Catalog, catalog query, and item identifier for configurable items

• US 20030172051A1
• Filed: 03/11/2002
• Published: 09/11/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Norman Ken Ouchi
• Original Assignee: Norman Ken Ouchi
• Inventors: Ouchi, Norman Ken
• Granted Patent: US 7,139,769 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

This invention is related to electronic information transfer between trading partners and more particularly to the use of a catalog, catalog query, and item identifier to specify an item that has a number of configurations or features. The item identifier is used in business transactions between the trading partners.

In the present invention, a configured item is associated with a two-part item identifier where one part is a standardized, fixed format field and the second part is a variable length field. A catalog and catalog query provide a means to generate the two-part item identifier based on the description of the configured item. The catalog query may request additional information to further define the description to generate the item identifier. A catalog query with the item identifier can query the catalog to determine the description of the item. The item identifier may be used as the item identifier in transactions to order the item, etc.

Claims

1. A two-part item identifier wherein an item in a catalog connected to a network is described in a catalog query made to the catalog by a requester using the network and the catalog responds with the two-part item identifier for the item described wherein the two-part item identifier consists of a fixed length part identifying the class of the item in the catalog and a variable length part further specifying the item within the class.

2. The two-part item identifier of claim 1, wherein the fixed length part is a GTIN and the variable length part is an XML string.

3. The two-part item identifier of claim 1, wherein the variable length part that further specifies the item can modify the value of a property of the class identified in the fixed length part.

4. The two-part item identifier of claim 1, wherein the fixed length part is used to identify items in the same class.

5. The two-part item identifier of claim 1, where in the variable length part specifies a subclass of the items in the class identified in the fixed length part and is used to identify items in the same subclass.

6. The two-part item identifier of claim 1, wherein the encoding of the variable length part is derived from a one-part item identifier encoding for the item.

7. The two-part item identifier of claim 1, wherein the two-part item identifier is the item identifier in a purchase order used to purchase the item.

8. The two-part item identifier of claim 1, wherein a catalog request containing the two-part identifier for an item in a catalog is made to the catalog and the catalog responds with a description of the item.

9. A catalog containing the description of an item and connected to a network where the catalog responds to a catalog query describing the item from a requester using the network with a two-part item identifier for the item wherein the two-part item identifier consists of a fixed length part identifying the class of the item in the catalog and a variable length part that further specifies the item within the class.

10. The catalog of claim 9, wherein the catalog taxonomy is a standards based taxonomy such as the RosettaNet Technical Dictionary.

11. The catalog of claim 9 connected to a network, wherein the network is the Internet.

12. The catalog of claim 9, wherein a catalog query with a two-part item identifier for an item in the catalog is made to the catalog and the catalog responds with a description of the item.

13. The catalog of claim 9, wherein the response to the query is an XML message or access to a web page.

14. A catalog query describing an item in a catalog connected to a network wherein the catalog responds to the catalog query from a requester using the network with a two-part item identifier for the item described in the catalog query where the two-part item identifier consists of a fixed length part that identifies the class of the item in the catalog and a variable length part that further specifies the item within the class.

15. The catalog query of claim 14, wherein the request is a standards based catalog query such as the RosettaNet 2A9 PIP.

16. The catalog query of claim 14, wherein the response includes a request for additional information to further specify the item.

17. The catalog query of claim 14, wherein the response includes a valid choice for a response to a request for additional information to further specify the item.

18. The catalog query of claim 14, wherein the catalog query includes a two-part item identifier for an item in the catalog and the catalog responds to the catalog query with a description of the item.

19. The catalog query of claim 14, wherein the response is an XML message or access to a web page.

20. The catalog query of claim 14, wherein the catalog query is made from a web page.