URL Encoding for Product Bundle Configuration and Sharing

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Solution Overview

Problem

In electronic commerce systems, generating and sharing links for bundles of products, including mobile devices and accessories, is difficult due to the lack of efficient URL encoding that describes product attributes and features, making it hard to facilitate purchasing and sharing.

Innovation Solution

The system encodes parameters in a URL to represent products, accessories, and features, allowing for the generation of hyperlinks that can be shared and used for purchasing, by using a URL encoder and decoder to ensure valid bundles and compatibility, and embedding relevant data in URLs for search engine indexing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If form data or user interface workflow is used to generate bundles, then product bundles with attributes and features can be assembled, but providing shareable links for these bundles becomes difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebundle configuration capabilityVSAvoidlink sharing capability

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the essential bundle configuration data (products, attributes, features) from the complex form data and UI workflow, encoding only the necessary information into a URL. This allows the bundle to be represented in a shareable link format without requiring the entire form structure or UI state, resolving the contradiction between comprehensive bundle configuration and easy sharing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent transforms the bundle configuration from a complex multi-parameter form structure into a simplified URL parameter structure. By changing the representation format from form data to URL-encoded parameters, the system enables easy sharing while preserving the essential bundle configuration information.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Productivity

If URL parameters encode product details and features, then sharing and SEO improve, but URL complexity and validation difficulty increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetraffic generation and sharingVSAvoidURL structure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the URL parameters into distinct categories (product identifiers, attribute parameters, feature parameters) with clear naming conventions. This segmentation organizes the complex information into manageable, standardized components that are easier to validate and process while maintaining comprehensive bundle representation for sharing and SEO.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a universal URL parameter structure that can represent any bundle configuration through standardized parameter names and formats. This multi-functional parameter system handles products, attributes, and features uniformly, reducing the perceived complexity by providing a consistent pattern rather than disparate encoding methods for different data types.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS8060414B1Encoding and decoding of product properties in a uniform resource locator

Publication Date: 2011.11.15 AMAZON TECH INC

AI summary

Disclosed are various embodiments for generating bundle uniform resource locators (URL). A URL is generated that contains a parameter with a value corresponding to a product available in the electronic commerce system. At least one parameter with a value corresponding to configurable features of the product is also encoded in the URL. The URL parameters are validated to determine whether the product and configurable features are compatible.