Identifier vocabulary data access method and system

• US 8,352,487 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2007
• Issued: 01/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SpeedTrack, Inc.
• Original Assignee: SpeedTrack, Inc.
• Inventors: Lewak, Jerzy, Yano, Miles Kevin
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, KHANH B
• Application Number:
  US11/823,067
• Publication Number:
  US 20070260594A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,024 Days
• Field of Search: 707 3- 5, 707/101, 707/773, 707/805, 707/767
• US Class Current: 707/767
• 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 computer-implemented method:

a) initiating formation of a query using controlled vocabulary of ItemSelectors by presenting a plurality of such ItemSelectors to a user for selection on a database interface machine display, each ItemSelector thus presented to the user

i) having a Boolean property associated therewith, and

ii) having been determined to describe at least one data Item in the database;

b) incorporating an ItemSelector selected by the user from among those presented as part of currently selected ItemSelectors;

c) changing the ItemSelectors presented to the user as necessary after each user selection such that each ItemSelector presented, when combined according to the corresponding Boolean properties with all other currently selected ItemSelectors, is determined to describe at least one data Item in the database;

d) repeating (b) and (c) until a plurality of ItemSelectors are currently selected, including

i) at least a first ItemSelector having a first Boolean property associated therewith, and

ii) at least a second ItemSelector having a different second Boolean property associated therewith;

e) deriving from the selected ItemSelectors a Boolean expression encompassing the first and second ItemSelectors and reflecting the corresponding associated Boolean properties of each ItemSelector;

f) associating each of a multiplicity of data Items of a database with a unique corresponding value of a first matrix variable;

associating each of a multiplicity of ItemSelectors of the database with a unique corresponding value of a second matrix variable;

determining all ItemSelectors associated with each data Item and/or all data Items associated with each ItemSelector; and

g) storing the determined associations between ItemSelectors and data Items in an Item-ItemSelector Association array in an electronically readable memory module coupled to the interface machine as a pair of indices of the Item-ItemSelector Association array.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating an ItemSelector Association data structure that associates ItemSelectors to other ItemSelectors;

storing the ItemSelector Association data structure in electronically readable storage hardware coupled to the interface machine; and

determining suitable changes to the ItemSelectors presented to the user after the user selects a first ItemSelector by use of the ItemSelector Association data structure.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising identifying Popular ItemSelectors within a Full ItemSelector list and creating the ItemSelector Association data structure as a matrix of associations between (i) the Popular ItemSelectors, each corresponding to an integer value of a first matrix variable, and (ii) ItemSelectors of the Full ItemSelector list, each corresponding to an integer value of a different second matrix variable.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein one Item-ItemSelector Association array is a rectangular matrix having a unique element corresponding to each possible association of Item and ItemSelector, and further comprising:

representing whether or not the Item and ItemSelector pair corresponding to each element of the matrix have been determined to be associated with each other by setting a binary value associated with such element to be true or false, respectively.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein one Item-ItemSelector Association array is a linear array of vectors, each index of the linear array corresponding to a different Item, and a vector uniquely associated with such index being a list of all ItemSelector reference values associated with such Item.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a first Item-ItemSelector Association array is a linear array of vectors, each index of the linear array corresponding to a different ItemSelector, and a vector uniquely associated with such index being a list of all Item reference values associated with such ItemSelector.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein a second Item-ItemSelector Association array is a linear array of vectors, each index of the linear array being a reference value corresponding to a particular Item, and a vector uniquely associated with such index being a list of all indices of the first Item-ItemSelector Association array corresponding to ItemSelectors associated with such Item;

further comprising obtaining a list of Items associated with a particular ItemSelector by reference to the first Item-ItemSelector Association array, and obtaining a list of ItemSelectors associated with a particular Item by reference to the second Item-ItemSelector Association array.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein (a) comprises presenting to the user a plurality of groups of ItemSelectors including:

i) a first group consisting of ItemSelectors associated with the first Boolean property, and ii) a second group consisting of ItemSelectors associated with the second Boolean property.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first Boolean property is disjunctive, and wherein (b)(i) comprises accepting a plurality of ItemSelectors belonging to the first group of ItemSelectors.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein (c) comprises:

i) disjunctively joining the plurality of chosen ItemSelectors that belong to the first group within a parenthetical expression, and ii) conjunctively joining the parenthetical expression to a Boolean expression containing the second ItemSelector.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein (b)(ii) comprises accepting a plurality of ItemSelectors belonging to the second group of ItemSelectors;

and further comprising an act (c)(iii) of joining the accepted plurality of ItemSelectors that belong to the second group according to the second Boolean property to form the Boolean expression containing the second ItemSelector.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first Boolean property is disjunctive or exclusive-disjunctive;

and (b)(i) comprises accepting a plurality of ItemSelectors that are associated with the first Boolean property.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein (c) comprises:

i) disjunctively joining the plurality of accepted ItemSelectors that are associated with the first Boolean property within a parenthetical expression, and ii) conjunctively joining the parenthetical expression to a Boolean expression containing the second ItemSelector.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the ItemSelectors are each of a type selected from a group consisting of words, phrases, position-independent alphanumeric characters, position-dependent alphanumeric characters, numbers of alphanumeric characters in text of a data Item, value ranges, alphabetical ranges, graphical symbols, and pictures.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

h) creating a set of previously chosen ItemSelectors consisting of all ItemSelectors previously chosen by the user that have not been withdrawn;

i) adding an ItemSelector chosen by the user to the set of previously chosen ItemSelectors to form a set of previously chosen ItemSelectors;

j) presenting, responsive to the set of presently chosen ItemSelectors, a modified collection of ItemSelectors to the user for further selection.