CA2241711A1 - Computer-implemented searching and matching of people based on personal preference criteria including location - Google Patents
Computer-implemented searching and matching of people based on personal preference criteria including location Download PDFInfo
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- CA2241711A1 CA2241711A1 CA002241711A CA2241711A CA2241711A1 CA 2241711 A1 CA2241711 A1 CA 2241711A1 CA 002241711 A CA002241711 A CA 002241711A CA 2241711 A CA2241711 A CA 2241711A CA 2241711 A1 CA2241711 A1 CA 2241711A1
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- matching
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Classifications
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
- G06Q10/10—Office automation; Time management
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
- G08B1/00—Systems for signalling characterised solely by the form of transmission of the signal
- G08B1/08—Systems for signalling characterised solely by the form of transmission of the signal using electric transmission ; transformation of alarm signals to electrical signals from a different medium, e.g. transmission of an electric alarm signal upon detection of an audible alarm signal
- G08B2001/085—Partner search devices
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10S707/00—Data processing: database and file management or data structures
- Y10S707/99931—Database or file accessing
- Y10S707/99933—Query processing, i.e. searching
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10S707/00—Data processing: database and file management or data structures
- Y10S707/99941—Database schema or data structure
- Y10S707/99943—Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
Abstract
In an on-line dating service, a database of subscriber information is searched to find at least one subscriber matching user search criteria. The subscriber information includes preferences of subscribers to the service. Personal preferences for a user are obtained as search criteria. The personal preferences and the subscriber information include at least: a gender preference; a geographic location preference; an age preference;
appearance preferences; religious belief preferences; educational level preferences; and a goal preference, and the goal preference is one of "romance"; "friendship" or "a walk on the wild side", the geographic location preference is at least one of a postal code, a country, a city, a suburb, a block, or a street. The subscriber information includes a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber. The database is repeatedly searched for records matching the personal preferences of the user by at least a percentage match parameter value. The percentage match parameter is reduced by a value of say 10%, until at least a required number of matching records are found.
appearance preferences; religious belief preferences; educational level preferences; and a goal preference, and the goal preference is one of "romance"; "friendship" or "a walk on the wild side", the geographic location preference is at least one of a postal code, a country, a city, a suburb, a block, or a street. The subscriber information includes a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber. The database is repeatedly searched for records matching the personal preferences of the user by at least a percentage match parameter value. The percentage match parameter is reduced by a value of say 10%, until at least a required number of matching records are found.
Description
COMPUTER_IMPLEMENTED SEARCHING AND MATCHING OF PEOPLE
BASED ON PERSONAL PREFERENCE CRITERIA INCLUDING LOCATION
BACKGROUND OF T H E rNvENTIoN
1. RESERVATIONOF COPYRUGHT
The disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright o~,vner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the U.S. Patent and Tr~ m~rk Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
BASED ON PERSONAL PREFERENCE CRITERIA INCLUDING LOCATION
BACKGROUND OF T H E rNvENTIoN
1. RESERVATIONOF COPYRUGHT
The disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright o~,vner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the U.S. Patent and Tr~ m~rk Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
2. RELATED APP~CATIONS
This invention is related to co-pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. to beassigned, titled "Computer-Impl~ d Method, System and Tnt.orf~ce Thereto for Matching People" to Gregg Collins, filed concurrently herewith and assigned to the same assignee as this application, the COII~,n~5 of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
This invention is related to co-pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. to beassigned, titled "Computer-Impl~ d Method, System and Tnt.orf~ce Thereto for Matching People" to Gregg Collins, filed concurrently herewith and assigned to the same assignee as this application, the COII~,n~5 of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
3. FIELD OFTHEIrrnENrION
This invention relates to an a eomputer-implemented dating service, and more particularly, to a method~ system and apparatus for real-time, on-line computer searching and m~hing of rl~h~ce entries based on location and user-sflect~hle search criteria.
This invention relates to an a eomputer-implemented dating service, and more particularly, to a method~ system and apparatus for real-time, on-line computer searching and m~hing of rl~h~ce entries based on location and user-sflect~hle search criteria.
4. BACKGROUr~D
~t~hm~king is an age-old art, made increasingly necessary nowadays by the demographic and cultural changes which make it difficult for like-minded people to meet.
The social and family structures which help people meet each other are no longer available 0 or acceptable to a large portion of society. Accordingl! it is desiral)le to has~e some sort of system which helps people meet each other.
There are systems which take some ad~ant~c (1f telephone technology to aid in this process. In these systems, a person wishln~ t(- meet another person must make a telephone call to a number and is then able to he~r mess~,es from others who are looking to meet people. In most of these prior systems th~ u~er is able to select a category of people based only on gender preference. l~at l~, a nun looking to meet women makes one selection and listens to the appropriate mffS~s, ~ hereas a woman wanting to meet men would make a ~lir[el~n~ selection to hear me~s~es from men wanting to meet woman. Of course selections can also be m~d~ f(~r men wanting to meet other men,women wanting woman and all sorts of other combinations.
However, in these prior art systems, once a person has made their gender ple~e.ence selection, that person will have to listen to all ~plupliate messages. Most prior systems do provide the user with a way to skip or replay messages.
In most prior systems, each message comes from a particular person and has an s identification, e.g., a box number, associated with it. Thus, in order for a user to contact the person who left a particular message, some systems provide users a way to reply to messages using the provided identification. For example, a system might say '~his person is at box number 69, tû leave a message for this person, press 69." Other systems do not indicate the box number to the user, and message replies are sent by pressing a particular key. I~or example, such a system might say "To leave a message for this person, press 1."
In gencral, prior art systems are lit11e more than voice-mail systems with some additional control fcatures added.
Proprietors of this type of system make money by either charging for subscription or by rcquiring parties to call the system using toll calls, e.g., from "900" numbers.
There are now some systems which allow users to get some information about thcm from the World Wide Web (the Web). Typically these systems use the Web for ad~ ing, and they do lit~e more than direct users to a telephone system. While such a use makes financial sense, it does not make good use of the power of the Web.
As noted above, in prior art systems, once a person has made their gender prefercncc selection, that person will have to listen to all aL~plupliate messages, with the only control being the ability to skip messages. Thus, when a user of one of these systems (Web-based or telephone-based) wants to hnd a match they have to listen to (or in some way peruse) all messages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is desirable to provide an on-line dating service that provides user-controlled perusal of search results. It is further desirable to provide an on-line dating service that always provides users with the ability to ~Ir~lnl searches based on user-specified criteria, including location criteria. It is still further desirable to provide an on-line dating service provides users with at least some search results, regardless of what search criteria they lo specify.
For example, in some situations, such as in the case of an on-line dating service such as described in co-pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. to be assigned, titled "Computer-Implemented Method, System and Interface Thereto for Matching People", referenced and incorporated above, it is desirable to yield at least some kind of search results, whatever search criteria are specified for the search.
In order to produce a search result, regardless of the search criteria specihed, this invention performs a series of searches through a search database, applying su~cesaivcly less restrictive search criteria until at least one positive result (match) is obtained. In this manner, a desired number of m~tching entries is almost always guaranteed, with the more desirable entries being reported first. Conventional ~ h~ce searching is not performed in such a manner.
Accordingly, in one aspect, this invention provides an apparatus, system and method for performing a ~l~t~h~ce search of an on-line people-m~tching rl~t~h~5e that g~ n.or~t.qS at least some m~ching entries, regardless of the search criteria specified.
This invention operates preferably in an on-line dating service. A database of subscriber information is searched to find at least one suhs~riher m~tching user search criteria. The subscriber information includes plcfelcnces of subscribers to the service.
Users access the ~t~ ce by eit'ner a telephone or a computer. Personal p~crcl~nces for a user are obtained as search criteria. Both the personal prefcrences and the subsctiber information include at least: a gender preference; a geographic location preference; an age preference; appearance preferences; religious belief plefcr~llces; educational level prcferences; and a goal plcrercllce, and wherein thc F-nl prcfcrcnce is one of "romancc";
"friendship" or "a walk on the wild side", wherein thc f~ rraphic location prcfcrcncc is at least one of a post~l code, a country, a city, a suburb, i bl~)ck, or a street. The subscriber inforrnation includes a date of last payrnent of a us~ tc~ t~! cach subscribcr and a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber. A percentage match parameter value is set to an initial value of say 70%; and then th~ d~t~ sc is repeatedly searchcd for records m~tching the personal pler..cnces of the uxr b~ at least the percentage match parameter value. The percentage match paramet~ is t~duced by a value of say 10%, until at least a required number of matching records ar~ f ~nd The required number of matching parameters is never less than one Thc m~tchm~ rcc( rds are reported to thc user along with the percentage match for each reportcd rccord and a degree of match of each of the search criteria. The m~t~hing entries arc rc-ordcred according to: (a) a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and/or (b) a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber.
