Methods and apparatus for a universal tracking system
First Claim
1. A method for tracking records in a relational database of a computer system, said method comprising the steps of:
- assigning tracking identifiers to records of a table in a relational database, wherein a tracking identifier comprises a plurality of fields of equal length in a corresponding record; and
generating tracking values for storage in said tracking identifiers of said records, to track relationships between at least two records, that associate one or more fields of a tracking identifier of a first record with one or more fields of a tracking identifier of another record associated with said first record.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A universal tracking system is extremely versatile to permit tracking records in a database for any type of tracking application. A tracking identifier for a database record includes a plurality of fields of equal length. A tracking value, generated for the tracking identifier, tracks relationships among records, such that tracking values are generated to associate one or more fields of a tracking identifier of a first record with one or more fields of a tracking identifier of another record being tracked to the first record. The fields of the tracking identifier are assigned field identifiers to ascribe meanings to the fields to implement tracking systems that track related objects, including objects related in time. Also, field identifiers from one record may be extended to field identifiers of additional records. Numerous tracking schemes supported by the universal tracking system are disclosed. Also, applications for the universal tracking system, including an ISO implementation, are disclosed.
34 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method for tracking records in a relational database of a computer system, said method comprising the steps of:
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assigning tracking identifiers to records of a table in a relational database, wherein a tracking identifier comprises a plurality of fields of equal length in a corresponding record; and generating tracking values for storage in said tracking identifiers of said records, to track relationships between at least two records, that associate one or more fields of a tracking identifier of a first record with one or more fields of a tracking identifier of another record associated with said first record. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for universally tracking records in a computer system, said method comprising the steps of:
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assigning tracking identifiers to records of a table in a relational database, wherein a tracking identifier comprises a plurality of fields of equal length in a corresponding record; and implementing a tracking scheme to generate an association between at least two records in said database, wherein said tracking scheme associates said at least two records through one or more fields of a tracking identifier of a first record and one or more fields of a tracking identifier of another record associated with said first record. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A method for generating relational sequence identifiers for records in a relational database, said method comprising the step of:
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defining a sequence of unique identifiers; assigning tracking identifiers to records of a table in a relational database, wherein a tracking identifier comprises a plurality of fields of equal length in a corresponding record; selecting at least one tracking scheme to track records, wherein said tracking scheme associates at least two records through one or more tracking fields of a tracking identifier of a first record and one or more tracking fields of a tracking identifier of another record associated with said first record; assigning, for a value of a field, the next identifier in said sequence of unique identifiers if said field is not a tracking field used in said tracking scheme to associate records; and assigning, for a value of a field, an identifier previously assigned to track a record being tracked.
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14. A computer readable medium comprising a set of instructions stored therein, which when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the steps of:
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assigning tracking identifiers to records of a table in a relational database, wherein a tracking identifier comprises a plurality of fields of equal length in a corresponding record; and generating tracking values for storage in said tracking identifiers of said records, to track relationships between at least two records, that associate one or more fields of a tracking identifier of a first record with one or more fields of a tracking identifier of another record associated with said first record. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A computer readable medium comprising a set of instructions stored therein, which when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the steps of:
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defining a sequence of unique identifiers; assigning tracking identifiers to records of a table in a relational database, wherein a tracking identifier comprises a plurality of fields of equal length in a corresponding record; selecting at least one tracking scheme to track records, wherein said tracking scheme associates at least two records through one or more tracking fields of a tracking identifier of a first record and one or more tracking fields of a tracking identifier of another record associated with said first record; assigning, for a value of a field, the next identifier in said sequence of unique identifiers if said field is not a tracking field used in said tracking scheme to associate records; and assigning, for a value of a field, an identifier previously assigned to track a record being tracked.
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25. A computer system comprising:
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a database comprising a plurality of records, said records including a tracking identifier, to track records of a table in a relational database, that comprise a plurality of fields of equal length in a corresponding record; and processor unit, coupled to said database, for generating tracking values for storage in said tracking identifiers, to track relationships between at least two records, that associate one or more fields of a tracking identifier of a first record with one or more fields of a tracking identifier of another record associated with said first record.
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26. A method for tracking records in a computer system, said method comprising the steps of:
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assigning tracking identifiers for records, of a table wherein a tracking identifier for a record comprises a plurality of digits, such that a first subset number of digits are utilized to track records and a second subset number of digits are utilized to uniquely identify a record; generating equivalent tracking values for said first subset number of said digits in said tracking identifiers of at least two records to track relationships between those two records, so as to associate a subset of digits of a value of a first record with a subset of digits of a value of another record being tracked with said first record; and generating a unique value for said second subset number of digits to uniquely identify said record. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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Specification