119 results about "Product family" patented technology

Abstract of the Disclosure

A computer system, computer-readable medium and a method for performing activity based cost modeling. A cost object array has dimensions defined by weight arrays each corresponding to facets of the business by which one would assess profitability and efficiency, such as by products and customers. Each element of the weight arrays represents a user-definable classification, such as particular product families or geographic regions, and is assigned an allocation weight. A cost driver array has the same dimensions as the cost object array comprising metrics, such as the quantity sold or dollars of revenue. A weighted allocation factor for each cost object is a normalized function based on the allocation weights for the corresponding elements of each weight array and the cost driver array with in the cost object array.  Activity costs are allocated to a particular cost object in proportion to the weighted allocation factor associated with that cost object.

The present invention is directed to a modular mold system comprising at least two mold designs or mold sizes. In a further embodiment, the present invention is directed to a modular mold system comprising molds that are the same design but vary in size and cavitation. In a further embodiment, the present invention is directed toward a modular mold system for production of a family of a part designs. In a further embodiment, the present invention is directed toward a modular mold system developed from a part design and a part size. Another embodiment of the present invention would be directed toward a modular mold system comprising at least two mold sizes comprising standardized and identical components.

An apparatus and method for a logical hierarchical data model that facilitates sharing design data definitions within product families. The product data model is stored in a memory or a database and holds product information relating to components. The product data model comprises a plurality of component-usages for including a component in a higher-level-assembly and logical component-usages associated with the component-usages. Each logical component usage selects one of the component-usages that perform the same role within the context of its parent assembly. A generalized occurrence structure has nodes that represent the paths in a product data model of an assembly, from which simple occurrence structures representing each individual configuration can be derived.

A top-down and bottom-up approach that decomposes product bundles to components, classifies them into different groups corresponding to a component similarity measure, and detects their inherent values. The bundles are reassembled and characterized by several key attributes according to their component inherent values, and classified into segments. A normalized utility model is constructed for each product bundle segment, taking into account the additive effect among different commodity types and product families. The goodness of fit of the top-down and the bottom-up model may be validated. The model may be applied in an RFQ pricing environment.

A method and system for point of sale consumer packaged goods and lottery promotions. A discount coupon is generated having two barcodes. The first barcode encodes standard UPC barcode data including, e.g., manufacturer ID, retail product or a retail product family, and discount value code. The second barcode encodes a FreePlay identifier code. A POS system scans the barcodes and the FreePlay identifier code is recognized. Based on this, the consumer is offered a choice of a Lottery FreePlay coupon in lieu of the discount on the retail product. When the consumer accepts the choice of a Lottery FreePlay coupon, a Lottery FreePlay coupon is printed for the consumer in lieu of giving the consumer a discount on the retail product. The Lottery FreePlay coupon is redeemable at an authorized lottery booth for a lottery ticket having a purchase price based on the discount value code.

The invention relates to a product family configurator based on a single-layer variant material library and an implementation method thereof. The product family configurator is provided with a computer system, wherein a material management system is installed in the computer system and is characterized in that a material library and a product library are arranged in the material management system; a basic material attribute table and a material relation table are installed in the material library; and a BOM tree of products, a first layer of relation table of products, a BOM tree of product families and a first layer of relation table of product families are installed in the product library. The implementation method of the product family configurator comprises a construction method and an application method. The configurator can visually show logical relation among parts in products, is convenient for informatization management of products, reduces the workload of consistency maintenance of data information of parts, ensures the validity of data, fully utilizes available resources, reasonably utilizes mature technology and design data, effectively controls the design cost, shortens the design time, and reduces the design difficulty.

A method and system for upgrading a storage library of a product line having a hardware component such as a storage array operable to run at low and high operating levels in which the hardware component is set to operate at the low operating level includes associating an upgrade module with the storage library. The upgrade module is an EEPROM module having permission instructions for the hardware component to operate at the high operating level. The hardware component is then enabled to operate at the high operating level in response to the upgrade module being associated with the storage library in order to upgrade the storage library.

