Machine-implemented activity management system using asynchronously shared activity data objects and journal data items
First Claim
1. A storage and presentation system for presenting to a user, expressions of recorded activity descriptions and/or of recorded journal data items, where the storage and presentation system comprises:
- (a) activity description recording means for recording in an activity description storing area, corresponding ones of recorded activity descriptions;
(b) journaling means for recording in a journal data storing area, corresponding journal data items, where data of the recorded journal data items is derived from one or more sources and/or data of the journal data items is generated locally by local data-generating means;
(c) journal-activity linking means for recording first logical links indicating corresponding first logical linkages at least between a recorded activity description and a recorded journal data item; and
(d) expressing means for presenting to a given user and within an integrated presentation, expressions of one or more of the recorded journal data items, and expressions of one or more of the recorded activity descriptions.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Machine-assisted methods and apparatus are disclosed for allowing individual users to develop and organize respective activity descriptions and supporting journal items according to their respective preferences. Cross-referencing mappings may be created between activity descriptions and journal items in order to find, filter and organize disparate data. Cross-referencing mappings may also be created between the developed activity descriptions of different users so they can better understand each others perspectives and possibly overlapping goals. Different users'"'"' activity descriptions can be presented to a user even while the user may be disconnected from communication networks. Hierarchical relationships between activity descriptions may be provided. Machine-assisted means may be provided for creating work-sharing, work-delegating and/or informational sharing agreements between different users. Further machine-implemented means may be provided for automatically and asynchronously updating users on shared activities by other users even though all users are not necessarily connected to one or more respective communication networks at same time.
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Citations
88 Claims
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1. A storage and presentation system for presenting to a user, expressions of recorded activity descriptions and/or of recorded journal data items, where the storage and presentation system comprises:
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(a) activity description recording means for recording in an activity description storing area, corresponding ones of recorded activity descriptions;
(b) journaling means for recording in a journal data storing area, corresponding journal data items, where data of the recorded journal data items is derived from one or more sources and/or data of the journal data items is generated locally by local data-generating means;
(c) journal-activity linking means for recording first logical links indicating corresponding first logical linkages at least between a recorded activity description and a recorded journal data item; and
(d) expressing means for presenting to a given user and within an integrated presentation, expressions of one or more of the recorded journal data items, and expressions of one or more of the recorded activity descriptions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. An expression storing and transmitting system usable by a first user such that the first user can develop and/or refine expressions of ideas for one or more activities and/or can share selectable ones of the expressed activity ideas with one or more other users, wherein the expression storing and transmitting system comprises:
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(a) activity description recording means for recording in an activity descriptions holding area of the first user, a first set of first one or more activity descriptions wherein each said recorded activity description comprises an activity data object (ADO) and wherein each given ADO comprises;
(a.1) at least one of a short activity descriptor field and long activity descriptor field for respectively providing a relatively short description and a comparatively longer and/or more detailed description of a corresponding activity of the given ADO; and
(a.2) an ADO owner identifying field for identifying an owner-user who has ownership and modification rights over the said ADO for creating and/or modifying at least said short description and/or comparatively longer and/or more detailed description of the corresponding activity of the given ADO; and
(a.3) a uniqueness providing field for use alone or in combination with said ADO owner identifying field for providing the given ADO with a unique identification so as to make the given ADO uniquely identifiable respectively among other ADO'"'"'s owned by said owner-user of the given ADO and among other ADO'"'"'s owned by a specifiable pool of other users with whom the owner-user of the given ADO is sharing or may be sharing activity idea information; and
(b) first sharing means for transmitting derived copies of selected activity description expressions stored in the said activity descriptions holding area to alike systems or unalike systems usable by one or more other users. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75)
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40. The expression storing and transmitting system of 39 and further wherein:
(a) the said activity description recording means includes means for recording in one or more activity descriptions holding areas, corresponding ones of activity descriptions.
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41. The expression storing and transmitting system of 39 and further comprising:
(b) journaling means for recording in one or more journal data items holding areas, corresponding ones of journal data items.
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76. A manufactured signal for defining a given one of a plurality of activity data objects (ADO'"'"'s), the manufactured signal for the given ADO comprising:
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(a) one or both of a short activity descriptor field for providing a relatively short and/or abbreviated description of a corresponding activity of the given ADO, and a long activity descriptor field for providing a comparatively longer and/or more detailed description of the corresponding activity of the given ADO;
(c) an ADO owner and/or telecommunications contact address identifying field for identifying an owner-user and/or telecommunications contact address of said owner-user who has ownership and modification rights over the given ADO for creating and/or modifying at least said short activity descriptor field and/or long activity descriptor field of the given ADO;
(d) a uniqueness providing field for use alone or in combination with said ADO owner and/or telecommunications contact address identifying field for providing the given ADO with a unique identification so as to make the given ADO uniquely identifiable respectively among other ADO'"'"'s owned by said owner-user of the given ADO and among other ADO'"'"'s owned by a specifiable pool of other users with whom the owner-user of the given ADO is sharing or may be sharing activity idea information; and
(e) a Time of Last ADO Modification field that indicates when a corresponding transmitting system last modified the recorded ADO from which the given ADO signal was derived. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78, 79, 80)
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81. A machine-implemented method for generating reports relating to hierarchically organized activity descriptions and/or activity-supporting information, the method comprising:
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(a) first maintaining a recorded and logically linked plurality of activity data objects (ADO'"'"'s) which identify and/or represent respective activities and indicate interrelationships between the respective activities;
(b) second maintaining a recorded and logically linkable plurality of journal data items (JDI'"'"'s) which identify and/or represent respective items of supporting information for supporting current or future activities and indicate, if the JDI'"'"'s are logically linked with one another and/or with other data, interrelationships between the respective JDI'"'"'s and/or the other data;
(c) performing one or more filtering searches through one or both of said maintained ADO'"'"'s and JDI'"'"'s for identifying one or more filtered subsets of said maintained ADO'"'"'s and JDI'"'"'s; and
(d) presenting to a user at least one of said filtered subsets of the maintained ADO'"'"'s and/or JDI'"'"'s. - View Dependent Claims (82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87)
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88. A manufactured instructing signal for causing an instructable machine to carry out an activity description generating process, where the process caused by said instructing signal includes a recording of activity-describing data (AD data) where each respectively recorded instance of AD data comprises:
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(a) one or both of a short activity descriptor field for providing a relatively short and/or abbreviated description of a corresponding activity of the instant AD data, and a long activity descriptor field for providing a comparatively longer and/or more detailed description of the corresponding activity of the instant AD data;
(c) an ADO owner and/or telecommunications contact address identifying field for identifying an owner-user and/or telecommunications contact address of said owner-user who has ownership and modification rights over the instant AD data for creating and/or modifying at least said short activity descriptor field and/or long activity descriptor field of the instant AD data; and
(d) a uniqueness providing field for use alone or in combination with said ADO owner and/or telecommunications contact address identifying field for providing the instant AD data with a unique identification so as to make the instant AD data uniquely identifiable respectively among other AD data owned by said owner-user of the instant AD data and/or among other AD data owned by a specifiable pool of other users with whom the owner-user of the instant AD data is sharing or may be sharing activity idea information.
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Specification