Order Support Apparatus Environmental Indicator Generation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing product ordering systems do not consider the environmental impact of manufacturing processes, which is a growing concern for companies and consumers alike.

Innovation Solution

An order support apparatus and method that acquires user request information, extracts candidate manufacturing sections, generates manufacturing conditions including environmental indicators, and outputs these conditions to allow users to order products based on their environmental impact, specifically for articles of clothing, footwear, or accessories.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If conventional product ordering systems are used, then manufacturing efficiency and basic product delivery are maintained, but environmental impact considerations are not incorporated into the ordering process

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveenvironmental consideration capabilityVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the manufacturing evaluation process by introducing distinct environmental indicator metrics (carbon footprint, water usage, energy consumption) that are calculated and presented separately for different manufacturing sections. This allows users to evaluate environmental performance across multiple dimensions without overwhelming system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The order support apparatus acts as an intermediary between the user and manufacturing sections, automatically calculating and presenting environmental indicators. This mediator function enables environmental consideration without requiring users to directly assess complex environmental data from multiple manufacturing sources.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Loss of information

If environmental indicators are added to manufacturing conditions, then users can make environmentally conscious decisions, but the information processing load and system complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveenvironmental information completenessVSAvoidinformation processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Environmental indicators are calculated and prepared in advance for each manufacturing section before the user places an order. This preliminary calculation allows the system to store pre-computed environmental data, reducing real-time processing requirements when users request manufacturing conditions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates simplified copies of environmental data in the form of standardized indicators (carbon footprint, water usage, energy consumption) that represent complex environmental assessments. These copied indicators are easier to process and display than raw environmental measurement data.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

3Reliability

If multiple environmental indicators are provided for each manufacturing section, then users have comprehensive information for sustainable choices, but the data transmission and processing requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveenvironmental assessment accuracyVSAvoidorder processing efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

Different environmental indicators are provided based on the specific characteristics of each manufacturing section. Rather than providing all possible environmental metrics uniformly, the system tailors the environmental information to the local characteristics of each manufacturing section, improving relevance while reducing unnecessary data transmission.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP4485330A1Order support apparatus and order support method
Publication Date: 2025.01.01 ASICS CORP
  • EP4485330A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4485330A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4485330A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

To provide an order support apparatus and an order support method enabling ordering products based on consideration of impact of manufacturing the products on environment. An order support apparatus 100 includes a request information acquisition unit 110, candidate extraction unit 120, manufacturing condition generation unit 130, and output unit 140. The request information acquisition unit 110 acquires request information of a user relating to a product and manufacture of the product. The candidate extraction unit 120 extracts, based on the request information acquired by the request information acquisition unit 110, candidate sections capable of manufacturing the product, from predetermined manufacturing sections. The manufacturing condition generation unit 130 generates manufacturing conditions of the candidate sections, including environmental indicators relating to impacts of the candidate sections extracted by the candidate extraction unit 120 on environment. The output unit 140 outputs the manufacturing conditions generated by the manufacturing condition generation unit 130.