Automatic design and sale of complex multi-vendor electronic and mechanical systems

Abstract

The automation of design and sale of electronic and mechanical components is accomplished by allowing a user to design a plan for their electronic and mechanical component needs using specialized software. The software utilizes predefined models of components to aid the user in designing a system where all the components are compatible, even in cases where the components are made by different manufacturers. This is accomplished by creating a model for each proposed piece of equipment in the system, the model having properties and rules, wherein the rules define conditions and actions. Then an object is created for each piece of equipment in the system. Selections for values for the properties are received for each of the pieces of equipment. Any rules that have as a condition the properties for which value selections are received are executed. Finally, testing may be undertaken to determine if a proposed configuration is valid by examining results of the rule execution.

1 . A method for configuring an object representing a product item, the method comprising: 
 associating a plurality of product item properties with the object;    associating a plurality of non-product item properties with the object; and    associating at least one inter-property rule with the object, application of the rule setting a value of a product item property responsive to at least one non-product item property.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the at least one inter-property rule is recursively applied.    
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the at least one inter-property rule is applied once at instantiation of the object.    
     
     
         4 . A method for instantiating an object representing a product item, the method comprising: 
 creating the object;    associating a plurality of object properties with the object;    assigning values to the object properties based on object property defaults;    associating at least one non-product property with the object;    associating at least one rule with the object, the rule responsive to the at least one non-product property to affect, when applied, a value of one or more object properties associated with the object;    applying the at least one rule to the object; and    modifying, in response to application of the at least one rule, at least one object property value.    
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein: 
 the at least one rule is recursively applied.    
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein: 
 the at least one rule is applied once at instantiation of the object.    
     
     
         7 . An apparatus for configuring an object representing a product item, the apparatus comprising: 
 means for associating a plurality of product item properties with the object;    means for associating a plurality of non-product item properties with the object;    means for associating at least one inter-property rule with the object, application of the rule setting a value of a product item property responsive to at least one non-product item property.    
     
     
         8 . A method for encoding a smart part number into a configuration tree, the smart part number including a plurality of configuration codes embedded therein, the method comprising: 
 for each configuration code, determining that it is a valid configuration code;    for each valid configuration code, defining a branch of the configuration tree;    for each branch of the configuration tree, configuring at least one configuration point with the configuration code, the configuration code for the configuration point representing all valid configuration choices associated with the corresponding configuration point.    
     
     
         9 . A method for processing a configuration tree to verify the validity of a smart part number, the smart part number including a plurality of configuration codes, the method comprising: 
 requiring the smart part number to include at least one configuration point corresponding to a branch of the configuration tree; and    requiring the smart part number to include at least one configuration code defined at that branch of the configuration tree.    
     
     
         10 . A method for extracting part information from a configuration tree encoded with a smart part number, the smart part number including a plurality of configuration codes representing the part information embedded therein, the method comprising: 
 for each configuration code, determining that it is a valid configuration code;    for each valid configuration code, defining a branch of the configuration tree;    for each branch of the configuration tree, configuring at least one configuration point with the configuration code, the configuration code for the configuration point representing all valid configuration choices associated with the corresponding configuration point, wherein the configuring at least one configuration point includes encoding a character string representing the branch with a first code delimiter and encoding each configuration code into the character string at a location associated with the configuration point and separating the configuration codes with a second delimiter; and    sequentially concatenating configuration codes for each configuration point.    
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the part information includes a part number.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the part information includes a part description.  
     
     
         13 . A method for extracting part price information for a selected product configuration from a configuration tree encoded with a smart part number, the smart part number including a plurality of configuration codes representing the part price information embedded therein, the method comprising: 
 for each configuration code, determining that it is a valid configuration code;    for each valid configuration code, defining a branch of the configuration tree;    for each branch of the configuration tree, configuring at least one configuration point with the configuration code, the configuration code for the configuration point representing all valid configuration choices and prices associated with the corresponding configuration point, wherein the configuring at least one configuration point includes encoding a character string representing the branch with a first code delimiter and encoding each configuration code into the character string at a location associated with the configuration point and separating the configuration codes with a second delimiter; and    for the selected product configuration, summing the prices of the corresponding configuration points on the corresponding branch to determine a final price for the selected product configuration.    
     
     
         14 . A method for extracting part price information for a selected product configuration from a configuration tree encoded with a smart part number, the smart part number including a plurality of configuration codes representing the part price information embedded therein, the method comprising: 
 for each configuration code, determining that it is a valid configuration code;    for each valid configuration code, defining a branch of the configuration tree;    for each branch of the configuration tree, configuring at least one configuration point with the configuration code, the configuration code for the configuration point representing all valid configuration choices associated with the corresponding configuration point, wherein the configuring at least one configuration point includes encoding a character string representing the branch with a first code delimiter and encoding each configuration code into the character string at a location associated with the configuration point and separating the configuration codes with a second delimiter;    determining and configuring a product configuration price associated with each branch; and    for the selected product configuration, extracting the configured product configuration price to determine a final price for the selected product configuration.    
     
     
         15 . A method for determining if a set of ports belonging to one or more equipment items can be validly interconnected in a proposed manner, the method comprising: 
 for each port of the set, configuring an object associated with the equipment item to which the port belongs with a rule defining valid connections that can be made to the port;    testing the proposed interconnection of the set of ports against the configured rules; and    determining, in response to the testing, if the proposed interconnection is valid.    
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising: 
 defining the rule with a plurality of connection fragments, one for each intended connection to a connection medium, each connection fragment defining a connection between the respective port and the connection medium.    
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising: 
 defining the rule so that it specifies an appropriate cable to form the connection among the set of ports.    
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising: 
 defining the rule to regulate whether or not a port of a certain equipment item may be connected to another port of the same equipment item.    
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising: 
 defining the rule to regulate whether or not a port of a certain equipment item may be connected to another port of the same equipment item.    
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising: 
 defining the rule to regulate whether or not a port of a certain equipment item may be connected to another port of the same equipment item.