Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-10
2001-02-13
Homere, Jean R. (Department: 2777)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000, C707S793000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06189012
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates in general to a system for storing, inter-linking, retrieving and displaying data, documents and other information held in one or more computer systems and specifically to such a system implemented with object oriented techniques.
The work done by any one user, or by a collaborating group, in a large organization is rarely encompassed by information or data inside one application or system alone, or satisfied by a single source of information. There are a huge number of meaningful relationships or links between the items of data and information held inside the diverse applications, systems and information sources (collectively referred as “systems” herein) that require users to frequently move from one item of data/information in one system to another item of data/information in another system. For example, a user looking at an electronic copy of a purchase order for some equipment may want to (a) see catalogue details describing the equipment's specifications and also commercial details of the supplier of said equipment, (b) see which other equipment is supplied by the same supplier, (c) see what faults have been reported about one of those said other items of equipment, and (d) see details of the engineer who reported one of these faults. Typically, the purchase order will be available in a purchase management system, the supplier details and the equipment details will be in a separate inventory database application, the faults will be reported in a fault tracking system, the engineer's personal details may come from a personnel directory system, the electronic images of the purchase order may be held in a document management system and pages of the catalogue may be published on an Internet or Intranet system.
The meaningful relationships or links can take a wide variety of forms and permutations. There can be more than one kind of link between items of data/information in two different systems. This may be so if a document in the document management system can be either a purchase order or correspondence from a same particular supplier. There are also situations where two or more different types of links or relationships exist at the same time between the same two items of data/information. A person versed in the art will understand that the situation being described involves potentially unrestricted many to many relationships between items of data and information in different systems. As such, there can be a whole range of many to many meaningful relationships between items of data and information in different systems that make sense to users. In order to serve different purposes, the user may want to follow the relationships in any order and in any permutation that is considered meaningful.
Collectively, the data and information available to users in an organization, along with meaningful relationships, not being bound by any restrictions of system boundary, can be said to constitute the organization's “knowledge”. Of course, this is not an exhaustive definition of knowledge, for there is further knowledge that is added during usage of other knowledge, while there are yet other types of knowledge that are not held in any computer system or not held in a form discernible by a computer system such as in the form of paper, or in users' minds.
Some of the items of knowledge (note from above that links or relationships are items of knowledge) that users follow to move from one system to another are not originally present in any of the systems, and are instead added or recorded during the use of, or navigation among, knowledge. Such knowledge that is not originally present as aforesaid is, when it is necessary to distinguish it from knowledge present at a time or state immediately prior to said addition or recording, hereinafter referred to as “usage-added knowledge”.
Examples of usage-created knowledge are (a) a note made by a user that certain items of data/information from two different systems should be seen together for a certain purpose, (b) addition of one or more types of links by a user between certain items of data/information from one or more systems for specific temporary or permanent purposes of the user, and (c) the fact that some other user has already seen or not yet seen a particular item of data/information. This usage-created knowledge, once added, becomes as much a part of the knowledge of the organization as any other knowledge that was previously present. Naturally, and importantly, the usage-created knowledge needs to be available for everything for which the pre-existing knowledge is available, including navigation or access by users and further addition or recording of usage-created knowledge.
Henceforth, the word “knowledge” shall, unless the contrary is expressly stated, include usage-created knowledge added or recorded up to the time or state to which reference is made. The word “links” shall include said relationships between items of data/information, as well as links made as a part of usage-created knowledge.
A person versed in the art will find it obvious that not all this usage-created knowledge can properly be stored or manipulated in any one of the individual systems, for much of this knowledge is about things that cross or straddle boundaries of two or more systems. As such, it is desirable to have means through which a wide range of usage-created knowledge can be added and interacted with, even though such knowledge cannot easily or properly be accommodated in any of the involved systems. Further, it is necessary for said means to accommodate usage-created knowledge involving items of data/information in new or newly related systems.
Further, when knowledge includes data and information from multiple systems, it is desirable to keep the changes in user interface, data structures and functionality of each of the separate systems down to a minimum. Many of these systems may have their own user interface, their own structures to hold data and information and relationships between them, their own security and other functionality, such as is specifically suitable to that particular system. As such, it is desirable to have a minimized domain of changes to the user interface, data structures and other special functionality of the various systems.
Further still, given the large number, high complexity and diversity in type of the many to many links comprised in the knowledge, and the diversity of the types of usage-created knowledge that can be added or recorded, there is the potential for the user interface for navigation of and interaction with the knowledge to become very complex. There can potentially be a bewildering range of choices faced by the user at every point during navigation or interaction with the knowledge. As such, it is desirable to have a minimized domain of user interface metaphors and choices, while continuing to have all the functionality to navigate and interact with knowledge involving diverse systems.
Moreover, a large number, high complexity and diversity in type of many to many links potentially places a high computational load during navigation of or interaction with knowledge, and during addition or recording of further links. As such, a scaleable means of storing, retrieving, navigating and adding of many to many links is required.
Another factor arises when there are a large number and type of possible links, and many of those links are made as part of usage-created knowledge. If the only thing that a user can do is to navigate manually, starting from one item and following through one or more paths, then much of the potential power of the links inside the knowledge is lost. Users can get valuable knowledge out of knowing things like whether and when a particular colleague has seen data/information items of a certain type, or what different types of links exist between two different items of data/information, or which items that are linked to a particular document have been seen a particular colleague within the last two days. This requires the abi
Maude Peter
Mital Vijay
Homere Jean R.
Kulas Charles J.
Melting Point Limited
Townsend and Townsend / and Crew LLP
LandOfFree
Apparatus and method for storing, navigating among and... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Apparatus and method for storing, navigating among and..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Apparatus and method for storing, navigating among and... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2612337