Granted Patent B1

US 12,657,616 · App. 18/893,116 · Granted Jun 16, 2026

Inventors: Heather C. Pollard (Fair Oaks Ranch, TX); Misti Renteria (Boerne, TX); Cathy Faye O'Sullivan (San Antonio, TX); Joel E. Galvan (Helotes, TX); James S. Harrison (Bulverde, TX)

Assignee: United Services Automobile Association (USAA)

G06Q30/0625G06Q30/0641

Abstract

Claims (24)

1 . A computer method for transacting business over the Internet to facilitate online purchase of a vehicle by a user using a user computing device coupled to a HTML web server to interact with an internet hosted e-commerce service coupled to a first computer database having information regarding vehicles for sale wherein each vehicle has associated vehicle data parameters and to a second computer database having information regarding the user including user data parameters wherein the second computer database is separate from the first computer database and is populated with data preexisting from when a user interacts with the internet hosted e-commerce service for purchasing a vehicle, comprising:

extracting data from the first computer database from a first network interface in response to the user's data input for a specified vehicle;

formatting the user's data input to a format suitable for analytical processing and comparison with user data in the second computer database, the first computer database being associated with a third party distinct from the second computer database, the user data in the second computer database being unrelated to the vehicle data in the first database;

comparing, utilizing the formatted user's data input, the user data unrelated to the vehicle data in the second computer database with data relating to vehicle data in the first computer data;

extracting data from the second computer database from a second network interface in response to the comparison of the user data unrelated to the vehicle data and the data relating to the vehicle data;

determining user specific information for recommendation of a vehicle for purchase by analyzing the received user online search regarding the user selected specified vehicle in view of the data extracted from the second computer database wherein the determined user specific information consists of: a) a length of commute associated with the user, and b) a family status of the user from the one or more insurance accounts associated with the user;

determining a preferred vehicle type for the user in response to: 1) data extracted from the first computer database regarding vehicles available for purchase; and 2) the determined user specific information;

identifying vehicles available for purchase in response to determining a preferred vehicle type; and

causing to display on a Graphical User Interface (GUI) provided on a user device the vehicles identified for purchase by the user.

2 . The computer method of claim 1 , wherein the user computing device is a smart phone device.

3 . The computer method of claim 1 , wherein matching parameters for determining the preferred vehicle type include a threshold setting.

4 . The computer method of claim 3 , wherein the threshold setting is user selectable.

5 . A computer method for transacting business over the Internet to facilitate online purchase of a vehicle by a user using a user computing device communicating with a HTML web server to interact with an internet hosted e-commerce service coupled to a first computer database having information regarding vehicles for sale wherein each vehicle has associated vehicle data parameters and to a second computer database having information regarding the user including user data parameters wherein the second computer database is separate from the first computer database and is populated with data preexisting from when a user interacts with the internet hosted e-commerce service for purchasing a vehicle, comprising:

extracting data from the first computer database from a first network interface in response to the user's data input for a specified vehicle;

formatting the user's data input to a format suitable for analytical processing and comparison with user data in the second computer database, the first computer database being associated with a third party distinct from the second computer database, the user data in the second computer database being unrelated to the vehicle data in the first database;

comparing, utilizing the formatted user's data input, the user data unrelated to the vehicle data in the second computer database with data relating to vehicle data in the first computer data;

extracting data from the second computer database from a second network interface in response to the comparison of the user data unrelated to the vehicle data and the data relating to the vehicle data;

determining user specific information for recommendation of a vehicle for purchase by analyzing the received user online search regarding the user selected specified vehicle in view of the data extracted from the second computer database wherein the determined user specific information consists of: a) a length of commute associated with the user, and b) a family status of the user from the one or more insurance accounts associated with the user;

determining a preferred vehicle type for the user in response to: 1) the data extracted from the first computer database regarding vehicles available for purchase; and 2) the determined user specific information;

identifying vehicles available for purchase in response to determining a preferred vehicle type; and

causing to display on a Graphical User Interface (GUI) provided on a user device the vehicles identified for purchase by the user.

6 . The computer method of claim 5 , wherein the user computing device is a smart phone device.

7 . The computer method of claim 5 , wherein matching parameters for determining the preferred vehicle type include a threshold setting.

8 . The computer method of claim 7 , wherein the threshold setting is user selectable.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (9)