Composing and cataloging item configuration data
First Claim
1. A method for adding an item to an electronic catalog comprising:
- identifying a base item;
identifying a part number for the base item;
Breaking the part number into sections, each section. Corresponding to an attribute of the base item;
determining which of the part number sections relate to configurable attributes of the base item;
listing a plurality of selectable part number section values for the configurable attributes;
listing descriptive information for each of the selectable part number section values;
linking the descriptive information to the corresponding selectable part number section value;
generating a part number formula to define the configurable sections and associate configurable sections to the corresponding list of values;
generating a description formula to define a configurable description and associate descriptive information with corresponding configurable selectable part number values;
and adding the base item part number, values list, descriptive information list, part number formula and description formula to an electronic catalog.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An improvement for composing and cataloging item configuration data is disclosed. One embodiment of the invention includes identifying a base item, identifying a part number for the base item, breaking the part number into sections, each section corresponding to an attribute of the base item, and determining which of the part number sections relate to configurable attributes of the base item. The embodiment further includes listing a plurality of selectable part number section values for the configurable attributes, listing descriptive information for each of the selectable part number section values, linking the descriptive information to the corresponding selectable part number section value, generating a part number formula to define the configurable sections and associate configurable sections to the corresponding list of values, and generating a description formula to define a configurable description and associate descriptive information with corresponding configurable selectable part number values. The embodiment further includes adding the base item part number, values list, descriptive information list, part number formula and description formula to an electronic catalog.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method for adding an item to an electronic catalog comprising:
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identifying a base item;
identifying a part number for the base item;
Breaking the part number into sections, each section. Corresponding to an attribute of the base item;
determining which of the part number sections relate to configurable attributes of the base item;
listing a plurality of selectable part number section values for the configurable attributes;
listing descriptive information for each of the selectable part number section values;
linking the descriptive information to the corresponding selectable part number section value;
generating a part number formula to define the configurable sections and associate configurable sections to the corresponding list of values;
generating a description formula to define a configurable description and associate descriptive information with corresponding configurable selectable part number values;
and adding the base item part number, values list, descriptive information list, part number formula and description formula to an electronic catalog. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of defining an item description using an electronic catalog comprising:
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finding a base item in an electronic catalog;
retrieving from the electronic catalog a base part number for the base item, the base part number having configurable sections;
for each configurable section, retrieving from the electronic catalog a list of alternative descriptions for the configurable section;
selecting a description from the list of alternative descriptions for each configurable section to define a configuration of the item;
applying the selected descriptions to identify part number values for each configurable section corresponding to the selected descriptions;
applying the identified part number values to a part number formula to generate a part number for the defined item configuration; and
applying the selected descriptions to a description formula to generation a description for the defined item configuration. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of transferring an item having multiple configurations to an electronic catalog, the method comprising:
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maintaining an item in a first data format as a single item having at least one configurable attribute, the configurable attribute being associated with a plurality of alternative values, each value having a corresponding description, wherein the item is represented in the first data format as a matrix of alternative values and alternative descriptions corresponding to the respective values;
converting the item into a plurality of separate items in the first data format, each item corresponding to a different alternative value of the configurable attribute; and
loading the separate items into a catalog. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of defining an item description using an electronic catalog comprising:
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finding a base item in an electronic catalog;
retrieving a base part number from the electronic catalog for the base item, the base part number having configurable sections;
for each configurable section, retrieving from the electronic catalog a list of alternative descriptions for the configurable section;
selecting a description from the lists of alternative descriptions for each configurable section to define a configuration of the item;
applying the selected descriptions to identify part number values for each configurable section corresponding to the selected descriptions;
applying the identified part number values to a part number formula to generate a part number for the defined item configuration; and
retrieving a list of price factors for each configurable section, identifying a price factor for each configurable section corresponding to the selected descriptions and applying the identified price factors to a price formula to generate a price for the defined item configuration. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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25. A method of transferring an item having multiple configurations to an electronic catalog, the method comprising:
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maintaining an item in a first data format as a single item having at least one configurable attribute, the configurable attribute being associated with a plurality of alternative values, each value having a corresponding description;
converting the item into a plurality of separate items in the first data format by applying a description formula to the descriptions to generate a description for each separate item, each item corresponding to a different alternative value of the configurable attribute, wherein the first data format further comprises a plurality of alternative part number values, each corresponding to one of the alternative attribute values and wherein converting the item comprises applying a part number formula to the part number values to generate a part number for each separate item; and
loading the separate items into a catalog. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon data representing instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:
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identifying a base item;
identifying a part number for the base item;
breaking the part number into sections, each section corresponding to an attribute of the base item;
determining which of the part number sections relate to configurable attributes of the base item;
listing a plurality of selectable part number section values for the configurable attributes;
listing descriptive information for each of the selectable part number section values;
linking the descriptive information to the corresponding selectable part number section value;
generating a part number formula to define the configurable sections and associate configurable sections to the corresponding list of values;
generating a description formula to define a configurable description and associate descriptive information with corresponding configurable selectable part number values; and
adding the base item part number, values list, descriptive information list, part number formula and description formula to an electronic catalog. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37)
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38. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon data representing instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:
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finding a base item in an electronic catalog;
retrieving a base part number from the electronic catalog for the base item, the base part number having configurable sections;
for each configurable section, retrieving from the electronic catalog a list of alternative descriptions for the configurable section;
selecting a description from the lists of alternative descriptions for each configurable section to define a configuration of the item;
applying the selected descriptions to identify part number values for each configurable section corresponding to the selected descriptions;
applying the identified part number values to a part number formula to generate a part number for the defined item configuration; and
applying the selected descriptions to a description formula to generate a description for the defined item configuration. - View Dependent Claims (39)
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40. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon data representing instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:
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finding a base item in an electronic catalog;
retrieving a base part number from the electronic catalog for the base item, the base part number having configurable sections;
for each configurable section, retrieving from the electronic catalog a list of alternative descriptions for the configurable section;
selecting a description from the lists of alternative descriptions for each configurable section to define a configuration of the item;
applying the selected descriptions to identify part number values for each configurable section corresponding to the selected descriptions;
applying the identified part number values to a part number formula to generate a part number for the defined item configuration; and
retrieving a list of price factors for each configurable section, identifying a price factor for each configurable section corresponding to the selected descriptions and applying the identified price factors to a price formula to generate a price for the defined item configuration. - View Dependent Claims (41)
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Specification