Abstract:
A method and system for remotely modifying a database uses an electronic form stored on a remote computer. The electronic form is filled out by a user and submitted to the database. Once the database determines that the user is authorized, the database is updated to match the information contained in the form.

Description:
REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/046,059 which was filed on Apr. 18, 2008. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    In the materials industry, as well as in similar industries, a company often has an inventory containing several varying products. Each product has different characteristics and will therefore only be suited for certain jobs. Products are typically grouped into groupings of like products which are referred to as “lots.” Typically, in the materials industry, product orders are taken at a central office which is located away from the warehouse which contains the actual products. Additionally, in such a business, a database server is typically housed in the warehouse and contains all the information about the physical lots in a database. Information related to each product is stored in the database and can be accessed locally at a warehouse or remotely at an office via a direct connection, or the Internet. Typical information which is stored could be reservation status of a lot, physical properties of the lot, amount of product in a given lot, price of the materials in a given lot, or shipping information for a lot. When an order is taken at the central office, it is necessary to interface with the database server, which is housed at the warehouse, and modify the product entries associated with the order. 
         [0003]    In order to facilitate this, the electronic database can be remotely interfaced with, and the information contained in the electronic database can be edited as new shipments arrive, products are sold or used, or information regarding the lots changes. Directly connecting to large remote databases in this manner can be slow due to the volume of information which must be processed. This is especially true when taking orders in a central office and then modifying the remote database in the warehouse. Current systems interfacing with the remote database have a user log in, and then the system modifies the database entry as the user makes changes. This results in significant downtime, as a user must wait for the database to finish updating after each change before he can enter more information or modifications to the product entry. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    A system and method for modifying a product database allows a user to log into a database and submit an electronic form which has proposed database modifications. The electronic form contains all of the proposed modifications, and thereby circumvents the downtime associated with previous systems of database modification. The database server checks to ensure that the user has adequate permission to make the modifications and then makes the modifications according to the information provided on the electronic from. 
         [0005]    These and other features of the present invention can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    The disclosure can be further understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is a flowchart illustrating one example method for database manipulation. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is an example form which could be used in conjunction with the method illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is an example system which can perform the example method of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]      FIG. 1  illustrates an example flowchart of a database modification method. In a local form entry step  110 , a user enters information into a locally stored electronic form  200  (see  FIG. 2 ). Once the user has finished entering data into the electronic form  200 , and the electronic form  200  has performed any calculations required, the electronic form  200  can be transmitted to a remote database server  330  (show in  FIG. 3 ) hosting the database. In order to submit the electronic form  200 , the user must first log into the remote database server  330  in a user log-in step  120 . 
         [0011]    In the user log-in step  120 , the user accesses the remote database server  330  from a desktop computer  310 , or any other connected computing device, via a username and password log-in. When the user submits his username and password, the remote database server  330  compares the username and password to a list of allowed usernames and passwords and allows access if the submission matches an entry on the allowed list. The remote database server  330  also assigns a user level to the user when he is logging in based on the username. The log-in step  120  and the local form entry step  110  could, alternately, switch positions in the method without affecting the performance of the method. 
         [0012]    Once the first and second steps  110 ,  120  are completed, the user submits the electronic form  200  to the remote database server  330  in a form submission step  130 . In the form submission step  130 , the electronic form  200  is submitted as a whole to the remote database server  330 . Since the electronic form  200  contains all the desired modifications to the database, long load times associated with changing each data entry are prevented as the user does not have to wait for each change to be implemented before entering a second change. Additionally, the user does not have to wait for the remote database server  330  to determine the appropriate product entry before making the changes. In this way after the user has submitted the electronic form  200  he may proceed to a different task, thereby saving time. 
         [0013]    After the remote database server  330  has received the submission in the form submission step  130 , a comparison step  140  is performed. In the comparison step  140 , the remote database server  330  checks the username and user level against the desired database changes based on the submitted electronic form  200 . If the electronic form  200  only requires changes which are equal to or lower than the user&#39;s user level, the remote database server  330  allows the process to move into an association step  150 . If the user level of the user is not high enough, the database can provide an error prompt and returns to the user-log in step  120 , and the modifications from the electronic form  200  are not entered. 
         [0014]    In the association step  150 , the remote database server  330  associates a specific database entry with the submitted electronic form  200 . This can be done, for example, by comparing information on the electronic form  200  with each applicable product entry in the database. The electronic form  200  can identify the specific product to be associated with by either using a code which directly links the electronic form  200  to a product or by using identifying features. If the electronic form  200  uses identifying features, then the remote database server  330  will query the database for all entries which match the identifying features and associate one or more of the returned database entries with the electronic form  200 . 
