Data organization and management system and method

• US 6,651,063 B1
• Filed: 01/28/2000
• Issued: 11/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: DataCloud Technologies, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Andrei G. Vorobiev
• Inventors: Vorobiev, Andrei G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Kim
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRUONG, CAM Y T
• Application Number:
  US09/493,911
• Time in Patent Office: 1,390 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/3, 707/10, 707/9, 705/14, 705/26
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/335 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles filtering in web context G06F16/9535, G06F16/9536
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

An information storage and management system pre-categorizes information in generic categories to which the information generally pertains, to facilitate organization of information with little or no effort on the part of the recipient. Providers send information to user data repositories associated with unique user destination addresses within the system. Identifiers associated with the information allow the recipient to easily assess the nature of the information and conduct further processing of the information if desired. At least one of the identifiers associated with the information is a category identifier, used to place the information in a location within the user data repository reserved for information in that given identified category. One of the ways in which the recipient can further process the information is to place the information in a custom location according to a custom category location within the user data repository. Such custom categorization can further be communicated to the provider or to a data processing station so that subsequent information from the same provider to the same recipient is automatically placed in the custom category location within the user data repository.

Claims

1. A system for providing information to one or more users, said system comprising:

means for each of said one or more users to provide to one or more information providers a user destination address associated with at least one of said users;

categorizing means for each of said one or more information providers to associate with information to be provided to said one or more users an identification of a category to which said information relates;

means for said information provider to send said information to at least one of a multiplicity of user data repositories, each of said user data repositories being associated with at least one of said users, and said means for sending information including utilizing said user destination address to communicate said information to the user data repository associated with at least one of said users;

wherein said information is stored in an information pack while being transmitted from said provider to one of said multiplicity of user data repositories, further comprising identification means for associating a provider identifier with said information pack prior to delivery of said information pack to any of said multiplicity of user data repositories;

wherein after said information pack is received in said user data repository, an authorization means allows the user to review said provider identifier associated with the information pack and to selectively permit the information pack to remain in the user data repository or reject the information pack;

wherein in the event said user rejects said information pack, said information pack is automatically removed from the user data repository associated with said user;

wherein upon said user rejecting said information pack from said provider, a blocking means automatically prevents further information packs from said provider from reaching the user data repository of said user;

wherein said blocking means comprises, upon said user rejecting said information pack, communicating a rejection signal from said user data repository to a processing station between said provider and said multiplicity of user data repositories, said processing station including a data storage means and a data processing means, said data storage means storing provider identifiers for which rejection signals have been received and further storing, together with each of said provider identifiers for which rejection signals have been received, each of the user destination addresses associated with the user data repositories from which said rejection signals have been communicated, and said processing means analyzing the provider identifier and user destination address associated with each information pack sent from said provider and comparing said provider identifier and said user destination address to the provider identifiers and the user destination addresses stored in said storage means each time said information pack is sent from said provider to one of said multiplicity of user data repositories, and in the event of a match of said provider identifier and user destination address associated with the information pack and one of said provider identifiers and said user destination addresses stored together in said storage means, preventing said information pack from being communicated to said user destination address associated with the information pack;

means for determining with which category said information has been identified by said categorization means; and

means for placing said information in a location within the user data repository of said user reserved for information of the identified category, whereby said information is automatically stored in said location within the user data repository reserved for information of the identified category.

2. A system for providing information to one or more users, said system comprising:

means for each of said one or more users to provide to one or more information providers a user destination address associated with at least one of said users;

categorizing means for each of said one or more information providers to associate with information to be provided to said one or more users an identification of a category to which said information relates;

means for said information provider to send said information to at least one of a multiplicity of user data repositories, each of said user data repositories being associated with at least one of said users, and said means for sending information including utilizing said user destination address to communicate said information to the user data repository associated with at least one of said users;

wherein said information is stored in an information pack while being transmitted from said provider to one of said multiplicity of user data repositories, further comprising identification means for associating a provider identifier with said information pack prior to delivery of said information pack to any of said multiplicity of user data repositories;

wherein after said information pack is received in said user data repository, an authorization means allows the user to review said provider identifier associated with the information pack and to selectively permit the information pack to remain in the user data repository or reject the information pack;

wherein in the event said user rejects said information pack, said information pack is automatically removed from the user data repository associated with said user;

wherein upon said user rejecting said information pack from said provider, a blocking means automatically prevents further information packs from said provider from reaching the user data repository of said user;

wherein said blocking means comprises, upon said user rejecting said information pack, communicating a rejection signal from said user data repository to a processing station associated with said provider, said processing station including a data storage means and a data processing means, said data storage means storing each of the user destination addresses associated with the user data repositories from which said rejection signals have been communicated, and said data processing means analyzing the user destination address associated with each information pack sent from said provider and comparing said user destination address to each user destination addresses stored in said storage means each time said information pack is sent from said provider to one of said multiplicity of user data repositories, and in the event of a match of said user destination address associated with the information pack and one of said user destination addresses stored in said storage means, preventing said information pack from being communicated to said user destination address associated with the information pack;

means for determining with which category said information has been identified by said categorization means; and

means for placing said information in a location within the user data repository of said user reserved for information of the identified category, whereby said information is automatically stored in said location within the user data repository reserved for information of the identified category.

