Method and apparatus for selecting, analyzing, and visualizing related database records as a network

• US 7,672,950 B2
• Filed: 05/03/2005
• Issued: 03/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Boston Consulting Group Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Boston Consulting Group Incorporated
• Inventors: Shapiro, Alexander, Wolf, Robert G. Jr., Eckardt, Ralph W. III, Blaxill, Mark F., Rivette, Kevin G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong; Don
• Assistant Examiner(s): DANG, THANH HA T
• Application Number:
  US11/120,423
• Publication Number:
  US 20060106847A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,764 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/3, 707/10, 707/104.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3323 using document space presentation or visualization, e.g. category, hierarchy or range presentation and selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3328 using graphical result space presentation or visualisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2216/11 Patent retrieval

Abstract

A method and apparatus for selecting and converting database records or sets of related documents into network data and presenting that data in a network visualization system that enables users to select among, and move between various network displays by selecting one or more attributes of the data to be represented as the nodes and links of the network.

Claims

1. A method of providing a network graphical representation of two or more database records, comprising:

selecting the two or more database records according to one or more descriptive criteria, wherein each of the two or more database records are members of a common record class;

identifying two or more common attributes of the database records according to requirements provided by a user, associating a first set of network nodes to instances of a first one of the common attributes from the database records, and associating a second set of network nodes to instances of a second one of the common attributes from the database records, wherein at least one set of network nodes are meta-nodes;

connecting one or more members of the first set of network nodes to one or more members of the second set of network nodes with network links that designate associations between the network nodes, to form a first network graphical representation; and

iteratively executing the identifying and connecting steps while modifying the one or more descriptive criteria, to change and to select two or more database records, thereby presenting one or more levels below at least one of the meta-nodes, or one or more levels above at least one of the meta-nodes.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the common record class includes patent records.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the patent records are extracted from a database operated by a commercial provider of patent data.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the patent records are extracted from a database operated by a foreign provider of patent data.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the patent records are extracted from a database operated by a domestic governmental provider of patent data.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the patent records are extracted from a database operated by a foreign governmental provider of patent data.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the common record class includes academic journal articles.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the academic journal articles are extracted from a database operated by a provider of medical data.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more descriptive criteria are selected from the group consisting of (i) one or more key words within a body field of each of the patent records, (ii) one or more key words within a title field of each of the patent records, (iii) one or more inventors in an inventor field of each of the patent records, (iv) one or more assignees in an assignee field of each of the patent records, (v) one or more key words within an abstract field, and combinations thereof.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more common attributes includes inventor.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more common attributes includes assignee.

12. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more common attributes includes filing date.

13. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more common attributes includes issue date.

14. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more common attributes includes IPC code.

15. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more common attributes includes USPC code.

16. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more common attributes includes field of search.

17. The method of claim 1, further including (i) associating one or more additional sets of network nodes with other ones of the common attributes from the database records, (ii) connecting one or more members of the additional sets of network nodes to other network nodes with network links that designate associations between the network nodes.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the network links include a characteristic that describes a quantity of associations occurring between connected nodes.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the characteristic includes link thickness.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the characteristic includes link color.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the characteristic includes link texture.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one set of network nodes is a set of meta-nodes.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the set of meta-nodes describes a characteristic of two or more database records.

24. The method of claim 1, further including transforming the first network graphical representation into a second network graphical representation by associating at least one set of network nodes with an alternative common attribute.

25. The method of claim 1, further including transforming the first network graphical representation into a second network graphical representation by associating the network nodes to instances of a second one of the common attributes from the database records, and connecting the network nodes with network links that designate network nodes having common instances of the second attribute.

26. The method of claim 1, further including iteratively executing the identifying and connecting steps while modifying the one or more descriptive criteria to change the selected two or more database records.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the one or more descriptive criteria includes a range of dates.

28. The method of claim 2, further including selecting additional database records from a record class other than the common record class of patent records, and associating network nodes to instances of one or more attributes from the additional database records.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the record class other than the common record class of patent records describes licensing history associated with the patent records.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein the record class other than the common record class of patent records describes litigation history associated with the patent records.

31. The method of claim 28, wherein the record class other than the common record class of patent records describes maintenance fee history associated with the patent records.

32. The method of claim 7, further including selecting additional database records from a record class other than the common record class of academic journal articles, and associating network nodes to instances of one or more attributes from the additional database records.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the record class other than the common record class of academic journals describes doctor affiliation data associated with the academic journals.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the record class other than the common record class of academic journal articles describes script data associated with the academic journal articles.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein the record class other than the common record class of academic journal articles describes referral data associated with the academic journal articles.

36. The method of claim 1, further including identifying one or more attributes of the record class according to requirements provided by a user.

37. A computer readable medium including stored instructions that when executed, provide a network graphical representation of two or more database records, comprising:

instructions selecting the two or more database records according to one or more descriptive criteria, wherein each of the two or more database records are members of a common record class;

instructions identifying two or more common attributes of the database records according to requirements provided by a user, associating a first set of network nodes to instances of a first one of the common attributes from the database records, and associating a second set of network nodes to instances of a second one of the common attributes from the database records, wherein at least one set of network nodes are meta-nodes;

instructions connecting one or more members of the first set of network nodes to one or more members of the second set of network nodes with network links that designate associations between the network nodes, to form a first network graphical representation, and

instructions iteratively executing the identifying and connecting steps while modifying the one or more descriptive criteria, to change and to select two or more database records, thereby presenting one or more levels below at least one of the meta-nodes. or one or more levels above at least one of the meta-nodes.