Computer implemented program for inventory management

• US 6,325,283 B1
• Filed: 10/25/2000
• Issued: 12/04/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Edward Chu, Soy Chu, Steven Lin
• Original Assignee: Edward Chu, Soy Chu, Steven Lin
• Inventors: Lin, Steven, Chu, Soy, Chu, Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nowlin, April A.
• Application Number:
  US09/695,230
• Time in Patent Office: 405 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/462.15, 235/383, 235/385, 902/25, 902/26, 902/27
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57

Abstract

The NYTBridge allows a user to bridge the gap between data collected by hand-held scanning devices and conventional databases used in the field of inventory management without database or procedural programming knowledge on the part of the user. The NYTBridge does this by first allowing the user to access an existing database. The user may then select data fields, such as the location of an item in inventory, from the database without writing coded database queries. The NYTBridge then allows the user to download the selected data fields as a data set along with a scanner program that will read the created data set. Both the data set and the scanner program are either saved on a PCMCIA card to be used in a scanner, or downloaded directly into the hand held scanner via either serial port communication or communication dock tethering. When the scanner program is run on the scanner, the scanner program creates a scanner file for the collected, verified and/or corrected data. After the data is collected, verified and/or corrected, NYTBridge reads the scanner file from the hand held scanner and allows the user to update the relational database. The NYTBridge utilizes a graphical user interface and does not require low level programming by the user at any stage of the inventory management process.

Claims

1. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium for use with a computer for enabling a user to interact with a scanning device and a database program, said computer program comprising:

computer readable program code operable to cause the computer to extract a database having at least one data field from the database program based on information received from the user;

computer readable program code operable to display the at least one data field for selection by the user;

computer readable program code operable to build a format file based on specifications received from the user to configure a scanning program on the scanning device;

computer readable program code operable to build a data set based on the at least one data field selected by the user;

computer readable program code operable to receive a scanner file from the scanning device; and

computer readable program code operable to update the at least one data field using the scanner file.

2. A computer program claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

computer readable program code operable to transfer the data set to the scanning device; and

computer readable program code operable to transfer the format file to the scanning device.

3. A computer program claimed in claim 2, further comprising computer readable program code operable to transfer the scanning program to the scanning device.

4. A computer program claimed in claim 1, further comprising computer readable program code operable to archive the database prior to or at the same time as updating the at least one data field selected by the user.

5. A computer claimed in claim 4, wherein said computer readable program code operable to archive the database comprises computer readable program code operable to create an audit trail that can be used to rollback any changes to the database that occurred during updating the at least one data field.

6. A computer program claimed in claim 1, wherein said computer readable program code operable to extract the database comprises computer readable program code operable to extract the database having at least one data field from the database program based on receiving from the user at least one of a database type, database size, database location, username and password.

7. A computer program claimed in claim 1, wherein said computer readable program code operable to extract the database comprises computer readable program code operable to establish a connection to the database utilizing active data objects.

8. A computer program claimed in claim 1, further comprising computer readable program code operable to create and save a job file based on the information from the user.

9. A computer program claimed in claim 3, wherein said computer readable program code operable to transfer the data set and the format file to the scanning device comprises computer readable program code operable to copy the data set and the format file to a PCMCIA card for use in the scanning device.

10. A computer program claimed in claim 1, wherein said computer readable program code operable. to receive the scanner file from the scanning device comprises computer readable program code operable to copy the scanner file from a PCMCIA card for use in the scanning device.

11. A computer program claimed in claim 1, wherein said computer readable program code operable to build the format file comprises computer readable program code operable to build the format file having at least one of:

a text title to be displayed when the scanner program is started;

a collection order to configure the scanner program to collect the scanning data in a specified order;

a validation type to configure the scanner program to perform a specific type of validation;

an indicator to configure the scanner program to time stamp the scanner file;

an indicator to configure the scanner program to date stamp the scanner file;

a number of data fields to be collected by the scanning device;

a database name; and

a name for the scanner file.

12. A computer program claimed in claim 1, wherein said computer readable program code operable to build the data set further comprises computer readable program code operable to build the data set based on a data filter selected by the user, wherein the data filter determines how much of the at least one data field selected by the user is contained in the data set.

13. A computer program claimed in claim 3, wherein said computer readable program code operable to transfer the scanning program to the scanning device comprises computer readable program code operable to transfer the scanning program which is operable to configure itself based on the format file, collect data via the scanning device, validate the data collected based on the format file, and save the data in the scanner file.

14. A computer program claimed in claim 13, wherein said computer readable program code operable to transfer the scanning program to the scanning device further comprises computer readable program code operable to transfer a scanning program which is further operable to verify that the data collected corresponds to the data set.

15. A computer program claimed in claim 1, further comprising computer readable program code operable to verify that the specifications will work with the scanning program.

16. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium for use with a computer for enabling a user to interact with a scanning device, said computer program comprising:

computer readable program code operable to create at least one data field based on information received from the user;

computer readable program code operable to build a format file based on specifications received from the user to configure a scanning program on the scanning device;

computer readable program code operable to receive a scanner file from the scanning device; and

computer readable program code operable to update the at least one data field using the scanner file.

17. A computer program claimed in claim 16, further comprising computer readable program code operable to transfer the format file to the scanning device.

18. A computer program claimed in claim 17, further comprising computer readable program code operable to transfer the scanning program to the scanning device.

19. A computer program claimed in claim 16, wherein said computer readable program code operable to create the at least one data field comprises computer readable program code operable to create at least one data field based on receiving from the user at least one of a data type, data size, text to be displayed when data is being collected for the at least one data field, an indication of whether the data being collected should be displayed while additional data is collected, a collection type and a validation type.

20. A computer program claimed in claim 16, further comprising computer readable program code operable to create and save a job file based on the information from the user.

21. A computer program claimed in claim 18, wherein said computer readable program code operable to transfer the format file and the scanning program to the scanning device comprises computer readable program code operable to copy the format file and the scanning program to a PCMCIA card for use in the scanning device.

22. A computer program claimed in claim 16, wherein said computer readable program code operable to receive the scanner file from the scanning device comprises computer readable program code operable to copy the scanner file from a PCMCIA card for use in the scanning device.

23. A computer program claimed in claim 16, wherein said computer readable program code operable to build the format file comprises computer readable program code operable to build the format file having at least one of:

a text title to be displayed when the scanner program is started;

a collection order to configure the scanner program to collect the scanning data in a specified order;

a validation type to configure the scanner program to perform a specific type of validation;

an indicator to configure the scanner program to time stamp the scanner file;

an indicator to configure the scanner program to date stamp the scanner file;

a number of data fields to be collected by the scanning device;

a database name; and

a name for the scanner file.

24. A computer program claimed in 16, further comprising computer readable program code operable to verify that the specification will work with the scanning program.