Catalog, catalog query, and item identifier for configurable items

• US 7,139,769 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2002
• Issued: 11/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Norman Ken Ouchi
• Original Assignee: Norman Ken Ouchi
• Inventors: Ouchi, Norman Ken
• Primary Examiner(s): AMSBURY, WAYNE P
• Application Number:
  US10/095,485
• Publication Number:
  US 20030172051A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,716 Days
• Field of Search: 707/102, 707/104.1, 705/28, 705/22
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

The invention is related to electronic information transfer between trading partners and more particularly to the use of a catalog, catalog query, and item identifier to specify an item that has a number of configurations or features. The item identifier is used in business transactions between the trading partners. In the present invention, a configured item is associated with a two-part item identifier where one part is a systematically assigned, fixed length field that provides systematic identification of the catalog and the second part is a variable length field to identify the item in the catalog. A catalog and catalog query provide a means to generate the two-part item identifier based on the description of the configured item identifier. A catalog query with the item identifier can query the catalog to determine the description of the item.

Claims

1. A catalog system providing a two-part item identifier for an item described by an item description including a first set of values for a first set of properties, the catalog system comprising:

means to accept a query including the item description;

means to determine from the first set values of the item description a two-part item identifier that includes;

a fixed length part that identifies the catalog system

a variable length part that identifies the item in the catalog system

means to respond to the query with the two-part item identifier for the described item.

2. The catalog system of claim 1, wherein the catalog system further provides means to accept a query that includes the two-part item identifier for the described item, means to determine the item description from the two-part item identifier, and means to respond with the item description.

3. The catalog system of claim 1, wherein the fixed length part of the two-part item identifier is systematically assigned to the catalog system so that the catalog system can be systematically determined from the fixed length part.

4. The catalog system of claim 1, wherein the item description is used to query a second catalog system which responds with a second two part item identifier where the fixed length part identifies the second catalog system and the variable length part identifies the item in the second catalog system such that the second catalog responds to a query including the second two part item identifier with the item description.

5. The catalog system of claim 1, wherein the item description provides the first set of values for properties, the catalog system requires an additional property value to determine the item in the catalog system and the catalog system responds with a request for the additional property value.

6. The catalog system of claim 1, wherein a set of items having the same set of values for a first set of properties and different sets of values for a second set of properties is identified by a two-part identifier.

7. The catalog system of claim 1, wherein a set of items with the same set of values for a first set of properties and different sets of values for a second set of properties is identified by a first two-part identifier and subset of items in the set is identified by a second two-part identifier comprising the first two-part identifier with an extension specifying a set of values for a subset of the second set of properties.

8. The catalog system of claim 1 and a second item description for a second item that differs from the item description of the item by a value in a property wherein the second item with the second item description is identified by a second two-part identifier comprising the two-part item identifier for the item with an extension specifying the differing value in the property.

9. The catalog system of claim 1 and a trade document including purchase orders, receipts, bills of material, and shipping documents, where in the two-part item identifier is used in the trade document to identify the described item.

10. A method for identifying an item in a first catalog where the item is described by an item description that includes a set of values for a set of parameters by providing a first two-part item identifier comprising:

a fixed length part including a first catalog identifier and

a variable length part including a first catalog item identifier

wherein the method includes;

receiving a request including the item description

determining from the item description set of values, the first catalog item identifier

concatenating the fixed length first catalog identifier and the variable length first catalog item identifier to form the first two-part item identifier responding to the request with the first two-part item identifier.

11. The method of claim 10 further includes:

receiving a request including the first two-part identifier determining from the first two-part item identifier the item description responding to the request with the item description.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the first catalog identifier is systematically assigned for systematic Identification of the first catalog.

13. The method of claim 10 and a second catalog, wherein a request including the item description is made to the second catalog and the second catalog responds with a second two-part item identifier comprising:

a fixed length part including a second catalog identifier and a variable length part including a second catalog item identifier;

such that a request including the second two-part item identifier to the second catalog results in a response including the item description from the second catalog.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the first catalog requires a value for a parameter not in the set of parameter values in the item description to determine the first catalog identifier and the catalog responds with a request for the additional parameter value.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein a set of items with the same first set of values for a first set of parameters and different sets of values for a second set of parameters identified by a two-field identifier.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein a set of items with the same first set of values for a first set of parameters and different sets of values for a second set of parameters is identified by a first two-field identifier and a subset of items in the set is identified by a second two-field identifier comprising the first two-field identifier with an extension to the variable length part specifying a set of values for the second set of parameters.

17. The method of claim 10, and a second item description for a second item that differs from the first item description for the first item by a value for a parameter wherein the second item with the second item description is identified by a second two-field identifier comprising the first two-field item identifier for the first item with an extension to the variable length part specifying the value in the parameter.

18. The method of claim 10 and a trade document including purchase orders, receipts, bills of material, shipping documents, wherein the first two-field item identifier is used in the trade document to identify the first item.

19. A two-part item identifier data structure embodied on a computer-readable recording medium that specifies an item in a first catalog where an item description is a set of values for a set of properties wherein the two-part identifier provides a fixed length part that identifies the first catalog and a variable length part that identifies the item in the first catalog such that the first catalog responds with the two-part identifier to a query including the item description.

20. The two-part item identifier of claim 19 and a trade document including purchase orders, receipts, bills of material, and shipping documents, wherein the two-part item identifier is used to identify the item.