Method of generating pages in a markup language for selecting products and a software tool

• US 7,530,018 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2002
• Issued: 05/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Bischoff, Toni Gerhard
• Primary Examiner(s): Hutton; Doug
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen; Maikhanh
• Application Number:
  US10/323,928
• Publication Number:
  US 20030212955A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,328 Days
• Field of Search: 715/500, 715/513, 715/200, 715/204, 715/205, 715/207, 715/234, 715/265, 715/273, 715/275, 715/206, 715/209, 715/210, 715/255, 715/256, 715/733, 715/738, 715/760, 715/762, 715/763, 715/967, 715/968, 715/201, 705 26- 28, 705/7, 705/80, 75 26- 28, 75/80, 707 1- 4, 707/6, 707/7, 707/10, 707/100, 707/102, 707/104.1
• US Class Current: 715/255
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A software tool for selecting products and a method of generating pages in a markup language for selecting products. The method includes: inputting attribute groups (2) into a databank (1), inputting attributes (3) into the databank, each attribute being assigned to one of the attribute groups, inputting product information (4) into the databank, each item of product information being assigned to at least one of the attributes, generating a page (41; 51) in the markup language for each of the attribute groups, wherein representations of the attributes are assigned to the relevant attribute group and input fields for a user to specify the attributes are generated on the page belonging to that attribute group, and storing of the pages in the markup language for access using a browser program (57).

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of generating pages in a markup language for selecting products, comprising:

inputting attribute groups into a databank;

inputting attributes into the databank, each of the attributes being assigned to one of the attribute groups;

inputting product information into the databank, each item of the product information being assigned to at least one of the attributes;

generating a page in the markup language for each of the attribute groups, wherein representations of the attributes are assigned to the respective ones of the attribute groups, and input fields for a user to specify the attributes are generated on each of the pages associated with each of the attribute groups, respectively, wherein the pages display representations of products;

storing the pages in the markup language for access with a browser program;

selecting one of the representations of one of the products;

calculating a utilization for the selected product based on product properties specified by the user;

graphically displaying the calculated utilization of the selected product in the markup language; and

calculating a value of an excessive demand on the selected product which fails to correspond to the search profile specified by the user and generating a page in the markup language graphically illustrating the value of excessive demand of the selected product in relation to the property input by the user and displaying the generated page.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the attributes is assigned format information, and wherein at least some of the attributes is assigned further information, and wherein at least some of the attributes are assigned further information.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the format information comprises format specifications for format categories “

header”

, “

Boolean, integer”

, “

floating point”

, and “

list”

, and wherein the further information comprises at least one of ToolTips, explanatory graphics and units.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

inputting graphics for the attribute groups into the databank; and

inputting graphics for the product information into the databank.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the graphics comprise graphic ToolTips.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

inputting help texts in a first language into the databank; and

inputting help texts in a second language into the databank,

wherein the help texts are each assigned respectively to one of the attributes, one of the input fields, or both one of the attributes and one of the input fields.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the databank is a relational database.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the attributes are parameters of a product categorized by respective attribute groups.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the user specifies a value for a respective parameter of the product in at least some of the input fields.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

reading the value specified by the user in the at least some of the input fields;

searching for products that meet the parameters specified by the user in the at least some of the input fields; and

providing the user with found products.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the attributes are characteristics of a product and wherein, for each of the attributes, an input field is provided where the user specifies a value for the attribute.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein, when an attribute is not available for the product, the input field of the attribute is disabled.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the calculated utilization of the selected product shows a relationship between an actual value of a product property of the selected product and a value of the product property input by the user.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the calculated utilization is displayed as a ratio between the actual value of the product property of the selected product and the value of the product property input by the user.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selected product is an individual tangible product.

16. A computer-readable medium storing instructions for selecting products, comprising:

pages in a markup language, wherein each of the pages is respectively associated with one of a plurality of attribute groups, wherein each of the pages respectively includes both representations of attributes assigned to the one attribute group of the associated page and input fields for a user to select the represented attributes, and wherein the pages display representations of products; and

a program module utilizing a browser program to perform at least one of displaying the pages, searching the pages, and analyzing the pages in the markup language,

a software component that selects one of the representations of one of the products;

a software component that calculates a utilization for the selected product based on product properties specified by the user and that graphically displays the calculated utilization of the selected product in the markup language and a value of an excessive demand on the selected product which fails to correspond to the search profile specified by the user; and

a software component that generates a page in the markup language graphically illustrating the value of excessive demand of the selected product in relation to the property input by the user and displaying the generated page.

17. The computer-readable medium according to claim 16, wherein the representations of those of the products which fail to correspond to a search profile specified by the user are displayed in gray-tone.

18. The computer-readable medium according to claim 16, further comprising:

a software component that processes a selection of a representation of a product into a selection of the attributes associated with the selected product and that utilizes the associated attributes to specify the products searched for.

19. The computer-readable medium according to claim 16, wherein the program module is a plug-in for the browser program.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the calculated utilization of the selected product shows a relationship between an actual value of a product property of the selected product and a value of the product property input by the user.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the calculated utilization is displayed as a ratio between the actual value of the product property of the selected product and the value of the product property input by the user.