Method for data normalization

• US 10,599,129 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2018
• Issued: 03/24/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Duro Labs, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Duro Labs, Inc.
• Inventors: Corr, Michael G, O'Connor, Kellan
• Primary Examiner(s): Ries, Laurie A
• Application Number:
  US16/056,420
• Publication Number:
  US 20190113905A1
• Time in Patent Office: 596 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/408 characterised by data handling or data format, e.g. reading, buffering or conversion of data
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4183 characterised by data acquisition, e.g. workpiece identification
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31367 MMS manufacturing message specification, rs511, iso9506
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32028 Electronic catalog, to select material, resources, make lists with prices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

One variation of a method for normalizing manufacturing data includes: identifying a type of the digital component description document, including a set of part descriptor entries describing a set of physical parts, based on categories of physical parts described in part descriptor entries within the digital component description document; accessing a set of part descriptor rules corresponding to the type of the digital component description document; detecting deviation of a part descriptor entry, in the set of part descriptor entries, from a part descriptor rule in the set of part descriptor rules; at the user portal, serving a prompt to manually correct the part descriptor entry; and, in response to alignment between the digital component description document and the set of part descriptor rules, importing the set of part descriptor entries into the component library.

Claims

1. A method for normalizing manufacturing data comprising:

at a user portal, uploading an digital component description document comprising a set of part descriptor entries describing a set of physical parts;

identifying a type of the digital component description document based on categories of physical parts described in part descriptor entries within the digital component description document;

identifying a particular computer-aided design program that output the digital component description document based on the type of the digital component description document and a set of field headers extracted from the digital component description document;

based on the particular computer-aided design program, aligning the set of field headers extracted from the digital component description document to global field headers defined in a component library;

accessing a set of part descriptor rules corresponding to the type of the digital component description document;

detecting deviation of a first part descriptor entry, in the set of part descriptor entries, from a first part descriptor rule in the set of part descriptor rules;

at the user portal, serving a prompt to manually correct the first part descriptor entry;

in response to detecting a subset of like part descriptor entries in the set of part descriptor entries, consolidating the subset of like part descriptor entries into a single part descriptor entry; and

in response to alignment between the digital component description document and the set of part descriptor rules, importing the set of part descriptor entries into the component library.

2. The method of claim 1:

wherein loading the digital component description document comprises loading a digital bill of materials comprising a set of part descriptor entries of a first set of physical commodity parts and a second set of physical custom parts, each part descriptor entry comprising a part number, a part name, and a category of a corresponding physical part; and

wherein importing the set of part descriptor entries into the component library comprises importing the set of part descriptor entries into the component library associated with a physical assembly.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the type of the digital component description document comprises:

detecting the set of field headers in the digital component description document;

extracting a set of values, for the set of part descriptor entries, under a category header in the set of field headers in the digital component description document;

implementing natural language processing to interpret values, in the set of values, as a set of category types; and

identifying the type of the digital component description document as one of a mechanical-type and a digital-type based on a predefined digital component description document rule and a combination of unique category types in the set of category types.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the particular computer-aided design program of the digital component description document comprises:

retrieving a list of computer-aided drafting programs associated with the type of the digital component description document from a registry of computer-aided drafting programs;

for each computer-aided drafting program in the list of computer-aided drafting programs, accessing a field header model defining a field header naming scheme for the computer-aided drafting program;

detecting the set of field headers in the digital component description document; and

isolating the particular computer-aided drafting program, from the list of computer-aided drafting programs, based on alignment between the set of field headers and the field header model for the particular computer-aided drafting program.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein aligning the set of field headers extracted from the digital component description document to global field headers defined in the component library comprises:

detecting the set of field headers in the digital component description document;

accessing a field header map for the particular computer-aided drafting program, the field header map defining rules for transposing each field header, in the set field headers, in the digital component description document to a corresponding global field header in a predefined list of available global field headers in the component library; and

for each field header in the set field headers, generating a pointer linking a column of values under the field header in the digital component description document to the corresponding global field header in the component library according to the field header map.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein aligning the set of field headers extracted from the digital component description document to global field headers defined in the component library comprises:

detecting the set of field headers in the digital component description document;

for each field header in the set of field headers in the digital component description document;

implementing natural language processing to match the field header to a corresponding global field header extant in the component library;

shifting the field header and a column of values under the field header to a column location assigned to the global field header in the component library; and

replacing the field header in the digital component description document with the corresponding global field header; and

rendering the digital component description document with updated field headers and field header column locations in the user portal.

7. The method of claim 1:

wherein uploading the digital component description document comprises uploading the digital component description document via the user portal at a first time;

wherein detecting deviation of the first part descriptor entry from the first part descriptor rule comprises detecting absence of a first value in a first field in the first part descriptor entry;

wherein serving the prompt to manually correct the first part descriptor entry comprises highlighting the first field in the first part descriptor entry within the user portal at approximately the first time;

further comprising;

detecting a second field in a second part descriptor entry in the digital component description document containing a second value conflicting with a third value in a third field in the second part descriptor entry according to a second part descriptor rule in the set of part descriptor rules;

highlighting the second field and the third field in the second part descriptor entry within the user portal at approximately the first time;

wherein importing the set of part descriptor entries into the component library comprises importing the set of part descriptor entries into the component library at a second time succeeding the first time following manual insertion of a first value into the first field, a replacement second value into the second field, and a replacement third value into the third field.