In most plercll~d embo lim.ontc, all of the user's search criteria can be successively relaxed except for the user's gender preference.
In one pl~f~l~ed embodiment the search of the database is made with the geographic location held fixed and other search criteria, except for gender preference, being succcs~ively relaxed. In another p~er~rl~d embodiment the search of the tl~t~h~ce is made with the geographic location being successively widened before the other search criteria, except for gender preference, are relaxed.
This invention is a computer program, a method of performing the search, an apparatus for pcrforming the search and a computer-readable media embodying the computer program to control a computer to effect the search.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DR~WINGS
~5 Thc above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are further described in the detailed description which follows, with reference to the drawings by way of non-limiting exempLary embodiments of the present invention, wherein like reference numcrals leple:,ent similar parts of the present invention throughout the several views and wherein:
FIGURE1 shows an overview of the system of this invention;
FIGURE 2 provides a more detailed view of a local server of the system of PIGURE
l;
FIGURE 3 shows a typical database record of the system of FIGURE 1;
FIGURE 4 illustrates searching a ~l~t~h~ce according to the present invention; and FIGURES 5-7 depict typical output displays of the search according to this invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY
PREFERRED EXEMP~ARY EMBODIMENTS
The system 100 of this invention is now described with reference to FIGURE 1, wherein a Web server 102 is connected to a network such as the Internet 104. At various locations, preferably geographically remote from that of the Web server 102, a number of local servers 106 connect to the Web server 102 via a proprietary network 108. A more detailed description of the operation of the system 100 is given in co-pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. to be assigned, titled "Computer-Implemented Method, System and ~nt~ ce Thereto for M~t~hing People", referenced and incorporated above.
In a plere~led embodiment, the Web server 102 runs the Windows NT (trademark) operating system on a Pentium-based computer with an eight gigabyte hard disk and one hundred megabytes of random access memory (RAM).
The proprietary network 108 is a standard frame-relay network such as is operated by AT&T or MCI.
A user can access the system 100 either via the Intemet 104 using a computer 110(or some other form of ~Ccescing the Internet) or via a telephone 112, preferably a touch-CA 0224l7ll l998-06-26 tone phone, which acc~ss~ s one of the local servers 106. A land-line, mobile, wireless, satellite telephone or the like may be used as user's telephone 112.
There are no special requirements for the user's computer 110, other than that it have some means of accescing the Intemet 104.
A more detailed view of a typical local server 106 is shown in FIGURE 2, wherein a local server 106 preferably inellldes a CPU 116, intemal memory 118 and extemal storage 120. P.~t~ rnal storage 120 is preferably some storage device such as a hard disk drive or the like with a capacity, preferably of between 500 megabytes to 2 gigabytes. Each of the local servers 106 is also preferably a Windows NT-based computer system with thirty two megabytes of RAM as the internal memory 118. The local servers 106 are preferably at least as powerful as an Intel 386. That is, the CPU 116 is prefcrabl~ at Icast an Intel 386.
A local server 106 preferably also includes a voice rcsp)nx unit(VRU) 122 for generating a voice response to a user's telephone 112. The VRI' 122 dlrects an input from the server 106 to a user on a telephone 112. The user, conununJca~n~ ~th the local server 106 through a telephone 112, enters input by d~plc~aing buttons c)n a telephone keypad. A
DTMF receiver card 124 in the local server 106 receives DTMI t-~s from the telephone 112.
Each local server 106 indudes a ~atah~cc 121, prefer~ Mi~osoft ACCESS
(tra~lematk), stored on extemal storage 120.
The Web server 102 also maintains a ~atah~ce 123 ~ ~lch is preferably a combination of all of the ~lat~h~ses 121 of all of the local servers 106. That is, the database 123 at the Web server 102 preferably contains all the records of each of the f~atah~ccs 121 of eaeh of the local servers 106. The Web server's ~l~t~h~ce 123 must also track which of the loeal servers 106 any data comes from, thereby allowing searching at the Web server 102 based on the location of the loeal server 106.
Based on search requirements entered by a user (either via the telephone 112 or via a network such as the ~nt~tnet 104) the loeal server 106 (or the Web server 102) performs one or more ~l~t~h~se searches, reporting m~t~hing entries to the user after each search.
The server ~ocal 106 or Web 102) may then successively ehange the search parameters and repeat the seareh with the new p~ratn~rs until a desired number of m~t~hing entries is generated.
Each local server ~l~t~h~ce 121 and the Web server database 123 contains inf()rmation about subscribers to the system 100. In particular, each ~l~t~h~ce contains ~ubscribcr information which can be located based on various search criteria such as, for e~mple, geographic location, gender and gender preference, hair color, age, height, ~el~ht, body type and other appearance factors, race, religion, subseriber's goal, and the llke. The subseriber's goal can be specified in terrns of pre-det( rmin~-l options such as "n)mance", "friendship", a "walk on the wild side" and the like. Generally the d~t~h~ce entries for eaeh sllhscrihrt are established when the subseriber first subscribes to the s~-stem 100. However, in some embodiments a s~lhs~riher can change some of the atttibutes and criteria at any time. For ~ Y~mple, a subscriber who tires of "fri( n~lchip" may chan~ her goal to "romanee." Each ~ h~se entry (for each subscriber) also contains an indication of when that entry was last updated and, optionally, when that subscriber made any payments to the system. A typical database record format is shown in FIGURE 3, which shows the fields logically divided into subscriber information fields and subscriber preference fields as well as update time information and fee payment information. The structure shown in Figure 3 is merely for the sake of description, and the actual ~T~t~h~ce is organized based on the underlying tl~t~b~ce query program and the hardware and software running on the system.
The searching process for a server database (121 or 123) is described below withreference to FIGURE 4.
As shown in FIGURE 4, a user wishing to search a ~l~t~h~se must first provide search criteria (at P10). These criteria can include any combination of the subscriber 0 information and plefercnces in the ~t~h~ct~ That is, a user can search for a subscriber based not only on that subscribers information, but also on that subscriber's pic~elcnces.
Preferably the search criteria include a geographic location preference. In preferred embodiments of the system 100, the geographic location plefclcnce is given in terms of a postal ~ip code, although any other form of geographic location speciher can be used. For example, the location specifier may include one or more of ~ip code, county, city, state, precinct, block, street and country.
A user who is already a system subscriber can use her already entered subscriberinformation and prcrclcnces which are already stored in the database. A new user must at least enter search ple[clellces and preferably at least some user information.
When the system 100 is being ~cc~ssed by telephone 112, the user enters the location specifier as, for example, a ~ip code and the DTMF receiver card 124 receives the location specifier from the user. The system 100 also collects personal information from the user. In the case of telephone access to the system, this information is obtained, for example, by asking the user to press various keys on the telephone keypad to indicate answers to questions asked through the ~RU 122. In the case of access via the network 104, the user's information is entered using any known manner using a typical browser application.
The personal information obtained can include, but is not limited to, the user's age, sex, the user's gender plcfelel1ce Cmcluding "couples"), the user's first name, race, hair color, build of body, and location including city and ~ip code. The system will also obtain from the user a goal which can be one of "romance," "friendship," "a walk on the wild o side," and the like. The system 100 provides the user with a system phone number for a pcrsonal v oicc mail box; voice mail box number.
When the personal information is obtained over the telephone, the server 106 requests the personal information from the user by asking the user questions through the VRU 122. The questions indude, for e~mpl~, "Press 1 if you are a man", "Press 2 if you are a woman", "Press 1 if you are seeking a man", "Press 2 if you are seeking a woman", "Spell your first name using the buttons on your telephone keypad corresponding to the applopliate letters, press 7 for Q and 9 for ~", and the like. When the personalinforrnation is obtained via a user computer 110 over a network 104 such as the Internet, the user is plcsell~ed with display screen forms such as those shown in FIGURES5 and 6 and data is entered via the user's browser running on computer 110.
