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Apparatus for and method of managing the availability of items

  • US 5,727,164 A
  • Filed: 12/13/1991
  • Issued: 03/10/1998
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/13/1991
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A method of exchanging information of electronic components among different vendors each having a vendor controlled data base through a communication network, said method comprising the steps of:

  • storing a universal set of categories of the electronic components at each of a plurality of vendor sites;

    storing at each vendor site a local inventory of electronic components of at least one category of the universal set of categories in the vendor controlled data base and data identifying other vendor sites permitted to access the vendor controlled data base of the vendor site;

    selecting, at each vendor site, at least one category of the inventory of electronic components independently controlled data base of other of the selected from the universal set of categories as available to other vendorsautomatically interconnecting vendor site data bases identified as permitted to access each other'"'"'s vendor controlled data base at scheduled times to exchange information on electronic components of the at least one selected category available to other vendors through the communication network;

    transmitting information regarding the electronic components of the selected at least one category available to other vendors directly from the vendor controlled data base of each automatically interconnected vendor site to each other automatically interconnected vendor site through the communication network;

    receiving information regarding electronic components of the selected at least one category available to other vendors at each automatically interconnected vendor site directly from each of the other automatically interconnected vendor controlled data bases in searchable offsite data bases assigned to the other automatically interconnected vendor sites through the communication network.

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