A data processing machine is provided for automatically and efficiently controlling the manufacture of designated end item products and components which are used to make them. Product information is entered and stored in memory as job files, inventory files, and bill of materials files. Actual and planned customer orders as well as work orders are represented in the job file in a common format. Each job includes all of the due dates and quantities which relate to a single customer or part number. Once the job file has been created, the existing inventory stock is dynamically allocated under system control to all of the orders in the job file. The system uses the designated stock quantities in the job file to automatically generate internal work orders for the manufactured components necessary to fill the customer orders.

A portable, battery operated storage device for analyzing performances in athletic events, such as tennis, includes an electronic random access memory controlled by a keyboard, and a digital display. The memory contains individual storage locations corresponding to points earned and points lost for each play. In addition, up/down counters in the device accumulate total points gained and lost for all plays. The player or spectator keyboard enters data identifying each play and indicating whether a point was gained or lost. Points lost and points gained data for each play are stored in corresponding storage locations in the memory. Total points gained and lost are stored in the counters. After the game, the numbers of points gained and lost for each play are determined by accessing the memory and displaying the contents of each of the storage locations on the digital visual readout. Total points gained and lost are determined by displaying the contents of the counters.

A retail terminal to register merchandise data such as a price of merchandise, amount of merchandise, a merchandise code and a merchandise name in a department store or a retail store is disclosed. The retail terminal includes a data buffer for temporarily storing the merchandise data of a plurality of items of merchandise item by item, the merchandise data stored item by item are summed upon the depression of a total key when the account for a customer has been completed and the sum is stored in a memory. Upon the depression of a correction key, the data temporarily stored in the data buffer are sequentially and retrogressively cleared item by item. In this manner, the correction for the plurality of items of merchandise is simplified.

An apparatus is provided for monitoring inventory in a business or hospital to provide an immediate indication of the number of items in such inventory, the number of items needed to be reordered at any time to replenish the inventory to its maximum level, and the critical minimum inventory level necessitating a stock reorder to avoid depletion of stock before new stock items can arrive from the business' supplier.

A card counter (10) prints card inventory information locally and communicates with a remote computer (43) for permanent storage and retrieval of inventory information. A microprocessor controller detects a counting error in response to the actual count failing to match a preset count, failing to match a precount information machine read from a machine readable precount label (130) attached to the cards (18), in the event of a phrase error from a pair of parallel scanning card sensor circuits (58, 59) or if the final counts of the two card sensor circuits (58, 59) do not match. In the event of detection of a counting error, an error indication is provided and entry of the count into an accumulator memory is inhibited. The present number is entered into memory by selectively entering an actual count into the preset memory. A pair of separate accumulators are provided for concurrently accumulating totals of two different groups of cards (18). The card sensor circuits (58, 59) are digitally filtered by the microprocessor (44) which also automatically performs self diagnostics to reduce counting errors due to malfunction. Malfunction of a scan drive motor (61) is reduced through provision of a slip clutch (FIGS. 10A and 10B). Alphanumeric display units are both electrically connected to the control circuit (FIG. 2) and releasibly, mechanically attached to a printed circuit board (112) of said control circuit (FIG. 2) by means of a multiline electrical connector (120) attached to the edge of the printed circuit board (112).