As noted above, it is preferable to find matches for people that are geographically suitable. It is also generally preferable to match people according to their gender pler~lences. Accordingly, in preferred embodiments, regardless of what other parameters are set, the gender plerelcnce and geographic location plc[clcllce specifier must be set.
Once the search criteria have been obtained from the user, a location search parameter is set to be equal to the location specifier.
Next a pel~e~lLage match parameter is set (at P12) to a value of, for example, seventy percent. This parameter is used to de~rmin-- an acceptable degree of m~t~hing in the database. In some plerc,l~ embodiments users can indicate which, if any, of their search criteria can be varied and in what order. The percentage match parameter for each database search result is detcrmined as a weighted function of the result Generally the 0 user cannot control this function or the weight parameter, although in some embodiments the user can give some search criteria highcr wcights than othcrs. ~or cxamplc, somconc might indicate that the system should vary race or religion, but never vary weight or height unless absolutely necessary.
Then the ~l~t~h~s~ (121 or 123) is searched (at P14) for entries m~t~hing the specified search criteria with a percentage match being at least equal to the specified pel~enLage match parameter. The m~tching and near m~tching entries must have compatible personal information entries corresponding to the plerell~d gender and the prercll~d gender sought in the user's personal plefelence information. The following table illustrates the compatible gender plcrclcnce entries.
¦ Personal Information in Database ¦ Compatible Personal Preference ¦
¦ Information Gender Gender Sought Gender Gender Sougbt male female 11 female male male male male male male couple couple male female male male female female female female female female couple couple female couple couple couple couple couple male male couple couple female female couple Matching entries are g n~or~t~(l as a result of searching the ~t~h~e (at P16).
If the search of the database finds no m~t~hing entries (at P17), then the percentage match parameter value is decreased (at P24) and the search is repeated (at P14) with the lower percentage match value.
The gf n~r~ed matches are optionally reordered (at P18) according to a date of last payment of a use fee, such as a fee paid in order to listen to messages in a user's voice mail box, and/or according to a date of last updating a user's personal profile, such as audio information containing information about the user recorded in a user's voice. Entries having more recent dates of payment of a fee and more recent dates of last updating are reported before other entries as a reward to those users who have recently paid the use fee or who have recently updated their personal profile. In this way the most recent users of the system will tend to get the most matches in the system.
The reordered m~hing entries, if any exist, are then presented to the user. In the case of a user ~ccescing the system by telephone 122, the results are announced to the user via the VRU 122, otherwise they are presented to the user on the display monitor 114 of his computer 110. An example of such a display output is shown in FIGURE 7.
Next the system 100 determincs whether the desired number of entries has been reported (at P20). This number is initially set by the system to be some value such as ten.
Preferably the user can change this number. It is never set to less than one. If it is determined that the desired number of entries has been reported then the search is done (at P22), and processing stops, otherwise the system 100 decreases the value of th~
percentage match p~r~metl r (at P24) and another search is performed (at P14). Th~
percentage match parameter is initially set to some value such as seventy and thcn decreased in subsequent searches by ten each time until it reaches ~ero.
As noted above, generally the user cannot control this percentage p~r~mC~r, although in some embodiments the user can give some search criteria higher weights th~n others. In plcrclL~d embodiments the location speciher is given the highest weight (aftcr the gender plcrelcnce) and is changed the least, so that matches in the user's geograph area will be found hrst.
Note that the notion of controlling a search by a percentage match is effectiv~lthe same as relaxing some or all of the search criteria until a match is found.
In most pler~llcd embodiments, all of the user's search criteria can be successively relaxed except for the user's gcnder plc[eIcnce which must always be respected.
In some plcfc~lel embodiment the search of the database is made with the geographic location held fixed and other search criteria, except for gender plcfelcnce, being su~ces~ivcly relaxed. In those embo lim~nt~, the geographic location may eventually have to be changed, i.e., widened, if no search results are found in the required location, but it is only changed as a last resort.
In other preferred embodiments the search of the database is made with the geographic location being su~ccs~ ly widened before or simultaneously with the other 0 search criteria, except for gender pler~lence, are relaxed.
In some prcfcrrcd cmlx)diments users can be given the option of which search criteria are to be relaxe(~ an~i ~ hich are to be kept fixed.
In other prcferted ~mbodiments, a user may request matches regardless of location, in which ca~ the location specifier is given a variable weight which is adjusted along with those of other cnteria (at P24). lf the geographic location is adjusted, it is preferably done so in fi~ c ~ n ten mile increments.
In some em~ldlm~nts, the system reports the match pclccn~ge for each search result, indicating the ~rc~.)t~ of corresponding personal information in a database entry which matches the uscr's ~onal preference information. In a telephone-based user this information is announccd to the user via the VRU 122.
The matching pcl~.ntage can be announced to the user for the overall match or ona per criterion basis.
When this system is accessed by a user from her computer 110 (FIGURE 1), the server 102 sends requests for information through the computer network 104 to the user's computer 110. The user enters infomlation on her computer 110 which then sends the appl~plia~ infommation through the network 104 to the server 102. Preferably thes network 104 is the Tnt~rnet and the user's computer 110 runs some kind of Tnt~rnet bluw~cr software, such as Netscape ~r~dfm~rk) or the Microsoft Intemet Explorer (Ir~d.~m~rk) . The server.102 communicates with the bl~w~er software on the user's computer 110 and causes various forms to be displayed on the display 114 of the computer 110. The user fills in the forms as appl~liate with the required information, such as, e.g., location specifier and personal information, and the infommation is sent through the nctwork 104 to the server 102. Database search results are reported to the user computer 110 after each search. The bL- w~er software in the computer 110 displays the results to the user on the display 114, for example as shown in FIGURE7.
Preferably m~tching search fields are listed on the display 114 with an asterisk next to the m~t~hing held. A m~t~hing percentage is also reported to the user computer 110 to be displayed to the user.
Example An example of the weighting factors for a particular embodiment of the search algorithm is now presented. In this example the user's gender preference is never varied or relaxed and the user's geographic location is given the highest weight of all search criteria.
The following table s..."~ i,es the weight factors for various criteria. Note that the criteria may be weighted dif[clcnLly, depending on gender plcrelcl1ces.
Cdterion Weight postal code (zip code) 50 age 35 race 40 hair color 10 eye color 10 height 25 goal 30 build 25 In the embodiment of this example, the search takes place as follows:
s First the system locates, from the ~t~h~ce (121 or 123), all valid subscribers whose gender preference matches the required gender preference and who are located "nearby"
the given postal (zip) code. Preferably a zip code is considered nearby if its centroid is within a system-configurable distance from the input zip code. For example, for Los Angeles, since zip codes areas are small and dense, nearby is set to fifty miles, whereas for Kansas where the zip code areas are large and sparse, nearby is set to one hundred and fifty m~les.
Then, for each subscriber found in the first part (above), the system also retrieves the user's system information such as user name, phone number and a so called band value for the zip code the user is in. For a given zip code the system ~ cnlly defines four bands. Only the input Cmitial) zip code falls into band zero (0). All zip codes with centroids less than X miles of the input zip code's centroid fall into band 1. All zip codes with centroids greater than or equal to X miles of the input zip code's centroid, but lcss than Y miles from the centroid fall into band 2. Similarly, band 3 is defined for zip codes with centroids between Y and Z miles from the centroid of the input zip code. Finally, band 4 is all zip codes with centroids outside of Z miles from the input zip code. In other words, the bands define concentric cirdes around the centroid of the input zip code. The s values of X Y and Z, defining the radii of the conoentric circles are defined at the time the system is setup and vary depending on the specific location and its population density. Zip codes within band 1, i.e., within Z miles of the centroid of the input zip code are considered nearby.
The pl~senlly preferred cmbodiment uses a proprietary zip code database called Pro-Zipcode! (I'rademark) from Professional Computer Consulting, Inc. This ~l~t~h~se is merely a list of comma scrlr~ted ~alucs of ~ip codc, state, cit~, count~, latitude and longitude for all zip codes in thc l ~nltcd States. The data from this ~l~t~h~ce is stored in a Microsoft SQL ~l~t~h~ce which lS (-ptimized for use with the system. ln particular, invalid zip codes such as APOs and 11'( )s are removed, as are an zip codes with invalid longitude t5 or latitude values. Next, a separate table is created which determines, for any zip code, what other zip codes are in th~t ~r c-~dcs various bands (0 to 3).
