Information providing system and a method for providing information

• US 7,209,930 B2
• Filed: 04/27/2001
• Issued: 04/24/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Inventors: Abe, Toshio, Takahashi, Susumu, Maeda, Kazuharu
• Primary Examiner(s): Wassum; Luke S
• Application Number:
  US09/842,683
• Publication Number:
  US 20010056488A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,188 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1- 5, 707/10, 705 26- 27
• 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 10/0875 Itemisation or classification of parts, supplies or services, e.g. bill of materials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A system and method are provided which are necessary for exchanging information among a sales agent a1, user a2 and manufacturer A, for preparing a parts check list on an on-line basis, and for storing information to be provided.

If, for example, the sales agent a1 or user a2 wants to acquire information from the manufacturer A, manufacturer A will directly confer a password to sales agent a1 with whom manufacturer A directly deals with, while sales agent a1 will directly confer a password to user a2 with whom sales agent a1 directly deals with, on behalf of manufacturer A. This arrangement makes it possible to easily and securely provide, to a specified information seeker, information required by that information seeker.

Claims

1. A parts check list preparing system, comprising:

a means to store a database comprising the graphics data of a layout of a part, and the parts data of the part;

a means to fetch the graphics data of a part necessary for preparing a parts check list that shows parts information in a tabular form;

a means to cause a layout reproduced from the graphics data of the part to be presented on display;

a means to select the part in the layout;

a means to fetch the parts data corresponding with the graphics data of the selected part from the database;

a means to arrange the parts data into a list, and to cause the list to be presented on display together with the layout;

a means to automatically prepare the parts check list based on the parts list;

a means for ordering the part by transmitting the prepared parts check list based on the parts list,

a network server and a network terminal connected with each other via a network, the network server comprising;

(A) a server'"'"'s memory means to store the title of layouts of parts, the graphics data of the layouts, and the parts data of those parts;

(B) a layout title acquiring means to acquire the title of a layout arbitrarily chosen by the network terminal;

(C) an information searching means to search through the server'"'"'s memory means for the graphics data corresponding with the acquired title of the layout, and the parts data of the part reproduced from the graphics data of the layout title;

(D) an output delivering means to deliver, as output, the searched graphics data and parts data to the network terminal, and to cause the display device of the network terminal to present the layout reproduced from the graphics data,

and the network terminal comprising;

(a) a terminal'"'"'s memory means to store the graphics data and parts data provided by the network server;

(b) a layout data acquiring means to acquire the graphics data of a part selected from the layout displayed on the terminal'"'"'s display device;

(c) a parts list preparing means to search through the terminal'"'"'s memory means for the parts data corresponding with the graphics data just acquired;

(d) a parts list delivering means to deliver the parts data thus acquired to the display device, and to insert the parts data into the parts list displayed together with the layout; and

(e) a parts check list preparing means to prepare a parts check list based on the part data in the parts list,

(f) a duplicate acquisition preventing means to cause, if the network terminal selects the parts data of any one of plural parts, and the parts data of an assembly composed of those plural parts, the network terminal to obtain only the parts data of the assembly.

2. The parts check list preparing system according to claim 1,

wherein the server'"'"'s memory means stores a price table containing price data of each part, and a storage table containing a storage data of each part;

and

wherein the network server comprises a response preparing means which searches through the price table and storage table for the price data and storage data of the parts listed in. the parts check list, and makes the parts check list reflect the search result.

3. The parts check list preparing system according to claim 1,

wherein at least two network servers different in communication distances to the network terminal are introduced;

and

wherein the network terminal gains access to a network server shorter in communication distance.

4. The parts check list preparing system according to claim 3,

wherein the network server shorter in communication distance checks whether or not any alteration is introduced in the graphics data and/or parts data stored in the network server longer in communication distance;

and

wherein it updates its own graphics data and/or parts data in accordance with the alteration whenever it finds an alteration is introduced.

5. The parts check list preparing system according to claim 1, wherein the part is a constitutive element of a construction machine.

6. A parts check list preparing method, comprising the steps of:

in addition to fetching the graphics data of a part necessary for preparing a parts check list that shows parts information in a tabular form from a database comprising the graphics data of parts and the parts data thereof, causing a display device to present a layout based on said graphics data on display;

after selecting the part in the layout on display, fetching the parts data corresponding with the graphics data of the selected part from the database;

arranging the acquired parts data into a list and causing the display device to present the list together with the layout;

automatically preparing the parts check list based on the parts list; and

ordering the parts by transmitting the prepared parts check list based on the parts list, and, when the parts information and assembly parts information on an assembly composed of the parts are selected, obtaining only the parts data of the assembly.

7. A computer program embodied in a computer-readable recording medium, the computer program causing a computer system to execute the parts check list preparing method according to claim 6.