Method and system for identification and maintenance of families of data records
DCFirst Claim
1. A method in a computer system for indicating direct and indirect relationships among a plurality of data records in a data repository to a designated record, each record having a plurality of data fields with values, comprising:
- determining, from the plurality of data records, a set of records that are directly-related to the designated record, such that at least one data field has a common value in the designated data record and in each of the records in the set;
using the set of directly-related records, automatically determining from the plurality of data records a potential family of records that includes the set of directly-related records and records that are indirectly related to each other through a plurality of designated data fields;
adding the designated record to the potential family of records when it is automatically determined that the designated record is not a duplicate of one of the data records in the potential family of records; and
automatically setting an indicator in each of the data records in the potential family of records to indicate a family relationship between the records.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems for managing data records through a concept of families are provided. Example embodiments provide an enhanced record management system, a Data Family Record Management System (“DFRMS”), which maintains families of data. In one embodiment, the DFRMS comprises a command interface, an auto de-duplication engine, a query engine, and one or more data repositories. The DFRMS automatically processes imported data to insure a clean data repository and the management of the families of data. Each new data record is normalized, automatically inspected for related data records, automatically de-duped, and then added to a family when appropriate. Related data records can be directly related or indirectly related, for example, through multiply nested, embedded relationships. Once established, the family associations in the data repository are used to retrieve data records in response to user queries, such as to retrieve only a selected set of records from each family or from a selected set of families.
194 Citations
50 Claims
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1. A method in a computer system for indicating direct and indirect relationships among a plurality of data records in a data repository to a designated record, each record having a plurality of data fields with values, comprising:
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determining, from the plurality of data records, a set of records that are directly-related to the designated record, such that at least one data field has a common value in the designated data record and in each of the records in the set;
using the set of directly-related records, automatically determining from the plurality of data records a potential family of records that includes the set of directly-related records and records that are indirectly related to each other through a plurality of designated data fields;
adding the designated record to the potential family of records when it is automatically determined that the designated record is not a duplicate of one of the data records in the potential family of records; and
automatically setting an indicator in each of the data records in the potential family of records to indicate a family relationship between the records. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method in a computer system for indicating a family relationship among a plurality of data records in a data repository to a designated record, each record having a plurality of data fields with values, comprising:
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automatically determining a set of data records from the plurality of data records that relate directly to the designated record and data records that relate indirectly to the designated record; and
adding the designated record to the determined set when it is automatically determined that the designated record is not a duplicate of a data record in the determined set; and
automatically associating with each record of the determined set an indication of membership in at least one family relationship. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A computer-readable memory medium containing instructions for controlling a computer process to indicate a family relationship among a plurality of data records in a data repository to a designated record, each record having a plurality of data fields with values, by:
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automatically determining a set of data records from the plurality of data records that relate directly to the designated record and data records that relate indirectly to the designated record; and
adding the designated record to the determined set when it is automatically determined that the designated record is not a duplicate of a data record in the determined set; and
automatically associating with each record of the determined set an indication of membership in at least one family relationship. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A record management system comprising:
automatic de-duplication engine that, upon receiving a designated data record, automatically determines a set of data records from a plurality of data records in a data repository that relate directly to the designated record and data records that relate indirectly to the designated record;
adds the designated record to the determined set when it is automatically determined that the designated record is not a duplicate of a data record in the determined set; and
automatically associates with each record of the determined set an indication of a family of related data records. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
Specification