8. The method of claim 7:

further comprising;

receiving manual insertion of the first value into the first field, the replacement second value into the second field, and the replacement third value into the third field via the user portal at an intermediate time between the first time and the second time;

in response to receipt of the first value, the replacement second value, and the replacement third value, scanning the first part descriptor entry and the second part descriptor entry for deviation from the set of part descriptor rules;

wherein importing the set of part descriptor entries into the component library comprises importing the set of part descriptor entries into the component library at the second time in response to alignment between the first part descriptor entry and the set of part descriptor rules and between the second part descriptor entry and the set of part descriptor rules.

9. The method of claim 1:

further comprising;

extracting a first value, for the first part descriptor entry, under a category header in the set of field headers in the digital component description document; and

implementing natural language processing to interpret the first value as a first category of the first part descriptor entry;

wherein accessing the set of part descriptor rules comprises accessing a part descriptor rule specifying a set of allowed values for a second field in part descriptor entries in the first category;

wherein serving the prompt to manually correct the first part descriptor entry comprises serving the prompt to manually correct the first part descriptor entry via the user portal in response to a second value in the second field in the first part descriptor entry omitting a value contained in the set of allowed values specified by the part descriptor rule for part descriptor entries in the first category.

10. The method of claim 1:

further comprising, in response to detecting deviation of the first part descriptor entry from the first part descriptor rule in the set of part descriptor rules;

interpreting a first value in a first field, in the first part descriptor entry, under a category header in the set of field headers in the digital component description document as a category of the first part descriptor entry;

interpreting a second value in a second field, in the first part descriptor entry, under a part number header in the set of field headers in the digital component description document as a part number of the first part descriptor entry;

selecting a particular vendor associated with products in the category of the first part descriptor entry;

querying a digital catalog associated with the particular vendor for a corpus of field data associated with the part number of the first part descriptor entry; and

verifying correspondence between the corpus of field data and the first part descriptor entry based on alignment between a third value in a third field in the first part descriptor entry and a second value in the corpus of field data; and

wherein serving the prompt to manually correct the first part descriptor entry comprises serving the prompt, via the user portal, to manually correct the first part descriptor entry in response to failure to verify correspondence between the corpus of field data and the first part descriptor entry.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising

detecting a set of aberrant fields in a second part descriptor entry, in the set of part descriptor entries, deviating from the set of part descriptor rules;

interpreting a first value in a first field, in the second part descriptor entry, under a category header in the set of field headers in the digital component description document as a category of the second part descriptor entry;

interpreting a second value in a second field, in the second part descriptor entry, under a part number header in the set of field headers in the digital component description document as a part number of the second part descriptor entry;

selecting a first vendor associated with products in the category of the second part descriptor entry;

querying a first electronic catalog associated with the first vendor for a first corpus of field data associated with the part number of the second part descriptor entry;

verifying correspondence between the first corpus of field data and the second part descriptor entry based on alignment between a third value in a third field in the second part descriptor entry and a second value in the first corpus of field data; and

in response to verifying correspondence between the first corpus of field data and the second part descriptor entry, populating fields in the set of aberrant fields in the second part descriptor entry with corresponding values from the first corpus of field data.

12. The method of claim 11:

wherein populating fields in the set of aberrant fields in the second part descriptor entry with corresponding values from the first corpus of field data comprises populating a first subset of fields in the set of aberrant fields in the second part descriptor entry with corresponding values from the first corpus of field data, the first subset of fields corresponding to preferred field headers from the first vendor; and

further comprising;

selecting a second vendor associated with products in the category of the second part descriptor entry;

querying a second electronic catalog associated with the first vendor for a second corpus of field data associated with the part number of the second part descriptor entry; and

in response to verifying correspondence between the second corpus of field data and the second part descriptor entry, populating a second subset of fields in the set of aberrant fields in the second part descriptor entry with corresponding values from the second corpus of field data, the second subset of fields corresponding to preferred field headers from the second vendor and distinct from preferred field headers from the first vendor.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising, for each part descriptor entry in the set of part descriptor entries:

interpreting a first value in a first field, in the part descriptor entry, under a part number header in the set of field headers in the digital component description document as a part number of the part descriptor entry;

querying a digital catalog associated with a vendor for a corpus of field data associated with the part number of the part descriptor entry;

implementing natural language processing to detect conflicts between values in the part descriptor entry under field headers and corresponding values in the corpus of field data;

in response to detecting less than a threshold number of conflicts between the part descriptor entry and the corpus of field data, populating fields in the part descriptor entry with values from the corpus of field data; and

in response to detecting more than the threshold number of conflicts between the part descriptor entry and the corpus of field data, serving a prompt to manually correct the part descriptor entry via the user portal.

