be displayed by the display device 40 or a hard copy device such as a printer. As described earlier, the visual information can include an image which corresponds to at least a portion of the human-readable image 44 of the article 12 or an image of the product itself.

An article of manufacture can be formed to direct the network access apparatus 24 to perform the above- described steps. The article of manufacture can include a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable data stored therein which directs the network access apparatus to perform the above-described steps. Examples of the computer-readable storage medium include, but are not limited to, a logic circuit, a memory, a mass storage medium, an optical disk, a CD-ROM, a magnetic disk, a floppy disk, a hard disk, and a PCMCIA card.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of records in a database for determining the electronic address 20. A first record 70 associates a first electronic address 72 with a first product identified by a first manufacturer number 74 and a first product number 76. A second record 80 associates a second electronic address 82 with a second product identified by the first manufacturer number 74 and a second product number 84. The first electronic address 72 and the second electronic address 82 have the same domain name (based upon the first manufacturer number 74), but different path names (based upon the product number) . A third record 86 associates a third electronic address 90 with a third product identified by the first manufacturer number 74 and a third product number 92. The third electronic address 90 has a different domain name and a different path name in comparison to the first electronic address 72 and the second electronic address 82.

A fourth record 94 associates a fourth electronic address 96 to all products identified by a second manufacturer number 100. A fifth record 102 associates a fifth electronic address 104 to a fourth product identified by a third manufacturer number 106, a fourth product number 108, and a first country code 110. A sixth record 112 associates a sixth electronic address 114 to the fourth product identified by the third manufacturer number 106, the fourth product number 108, and a second country code 116. The fifth electronic address 104 and the sixth electronic address differ in their domain name extensions. It should be appreciated that the database can generally include any plurality of records, and should not be construed to be limited to having six records as illustrated.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example of the data reader 22 and the network access apparatus 24 at the user location 36. In this example, the network access apparatus 24 comprises a personal computer 120, and at least one input device including a keyboard 122 and a mouse 124. The display device 40 comprises a monitor connected to a video port of the personal computer 120. The data reader 22 includes a bar code reader connected to a serial port of the personal computer 120. The personal computer 120 includes a modem, a network adapter, a satellite dish transceiver, or another transceiver for communicating with the electronic network 10.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an example of the article 12. The article 12 includes packaging 130 for strips 132 for a glucose meter 134. The packaging 130 supports the product code 14 in the form of a printed UPC code 136. As an alternative to or in addition to the packaging 130 supporting the product code 14, each of the strips 132 can include the product code 14. For example, the product code 14 can include a UPC code printed onto each of the strips 132.

Optionally, the packaging 130 further supports a bar code 140 identifying a merchant from which the strips 132 were purchased. The bar code 140 can be printed onto a sticker 142 applied to the packaging 130. The bar code 140 can directly encode or identify an electronic address from which a refill of the product can be ordered. The bar code 140 can be formed in accordance with teachings of any of the above-listed patent references incorporated by reference into this disclosure .

Using the data reader 22, the end user 30 navigates to the electronic address 20 by reading -the printed UPC code 136 and/or the bar code 140. In this way, an electronic order to purchase additional strips for the glucose meter 134 is facilitated at the user location 36. The electronic address 20 can include a Web page or an electronic mail address which receives and processes the electronic order. Methods and systems for processing electronic orders are described with reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.

Alternatively, a data reader 144 can be integrated with the glucose meter 134 to read the printed UPC code 136 and/or the bar code 140. In this case, the data reader 144 can include any example of the data reader 22 described herein. The glucose meter 134 can include any embodiment of a data reading apparatus described in the reference entitled "An Apparatus for Reading an Electronic Network Navigation Device and a Peripheral for Use Therewith" . Alternatively, the glucose meter 134 can include a cable to interface the data reader 144 with the network access apparatus 24.