Next, for each subscnbcr rctricvcd (who matched the gender and geographic location criteria), the syst~n d, t~ incs a score based on the subscriber's input information, the subscribcr's ~fcrences and the user's input and pl~f~.cllces. In the embodiment of this examplc, thc scorc is determined as follows: if a criterion matches a plc[c..nce then the score is increased by the weight associated with that criterion. So, e.g., if the user's hair color criterion matches the subscriber's hair color then the score is increased by the weight for that criterion, in this case ten. The same test is applied to the user's information and the subscriber's criterion.
When all categories have been compared, the resulting score is divided by the total possible score to de~rmin~ a percentage match. Note that the total possible score may depend on some of the user's criteria.
The list of m~tching s~lhs~rihers is then sorted in desc.on~ling order by score, then in ascending order by zip code and then in descending order of last access and/or payment.
At this time, if the access was via a user computer 110 and the Web server 102, the system on the Web server 102 locates the audio file and any other files for each user and mal;es thcm available as part of the list to the user.
The search described above is performed in multiple passes over the database.
Each pass sequentially searches all users for matches. The number of passes is controlled by various database values. The current settings are for three major passes and three minor passes.
Each major pass decreases the m~t~hing score requirements. Each minor pass increascs the zip code search radius. These values are retrieved from a ~l~t~h~ce and can be changed at any time. The current preferred values are eighty percent, fifty percent and zero percent for major pass m~t~hing scores. The current preferred values for the minor pass zip code boundaries are zero, hve and 10 mile radii.
The final pass removes the zip code radius restriction and sets the m~t~hing score to zero percent, effectively m~hing anyone of the specihed sex and gender orientation.
Although described with reference to a particular system and impl~m~nt~tion, thecomputer aspects of the present invention can be impl~m~nt~d in software, hardware or any combination thereof. When implemented fully or partially in software, the invention can reside, ptorm~nently or temporarily, on any machine readable memory or storage medium, including but not limited to a RAM, a ROM, a disk, an ASIC, a PROM and the like. In addition, the invention may be impl~m- nt~d using circuits, without the use of software. The software may be executed by a PC, a larger computer, an ASIC, a progr~mm~hle machine, a computer network, or otherwise.
The embodiments illustrated and discussed herein are intended only to teach those skilled in the art the best way known by the inventor to make and use the invention.
Nothing in the specihcation should be considered as limiting the scope of the present invention. Changes could be made by those skilled in the art to produce equivalent devices without departing from the invention. The present invention should only be limited by the following claims and their legal equivalents.
~t~hm~king is an age-old art, made increasingly necessary nowadays by the demographic and cultural changes which make it difficult for like-minded people to meet.
The social and family structures which help people meet each other are no longer available 0 or acceptable to a large portion of society. Accordingl! it is desiral)le to has~e some sort of system which helps people meet each other.
There are systems which take some ad~ant~c (1f telephone technology to aid in this process. In these systems, a person wishln~ t(- meet another person must make a telephone call to a number and is then able to he~r mess~,es from others who are looking to meet people. In most of these prior systems th~ u~er is able to select a category of people based only on gender preference. l~at l~, a nun looking to meet women makes one selection and listens to the appropriate mffS~s, ~ hereas a woman wanting to meet men would make a ~lir[el~n~ selection to hear me~s~es from men wanting to meet woman. Of course selections can also be m~d~ f(~r men wanting to meet other men,women wanting woman and all sorts of other combinations.
However, in these prior art systems, once a person has made their gender ple~e.ence selection, that person will have to listen to all ~plupliate messages. Most prior systems do provide the user with a way to skip or replay messages.
In most prior systems, each message comes from a particular person and has an s identification, e.g., a box number, associated with it. Thus, in order for a user to contact the person who left a particular message, some systems provide users a way to reply to messages using the provided identification. For example, a system might say '~his person is at box number 69, tû leave a message for this person, press 69." Other systems do not indicate the box number to the user, and message replies are sent by pressing a particular key. I~or example, such a system might say "To leave a message for this person, press 1."
In gencral, prior art systems are lit11e more than voice-mail systems with some additional control fcatures added.
Proprietors of this type of system make money by either charging for subscription or by rcquiring parties to call the system using toll calls, e.g., from "900" numbers.
There are now some systems which allow users to get some information about thcm from the World Wide Web (the Web). Typically these systems use the Web for ad~ ing, and they do lit~e more than direct users to a telephone system. While such a use makes financial sense, it does not make good use of the power of the Web.
As noted above, in prior art systems, once a person has made their gender prefercncc selection, that person will have to listen to all aL~plupliate messages, with the only control being the ability to skip messages. Thus, when a user of one of these systems (Web-based or telephone-based) wants to hnd a match they have to listen to (or in some way peruse) all messages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is desirable to provide an on-line dating service that provides user-controlled perusal of search results. It is further desirable to provide an on-line dating service that always provides users with the ability to ~Ir~lnl searches based on user-specified criteria, including location criteria. It is still further desirable to provide an on-line dating service provides users with at least some search results, regardless of what search criteria they lo specify.
For example, in some situations, such as in the case of an on-line dating service such as described in co-pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. to be assigned, titled "Computer-Implemented Method, System and Interface Thereto for Matching People", referenced and incorporated above, it is desirable to yield at least some kind of search results, whatever search criteria are specified for the search.
In order to produce a search result, regardless of the search criteria specihed, this invention performs a series of searches through a search database, applying su~cesaivcly less restrictive search criteria until at least one positive result (match) is obtained. In this manner, a desired number of m~tching entries is almost always guaranteed, with the more desirable entries being reported first. Conventional ~ h~ce searching is not performed in such a manner.
Accordingly, in one aspect, this invention provides an apparatus, system and method for performing a ~l~t~h~ce search of an on-line people-m~tching rl~t~h~5e that g~ n.or~t.qS at least some m~ching entries, regardless of the search criteria specified.
This invention operates preferably in an on-line dating service. A database of subscriber information is searched to find at least one suhs~riher m~tching user search criteria. The subscriber information includes plcfelcnces of subscribers to the service.
Users access the ~t~ ce by eit'ner a telephone or a computer. Personal p~crcl~nces for a user are obtained as search criteria. Both the personal prefcrences and the subsctiber information include at least: a gender preference; a geographic location preference; an age preference; appearance preferences; religious belief plefcr~llces; educational level prcferences; and a goal plcrercllce, and wherein thc F-nl prcfcrcnce is one of "romancc";
"friendship" or "a walk on the wild side", wherein thc f~ rraphic location prcfcrcncc is at least one of a post~l code, a country, a city, a suburb, i bl~)ck, or a street. The subscriber inforrnation includes a date of last payrnent of a us~ tc~ t~! cach subscribcr and a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber. A percentage match parameter value is set to an initial value of say 70%; and then th~ d~t~ sc is repeatedly searchcd for records m~tching the personal pler..cnces of the uxr b~ at least the percentage match parameter value. The percentage match paramet~ is t~duced by a value of say 10%, until at least a required number of matching records ar~ f ~nd The required number of matching parameters is never less than one Thc m~tchm~ rcc( rds are reported to thc user along with the percentage match for each reportcd rccord and a degree of match of each of the search criteria. The m~t~hing entries arc rc-ordcred according to: (a) a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and/or (b) a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber.
In most plercll~d embo lim.ontc, all of the user's search criteria can be successively relaxed except for the user's gender preference.
In one pl~f~l~ed embodiment the search of the database is made with the geographic location held fixed and other search criteria, except for gender preference, being succcs~ively relaxed. In another p~er~rl~d embodiment the search of the tl~t~h~ce is made with the geographic location being successively widened before the other search criteria, except for gender preference, are relaxed.
This invention is a computer program, a method of performing the search, an apparatus for pcrforming the search and a computer-readable media embodying the computer program to control a computer to effect the search.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DR~WINGS
~5 Thc above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are further described in the detailed description which follows, with reference to the drawings by way of non-limiting exempLary embodiments of the present invention, wherein like reference numcrals leple:,ent similar parts of the present invention throughout the several views and wherein:
FIGURE1 shows an overview of the system of this invention;
FIGURE 2 provides a more detailed view of a local server of the system of PIGURE
l;
FIGURE 3 shows a typical database record of the system of FIGURE 1;
FIGURE 4 illustrates searching a ~l~t~h~ce according to the present invention; and FIGURES 5-7 depict typical output displays of the search according to this invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY
PREFERRED EXEMP~ARY EMBODIMENTS
The system 100 of this invention is now described with reference to FIGURE 1, wherein a Web server 102 is connected to a network such as the Internet 104. At various locations, preferably geographically remote from that of the Web server 102, a number of local servers 106 connect to the Web server 102 via a proprietary network 108. A more detailed description of the operation of the system 100 is given in co-pending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. to be assigned, titled "Computer-Implemented Method, System and ~nt~ ce Thereto for M~t~hing People", referenced and incorporated above.