14. The method of claim 1:

wherein accessing the set of part descriptor rules corresponding to the type of the digital component description document comprises

accessing a first part descriptor rule specifying a set of essential fields for part descriptor entries in the type of the electronic component description; and

accessing a second set of part descriptor rules specifying relationships between field headers;

further comprising, for each part descriptor entry in the digital component description document;

scanning the part descriptor entry for a value in each field in the set of essential fields specified in the first part descriptor rule; and

scanning the part descriptor entry for misalignment between values in fields in the part descriptor entry according to the second set of part descriptor rules; and

wherein detecting deviation of the first part descriptor entry from the first part descriptor rule comprises detecting one of a missing value in a field in the set of essential fields and a misalignment between a value in a field in the part descriptor entry and a part descriptor rule in the second set of part descriptor rules.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein importing the set of part descriptor entries into the component library comprises:

selectively importing a first subset of part descriptor entries in the digital component description document into the component library in response to alignment between the first subset of part descriptor entries and the set of part descriptor rules; and

withholding import of a second subset of part descriptor entries into the component library in response to misalignment between the second subset of part descriptor entries and the set of part descriptor rules.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein consolidating the subset of like part descriptor entries into a single part descriptor entry comprises:

for a first field heading in the digital component description document, implementing natural language processing to compare values in part descriptor entries in the digital component description document under the first field heading to isolate a first subset of part descriptor entries containing analogous values under the first field heading;

for a second field heading in the digital component description document, implementing natural language processing to compare values in part descriptor entries in the first subset of part descriptor entries under the second field heading in the digital component description document to isolate a second subset of part descriptor entries containing analogous values under the second field heading;

calculating a sum of quantities in the second subset of part descriptor entries; and

consolidating the second subset of part descriptor entries into a single part descriptor entry comprising the sum under a quantity field header in the digital component description document.

17. The method of claim 16:

further comprising;

reordering part descriptor entries in the digital component description document to group the second subset of part descriptor entries;

highlighting the second subset of part descriptor entries in the user portal; and

rendering a prompt within the user portal to confirm consolidation of the second subset of part descriptor entries; and

wherein consolidating the subset of like part descriptor entries into a single part descriptor entry comprises consolidating the second subset of part descriptor entries into the single part descriptor entry according to a naming convention specified in the set of part descriptor rules in response to confirmation of consolidation of the second subset of part descriptor entries from a user via the user portal.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

at the user portal, initializing a new part descriptor entry containing a set of empty fields;

receiving selection of a part descriptor entry type for the new part descriptor entry;

based on the part descriptor entry type, rendering a dropdown menu of part categories for the part descriptor entry type within the user portal;

based on a part category selected from the dropdown menu, rendering prompts to manually input values into a subset of fields, in the set of empty fields, associated with the part category at the user portal;

in response to entry of a value into a field in the subset of fields;

querying a digital catalog for a unique part fulfilling values extant in the subset of fields, the electronic catalog hosted by a vendor associated with products in the category;

in response to identifying a unique part fulfilling values extant in the subset of fields, populating remaining fields in the new part descriptor entry with values from a corpus of field data associated with the unique part in the electronic catalog; and

in response to failure to identify a unique part fulfilling values extant in the subset of fields, rendering a prompt to manually enter values into additional fields in the subset of fields; and

in response to identifying the unique part aligning with all values extant in the subset of fields and populating remaining fields in the new part descriptor entry, importing the new part descriptor entry into the component library.

19. A method for normalizing manufacturing data comprising:

at a user portal, uploading an digital component description document comprising a set of part descriptor entries describing a set of physical parts;

identifying a type of the digital component description document based on categories of physical parts described in part descriptor entries within the digital component description document;

identifying a particular computer-aided design program that output the digital component description document based on the type of the digital component description document and a set of field headers detected in the digital component description document;

based on a preloaded field header naming scheme associated with the particular computer-aided design program, aligning the set of field headers detected in the digital component description document to global field headers defined in a component library;

for a first part descriptor entry in the digital component description document;

querying a first electronic catalog for a first commodity component descriptor containing field values analogous to a subset of values in the first part descriptor entry;

in response to a difference between a particular field value in the first commodity component descriptor and a particular value in a corresponding field in the first part descriptor entry, replacing the particular value in the first part descriptor entry within the particular field value from the first community component descriptor; and

serving a prompt to confirm the particular field value in the first part descriptor entry via the user portal; and

in response to alignment between part descriptor entries in the digital component description document and matched commodity component descriptors accessed from the first electronic catalog, importing the set of part descriptor entries into the component library.

20. The method of claim 19:

further comprising;

accessing a set of part descriptor rules corresponding to the type of the digital component description document;

detecting deviation of a second part descriptor entry, in the set of part descriptor entries, from a part descriptor rule in the set of part descriptor rules;

at the user portal, serving a prompt to manually correct the first part descriptor entry; and

in response to detecting a subset of like part descriptor entries in the set of part descriptor entries, consolidating the subset of like part descriptor entries into a single part descriptor entry; and

wherein importing the set of part descriptor entries into the component library comprises importing the set of part descriptor entries into the component library in response to alignment between the digital component description document and the set of part descriptor rules.