Systems for communicating benefits of a product and/or a product array to consumers comprise product(s) having a number of claimed benefits releasably contained in a package(s). At least a portion of the package is shaped like the integer representing the number of claimed benefits and the package has at least one label comprising indicia of the number of claimed benefits.

A system and method automates the creation of business models via generators that generate data structures and models based on general assumptions regarding business models. A time series generator automatically generates a time series model suitable for creating a spreadsheet, even though the input description of the business model may be time-independent. A cross-category generator creates a cross-category hierarchy, even though the business model is described using independent categorizations, such as market categories, product-line categories, organizational categories, and so on. In this manner, the creator of the business model is freed of the tedium generally associated with creating a business model, and the likelihood of errors in the resultant models is substantially reduced. Further, the same input description of the business model can be used as the source of alternative models, depending upon the requirements of the intended application of the model.

The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for marketing products where the products are part of a product family having application dependent uses and where substantially improved product performance occurs when the product is properly selected for a given application. The systems and methods include offering the products in the product family to users and providing a web site to aid users in selecting the correct product. Additionally, the systems and methods include receiving a solicitation for advice at a web site to select the proper product for a given application from a client computer, processing the solicitation for advice, formulating advice selecting a preferred product based on the processing, and providing advice on the preferred product to the client computer.

A method and system which promote consumer loyalty and simplify specific product recognition. A label or product detachment designed with the option of a quick release, non-drying, adhesive backing facilitating repeated consumer use. Adaptable to the large variety of consumer product lines and their extreme size variations, it is sized for convenience and adapted to bear and convey specific product information in a clear and concise manner on several levels of human recognition. This detachment has flexible design options such as, but not limited to, the ability to be transparent or opaque, have colored or non colored indicia or surfaces, single or multiple layer attributes along with the ability to take on simple or novel shapes. Considerations taken in regards to the many sectors of our consumer populations, those that are illiterate, foreign speaking, disabled, allergic, medically restricted, the young and old alike, resulted in a universal solution to obtain product loyalty and recognition.

A method and system for employing a Language Processing machine learning Artificial Intelligence engine to employ word embeddings and term frequency-inverse document frequency to create numerical representations of document meaning in a high-dimensional semantic space or an overall semantic direction. This semantic direction can be used to quantitatively measure semantic similarity between online content consumed by a potential prospect and a given product or product family. The AI can automate the process of creating audiences for on-line marketplaces for programmatic advertising purposes by using representative product descriptions, such as a grouping of product descriptions for scalable, cloud-based databases, and then creating a hyper-focused intent-based audience based on companies that are showing a significant increase in intent.

The invention relates to a product of rice grains formed by processing wheat flour and a processing method thereof, in particular to a method for processing a product of wheat flour, belonging to the field of grain processing. The method comprises the following steps: adding water to mixed powder taking wheat flour as the main material and wheat gluten and corn starch as the auxiliary materials; blending and mechanically processing-forming the materials to obtain the product of rice grains, wherein the weight ratio of the mixed powder to the water is 100:15-30; the mixed powder comprises the following components by weight percentage: 60% to 90% of wheat flour, 5% to 35% of corn starch and 5% to 15% of wheat gluten; and the blended materials of the mixed powder and the water are processed by a twin-screw extruder in which the materials are subjected to three stages of preheating, extruding and curing to obtain the product of plump rice grains. The product of rice grains of the invention creatively provides the product family of wheat flour with the novel species of rice grains which are formed by processing wheat flour and have the advantages of bright surface, plump grain, rice-like appearance, flexible and smooth endoplasm, great convenience of stewing and cooking and good palatability.

The invention discloses a user demand-based product deep personalized customization method, which is characterized by comprising the following steps of: mapping a user demand into a customized demandby combining a user personalized demand expression model and quality function development, and performing product configuration solution by using case retrieval and matching; the user carries out real-time feedback and adjustment on the customized scheme through the visual field; the personalized customization degree of the product is deepened in combination with the variant design; and finally, providing the optimal scheme for the user through goodness evaluation. According to the method, a design target set is determined on the basis of user requirements, a product family is used as a carrier, a customized scheme set is obtained by combining configuration reasoning and variant design, finally, an optimal scheme is obtained by applying goodness evaluation, and a personalized customizationprocess with high efficiency and high requirement integrating degree is formed.

