Electronic design record book
First Claim
1. An electronic design record book comprising:
- a file server;
a database for storing metadata and hierarchy information;
a computer program for sending and requesting documents to and from the file server;
a web server comprising;
a processor;
a volatile memory; and
a non-volatile memory for storing computer readable instructions, wherein when the computer readable instructions are executed by the processor, the server performs the steps;
(i) receiving a file submitted by a first user;
(ii) associating metadata with the received file;
(iii) organizing the received file in a hierarchical data structure; and
(iv) presenting the received file to one of the first user and a second user;
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for an electronic Design Record Book (e-DRB) is disclosed. Software modules interface with a product data management tool to electronically store and retrieve documents. The documents may relate to engineering design information throughout a product'"'"'s life cycle. Documents are stored in articles, with which metadata and attributes are associated. The articles may be checked out by a user for editing, and checked back in for other users to view. A reviewer may be required to approve the edits made to an article. An export control flag is used to prohibit unauthorized exportation of sensitive information. Archive records of each edit are maintained. The e-DRB provides search capability based on metadata information. The e-DRB may be accessed via a network such as the Internet.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. An electronic design record book comprising:
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a file server;
a database for storing metadata and hierarchy information;
a computer program for sending and requesting documents to and from the file server;
a web server comprising;
a processor;
a volatile memory; and
a non-volatile memory for storing computer readable instructions, wherein when the computer readable instructions are executed by the processor, the server performs the steps;
(i) receiving a file submitted by a first user;
(ii) associating metadata with the received file;
(iii) organizing the received file in a hierarchical data structure; and
(iv) presenting the received file to one of the first user and a second user;
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. An electronic record comprising:
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a pointer to at least one data file; and
metadata comprising author information, revision information, and export control information. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8)
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9. A method of maintaining revisable records and tracking changes to the records, comprising the steps of:
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(i) receiving a file submitted by a first user;
(ii) associating metadata with the received file;
(iii) organizing the received file in a hierarchical data structure; and
(iv) presenting the accepted file to one of the first user and a second user. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31)
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13. A document management system for receiving, storing and tracking engineering design documents, each document comprising metadata and positioned in a hierarchical data structure, said system comprising:
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a file server for storing documents;
a database operatively coupled to said file server for storing metadata information and hierarchy information associated with each document;
a data management tool operatively coupled to said file server and said database for receiving and processing documents and tracking revisions made to said documents;
a user interface comprising a computer for enabling a user to review, create, or revise documents in said data management tool; and
a software module coupled to said data management tool comprising user criteria and document access criteria.
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24. A process of managing the receiving, storing and tracking of engineering design documents comprising metadata information, said process comprising the steps of:
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(i) storing documents in a file server;
(ii) storing metadata information associated with each document in a database;
(iii) storing hierarchy information associated with each document in the database;
(iv) receiving, processing, and tracking revisions to the documents in a data management tool operatively coupled to the file server and the database;
(v) submitting new documents through a user interface coupled to the data management tool; and
(vi) processing user criteria and document metadata information to enable or prevent access to any document.
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29. A method of using a document management system, comprising the steps of:
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(i) submitting a new document to an electronic design record book (e-DRB) through a user interface, wherein each document is associated with metadata;
(ii) checking out a previously submitted document from the e-DRB;
(iii) checking in the document checked out in step (ii);
(iv) reviewing a submitted document for acceptance into the e-DRB; and
(v) prohibiting access by a first user to a checked in document that has not been accepted in step (iv).
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Specification