Method of storing, retrieving and viewing data

• US 20030014429A1
• Filed: 05/21/2002
• Published: 01/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pivot Innovations LLC
• Original Assignee: Knowliah NV
• Inventors: Heghe, Hans Van, Willemse, Erik
• Granted Patent: US 7,209,914 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/200
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/48 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/907 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/914 Video
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/916 Audio
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/917 Text
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/955 Object-oriented
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• 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

A method of storing data in a database organizes the data in electronic objects and enriches the objects with ‘cognitive elements’. These elements allow a search of objects in the database which is similar to the human thinking process. One or more cognitive elements may be selected, leading to a list of objects with a relevance score based on the number of cognitive elements found for each object in the list. Computer programs allow to create such a database, to retrieve information from it, and to view information contained in it.

Claims

1. A method of creating an electronic database, comprising:

defining a list of cognitive properties relevant to objects which are to be saved in the database;

providing a repository of electronic memory, in which to save objects;

providing at least one object;

attributing for the object, a value to each cognitive property in the list, thereby creating a list of cognitive elements for the object;

attaching the list of cognitive elements to the object; and

saving the object in the database, so that all objects in the database, enriched with at least the cognitive elements, are stored in a non-hierarchical group of objects, in the repository of electronic memory.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a list of optional values for each cognitive property.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising providing definitions of the cognitive properties, and of the optional values.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising attributing a weight factor to at least one combination of a given cognitive property and a given value for the property.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically creating at least one meta information (MI) element, and attaching the MI-element to the object.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the objects are selected from one of the following categories:

text files, pictures, and sound files.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one object is an electronic file.

8. A method of retrieving objects from a database, comprising:

selecting one or more cognitive properties in relation to the database;

attributing a value to each of the cognitive properties which were selected, thereby defining a number of desired cognitive elements; and

receiving a group of documents, which are equipped with at least a part of the desired cognitive elements.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the documents of the group are listed in order of relevance, the relevance being based at least on a number of desired cognitive elements attached to the documents in the group.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the relevance is further based on a weight factor, attributed to at least one cognitive element.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein a tree structure is provided, allowing an overview of the consecutive cognitive elements desired by the user, and wherein the tree structure comprises folders and subfolders, every folder and subfolder being related to a cognitive element.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the tree structure is further defined by a filter, the filter defining one or more cognitive elements to be excluded from the tree structure.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the acts of selecting cognitive properties and attributing values, thereby forming desired cognitive elements are performed by selecting one object, and by searching other objects with at least a part of the cognitive elements attached to the one object.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the method, based on a pre-defined number of cognitive elements, is performed at regular intervals, and wherein a result list is limited to objects which have entered the database in a recent and pre-defined time span.

15. A computer-implemented method of creating an electronic database, comprising:

defining a list of cognitive properties relevant to objects which are to be saved in the database;

providing a repository of electronic memory, in which to save objects;

providing at least one object;

attributing for the object, a value to each cognitive property in the list, thereby creating a list of cognitive elements for the object;

attaching the list of cognitive elements to the object; and

saving the object in the database, so that all objects in the database, enriched with at least the cognitive elements, are stored in a non-hierarchical group of objects, in the repository of electronic memory.

16. A computer-readable medium comprising a program for performing a method of creating an electronic database, comprising:

defining a list of cognitive properties relevant to objects which are to be saved in the database;

providing a repository of electronic memory, in which to save objects;

providing at least one object;

attributing for the object, a value to each cognitive property in the list, thereby creating a list of cognitive elements for the object;

attaching the list of cognitive elements to the object; and

saving the object in the database, so that all objects in the database, enriched with at least the cognitive elements, are stored in a non-hierarchical group of objects, in the repository of electronic memory.

17. A computer-implemented method of retrieving objects from a database, comprising:

selecting one or more cognitive properties in relation to the database;

attributing a value to each of the cognitive properties which were selected, thereby defining a number of desired cognitive elements; and

receiving a group of documents, which are associated with at least a part of the desired cognitive elements.

18. A computer-readable medium comprising a program for performing a method of retrieving objects from a database, comprising:

selecting one or more cognitive properties in relation to the database;

attributing a value to each of the cognitive properties which were selected, thereby defining a number of desired cognitive elements; and

receiving a group of documents, which are associated with at least a part of the desired cognitive elements.