Decorated products, such as toothbrushes, of substantially the same type and having substantially the same features (preferably functional features) except for a decorative element. The decorative element on each product is selected from a plurality of different decorative elements such that the products may be visually or aesthetically differentiated from one another by the differences in the decorative element associated therewith, while otherwise having the same functional characteristics. An exemplary embodiment is sleeved adult toothbrushes, the sleeves each having one of a variety of designs, the set of available designs including designs of different categories to appeal to different consumer bases (e.g., different ages, genders, styles, etc.) or to signal a time period for use of the product (e.g., a variety of designs for each of the four seasons to signal changing the toothbrush each season). Preferably, the products are decorated with a design selected from more than one category of designs, at least two of which categories include more than one design. The designs may be changed for the product line on a regular or semi-regular basis to refresh the appearance of the products.

A product line engineering (PLE) feature modeling structure called a multistage configuration tree that supports the engineering, deployment and maintenance of complex product family trees is provided. Feature selections and downselections are incrementally staged throughout the nodes in a product family tree. Feature decisions made at any node are inherited by all descendants of that node, thereby defining a product family subtree.

Techniques for determining the growth of database objects. In one set of embodiments, baseline sizes for a plurality of database objects are recorded, where the baseline sizes are recorded prior to the execution of an application upgrade. Further, upgraded sizes for the plurality of database objects are recorded, where the upgraded sizes are recorded subsequent to the execution of the application upgrade. Growth values for the plurality of database objects are then determined based on the baseline sizes and the upgraded sizes. In further embodiments, the plurality of database objects may be organized into one or more functional groups or product families, and aggregate database object growth may be reported per functional group or product family.

The invention provides a parametric modeling and labeling method. The parametric modeling and labeling method comprises the steps that 1, a foundation model of a sheet metal bracket is built, wherein the foundation model structurally comprises turnups, axle holes and fixing holes of the sheet metal bracket; 2, parameters of the foundation model are programmed; 3, a program automatically adjusts the foundation model according to the input sheet metal bracket model parameters, and a sheet metal bracket model is obtained; 4, the sheet metal bracket model is automatically labeled according to the input parameters; 5, a three-dimensional drawing of the sheet metal bracket model is output. The parametric modeling and labeling method has the advantages that through the parametric design, on the basis of the foundation model, modeling and intelligent labeling can be finished rapidly, a new model is generated rapidly to help a designer rapidly finish high-quality design work, repeated labor is avoided, the design and drawing difficulty is lowered, the requirements for product serialization and rapid amendment are met, the design speed of products is increased comprehensively, and the design quality of products is improved greatly.

A feature configuration analysis tool greatly reduces time, cost, and other resource expenditures associated with identifying permissible feature configurations for a product line so that vendors can offer consumers highly customizable products. Accordingly, the vendor may offer the consumer an extensive selection of features for a product, receive from the customer a customized selection of the features, and implement those features for the customer. A vendor may embed the feature configuration analysis tool into a user interface that enables consumers to consider feature configurations prior to purchasing a product. The feature configuration analysis tool provides a lightweight and efficient approach to rapidly determine permissible feature configurations for a product line, and verify the validity of a user requested combination of features.

A method of updating a plurality of USB devices is provided. Firmwares of the USB devices are updated by discriminating the USB devices using their unique device interface IDs. Accordingly, a plurality of USB devices of the same product family can be discriminated using device interface IDs and thus the firmwares of the USB devices can be updated at the same time.

The invention discloses a method for SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) product family gene evolution based on genetic algorithm. The method includes: through abstracting and expressing SUV appearance individualized genes and SUV appearance successional genes, building SUV product lines with differential SUV designed styles and consumer-preference-driven evolution function according to different consumer preferences, generating optimal individualized gene progenies in Matlab based on the genetic algorithm, realizing evolution of the SUV appearance individualized genes, adding SUV appearance inheritance genes to the evolutional genes, realizing overall application of SUV product family appearance genes, generating a series of product design schemes, and building product family images with continuation and differentiation.