Method and system for managing documents in a system using at least one database

• US 6,801,902 B1
• Filed: 06/27/2000
• Issued: 10/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Windream GmbH (Arnold Jäger Holding GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Winrechte Gbmh
• Inventors: David, Anja
• Primary Examiner(s): Robinson, Greta
• Assistant Examiner(s): RAYYAN, SUSAN F
• Application Number:
  US09/554,043
• Time in Patent Office: 1,561 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1-3, 707/205
• US Class Current: 707/608
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A method for managing documents in a system comprising at least one electronic data processing installation for processing data by means of at least one data bank. A peripheral driver for electronic data processing installations which allows implementation of such a method. One aim is for simplifying and optimizing document management in electronic data processing systems by means of a data bank. For this purpose, document management is handled by a peripheral driver which is specific to the operating system and connected to the data bank. A improved embodiment of the invention, a data file system is provided for document management and the documents are managed by means of extended index features. The contents, of these extended index features is generated automatically or entered manually.

Claims

1. A method of managing documents in a system of at least one electronic data processing device by means of at least one databank comprising the following steps:

a) reproducing a document management process via an operating system specific peripheral driver in cooperation with the databank;

b) providing a document management interface via said operating system specific peripheral device driver, wherein the document management interface is in the form of a virtual data documents managed by said databank in a manner corresponding with the operating system specific access to documents stored in a data file system; and

c) controlling the databank via said document management interface wherein said operating system specific peripheral driver converts commands of the operating system into databank commands, and transforms the databank outputs into operating system outputs.

2. The method as in claim 1, further comprising the step of managing the documents by means of a content of at least one expanded index feature.

3. The method as in claim 2, further comprising the step of generating automatically the contents of the expanded index feature.

4. The method as in claim 2, wherein said step of managing the documents includes extracting the contents of said at least one expanded index feature.

5. The method as in claim 2, further comprising the step of inputting manually the contents of said at least one expended index feature.

6. The method as in claim 2, further comprising the step of supplementing the databank with an archive.

7. The method as in claim 1, wherein said step of reproducing a document management occurs on one single electronic data processing device.

8. The method as in claim 1, wherein said step of reproducing a document management occurs on a plurality of electronic data processing devices linked to a network.

9. A device driver for an operating system comprising:

a) a document management interface in the form of a virtual data file system interface comprising means for accessing documents managed by said databank in a manner corresponding with the operating system specific access to documents stored in a data file system for managing; and

b) means for converting a set of commands of the operating system into a set of commands of the databank and a set of outputs of the databank into a set of outputs of the operating system.