In a plere~led embodiment, the Web server 102 runs the Windows NT (trademark) operating system on a Pentium-based computer with an eight gigabyte hard disk and one hundred megabytes of random access memory (RAM).
The proprietary network 108 is a standard frame-relay network such as is operated by AT&T or MCI.
A user can access the system 100 either via the Intemet 104 using a computer 110(or some other form of ~Ccescing the Internet) or via a telephone 112, preferably a touch-CA 0224l7ll l998-06-26 tone phone, which acc~ss~ s one of the local servers 106. A land-line, mobile, wireless, satellite telephone or the like may be used as user's telephone 112.
There are no special requirements for the user's computer 110, other than that it have some means of accescing the Intemet 104.
A more detailed view of a typical local server 106 is shown in FIGURE 2, wherein a local server 106 preferably inellldes a CPU 116, intemal memory 118 and extemal storage 120. P.~t~ rnal storage 120 is preferably some storage device such as a hard disk drive or the like with a capacity, preferably of between 500 megabytes to 2 gigabytes. Each of the local servers 106 is also preferably a Windows NT-based computer system with thirty two megabytes of RAM as the internal memory 118. The local servers 106 are preferably at least as powerful as an Intel 386. That is, the CPU 116 is prefcrabl~ at Icast an Intel 386.
A local server 106 preferably also includes a voice rcsp)nx unit(VRU) 122 for generating a voice response to a user's telephone 112. The VRI' 122 dlrects an input from the server 106 to a user on a telephone 112. The user, conununJca~n~ ~th the local server 106 through a telephone 112, enters input by d~plc~aing buttons c)n a telephone keypad. A
DTMF receiver card 124 in the local server 106 receives DTMI t-~s from the telephone 112.
Each local server 106 indudes a ~atah~cc 121, prefer~ Mi~osoft ACCESS
(tra~lematk), stored on extemal storage 120.
The Web server 102 also maintains a ~atah~ce 123 ~ ~lch is preferably a combination of all of the ~lat~h~ses 121 of all of the local servers 106. That is, the database 123 at the Web server 102 preferably contains all the records of each of the f~atah~ccs 121 of eaeh of the local servers 106. The Web server's ~l~t~h~ce 123 must also track which of the loeal servers 106 any data comes from, thereby allowing searching at the Web server 102 based on the location of the loeal server 106.
Based on search requirements entered by a user (either via the telephone 112 or via a network such as the ~nt~tnet 104) the loeal server 106 (or the Web server 102) performs one or more ~l~t~h~se searches, reporting m~t~hing entries to the user after each search.
The server ~ocal 106 or Web 102) may then successively ehange the search parameters and repeat the seareh with the new p~ratn~rs until a desired number of m~t~hing entries is generated.
Each local server ~l~t~h~ce 121 and the Web server database 123 contains inf()rmation about subscribers to the system 100. In particular, each ~l~t~h~ce contains ~ubscribcr information which can be located based on various search criteria such as, for e~mple, geographic location, gender and gender preference, hair color, age, height, ~el~ht, body type and other appearance factors, race, religion, subseriber's goal, and the llke. The subseriber's goal can be specified in terrns of pre-det( rmin~-l options such as "n)mance", "friendship", a "walk on the wild side" and the like. Generally the d~t~h~ce entries for eaeh sllhscrihrt are established when the subseriber first subscribes to the s~-stem 100. However, in some embodiments a s~lhs~riher can change some of the atttibutes and criteria at any time. For ~ Y~mple, a subscriber who tires of "fri( n~lchip" may chan~ her goal to "romanee." Each ~ h~se entry (for each subscriber) also contains an indication of when that entry was last updated and, optionally, when that subscriber made any payments to the system. A typical database record format is shown in FIGURE 3, which shows the fields logically divided into subscriber information fields and subscriber preference fields as well as update time information and fee payment information. The structure shown in Figure 3 is merely for the sake of description, and the actual ~T~t~h~ce is organized based on the underlying tl~t~b~ce query program and the hardware and software running on the system.
The searching process for a server database (121 or 123) is described below withreference to FIGURE 4.
As shown in FIGURE 4, a user wishing to search a ~l~t~h~se must first provide search criteria (at P10). These criteria can include any combination of the subscriber 0 information and plefercnces in the ~t~h~ct~ That is, a user can search for a subscriber based not only on that subscribers information, but also on that subscriber's pic~elcnces.
Preferably the search criteria include a geographic location preference. In preferred embodiments of the system 100, the geographic location plefclcnce is given in terms of a postal ~ip code, although any other form of geographic location speciher can be used. For example, the location specifier may include one or more of ~ip code, county, city, state, precinct, block, street and country.
A user who is already a system subscriber can use her already entered subscriberinformation and prcrclcnces which are already stored in the database. A new user must at least enter search ple[clellces and preferably at least some user information.
When the system 100 is being ~cc~ssed by telephone 112, the user enters the location specifier as, for example, a ~ip code and the DTMF receiver card 124 receives the location specifier from the user. The system 100 also collects personal information from the user. In the case of telephone access to the system, this information is obtained, for example, by asking the user to press various keys on the telephone keypad to indicate answers to questions asked through the ~RU 122. In the case of access via the network 104, the user's information is entered using any known manner using a typical browser application.
The personal information obtained can include, but is not limited to, the user's age, sex, the user's gender plcfelel1ce Cmcluding "couples"), the user's first name, race, hair color, build of body, and location including city and ~ip code. The system will also obtain from the user a goal which can be one of "romance," "friendship," "a walk on the wild o side," and the like. The system 100 provides the user with a system phone number for a pcrsonal v oicc mail box; voice mail box number.
When the personal information is obtained over the telephone, the server 106 requests the personal information from the user by asking the user questions through the VRU 122. The questions indude, for e~mpl~, "Press 1 if you are a man", "Press 2 if you are a woman", "Press 1 if you are seeking a man", "Press 2 if you are seeking a woman", "Spell your first name using the buttons on your telephone keypad corresponding to the applopliate letters, press 7 for Q and 9 for ~", and the like. When the personalinforrnation is obtained via a user computer 110 over a network 104 such as the Internet, the user is plcsell~ed with display screen forms such as those shown in FIGURES5 and 6 and data is entered via the user's browser running on computer 110.
As noted above, it is preferable to find matches for people that are geographically suitable. It is also generally preferable to match people according to their gender pler~lences. Accordingly, in preferred embodiments, regardless of what other parameters are set, the gender plerelcnce and geographic location plc[clcllce specifier must be set.
Once the search criteria have been obtained from the user, a location search parameter is set to be equal to the location specifier.
Next a pel~e~lLage match parameter is set (at P12) to a value of, for example, seventy percent. This parameter is used to de~rmin-- an acceptable degree of m~t~hing in the database. In some plerc,l~ embodiments users can indicate which, if any, of their search criteria can be varied and in what order. The percentage match parameter for each database search result is detcrmined as a weighted function of the result Generally the 0 user cannot control this function or the weight parameter, although in some embodiments the user can give some search criteria highcr wcights than othcrs. ~or cxamplc, somconc might indicate that the system should vary race or religion, but never vary weight or height unless absolutely necessary.
Then the ~l~t~h~s~ (121 or 123) is searched (at P14) for entries m~t~hing the specified search criteria with a percentage match being at least equal to the specified pel~enLage match parameter. The m~tching and near m~tching entries must have compatible personal information entries corresponding to the plerell~d gender and the prercll~d gender sought in the user's personal plefelence information. The following table illustrates the compatible gender plcrclcnce entries.
¦ Personal Information in Database ¦ Compatible Personal Preference ¦
¦ Information Gender Gender Sought Gender Gender Sougbt male female 11 female male male male male male male couple couple male female male male female female female female female female couple couple female couple couple couple couple couple male male couple couple female female couple Matching entries are g n~or~t~(l as a result of searching the ~t~h~e (at P16).
