Data processing network having a plurality of independent subscribers

• US 5,406,475 A
• Filed: 04/30/1993
• Issued: 04/11/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Kawada, Hitoshi, Kouchi, Toshihito, Ogawa, Yoshiki
• Primary Examiner(s): Weinhardt, Robert A.
• Application Number:
  US08/056,057
• Time in Patent Office: 711 Days
• Field of Search: 364/401, 364/402, 364/403, 364/408, 364/468
• US Class Current: 705/7.29
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data

Abstract

A data service company comprises an integrated database (DB) in which various business data dispersively kept in each part in an apparel industry including plan, manufacture, and sales relating to a dress as a product and textile raw material as material is integrated and a host computer (integrated database management system) including a computer hardware and a software for retrieving data from the integrated DB in accordance with data service to be provided and for outputting data. There is formed a data service network in which the integrated DB of the data service company is provided as the nucleus, and a plurality of sales companies, that of apparel manufacturers, that of sewing companies and that of textile companies are connected to each other. When a business instruction is sent from each terminal provided in each of the sales companies, the apparel manufacturers, the sewing companies and the textile companies, the database management system connected to each terminal to be accessible to each other through a public telephone line suitably retrieves various data necessary for supporting the business from a plurality of databases of the integrated DB, and outputs data to satisfy the terminal.

Claims

1. A data processing network for which a plurality of product selling enterprises, a plurality of product planning and selling enterprises, a plurality of product processing and manufacturing enterprises and a plurality of material selling enterprises subscribe, comprising:

a database for gathering and accumulating data retained separately by said plurality of product selling enterprises for independently selling products, by said plurality of product planning and selling enterprises for independently planning and selling said products, by said plurality of product processing and manufacturing enterprises for independently processing and manufacturing said products and by said plurality of material selling enterprises for independently planning, manufacturing and selling materials of said products;

a plurality of first terminals, provided in each of said plurality of product selling enterprises, for;

inputting business history data on products to be actually sold,

inputting one of retrieval instructions as to the business history data, data on manufacturing and selling said products and data on products in stock,

sending the input data and retrieval instructions,

receiving retrieved business history data, data on manufacturing and selling said products and data on products in stock, and

outputting the received data;

a plurality of second terminals, provided in each of the plurality of product planning and selling enterprises, for;

inputting said business history data on products to be actually sold, said data on manufacturing and selling said products and said data on products in stock,

inputting one of retrieval instructions as to data for use in planning the products, data for use in planning the materials, data on manufacturing and selling the products to be actually sold, the data on products in stock, data on the materials in stock, business history data on the products and business history data on the materials,

sending the input data and the retrieval instructions,

receiving retrieved data for use in planning the products, data for use in planning the materials, data on manufacturing and selling products to be actually sold, data on products in stock, data on materials in stock, business history data on the products and business history data on the materials and

outputting the received data;

a plurality of third terminals, provided in each of said plurality of product processing and manufacturing enterprises, for;

inputting retrieval instructions as to the data on manufacturing and selling the products to be actually sold,

sending the input retrieval instructions,

receiving retrieved data on manufacturing and selling the products to be actually sold and

outputting the received data;

a plurality of fourth terminals, provided in each of said plurality of material selling enterprises, for;

inputting data on manufacturing materials to be used as goods, the data on materials in stock, the business history data on the materials,

inputting one of retrieval instructions as to the data for use in planning the products, the data for use in planning the materials, the data on manufacturing materials to be used as goods, the data on materials in stock and the business history data on the materials,

sending the input data and the retrieval instructions,

receiving retrieved data for use in planning the products, data for use in planning the materials, data on manufacturing materials to be used as goods, data on materials in stock and business history data on the materials, and

outputting the received data; and

control means, connected to said database and connected to said plurality of first to fourth terminals through a communication line, for;

storing data sent from said first to fourth terminals, and

retrieving data instructed by said database in accordance with the retrieval instructions sent from one of said first to fourth terminals; and

said database including;

a plan data database for storing at least the data for use in planning the products and the data for use in planning the materials;

a product database for storing at least data on producing and selling the products to be actually sold and data on products in stock;

a material database for storing at least the data on manufacturing the materials to be used as goods, and the data on materials in stock; and

a business history database for storing at least the business history data on the products and the business history data on the materials.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a fifth terminal, connected to said control means, for inputting the data for use in planning the products and the data for use in planning the materials.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means includes means for sending the retrieved data to predetermined terminals and for processing the retrieved data to send the processed data to remaining terminals.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said products are dresses and said materials are textile raw materials.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said plan data database includes;

an apparel plan database for storing data for use in planning and manufacturing the dresses; and

a textile plan database for storing related data for use in planning and manufacturing the textile.

6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said product database includes:

an apparel design database for storing design data as to what types of dresses are made;

an apparel goods database for storing data on manufacturing and selling dresses to be actually sold; and

an apparel stock database for storing data on goods in stock.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the data stored in said apparel goods database includes data as to what types of dresses are made, what types of textile raw materials are prepared and what sewing process is carried out.

8. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said material database includes:

a textile design database for storing design data as to what patterns of textile are made;

a textile goods database for storing data for use in manufacturing the textile to be used as goods; and

a textile stock database for storing data on the textile in stock.

9. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said business history database includes:

an apparel receiving and issuing order database for storing business history data on the apparel; and

a textile receiving and issuing order database for storing business history data on the textile.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said products are bags and shoes, and said materials are leather.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said plan data database includes:

a bag and shoes plan database for storing data for use in planning and manufacturing the bags and the shoes; and

a leather plan database for storing related data for use in planning and manufacturing the leather.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said product database includes:

a bag and shoes design database for storing design data as to what types of bags and shoes are manufactured;

a bag and shoes goods database for storing data on producing and selling bags and shoes to be actually sold; and

a bag and shoes stock database for storing data on goods in stock.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein data stored in said bag and shoes goods database includes data as to what types of bags and shoes are manufactured, what types of leather are prepared and what sewing process is carried out.

14. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said material database includes:

a leather design database for storing design data as to what patterns and colors of leather are manufactured;

a leather goods database for storing data for use in manufacturing the leather to be used as goods; and

a leather stock database for storing data on the leather in stock.

15. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said business history database includes:

a bag and shoes receiving and issuing order database for storing business history data on the bags and the shoes; and

a leather receiving and issuing order database for storing business history data on the leather.