Product Options Framework for Custom Product Configuration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Relational database management systems (RDBMS) are inadequate and inflexible in describing and managing custom manufactured products with numerous attributes and permutations, leading to impractical storage requirements and complex compatibility checks.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing an attributes engine and product options framework that uses key-value descriptions and expressions to dynamically determine compatible attribute values and accessory products, allowing for continuous variable ranges and efficient representation of constraints, thereby simplifying the ordering process and reducing storage needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If RDBMS stores all possible product permutations, then complete product coverage is achieved, but storage requirements become impractical
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the product definition into hierarchical levels: product categories, attributes, and attribute values. Instead of storing complete product permutations, the system stores only the fundamental structure (categories, attributes, and their possible values), allowing any combination to be constructed on-demand. This reduces storage from trillions of records to a manageable framework.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from static pre-stored product records to dynamic on-the-fly product construction. When a customer selects attributes, the system dynamically assembles the product definition by combining category, attribute, and value information, rather than retrieving from pre-stored permutations. This enables continuous variable ranges without requiring discrete records for each possibility.
2Manufacturing precision
If RDBMS uses fixed records for each product permutation, then product specificity is achieved, but flexibility for custom combinations is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the parameter representation from discrete fixed records to continuous variable ranges. Attributes can have discrete values (e.g., frame material: wood, metal, plastic) or continuous ranges (e.g., frame width: 1-100 inches). This allows precise product specification while accommodating any custom combination within defined constraints, eliminating the need for pre-defined permutations.
3Reliability
If extensive programming of stored procedures is used, then compatibility checks are resolved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary constraint system that mediates between product selections and compatibility requirements. Constraints are defined as reusable rules (e.g., 'frame width must be greater than print size') that automatically evaluate compatibility when attributes are selected. This intermediary layer provides reliable compatibility checking without requiring complex stored procedures, as the constraint engine handles the logic centrally.
Solution Approach 2:
The constraint system serves multiple functions: it validates attribute compatibility, guides customer selections, and ensures manufacturing feasibility. A single constraint framework handles diverse compatibility requirements across different product categories and attributes, replacing the need for category-specific stored procedures with a universal constraint evaluation mechanism.
4Adaptability or versatility
If continuous variable ranges are allowed, then product customization is enhanced, but data definition complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system formally defines attribute parameters with explicit data types: discrete enums for fixed choices, integer ranges for whole numbers, and floating-point ranges for continuous measurements. This parameterization approach, while adding definition complexity, provides a systematic framework that automatically handles validation and constraints, reducing operational complexity during product configuration.
Data Source
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AI summary
Techniques are described for describing and associating custom products. In an embodiment, a first attribute value that defines an attribute of a custom product is received from a user that is customizing the custom product. In response to receiving the first attribute value, a legal set of attribute values for a second attribute of an accessory product may be determined. The legal set of attribute values identifies one or more attribute values of the second attribute of the accessory product that are compatible with the first attribute value. The legal set of attribute values may identify a continuous range of values where any value within the continuous range of values is compatible with the first attribute value. In an embodiment, the user may be limited to selecting accessory products having a legal attribute value.