In another application, the article 12 can include an edible product, such as pill, a medicine, or a food, which supports the product code 14. The product code 14 can be printed onto the edible product using food coloring or another edible material. Preferably, the product code 14 includes either a monochrome or a multicolored bar code in this case. For example, the product code 14 can include a series of color bands around a capsule in a manner similar to color bands around an electronic resistor. The sequence of color bands uniquely identifies the composition of the capsule.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method of processing electronic orders. As indicated by block 150, the method includes a step of receiving an electronic -order for a product via the electronic network 10. The electronic order includes any combination of product identification data, customer identification data, customer location data, delivery priority data, and authentication information. The product identification data identifies one or more products in the electronic order. Preferably, the product identification data includes a product code such as a UPC code, an EAN/JAN code, or an ISBN code. The customer identification data identifies the end user 30 (e.g. a name of the end user 30) who is the customer. The customer location data indicates a location of a customer (e.g. an address or a postal code) . The delivery priority data indicates a priority level for receiving the one or more products.

As indicated by block 152, a branching step is performed in dependence upon the delivery priority data. If the delivery priority data indicates a high priority, then flow of the method is directed to block 154. Examples of the high delivery priority include, but are not limited to, a same-day-delivery of the product to the customer location or a same-day pick-up of the product by the customer. If the delivery priority data indicates a low priority, then flow of the method is directed to block 156. Examples of the low delivery priority include, but are not li ited to, a non-same-day delivery of the product to the customer location such as an overnight delivery, a next-day delivery, or a multi-day delivery.

If the delivery priority data indicates the high priority, a step of determining a merchant having the product local to the customer location is performed. The local merchant is determined using a database of a plurality of merchants having the product. The merchants can include pharmacies, drug stores, grocery stores, department stores, convenience stores, supermarkets, specialty stores, and other stores, for example.

The local merchant is selected in dependence upon at least a portion of the customer location data. The local merchant can be selected to be a nearest one of the plurality of merchants to the customer location. In this case and other cases, the local merchant can be selected in dependence upon a customer address included in the customer location data. Alternatively, the local merchant can be selected in dependence upon a customer zip code included in the customer location data (e.g. the local merchant has the same zip code as the customer) .

After determining the merchant, a step of communicating a location of the merchant to the customer is performed as indication by block 160. Additionally, a step of communicating the electronic order to the merchant can be performed as indicated by block 162. Thereafter, either the merchant can provide the same-day delivery of the product to the customer location, or the customer can go to the merchant to procure the product .

If the delivery priority data indicates the low priority, steps to initiate delivery of the product to the customer location are performed. These steps can include any combination of communicating the electronic order to the manufacturer of the product, communicating the electronic order to a centrally-located warehouse, creating a billing record for the transaction, generating a shipping label addressed to the customer location, and generating an invoice for the transaction. In this way, the product is delivered to the customer location. The aforementioned steps are repeated to process a plurality of electronic orders from a plurality of customer locations. A system for performing these steps is described with reference to FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a system for processing electronic orders. The system includes a node 170 of the electronic network 10. The node 170 performs the steps described with reference to FIG. 6. The node 170 can have the electronic address 20 described with reference to FIG. 1, or can have another electronic address.

The node 170 includes a receiver 172 and a transmitter 174 both in communication with the electronic network 10. The node 170 further includes a processor 176 in communication with both the receiver 172 and the transmitter 174. A database 180 is associated with the processor 176. The processor 176 and the database 180 can be embodied by a computer such as a network server. The receiver 172 and the transmitter 174 can be embodied by a modem or a transceiver interfaced to the computer.

The receiver 172 receives electronic orders via the electronic network 10. For example, the receiver 172 can receive a first order for a first product from a first customer location 182, and a second order for a second product from a second customer location 184. Each of the first customer location 182 and the second customer location 184 can include components at the user location 36 described with reference to FIG. 1. These components assist customers in placing the electronic orders.

For purposes of illustration and example, the first order has a high delivery priority. The processor 176 is responsive to the high delivery priority in the first order to determine a merchant having the first product local to the first customer location 182. To determine the local merchant, the processor 176 accesses the database 180. The database 180 indicates that merchants 186 and 190 have the first product. The merchant 186 is local to the first customer location 182. The merchant 190 is distant from the first customer location 182. Consequently, the processor 176 directs the transmitter 174 to communicate the first order to the merchant 186 and/or to communicate the location of the merchant 186 to the first customer location 182.

For purposes of illustration and example, the second order has a low delivery priority. The processor 176 is responsive to the low delivery priority in the second order to perform steps to initiate shipping of the second product to the second customer location 184. These steps can include any combination of communicating the electronic order to a manufacturer 192 of the second product using the transmitter 174, communicating the electronic order to a centrally-located warehouse 194 using the transmitter 174, creating a billing record for the transaction, generating a shipping label addressed to the second customer location 184, and generating an invoice for the transaction.