If the search of the database finds no m~t~hing entries (at P17), then the percentage match parameter value is decreased (at P24) and the search is repeated (at P14) with the lower percentage match value.
The gf n~r~ed matches are optionally reordered (at P18) according to a date of last payment of a use fee, such as a fee paid in order to listen to messages in a user's voice mail box, and/or according to a date of last updating a user's personal profile, such as audio information containing information about the user recorded in a user's voice. Entries having more recent dates of payment of a fee and more recent dates of last updating are reported before other entries as a reward to those users who have recently paid the use fee or who have recently updated their personal profile. In this way the most recent users of the system will tend to get the most matches in the system.
The reordered m~hing entries, if any exist, are then presented to the user. In the case of a user ~ccescing the system by telephone 122, the results are announced to the user via the VRU 122, otherwise they are presented to the user on the display monitor 114 of his computer 110. An example of such a display output is shown in FIGURE 7.
Next the system 100 determincs whether the desired number of entries has been reported (at P20). This number is initially set by the system to be some value such as ten.
Preferably the user can change this number. It is never set to less than one. If it is determined that the desired number of entries has been reported then the search is done (at P22), and processing stops, otherwise the system 100 decreases the value of th~
percentage match p~r~metl r (at P24) and another search is performed (at P14). Th~
percentage match parameter is initially set to some value such as seventy and thcn decreased in subsequent searches by ten each time until it reaches ~ero.
As noted above, generally the user cannot control this percentage p~r~mC~r, although in some embodiments the user can give some search criteria higher weights th~n others. In plcrclL~d embodiments the location speciher is given the highest weight (aftcr the gender plcrelcnce) and is changed the least, so that matches in the user's geograph area will be found hrst.
Note that the notion of controlling a search by a percentage match is effectiv~lthe same as relaxing some or all of the search criteria until a match is found.
In most pler~llcd embodiments, all of the user's search criteria can be successively relaxed except for the user's gcnder plc[eIcnce which must always be respected.
In some plcfc~lel embodiment the search of the database is made with the geographic location held fixed and other search criteria, except for gender plcfelcnce, being su~ces~ivcly relaxed. In those embo lim~nt~, the geographic location may eventually have to be changed, i.e., widened, if no search results are found in the required location, but it is only changed as a last resort.
In other preferred embodiments the search of the database is made with the geographic location being su~ccs~ ly widened before or simultaneously with the other 0 search criteria, except for gender pler~lence, are relaxed.
In some prcfcrrcd cmlx)diments users can be given the option of which search criteria are to be relaxe(~ an~i ~ hich are to be kept fixed.
In other prcferted ~mbodiments, a user may request matches regardless of location, in which ca~ the location specifier is given a variable weight which is adjusted along with those of other cnteria (at P24). lf the geographic location is adjusted, it is preferably done so in fi~ c ~ n ten mile increments.
In some em~ldlm~nts, the system reports the match pclccn~ge for each search result, indicating the ~rc~.)t~ of corresponding personal information in a database entry which matches the uscr's ~onal preference information. In a telephone-based user this information is announccd to the user via the VRU 122.
The matching pcl~.ntage can be announced to the user for the overall match or ona per criterion basis.
When this system is accessed by a user from her computer 110 (FIGURE 1), the server 102 sends requests for information through the computer network 104 to the user's computer 110. The user enters infomlation on her computer 110 which then sends the appl~plia~ infommation through the network 104 to the server 102. Preferably thes network 104 is the Tnt~rnet and the user's computer 110 runs some kind of Tnt~rnet bluw~cr software, such as Netscape ~r~dfm~rk) or the Microsoft Intemet Explorer (Ir~d.~m~rk) . The server.102 communicates with the bl~w~er software on the user's computer 110 and causes various forms to be displayed on the display 114 of the computer 110. The user fills in the forms as appl~liate with the required information, such as, e.g., location specifier and personal information, and the infommation is sent through the nctwork 104 to the server 102. Database search results are reported to the user computer 110 after each search. The bL- w~er software in the computer 110 displays the results to the user on the display 114, for example as shown in FIGURE7.
Preferably m~tching search fields are listed on the display 114 with an asterisk next to the m~t~hing held. A m~t~hing percentage is also reported to the user computer 110 to be displayed to the user.
Example An example of the weighting factors for a particular embodiment of the search algorithm is now presented. In this example the user's gender preference is never varied or relaxed and the user's geographic location is given the highest weight of all search criteria.
The following table s..."~ i,es the weight factors for various criteria. Note that the criteria may be weighted dif[clcnLly, depending on gender plcrelcl1ces.
Cdterion Weight postal code (zip code) 50 age 35 race 40 hair color 10 eye color 10 height 25 goal 30 build 25 In the embodiment of this example, the search takes place as follows:
s First the system locates, from the ~t~h~ce (121 or 123), all valid subscribers whose gender preference matches the required gender preference and who are located "nearby"
the given postal (zip) code. Preferably a zip code is considered nearby if its centroid is within a system-configurable distance from the input zip code. For example, for Los Angeles, since zip codes areas are small and dense, nearby is set to fifty miles, whereas for Kansas where the zip code areas are large and sparse, nearby is set to one hundred and fifty m~les.
Then, for each subscriber found in the first part (above), the system also retrieves the user's system information such as user name, phone number and a so called band value for the zip code the user is in. For a given zip code the system ~ cnlly defines four bands. Only the input Cmitial) zip code falls into band zero (0). All zip codes with centroids less than X miles of the input zip code's centroid fall into band 1. All zip codes with centroids greater than or equal to X miles of the input zip code's centroid, but lcss than Y miles from the centroid fall into band 2. Similarly, band 3 is defined for zip codes with centroids between Y and Z miles from the centroid of the input zip code. Finally, band 4 is all zip codes with centroids outside of Z miles from the input zip code. In other words, the bands define concentric cirdes around the centroid of the input zip code. The s values of X Y and Z, defining the radii of the conoentric circles are defined at the time the system is setup and vary depending on the specific location and its population density. Zip codes within band 1, i.e., within Z miles of the centroid of the input zip code are considered nearby.
The pl~senlly preferred cmbodiment uses a proprietary zip code database called Pro-Zipcode! (I'rademark) from Professional Computer Consulting, Inc. This ~l~t~h~se is merely a list of comma scrlr~ted ~alucs of ~ip codc, state, cit~, count~, latitude and longitude for all zip codes in thc l ~nltcd States. The data from this ~l~t~h~ce is stored in a Microsoft SQL ~l~t~h~ce which lS (-ptimized for use with the system. ln particular, invalid zip codes such as APOs and 11'( )s are removed, as are an zip codes with invalid longitude t5 or latitude values. Next, a separate table is created which determines, for any zip code, what other zip codes are in th~t ~r c-~dcs various bands (0 to 3).
Next, for each subscnbcr rctricvcd (who matched the gender and geographic location criteria), the syst~n d, t~ incs a score based on the subscriber's input information, the subscribcr's ~fcrences and the user's input and pl~f~.cllces. In the embodiment of this examplc, thc scorc is determined as follows: if a criterion matches a plc[c..nce then the score is increased by the weight associated with that criterion. So, e.g., if the user's hair color criterion matches the subscriber's hair color then the score is increased by the weight for that criterion, in this case ten. The same test is applied to the user's information and the subscriber's criterion.
When all categories have been compared, the resulting score is divided by the total possible score to de~rmin~ a percentage match. Note that the total possible score may depend on some of the user's criteria.
The list of m~tching s~lhs~rihers is then sorted in desc.on~ling order by score, then in ascending order by zip code and then in descending order of last access and/or payment.
At this time, if the access was via a user computer 110 and the Web server 102, the system on the Web server 102 locates the audio file and any other files for each user and mal;es thcm available as part of the list to the user.
The search described above is performed in multiple passes over the database.
Each pass sequentially searches all users for matches. The number of passes is controlled by various database values. The current settings are for three major passes and three minor passes.
Each major pass decreases the m~t~hing score requirements. Each minor pass increascs the zip code search radius. These values are retrieved from a ~l~t~h~ce and can be changed at any time. The current preferred values are eighty percent, fifty percent and zero percent for major pass m~t~hing scores. The current preferred values for the minor pass zip code boundaries are zero, hve and 10 mile radii.