3. A system for providing information to one or more users, said system comprising:

means for each of said one or more users to provide to one or more information providers a user destination address associated with at least one of said users;

categorizing means for each of said one or more information providers to associate with information to be provided to said one or more users an identification of a category to which said information relates;

means for said information provider to send said information to at least one of a multiplicity of user data repositories, each of said user data repositories being associated with at least one of said users, and said means for sending information including utilizing said user destination address to communicate said information to the user data repository associated with at least one of said users;

wherein said information is stored in an information pack while being transmitted from said provider to one of said multiplicity of user data repositories, further comprising identification means for associating a provider identifier with said information pack prior to delivery of said information pack to any of said multiplicity of user data repositories;

wherein after said information pack is received in said user data repository, an authorization means allows the user to review said provider identifier associated with the information pack and to selectively permit the information pack to remain in the user data repository or reject the information pack;

wherein in the event said user rejects said information pack, said information pack is automatically removed from the user data repository associated with said user;

wherein upon said user rejecting said information pack from said provider, a blocking means automatically prevents further information packs from said provider from reaching the user data repository of said user;

wherein said blocking means comprises, upon said user rejecting said information pack, storing said provider identifier in a storage means of a processing station associated with said user destination address of the user, said processing station further including a data processing means, said data storage means storing each of the provider identifiers associated with the information packs which said user rejects, and prior to said information pack being communicated to the user data repository associated with said user destination address, said data processing means analyzing the provider identifier associated with each information pack received by the user destination address from said provider and comparing said provider identifier to each of the provider identifiers stored in said storage means, and in the event of a match of said provider identifier associated with the information pack and one of said provider identifiers stored in said storage means, preventing said information pack from being communicated to said user data repository associated with the user destination address;

means for determining with which category said information has been identified by said categorization means; and

means for placing said information in a location within the user data repository of said user reserved for information of the identified category, whereby said information is automatically stored in said location within the user data repository reserved for information of the identified category.

4. A method for providing information to one or more users of a system comprising the steps of:

storing information to be provided in an information pack;

associating with said information pack at least a user destination address associated with one of a multiplicity of user data repositories each of said user data repositories associated with at least one of said users and a category identifier;

associating with said information pack a provider identifier;

communicating said information pack by means of a network to said user data repository associated with the user destination address;

locating said information pack in a location of said user data repository associated with the user destination address reserved for information corresponding to a category to which said category identifier corresponds; and

further comprising, after said step of communicating the information pack to said user data repository associated with the user destination address, the steps of;

creating a custom location in said user data repository;

placing said information pack in said custom location;

associating a custom category identifier with said information pack;

sending a custom category signal to a processing station uniquely associated with said user data repository including a data storage means and a data processing means, said data storage means storing together said custom category identifier and said provider identifier, and said data processing means analyzing the provider identifier of subsequent of said information packs, comparing said provider identifier of said subsequent information packs with said provider identifier stored in said storage means and in the event of a match between the provider identifier of one of said subsequent information packs and the provider identifier stored in said storage means, placing said one of the subsequent information packs in said custom location.

5. A method for providing information to one or more users of a system comprising the steps of:

storing information to be provided in an information pack;

associating with said information pack at least a user destination address associated with one of a multiplicity of user data repositories, each of said user data repositories associated with at least one of said users, and a category identifier;

associating with said information pack a provider identifier;

communicating said information pack by means of a network to said user data repository associated with the user destination address;

locating said information pack in a location of said user data repository associated with the user destination address reserved for information corresponding to a category to which said category identifier corresponds; and

further comprising, after said step of communicating the information pack to said user data repository associated with the user destination address, the steps of;

creating a custom location in said user data repository;

placing said information pack in said custom location;

associating a custom category identifier with said information pack;

sending a custom category signal to a processing station associated with all of said multiplicity of user data repositories including a data storage means and a data processing means, said data storage means storing together said user destination address, said custom category identifier and said provider identifier, and said data processing means analyzing the user destination address and provider identifier of subsequent of said information packs, comparing said user destination address and provider identifier of said subsequent information packs with said provider identifier and user destination address stored in said storage means and in the event of a match between both the provider identifier and user destination address of one of said subsequent information packs and both the provider identifier and user destination address stored in said storage means, placing said one of the subsequent information packs in said custom location of the user data repository associated with said user destination address.