It is noted that the herein-described methods and systems for processing electronic orders can use any of the methods and systems described in the aforementioned reference entitled "Transaction Methods, Systems, and Devices" .

Thus, there has been described herein several- embodiments including preferred embodiments of network navigation methods, systems, and databases for an article having a product code.

Because the various embodiments of the present invention determine an electronic address based upon a product code, they provide a significant improvement in facilitating communication with a party associated with a product identified by the product code.

Additionally, by processing an electronic order in dependence upon its delivery priority, a high priority order can be fulfilled by a product source local to a user location, and a low priority order can be fulfilled by a centrally-located product source. In this way, imperative refill orders for products such as insulin, antibiotics, and other pharmaceutical or therapeutic materials can be satisfied within the day. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosed invention may be modified in numerous ways and may assume many embodiments other than the preferred form specifically set out and described above. Accordingly, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all modifications of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. What is claimed is:

Claims

1. A method of processing electronic orders, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a first order for a first product via an electronic network, the first order including first customer location data and first delivery priority data; in response to the first delivery priority data indicating a first delivery priority, determining a source of the first product which is local to a first customer location; receiving a second order for a second product via the electronic network, the second order including second customer location data and second delivery priority data; and in response to the second delivery priority data indicating a second delivery priority, initiating a delivery of the second product to a second customer location.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first delivery priority indicates a same-day delivery of the first product, and wherein the second delivery priority indicates a non-same-day delivery of the second product .

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the second delivery priority indicates a next-day delivery of the second product.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of communicating the first order to the source after determining the source.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of communicating a location of the source to the first customer after determining the source.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the source includes a merchant, and wherein the location of the merchant is communicated to the first customer via the electronic network.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the first customer location data includes a customer zip code.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the second customer location data includes a customer address.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic network includes the Internet.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the first order includes first product identification data which identifies the first product, and wherein the second order includes second product identification data which identifies the second product.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the first product identification data includes a first product code for the first product, the first product code including at least one of a Universal Product Code, a European Article Numbering code, a Japanese Article Numbering Code, and an ISBN code, and wherein the second product identification data includes a product code for the second product, the second product code including at least one of a Universal Product Code, a European Article Numbering code, a Japanese Article Numbering Code, and an ISBN code.

12. A system for processing electronic orders, the system comprising: a receiver in communication with an electronic network, the receiver to receive a first order for a first product and a second order for a second product via the electronic network, the first order including first customer location data and first delivery priority data, the second order including second customer location data and second delivery priority data; and a processor in communication with the receiver, the processor responsive to the first delivery priority data indicating a first delivery priority to determine a source having the first product which is local to a first customer location, the processor responsive to the second delivery priority data indicating a second delivery priority to initiate delivery of the second product to a second customer location.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the first delivery priority indicates a same-day delivery of the first product, and wherein the second delivery priority indicates a non-same-day delivery of the second product.

1 . The system of claim 13 wherein the second delivery priority indicates a next-day delivery of the second product.

15. The system of claim 12 further comprising a transmitter to communicate the first order to the source after determining the source.

16. The system of claim 12 further comprising a transmitter to communicate a location of the source to the first customer after determining the source.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the source includes a merchant, and wherein the location of the merchant is communicated to the first customer via the electronic network.

18. The system of claim 12 wherein the first customer location data includes a customer zip code.

19. The system of claim 12 wherein the second customer location data includes a customer address.

20. The system of claim 12 wherein the electronic network includes the Internet.

21. The system of claim 12 wherein the first order includes first product identification data which identifies the first product, wherein the second order includes second product identification data which identifies the second product.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein the first product identification data includes a first product code for the first product, the first product code including at least one of a Universal Product Code, a European Article Numbering code, a Japanese Article Numbering Code, and an ISBN code, and wherein the second product identification data includes a second product code for the second product, the second product code including at least one of a Universal Product Code, a European Article Numbering code, a Japanese Article Numbering Code, and an ISBN code.

23. A database comprising: a storage medium; first data stored by the storage medium, the first data associating a first product code with a first electronic address; and second data stored by the storage medium, the second data associating a second product code with a second electronic address; wherein the first product code and the second product code have identical manufacturer codes, and wherein the first electronic address and the second electronic address have identical domain names.

