Knowledge archival and recollection systems and methods

• US 8,078,571 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2007
• Issued: 12/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AppliedE, Inc.
• Original Assignee: AppliedE, Inc.
• Inventors: Eagan, George, Singh, Prabhdeep
• Primary Examiner(s): LIN, SHEW FEN
• Application Number:
  US11/927,519
• Publication Number:
  US 20080059531A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,506 Days
• Field of Search: 707610-686, 707/603, 707/741, 709/224
• US Class Current: 707/603
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/13 File access structures, e.g. distributed indices arrangements of input from, or output to, record carriers G06F3/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2272 Management thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/242 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

A knowledge archival and recollection system accessible by a user, comprising: a data acquisition module in communication with a database server, a file archive and a database connectivity module; a data presentation module in communication with a report module and a search module; a timing module in communication with the database server; an automatic billing module in communication with a report module and database server; a messenger monitor module in communication with the database server, and the file archive; a database connectivity module in communication with the data acquisition module, the file archive, the database server, the report module, the search module, the automatic billing module, the timing module and the messenger monitor module; the system gathers user activity data and files accessed by user through the data acquisition module and archives the data and files on the database server and file archive for retrieval by each user.

Claims

1. A knowledge archival and recollection system accessible by at least one user, said system comprising:

a computer being used by said at least one user and in communication with a database server;

a file archive in communication with said database server for storing files and data regarding said files;

a data acquisition module in communication with the database server and said file archive and a database connectivity module,

wherein said data acquisition module includes a network browser plug-in and a toolbar plug-in embedded in a network browser of the computer being used by said at least one user,

wherein said network browser plug-in transmits data gathered from said network browser to said database server through said database connectivity module, and

wherein said file archive is in communication with said database server, a file archive indexer, and said data acquisition module;

a data presentation module in communication with a report module and a search module,

wherein said report module is in communication with said database server, said data presentation module, said search module, said file archive and said database connectivity module,

wherein said search module is in communication with said database server, said file archive indexer, said data presentation module, said report module, said file archive and said database connectivity module, and

wherein said file archive indexer is in communication with said file archive, said database server, said report module and said search module;

a timing module in communication with said database server, wherein said timing module records the start time and stop time for an activity within any computer based application;

an automatic billing module in communication with said report module and said database server;

wherein said automatic billing module generates invoices or user activity; and

a messenger monitor module in communication with said database server, and said file archive, wherein said messenger monitor module tracks user activity in a messenger application,

wherein said database connectivity module is in communication with said data acquisition module, said file archive, said database server, said report module, said search module, said automatic billing module, said timing module and said messenger monitor module;

wherein said database connectivity module acts as a communication gateway to said database server,

wherein said system gathers user activity data and files accessed by each said at least one user through said data acquisition module and archives said user activity data and files on said database server and said file archive for retrieval by each said at least one user,

wherein said user activity data includes data of activity of said user on said computer including online data, being provided to said computer from a network, and offline data, being locally available on said computer,

wherein said offline data includes files stored locally on said computer, and wherein said user activity data includes operations performed on said offline data,

wherein said search module conducts a search of data available on said computer, said database server and said file archive,

wherein said data acquisition module gathers actual content accessed by said at least one user and transmits said files to said file archive for retrieval by each said at least one user,

wherein said toolbar plug-in collects at least one file enhancement, associates said file enhancement with a file being currently accessed by said at least one user in said network browser and transmits said file enhancement to said database server, said file enhancement including annotation and file insertion,

wherein said data presentation module displays at least one of file modifications, report results and search results to said at least one user,

wherein said data presentation module further presents at least one of said user activity data, said associated enhancement data received from said database server and said file archive to said at least one user,

wherein said report module comprises of a user report interface, a report engine, a report generator, and a report viewer, and

wherein said report module receives at least one input parameters including at least one of keyword, date range, said user activity, said file enhancement, criteria and graph options from said at least one user at an input and output interface of said computer;

generates a customizable user activity report based on said input parameters and said user activity data; and

presents said report to said at least one user on the input and output interface of said computer.

2. The system as in claim 1, wherein each of said toolbar plug-in, network browser plug-in, messenger plug-in are selected from the group consisting of visible plug-in, built plug-in and invisible plug-in.

3. The system as in claim 1, wherein said system configuration is selected from the group consisting of standalone, distributed over a network, and distributed over the world-wide-web.

4. The system as in claim 1, wherein at least one of said data presentation module, report user interface and user search interface are embedded in said at least one user'"'"'s network browser window.

5. The system as in claim 1, wherein at least one of said timing module, said data presentation module, said data acquisition module, and said messenger monitor module, report user interface, user search interface and report user interface are standalone on said at least one user'"'"'s computer.

6. The system as in claim 1, wherein said at least one of said timing module, said search module, said file archive indexer, said report module, said messenger monitor module, said indexer, and a messenger plug-in is in communication with said database server using a database connection protocol.

7. The system as in claim 1, wherein said automatic billing module is in communication with said database server using a database connection protocol and creates bills according to information stored in said database server from said timing module.

8. The system as in claim 1, wherein said database connection protocol is selected from the group consisting of ODBC, JDBC, HTTP/PHP.

9. The system as in claim 1, wherein said network browser plug-in transmits files accessed by said at least one user'"'"'s network browser to said file archive using a file transfer connection.

10. The system as in claim 1, wherein said network browser plug-in transmits said user activity data gathered from said at least one user'"'"'s network browser to said database server using a database connection protocol.

11. The system as in claim 1, wherein said user activity data is selected from the group consisting of user activity information, system information and environment information.

12. The system as in claim 1, wherein indicia of said at least one user'"'"'s activity is selected from the group consisting of file enhancements, inserted or made by a user.

13. The system as in claim 1, wherein said messenger monitor module includes a messenger plug-in embedded in said at least one user'"'"'s messenger application and said messenger plug-in transmits user activity data gathered from said at least one users messenger system to said database server using a database connection protocol.

14. The system as in claim 1, wherein said database connectivity module communicates using a protocol selected from the group consisting of ODBC, JDBC and HTTP/PHP.

15. The system as in claim 1, wherein said database connectivity module, said search module and said report module reside on at least one of the user side and the server side of said system.

16. The system as in claim 1, wherein said file archive indexer includes a front-end indexer in communication with said search module and said report module, and a background indexer in communication with said file archive and said front-end indexer.

17. The system as in claim 1, wherein a background indexer applies at least one indexing algorithm to index said file archive at a predetermined time.

18. The system as in claim 1, wherein a background indexer generates an index of file archive contents, and stores said index on a front-end indexer.

19. The system as in claim 1, wherein said search module is in communication with said file archive indexer, said report module and said database server using a database connection protocol and in communication with said file archive using a file transfer connection, wherein said search module retrieves user activity data stored on said database server and files stored on said file archive.

20. The system as in claim 1, wherein said search module is comprised of a web-based user search interface, a search engine, a result analyzer and a click-stream visualization module.

21. The system as in claim 1, wherein said search module is further comprised of a query formulator module.

22. The system as in claim 1, wherein said report module is comprised of a report user interface, a report generator and a report viewer interface.

23. The system as in claim 1, wherein said report generator is web based and is selected from the group consisting of crystal reports, Data Reports, ASP.net, and XML.

24. The system as in claim 1, wherein said database server is in communication with said file archive using a file transfer connection.

25. The system as in claim 1, wherein said report module is in communication with a mail server.