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System for transparently storing inputs to non-volatile storage and automatically re-entering them to reconstruct work if volatile memory is lost

  • US 5,682,471 A
  • Filed: 10/06/1994
  • Issued: 10/28/1997
  • Est. Priority Date: 10/06/1994
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A system for preventing permanent loss of work product in process in an information processing system when said work product in process is temporarily lost owing to its unintended erasure or corruption, comprising:

  • a processing device, a manual input device, a non-volatile storage device, a volatile memory device, and a power source, said processing device being capable of receiving inputs from said manual input device and from said non-volatile storage device, of executing said inputs, of supplying said inputs and the results of their execution to work product in process in said volatile memory device, and of storing said inputs and said work product in process in said non-volatile storage device,said volatile memory device being capable of temporarily storing said inputs and the results of their execution as said work product in process, the contents of said volatile memory device being susceptible to accidental erasure or corruption in the event power thereto is interrupted and also in the event of equipment malfunction, operator error, or other misadventure,said non-volatile storage device being capable of permanently storing and retaining information so that said information is insusceptible to erasure or corruption in the event power thereto is interrupted or in the event said volatile memory device is accidentally erased or corrupted owing to any power interruption, equipment malfunction, operator error, or other misadventure,said manual input device being capable of entering substantive and non-substantive inputs into said volatile memory device through said processing device, said substantive inputs comprising application invocations, cursor locations, unformatted data, and data formatting and manipulating instructions affecting said work product in process, and said non-substantive inputs comprising instructions not affecting said work product in process, and therefore not essential to its reconstruction,said power source being capable of supplying power to said processing device, said volatile memory device, said non-volatile storage device, and said manual input device, anda storing means which automatically, immediately, and transparently, without any intrusion or delay discernible to an operator, sequentially stores all of said substantive inputs, but not any of said non-substantive inputs, in said non-volatile storage device, at the time said substantive inputs are entered into said processing device, but before they are executed or supplied to said volatile memory device, such that said non-volatile storage device will contain a sequential record of all of said substantive inputs destined to affect said work product in process substantially immediately after each said substantive input is entered into said processing device and before each is executed or supplied to said volatile memory device,whereby, in the event said work product in process in said volatile memory device is unintentionally erased or corrupted owing to any power interruption, equipment malfunction, operator error, or other misadventure, said work product in process, comprising fully manipulated and formatted data, can be reconstructed in its original form by re-entering said sequentially stored substantive inputs automatically and sequentially from said non-volatile storage device.

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