Method and apparatus for computer aided building specification generation

• US 20010052908A1
• Filed: 04/17/2001
• Published: 12/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/1997
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Linda Marie Hartman
• Original Assignee: Linda Marie Hartman
• Inventors: Hartman, Linda Marie
• Application Number:
  US09/835,481
• Publication Number:
  US 20010052908A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/630
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0875 Itemisation or classification of parts, supplies or services, e.g. bill of materials
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A method and apparatus for producing a design document for a product, with the product having product elements arranged in a hierarchical manner and stored in a relational database, is described. A selection is received for at least one product element. At least one performance value associated with the selected product element is received. A text segment associated with each selected product element is retrieved from the database. Selected text segments are then used to construct the design document.

Claims

1. A method for developing a request for proposal by an owner, and a responding proposal by a design builder for design and construction of a product, comprising:

defining a requirements file for said request for proposal including a performance specification and a prescriptive specification by selecting product descriptors from an owner database;

combining said requirements file with owner information to produce said request for proposal by selecting prewritten text segments from said owner database;

electronically linking attachments to said requirements file;

sending said request for proposal with said attachments as a first overlay to a design builder;

opening and reading said first overlay with reference to a proposer database correlating to said owner database;

preparing a responding proposal from said design builder by adding detailed product descriptors selected from said proposer database to said first overlay and producing a second overlay;

attaching proposer information and a cost statement to said second overlay;

sending said second overlay from said design builder to said owner;

producing an electronic comparison file by comparing said first overlay and said second overlay; and

using a document-use global switch option in said steps of defining and preparing.

2. The method of

claim 1

, wherein said defining comprises:

choosing the document-use global switch option corresponding to a request for proposal in order to convert the grammar of product descriptors to the imperative language appropriate to a request for proposal;

selecting at least one first product element from a first set of product elements on said owner database;

selecting from said owner database at least one performance value for said at least one first product element;

customizing said at least one product element and said at least one performance value by adding and subtracting text; and

storing a first representative for said customized at least one product element and said customized at least one performance value in electronic form.

3. The method of

claim 1

, wherein said preparing comprises:

receiving said first overlay;

constructing said second overlay using first overlay; and

choosing the document-use global switch option corresponding to a proposal in order to convert the grammar of product descriptors to the promissory language appropriate to a proposal.

4. The method of

claim 1

, wherein said preparing further comprises:

choosing the document-use global switch option corresponding to instructions for a sub-contractor in order to convert the grammar of product descriptors to the imperative language appropriate to instructions for subcontractors;

sending said second overlay to a third device of a supplier of materials for said product;

selecting at said third device a third set of data from a supplier database correlating to said proposer database;

constructing a third overlay by adding detailed product descriptors from said supplier database;

choosing the document-use global switch option corresponding to a proposal in order to convert the grammar of product descriptors to the promissory language appropriate to a proposal to the design-builder; and

sending said third overlay to said second device.