24. The database of claim 23 wherein the first electronic address differs from the second electronic address .

25. A database comprising: a storage medium; first data stored by the storage medium, the first data associating a first country code encoded withm a product code with a first domain name extension; second data stored by the storage medium, the second data associating a second country code withm a product code with a second domain name extension; wherein the first country code differs from the second country code, and wherein the first domain name extension differs from the second domain name extension.

26. The database of claim 25 wherein the first country code and the first domain name extension are indicative of a first country.

27. A method comprising the steps of: receiving a product code; and determining an electronic address based upon the product code .

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the product code includes at least one of a Universal Product Code, a European Article Numbering code, a Japanese Article Numbering code, and an ISBN code.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein the electronic address includes at least one of a Uniform Resource Locator, a Uniform Resource Name, an Internet Protocol address, and an electronic mail address.

30. The method of claim 27 wherein the electronic address includes at least a portion of the product code.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the product code includes a manufacturer code, and wherein the electronic address includes at least a portion of the manufacturer code.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein the electronic address has a domain name which includes the manufacturer code.

33. The method of claim 30 wherein the product code includes a product number, and wherein the electronic address includes at least a portion of the product number.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein the electronic address has at least one of a path name and a file name which includes the product number.

35. The method of claim 30 wherein the product code includes a country code, and wherein the electronic address includes a domain name having an extension based upon the country code.

36. The method of claim 27 wherein the step of determining the electronic address includes retrieving the electronic address from a database based upon at least a portion of the product code.

37. The method of claim 27 further comprising the step of communicating a message to the electronic address via an electronic network.

38. The method of claim 37 wherein the message is associated with a transaction for a product identified by the product code.

39. The method of claim 27 further comprising the step of linking to the electronic address via an electronic network.

40. The method of claim 27 further comprising the step of receiving data from the electronic address via an electronic network.

41. The method of claim 40 wherein the data encodes an image, the data corresponding to an image associated with a product identified by the product code.

42. The method of claim 27 wherein the product code includes a bar code, and wherein the step of receiving the product code includes reading the bar code .

43. A system comprising: a receiver to receive a product code; and a translator to determine an electronic address based upon the product code.

44. The system of claim 43 wherein the product code includes at least one of a Universal Product Code, a European Article Numbering code, a Japanese Article Numbering code, and an ISBN code.

45. The system of claim 43 wherein the electronic address includes at least one of a Uniform Resource Locator, a Uniform Resource Name, an Internet Protocol address, and an electronic mail address.

46. The system of claim 43 wherein the electronic address includes at least a portion of the product code.

47. The system of claim 46 wherein the product code includes a manufacturer code, and wherein the electronic address includes at least a portion of the manufacturer code.

48. The system of claim 47 wherein the electronic address has a domain name which includes the manufacturer code.

49. The system of claim 46 wherein the product code includes a product number, and wherein the electronic address includes at least a portion of the product number.

50. The system of claim 49 wherein the electronic address has at least one of a path name and a file name which includes the product number.

51. The system of claim 46 wherein the product code includes a country code, and wherein the electronic address includes a domain name having an extension based upon the country code.

52. The system of claim 43 wherein the translator includes a database associating at least a portion of the product code to the electronic address.

53. The system of claim 43 further comprising a transceiver to communicate a message to the electronic address via an electronic network.

5 . The system of claim 53 wherein the message is associated with a transaction for a product identified by the product code .

55. The system of claim 43 further comprising a transceiver to receive data from the electronic address via an electronic network.

56. The system of claim 55 wherein the data encodes an image, the data corresponding to an image associated with a product identified by the product code .

57. The system of claim 43 wherein the product code includes a bar code, the system further comprising a bar code reader to read the bar code.

58. A database comprising: a storage device; data stored by the storage device, the data associated with a product code; and an electronic address stored by the storage device, the electronic address associated with the product code.

59. The database of claim 58 wherein the electronic address includes at least one of an electronic mail address, a Uniform Resource Locator, a Uniform Resource Name, and an Internet Protocol address .

60. The database of claim 58 wherein the product code includes at least one of a Universal Product Code, a European Article Numbering code, a Japanese Article Numbering code, and an ISBN code.