Data management system and method for propagating product manufacturing information to disparate information systems

• US 20050135273A1
• Filed: 12/14/2004
• Published: 06/23/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Agile Software Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Agile Software Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Majjasie, Michelle, Teh, Jin T., Wise, Dorothy O., Hein, Raymond, Fazio, Joseph J., Lin, Raymond
• Granted Patent: US 7,124,150 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/25 Integrating or interfacing systems involving database management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• 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 data management system is provided that is designed to automatically propagate changes in information related to a product being designed or manufactured. The product information may be stored in a central location such as a central data base. According to the invention, product information may be transferred to remote locations to systems having disparate formats and protocols. The product information may be configured into a standard format within the central data base and transferred to remote and disparate user locations for use in user'"'"'s engineering and manufacturing information systems. The invention may further include an administration module communicating with the central database and configured to validate product data stored in the data base. This would ensure that the centrally stored data is accessible by the system. The system also includes a product change module communicating with the central data base that is configured to poll the central data base to determine whether a change has been made to data related to a product. When changes are discovered by the product change module, a data management server is alerted to the change. The data management server may also incorporate the change module therein. In response to such an alert, the data server is configured to extract, format and transmit the changes in product data from the central data base to an appropriate user system. An application adapter communicating with the user system then receives the changed data from the data server and formats the data according to the user system platform. All aspects of the format protocols are configurable for adaptation of the data to the user system.

Claims

1. (canceled)

5. (canceled)

9. (canceled)

10. (canceled)

12. (canceled)

13. (canceled)

14. (canceled)

15. A data management system for automatically propagating changes in information related to a product being designed or manufactured from a central location to remote and disparate user information systems having varying data formats, comprising:

a central data base for storing and maintaining data that is related to a business process for manufacturing a product, including component serial numbers, change orders, and information pertaining to products, and is configured to format the data according to different aspects of the manufacturing business process for transfer to remote and disparate user information systems;

an administration module communicating with the central database and having software code that, when executed by a microprocessor, configures the administration module to validate data related to a product;

a product change module communicating with the central data base and having software code that, when executed by a microprocessor, configures the product change module to poll the central data base to determine whether a change has been made to data related to a product; and

to send a signal to the data server upon the detection of a change of product data in the central data base, and

a data server having code that, when executed by a microprocessor, configures the data server to extract, format and transmit changes in data stored in the central data base to a user system, the data being transferred according to predetermined data requirements of the disparate information system.

2. A system according to claim 15, wherein the product change module is incorporated into the data server in the form of software code, which, when executed by the data server, configures the data server to perform the functions of the product change module upon the detection of a change in product data in the central data base.

3. A system according to claim 15, further comprising:

an application adapter configured to receive data from the data server and to format the data according to the platform under which the user system'"'"'s computer system is based.

4. A system according to claim 15, wherein the administration module is further configured to validate the field length of data related to a product, the field format of the data, the list of values of the data including units of measure and required fields for the transfer of data to a user system.

6. A system according to claim 15, wherein the application adapter is configured to validate data changes sent by the data server, to update a user system database after data changes are validated and to generate status reports according to predefined criteria for the user system.

7. A system according to claim 15, further comprising a client information system configured to receive the data changes from the data server and to display the data for a user.

8. A system according to claim 15, further comprising a client computer system configured to modify the predefined criteria used by the data server to transmit the data changes.

11. A system according to claim 15, wherein the central data base is configured to store data pertaining to financial information.