The final pass removes the zip code radius restriction and sets the m~t~hing score to zero percent, effectively m~hing anyone of the specihed sex and gender orientation.
Although described with reference to a particular system and impl~m~nt~tion, thecomputer aspects of the present invention can be impl~m~nt~d in software, hardware or any combination thereof. When implemented fully or partially in software, the invention can reside, ptorm~nently or temporarily, on any machine readable memory or storage medium, including but not limited to a RAM, a ROM, a disk, an ASIC, a PROM and the like. In addition, the invention may be impl~m- nt~d using circuits, without the use of software. The software may be executed by a PC, a larger computer, an ASIC, a progr~mm~hle machine, a computer network, or otherwise.
The embodiments illustrated and discussed herein are intended only to teach those skilled in the art the best way known by the inventor to make and use the invention.
Nothing in the specihcation should be considered as limiting the scope of the present invention. Changes could be made by those skilled in the art to produce equivalent devices without departing from the invention. The present invention should only be limited by the following claims and their legal equivalents.
Claims (49)
1. In an on-line dating service, a method of searching a database of subscriber information in order to find at least one subscriber matching user search criteria, the subscriber information including preferences of subscribers to the service, wherein the users access the database by at least one of a telephone and a computer, wherein the subscriber information includes a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber, the method comprising:
(A) repeatedly (a) searching the database for records matching search criteria of a user, and (b) relaxing at least some of the search criteria, until at least a required number of matching records are found, wherein the required number of matching parameters is never less than one;
(B) reporting the matching records to the user, including (a) reporting a degree of match for each reported record; and (b) indicating, for each reported record, a degree of match of each of the search criteria, (C) reordering the matching entries according to at least one of:
(a) a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and (b) a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber, wherein when the entries are reordered according to the date of last payment, the matching entries having a more recent date of the last payment are reported before others of the matching entries; and when the entries are reordered according to the date of last updating, the matching entries having a more recent data of last updating are reported before others of the matching entries, and wherein the search criteria include at least one of: a gender preference; a geographic location preference; an age preference; appearance preferences; religious belief preferences; educational level preferences; and a goal preference; and wherein the goal preference is one of "romance"; "friendship" or "a walk on the wild side"; and wherein the geographic location preference is at least one of: a postal code, a country, a city, a suburb, a block, or a street; and wherein the gender preference search criterion is never relaxed, and wherein the geographic location preference search criterion is only relaxed after other search criteria have been relaxed.
(A) repeatedly (a) searching the database for records matching search criteria of a user, and (b) relaxing at least some of the search criteria, until at least a required number of matching records are found, wherein the required number of matching parameters is never less than one;
(B) reporting the matching records to the user, including (a) reporting a degree of match for each reported record; and (b) indicating, for each reported record, a degree of match of each of the search criteria, (C) reordering the matching entries according to at least one of:
(a) a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and (b) a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber, wherein when the entries are reordered according to the date of last payment, the matching entries having a more recent date of the last payment are reported before others of the matching entries; and when the entries are reordered according to the date of last updating, the matching entries having a more recent data of last updating are reported before others of the matching entries, and wherein the search criteria include at least one of: a gender preference; a geographic location preference; an age preference; appearance preferences; religious belief preferences; educational level preferences; and a goal preference; and wherein the goal preference is one of "romance"; "friendship" or "a walk on the wild side"; and wherein the geographic location preference is at least one of: a postal code, a country, a city, a suburb, a block, or a street; and wherein the gender preference search criterion is never relaxed, and wherein the geographic location preference search criterion is only relaxed after other search criteria have been relaxed.
2. In an on-line dating service, a method of searching a database of subscriber information in order to find at least one subscriber matching user search criteria, the subscriber information including preferences of subscribers to the service, the method comprising:
repeatedly (a) searching the database for records matching search criteria of a user, and (b) relaxing at least some of the search criteria, until at least a required number of matching records are found.
repeatedly (a) searching the database for records matching search criteria of a user, and (b) relaxing at least some of the search criteria, until at least a required number of matching records are found.
3. A method as in claim 2 further comprising:
reporting the matching records to the user.
reporting the matching records to the user.
4. A method as in claim 3 wherein the reporting of the matching records includes reporting a degree of match for each reported record.
5. A method as in claim 3 wherein the reporting of the matching records includes indicating, for each reported record, a degree of match of each of the search criteria.
6. A method as in claim 2 wherein the users access the database by at least one of a telephone and a computer.
7. A method as in claim 2 wherein the required number of matching parameters is never less than one.
8. A method as in claim 2 wherein both the search criteria include at least one of: a gender preference; a geographic location preference; an age preference; appearance preferences; religious belief preferences; educational level preferences; and a goal preference.
9. A method as in claim 8 wherein the goal preference is one of "romance";
"friendship" or "a walk on the wild side."
"friendship" or "a walk on the wild side."
10. A method as in claim 2 wherein only some of the search criteria are relaxed.
11. A method as in claim 10 wherein the gender preference search criterion is never relaxed.
12. A method as in claim 10 wherein the geographic location preference search criterion is only relaxed after other search criteria have been relaxed.
13. A method as in claim 10 wherein the geographic location preference criterion is relaxed before any other criteria are relaxed
14. A method as in claim 3 wherein the subscriber information includes a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber, the method further comprising:
reordering the matching entries according to at least one of:
(a) a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and (b) a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber.
reordering the matching entries according to at least one of:
(a) a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and (b) a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber.
15. A method as in claim 14 wherein, when the entries are reordered according to the date of last payment, the matching entries having a more recent date of the last payment are reported before others of the matching entries; and when the entries are reordered according to the date of last updating, the matching entries having a more recent data of last updating are reported before others of the matching entries.
16. A method as in claim 9 wherein the geographic location preference is at least one of: a postal code, a country, a city, a suburb, a block, or a street.
17. In an on-line dating service, an apparatus of searching a database of subscriber information in order to find at least one subscriber matching user search criteria, the subscriber information including preferences of subscribers to the service, wherein the users access the database by at least one of a telephone and a computer, wherein the subscriber information includes a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber, the apparatus comprising:
(A) means for repeatedly (a) searching the database for records matching search criteria of a user, and (b) relaxing at least some of the search criteria, until at least a required number of matching records are found, wherein the required number of matching parameters is never less than one;
(B) means for reporting the matching records to the user, including (a) means for reporting a degree of match for each reported record;
and (b) means for indicating, for each reported record, a degree of match of each of the search criteria, (C) means for reordering the matching entries according to at least one of:
(a) a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and (b) a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber, wherein when the entries are reordered according to the date of last payment, the matching entries having a more recent date of the last payment are reported before others of the matching entries; and when the entries are reordered according to the date of last updating, the matching entries having a more recent data of last updating are reported before others of the matching entries, and wherein the search criteria include at least one of: a gender preference; a geographic location preference; an age preference; appearance preferences; religious belief preferences; educational level preferences; and a goal preference; and wherein the goal preference is one of "romance"; "friendship" or "a walk on the wild side"; and wherein the geographic location preference is at least one of: a postal code, a country, a city, a suburb, a block, or a street; and wherein the gender preference search criterion is never relaxed, and wherein the geographic location preference search criterion is only relaxed after other search criteria have been relaxed.
(A) means for repeatedly (a) searching the database for records matching search criteria of a user, and (b) relaxing at least some of the search criteria, until at least a required number of matching records are found, wherein the required number of matching parameters is never less than one;
(B) means for reporting the matching records to the user, including (a) means for reporting a degree of match for each reported record;
and (b) means for indicating, for each reported record, a degree of match of each of the search criteria, (C) means for reordering the matching entries according to at least one of:
(a) a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and (b) a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber, wherein when the entries are reordered according to the date of last payment, the matching entries having a more recent date of the last payment are reported before others of the matching entries; and when the entries are reordered according to the date of last updating, the matching entries having a more recent data of last updating are reported before others of the matching entries, and wherein the search criteria include at least one of: a gender preference; a geographic location preference; an age preference; appearance preferences; religious belief preferences; educational level preferences; and a goal preference; and wherein the goal preference is one of "romance"; "friendship" or "a walk on the wild side"; and wherein the geographic location preference is at least one of: a postal code, a country, a city, a suburb, a block, or a street; and wherein the gender preference search criterion is never relaxed, and wherein the geographic location preference search criterion is only relaxed after other search criteria have been relaxed.