         [0015]    Once the electronic form  200  has been associated with a database entry, a modify database entry step  160  is performed. In this step, the database entry is modified to coincide with the new information on the electronic form  200 . The modifications can include adding a reservation status to the product entry, modifying a quantity available of the product entry, or any other relevant modifications. 
         [0016]    In the above described method, the local electronic form  200  could be initially retrieved from remote database server  330  and then stored on the computer  310 , or it could be stored in a set of standard forms pre-installed on the computer  310 . The local form is an electronic form  200  which can be completed by a user and which could be stored locally on the computer  310 . An example electronic form  200  is illustrated in  FIG. 2 . The electronic form  200  can also include fields which are completed automatically based on data which is entered by the user. For example, if the user has entered a “quantity” field and a “price per unit” field, the electronic form  200  can automatically calculate a total price field. 
         [0017]    Prior to submission, the electronic form  200  is stored on the computer  310  and does not rely on communications with a remote database server  330  for completion. As a result of the electronic form  200  being stored on the computer  310  and the user entering all desired modifications before submitting the electronic form  200 , the user does not see any of the time delay associated with looking up product entries in a large database. The electronic form  200  of  FIG. 2  is hosted on the computer  310  and has at least a field  210  for placing a reservation status on a specific product. The illustrated electronic form  200  additionally has a product identification field  220  for entering identifying product information, such as a product number. Alternately, any other identifying information could be provided which would identify the specific product being reserved. 
         [0018]    In a first example of the above described method, the electronic form  200  is used to place a soft reservation status on a specified product. An example electronic form  200  which would be used for reserving a product is illustrated in  FIG. 2 . The local electronic form  200  can incorporate any relevant information for a given job, including a soft reservation of products, or physical product requirements. The database, which the electronic form  200  will modify, can include any number of fields containing data relevant to a specific product, including fields which are not included on the electronic form  200 . The example electronic form  200  of  FIG. 2  is a product reservation form. The product reservation form can have fields  210 ,  220 ,  230  for inventory, specifications, accounts, demands, prices, costs, types, sizes, while the product database may have significantly more information regarding each product entry, such as routing, invoices, reservation status, etc. 
         [0019]    If the electronic form  200  relates to a soft reservation of a product, then the electronic database can associate a physical product with the requirements of the electronic form  200  and update a “soft reservation” field  210  within the database to indicate the physical product is reserved. The soft reservation status may later be changed by a user having a sufficient user level using the same process. Alternately, if the electronic form  200  relates to physical product requirements for a given job, then the database can also accept the requirements and find a current lot in inventory that is acceptable or store the information for use at a later time. 
         [0020]    In this example, after the remote database server  330  receives the electronic form  200 , it associates a soft reservation to the desired product and updates a reservation status field within the database. After the update, the reservation status field indicates that the product has been reserved with a soft reservation. The soft reserve status can then be altered by a user with an adequately high user level. 
         [0021]    A second example feature is also illustrated in  FIG. 2 . In the second example feature of the above described method, the user accesses the electronic form  200  and the remote database server  330  as described above. In this example, the electronic form  200  associates the data in at least a first field (for example the part identification field  220 ) of the electronic form  200  with at least a second field (for example, a lot number field  230 .) The type of association may vary depending on the specific application. When the user enters a value, such as a product identifier, into the first field  220  (and into any other fields associated with the second field  230 ), the data, such as the lot number, for the second field  230  is automatically determined by the electronic form  200  based on the manually entered variables from the first field  220  and any other associated fields. The user may then choose to accept the determined data, or the user may manually adjust the data within the second field  230 . It is anticipated that the same embodiment could associate more than one field with a single data entry, or associate a single field with multiple data entries. Once the user has completed entering his data and has reviewed the data that was determined by the electronic form  200 , the information is sent to the electronic database, using the above described method. 
         [0022]    An example system capable of implementing the above described method is illustrated in  FIG. 3 . The example of  FIG. 3  has the computer  310  (such as the user&#39;s computer) which is connected to the Internet  320 . Additionally connected to the Internet  320  is the database server  330 . Alternately, a private network could be utilized in place of the Internet and achieve the same results. In the system, the local electronic form  200  is originally stored on the user computer  310 . The user can then log into the database server  330  through the Internet  320  using the user log-in step  120 , described above. Once the user has logged in, the process proceeds as described above. 
         [0023]    Although one embodiment of this invention has been disclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this invention. For that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention.