Identifier vocabulary data access method and system

• US 7,236,972 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2004
• Issued: 06/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: SpeedTrack, Inc.
• Original Assignee: SpeedTrack, Inc.
• Inventors: Lewak, Jerzy, Yano, Miles Kevin
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham; Khanh B.
• Application Number:
  US10/969,131
• Publication Number:
  US 20050114370A1
• Time in Patent Office: 980 Days
• Field of Search: 707 3- 5, 707100-102, 715/762, 715/853, 715/968
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/242 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2425 Iterative querying; Query formulation based on the results of a preceding query
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9032 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/968 interface for database querying and retrieval

Abstract

A method of organizing, managing, and providing interactive access to data in a database is disclosed, along with a program and a system for implementing the method. Associations between each data Item and at least one ItemSelector are established and stored. A predefined (but modifiable) Vocabulary of ItemSelectors sufficient to describe each Item of the database is created. Presently selected Items are described by a combination of associations defined by an appropriate Boolean combination of each ItemSelector in a presently selected set of ItemSelectors. A user controls the presently selected set by adding an ItemSelector from a presented group, or by removing a previously selected ItemSelector. The system ideally makes available to the user all relevant ItemSelectors—those which, if added to the presently selected set, would result in a set that describes at least one extant data Item. The system ideally makes all presently selected Items available to the user.

Claims

1. A method of interactively creating a Boolean expression for identifying data Items in a database, the method comprising:

a) assigning a multiplicity of ItemSelectors among a plurality of ItemSelector groups including a first group and a second group;

b) implicitly associating each ItemSelector assigned to the first group with a Boolean property associated with the first group, and implicitly associating each ItemSelector assigned to the second group with a Boolean property associated with the second group, wherein the Boolean property associated with each group is a member of a set of Boolean properties consisting of conjunctive, disjunctive, exclusive-disjunctive, and negative Boolean properties;

c) presenting to a user ItemSelectors assigned to the first group and ItemSelectors assigned to the second group;

d) accepting a plurality of ItemSelectors chosen by the user including at least one ItemSelector assigned to the first group and at least one ItemSelector assigned to the second group;

e) forming a first parenthetical Boolean expression including one or more chosen ItemSelectors assigned to the first group that are joined to each other according to the Boolean property of the first group;

f) forming a second parenthetical Boolean expression including one or more chosen ItemSelectors assigned to the second group that are joined to each other according to the Boolean property of the second group; and

g) joining the first and second parenthetical Boolean expressions as a Boolean conjunction to create the Boolean expression identifying one or more data Items in the database;

wherein step (c) comprises presenting to a user at least a third ItemSelector that is not assigned to the first group or to the second group, step (d) comprises accepting the third item after it is chosen by the user, and step (g) comprises conjoining a Boolean expression containing the third item to create the Boolean expression identifying one or more data Items in the database.

2. A method of enabling a user at a client computer to locate data Items in a database on a server that is disposed remotely from the client computer, wherein the database comprises a functional universe of all data Items that are immediately available to be located and each such data Item is preassociated with one or more ItemSelectors belonging to a functional universe of all ItemSelectors that are preassociated with and immediately available for locating any of the data Items, wherein each ItemSelector is preassigned as a member of one or more groups of ItemSelectors, and wherein the server includes a DI association table indicating, for each data Item, all ItemSelectors that are preassociated therewith, and an IS association table indicating, for each ItemSelector, all data Items that are preassociated therewith, the method comprising:

a) providing to the client computer a first ItemSelector list comprising a plurality of groups of ItemSelectors;

b) receiving from the client computer an indication of a first ItemSelector selected by the user from the first ItemSelector list;

c) determining first selected data Items as a set of all of the data Items that are preassociated with the first selected ItemSelector;

d) identifying, at least implicitly, a first presently relevant set of ItemSelectors consisting of all of the ItemSelectors that are preassociated with any of the first selected data Items;

e) providing to the client computer a subsequent list of ItemSelectors, each belonging to the presently relevant set of ItemSelectors;

f) if the user selects a further ItemSelector from said subsequent list of ItemSelectors, then receiving from the client computer a Boolean query having terms including such further ItemSelector plus all previously selected ItemSelectors that remain selected, together with Boolean operators relating the terms;

g) identifying a remaining presently relevant set of all of the data Items selected by the Boolean query;

h) determining, at least implicitly, all of the ItemSelectors associated with any of the remaining presently relevant set of data Items; and

i) returning to step (e).

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the DI association table enables direct identification of all of the ItemSelectors that are preassociated with any of the data Items without a need to search association records of all ItemSelectors, and the IS association table enables direct identification of all of the data Items associated with any of the ItemSelectors without a need to search association records of all data Items.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the DI association table includes, for each data Item, a corresponding DI vector including an indication of each ItemSelector preassociated with such data Item;

and the IS association table includes, for each ItemSelector, a corresponding IS vector including an indication of each data Item preassociated with such ItemSelector.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the Boolean operators of step (f) are determined by Boolean properties preassociated with ItemSelector groups to which the Boolean query terms belong.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein step (e) further includes indicating to the user how many of the presently selected data Items are preassociated with one of the presented ItemSelectors.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein step (e) further includes indicating to the user how many of the presently selected data Items are preassociated with each of the presented ItemSelectors.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein step (g) further includes providing to the client computer at least one of the selected data Items.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the client computer is a browser-based client computer.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein the server and the client computer communicate via a wide area network.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein the wide area network is the Internet.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the server communicates with more than one client computer.

13. The method of claim 2, wherein the identity of the second Boolean request data Items provided to the client computer includes a URL identifier.

14. The method of claim 2, wherein the ItemSelectors of at least one of the groups of ItemSelectors in a list presented to the user are RangeSelectors.

15. The method of claim 2, wherein the ItemSelectors of at least one of the groups of ItemSelectors presented as a list to the user are ImpreciseSelectors.

16. The method of claim 2, wherein step (e) is performed a plurality of times.

17. The method of claim 2, wherein step (g) further comprises:

i) receiving from the client computer a request for at least one of the presently selected data Items; and

ii) providing to the client computer a presently selected data Item according with the request.

18. The method of claim 2, wherein the Boolean query comprises an exclusive-disjunctive Boolean operator.

19. The method of claim 2, wherein the Boolean query comprises at least two different Boolean operators from a group consisting of:

conjunctive, disjunctive, negated, and exclusive-disjunctive.

20. The method of claim 2, wherein the DI association table and/or the IS association table comprises a Matrix.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the Matrix is a Binary Matrix.

22. The method of claim 2, wherein the DI association table together with the IS association table comprises two matrices.

23. The method of claim 2, wherein an ItemSelector group is associated with a particular Boolean property, and each ItemSelector belonging to such ItemSelector group, when selected, is related to the Boolean query by the particular Boolean property.