18. In an on-line dating service, an apparatus of searching a database of subscriber information in order to find at least one subscriber matching user search criteria, the subscriber information including preferences of subscribers the service, the apparatus comprising:
means for repeatedly (a) searching the database for records matching search criteria of a user, and (b) relaxing at least some of the search criteria.
until at least a required number of matching records are found.
means for repeatedly (a) searching the database for records matching search criteria of a user, and (b) relaxing at least some of the search criteria.
until at least a required number of matching records are found.
19. An apparatus as in claim 18 further comprising:
means for reporting the matching records to the user.
means for reporting the matching records to the user.
20. An apparatus as in claim 19 wherein the reporting means includes means for reporting a degree of match for each reported record.
21. An apparatus as in claim 19 wherein the reporting means includes means for indicating, for each reported record, a degree of match of each of the search criteria.
22. An apparatus as in claim 18 wherein the users access the database by at least one of a telephone and a computer.
23. An apparatus as in claim 18 wherein the required number of matching parameters is never less than one.
24. An apparatus as in claim 18 wherein the search criteria include at least one of a gender preference; a geographic location preference; an age preference; appearance preferences; religious belief preferences; educational level preferences; and a goal preference.
25. An apparatus as in claim 24 wherein the goal preference is one of "romance"; "friendship" or "a walk on the wild side."
26. An apparatus as in claim 18 wherein only some of the search criteria are relaxed.
27. An apparatus as in claim 26 wherein the gender preference search criterion is never relaxed.
28. An apparatus as in claim 26 wherein the geographic location preference search criterion is only relaxed after other search criteria have been relaxed.
29. An apparatus as in claim 26 wherein the geographic location preference criterion is relaxed before any other criteria are relaxed.
30. An apparatus as in claim 19 wherein the subscriber information includes a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber, the apparatus further comprising:
means for reordering the matching entries according to at least one of:
(a) a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and (b) a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber.
means for reordering the matching entries according to at least one of:
(a) a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and (b) a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber.
31. An apparatus as in claim 30 wherein, when the entries are reordered according to the date of last payment, the matching entries having a more recent date of the last payment are reported before others of the matching entries; and when the entries are reordered according to the date of last updating, the matching entries having a more recent data of last updating are reported before others of the matching entries.
32. An apparatus as in claim 24 wherein the geographic location preference is at least one of: a postal code, a country, a city, a suburb, a block, or a street.
33. Computer-readable media tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a computer to perform, in an on-line dating service, a method if searching a database of subscriber information in order to find at least one subscriber matching user search criteria, the subscriber information including preferences of subscribers to the service, wherein the users access the database by at least one of of a telephone and a computer, wherein the subscriber information includes a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber, the method comprising:
(A) repeatedly (a) searching the database for records matching search criteria of a user, and (b) relaxing at least some of the search criteria, until at least a required number of matching records are found, wherein the required number of matching parameters is never less than one;
(B) reporting the matching records to the user, including (a) reporting a degree of match for each reported record; and (b) indicating, for each reported record, a degree of match of each of the search criteria, (C) reordering the matching entries according to at least one of:
(a) a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and (b) a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber, wherein when the entries are reordered according to the date of last payment, the matching entries having a more recent date of the last payment are reported before others of the matching entries; and when the entries are reordered according to the date of last updating, the matching entries having a more recent data of last updating are reported before others of the matching entries, and wherein the search criteria include at least one of: a gender preference; a geographic location preference; an age preference; appearance preferences; religious belief preferences; educational level preferences; and a goal preference; and wherein the goal preference is one of "romance"; "friendship" or "a walk on the wild side"; and wherein the geographic location preference is at least one of: a postal code, a country, a city, a suburb, a block, or a street; and wherein the gender preference search criterion is never relaxed, and wherein the geographic location preference search criterion is only relaxed after other search criteria have been relaxed.
(A) repeatedly (a) searching the database for records matching search criteria of a user, and (b) relaxing at least some of the search criteria, until at least a required number of matching records are found, wherein the required number of matching parameters is never less than one;
(B) reporting the matching records to the user, including (a) reporting a degree of match for each reported record; and (b) indicating, for each reported record, a degree of match of each of the search criteria, (C) reordering the matching entries according to at least one of:
(a) a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and (b) a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber, wherein when the entries are reordered according to the date of last payment, the matching entries having a more recent date of the last payment are reported before others of the matching entries; and when the entries are reordered according to the date of last updating, the matching entries having a more recent data of last updating are reported before others of the matching entries, and wherein the search criteria include at least one of: a gender preference; a geographic location preference; an age preference; appearance preferences; religious belief preferences; educational level preferences; and a goal preference; and wherein the goal preference is one of "romance"; "friendship" or "a walk on the wild side"; and wherein the geographic location preference is at least one of: a postal code, a country, a city, a suburb, a block, or a street; and wherein the gender preference search criterion is never relaxed, and wherein the geographic location preference search criterion is only relaxed after other search criteria have been relaxed.
34. Computer-readable media tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a computer to perform, in an on-line dating service, a method for searching a database of subscriber information in order to find at least one subscriber matching user search criteria, the subscriber information including preferences of subscribers to the service, the method comprising:
repeatedly (a) searching the database for records matching search criteria of a user, and (b) relaxing at least some of the search criteria, until at least a required number of matching records are found.
repeatedly (a) searching the database for records matching search criteria of a user, and (b) relaxing at least some of the search criteria, until at least a required number of matching records are found.
35. Computer-readable media as in claim 34 wherein the method further comprises:
reporting the matching records to the user.
reporting the matching records to the user.
36. Computer-readable media as in claim 35 wherein the reporting includes reporting a degree of match for each reported record.
37. Computer-readable media as in claim 35 wherein the reporting includes indicating, for each reported record, a degree of match of each of the search criteria.
38. Computer-readable media as in claim 34 wherein the users access the database by at least one of a telephone and a computer.
39. Computer-readable media as in claim 34 wherein the required number of matching parameters is never less than one.
40. Computer-readable media as in claim 34 wherein the search criteria include at least one of: a gender preference; a geographic location preference; an age preference;
appearance preferences; religious belief preferences; educational level preferences; and a goal preference.
appearance preferences; religious belief preferences; educational level preferences; and a goal preference.
41. Computer-readable media as in claim 40 wherein the goal preference is one of "romance"; "friendship" or "a walk on the wild side."
42. Computer-readable media as in claim 34 wherein only some of the search criteria are relaxed.
43. Computer-readable media as in claim 35 wherein the gender preference search criterion is never relaxed.
44. Computer-readable media as in claim 35 wherein the geographic location preference search criterion is only relaxed after other search criteria have been relaxed.
45. Computer-readable media as in claim 35 wherein the geographic location preference criterion is relaxed before any other criteria are relaxed.
46. Computer-readable media as in claim 34 wherein the subscriber information includes a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber, the method further comprising reordering the matching entries according to at least one of:
(a) a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and (b) a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber.
(a) a date of last payment of a use fee by each subscriber and (b) a date of last updating of a personal profile by each subscriber.
47. Computer-readable media as in claim 46 wherein, when the entries are reordered according to the date of last payment, the matching entries having a more recent date of the last payment are reported before others of the matching entries; and when the entries are reordered according to the date of last updating, the matching entries having a more recent data of last updating are reported before others of the matching entries.
48. Computer-readable media as in claim 40 wherein the geographic location preference is at least one of: a postal code, a country, a city, a suburb, a block, or a street.
49. Computer-readable media as in any one of claims 33 to 40 wherein said media comprise at least one of a RAM, a ROM, a disk, an ASIC and a PROM.
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| US08/885,199 | 1997-06-30 | ||
| US08/885,199 US5963951A (en) | 1997-06-30 | 1997-06-30 | Computerized on-line dating service for searching and matching people |
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| CA2241711A1 true CA2241711A1 (en) | 1998-12-30 |
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| CA002241711A Abandoned CA2241711A1 (en) | 1997-06-30 | 1998-06-26 | Computer-implemented searching and matching of people based on personal preference criteria including location |
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| US (1) | US5963951A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2241711A1 (en) |
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| US8600361B2 (en) | 1999-08-24 | 2013-12-03 | Nokia Corporation | Mobile communications matching system |
| CN108846699A (en) * | 2018-06-14 | 2018-11-20 | 殷运林 | Demand matching process and device |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| US5963951A (en) | 1999-10-05 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| FZDE | Discontinued |