INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

• US 20020073056A1
• Filed: 11/24/1998
• Published: 06/13/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Inventors: PATEL, DIPAK, MAIDMENT, DUNCAN, CLOUGH, PAUL, KING, ALAN JOHN, CASSON, GARRY, WORSLEY, MICHAEL, BROSTER, IAN
• Granted Patent: US 6,424,968 B1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2216/01 Automatic library building
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

An information management system is provided including a database and one or more data retrieval tools, a data retrieval tool being arranged to retrieve information according to registered interests of users of the system and to store data in the database relating to the information retrieved. User interests may be stored in the database as user profiles comprising one or more keywords. In addition, projects may be defined, each project having a profile stored within the system. A user interface enables a user to enter user and project profile or other information, and a data input tool is provided to generate from the user input one or more data sets for storage as profiles in the database. Control means are provided to take user input, submit it to the data input tool and to supply data sets generated and stored thereby to the data retrieval tool for use in searching and locating relevant information. A user may also manually select, from output by a data retrieval tool, information for persistent storage in relation to the user'"'"'s profile or in relation to one or more projects to which the user has appropriate access. The control means may be arranged to control access by users to view or modify projects and to share associated information.

Claims

1. An information management system for a plurality of users, the system comprising:

i) at least one user interface for receiving user input information;

ii) data storage means;

iii) a data input tool for generating a data set from user input information received at the interface, and for storing the data set in the data storage means;

iv) means for generating and storing user profiles, each user profile comprising at least one keyword allocated to a respective user;

v) at least one data retrieval tool for locating information in accordance with each of a plurality of user profiles, for storing data relating to information so located, and for searching data so stored in accordance with at least one data set generated by the data input tool; and

vi) control means for receiving said user inputs and for running one or more of said tools

wherein the control means is adapted, in use, to receive said user input information, to run the data input tool to generate and store said data set from the input information, and to input said data set to the data retrieval tool to search said data so stored.

2. An information management system according to claim 1 wherein the control means further comprises means to log user identity information against a data set generated from information input by that user.

4. An information management system according to either one of claims 1 and 2 wherein the control means gives access to additional users, but not the capability to modify the data set and/or associated information.

5. An information management system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the control means maintains a register of identifiers for other users having access in respect of the data set, the owner having unique control over the contents of the register.

6. An information management system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the system further comprises user selection means, for selecting results output by the data retrieval tool, the selected results being persistently stored.

7. An information management system according to claim 6 wherein the results are persistently stored in relation to the relevant user, and/or may be persistently stored in relation to the data set used by the data retrieval tool to locate the results.

8. An information management system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the way in which the data retrieval tool reports data it finds by searching includes a measure of the relevance of each piece of data to the data set used in the search.

9. An information management system according to claim 8 wherein the measure of association is applied in a discrete rather than a continuous way such that it can be used to separate search results into two or more sets, the first set being strongly relevant to a request and the second layer being weakly relevant to the request.

3. An information management system according to either preceding claim wherein the control means is adapted to give access to the data set, and/or associated information, only to the user providing the user input information.