초록 ▼

An improved apparatus and method of storing and selectively retrieving and delivering product data is disclosed. Product data files, product lists, product directories and allowable customer data entry sets are stored in a data storage device. The customer is asked to specify one or more criteria re

An improved apparatus and method of storing and selectively retrieving and delivering product data is disclosed. Product data files, product lists, product directories and allowable customer data entry sets are stored in a data storage device. The customer is asked to specify one or more criteria relating to a product need or desire and one or more allowable customer data entry sets are selected that best correspond to these criteria. The customer data entry sets are connected to product directories and the directories are in turn connected to product lists that reference the data files of products having anticipated common uses. The product directories correspond to connected customer data entry sets with different degrees of specificity and the product lists correspond to connected product directories with different degrees of specificity or applicability. The apparatus is thus able to retrieve and display a variety of products in response to any given customer input and is also able to respond to many different kinds of customer entered criteria.

대표청구항 ▼

[ We claim:] [1.] A method of storing and selectively retrieving and delivering product data, comprising the steps of:(a) storing product data files relating to a plurality of products in a data storage device;(b) storing a plurality of customer data entry sets in a data storage device, each custome

[ We claim:] [1.] A method of storing and selectively retrieving and delivering product data, comprising the steps of:(a) storing product data files relating to a plurality of products in a data storage device;(b) storing a plurality of customer data entry sets in a data storage device, each customer data entry set indicating an allowable combination of criteria for a product desired by a customer;(c) storing a plurality of product lists in a data storage device and referencing on each product list the product data stored in step (a) above that relates to products having one or more common applications, wherein the storing and referencing steps include the steps of:(c)(1) identifying each product on the product lists with a priority rating indicative of an expert judgment of the suitability of the product for the one or more common applications;(c)(2) identifying at least one of the products on the product list with one or more suitability codes indicative of the desirability of retrieving and displaying data relating to the product in a particular circumstance;(c)(3) converting by an algorithm the one or more suitability codes to a priority rating operator; and(c)(4) applying the priority rating operator to the priority rating of each product to obtain a modified priority rating;(d) connecting the product lists to the customer data entry sets, at least one product list being connected to a plurality of customer data entry sets and corresponding to the customer data entry sets with different degrees of specificity or applicability;(e) requesting a customer to indicate criteria relating to a desired product;(f) receiving the criteria indicated by the customer;(g) selecting the customer data entry set or sets that best correspond to the criteria received in step (f);(h) retrieving from the data storage device the product lists connected to the customer data entry set or sets selected in step (g);(i) retrieving and displaying product data from the product data files relating to the groups of products referenced on the product lists retrieved in step (h), wherein the retrieving and displaying step includes searching through the customer data entry set and product list files, and retrieving the product data based on the product list file references, without having to search through the data files stored in the data storage device in order to determine which ones correspond to the criteria received in step (f);(j) requesting the customer to select one of the products whose data is displayed in step (i);(k) receiving the customer's selection of a product; and(l) delivering the product or data relating to the product selected in step (k).