DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20110099338A1
• Filed: 08/29/2007
• Published: 04/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cilag Gmbh International (Johnson & Johnson)
• Original Assignee: LifeScan Scotland Limited (Johnson & Johnson)
• Inventors: Esser, Mario, Jetter, Thomas, Binz, Joachim, Muller-Pathle, Stephan, Ebner, Manfred
• Granted Patent: US 8,762,624 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/154
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0246 in block erasable memory, e.g. flash memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/90348 by searching ordered data, e.g. alpha-numerically ordered data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/1044 Space efficiency improvement
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/7202 Allocation control and policies
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation

Abstract

The present invention relates to a data management system and method for storing a plurality of data records (10) including data records of at least two different category types in a non-volatile memory section (12) divided into a plurality of sequentially arranged memory locations. By means of a storage controller (228), the data records (10), each comprising an indication (20) of its category type and a time stamp (21), are sequentially stored one by one in the order of receipt into memory locations indicated by a cyclic write pointer (26) that is incremented following storage of each data record (10) such that each memory location storing a data record stores exactly one data, record (10). For each data record (10) its category type is determined based on its category type indication (20), and a new node (34) associated with the data record (10) is added to a linked list that is stored in a volatile memory section (32) for the determined category type of the data record (10), such that upon storing all received data records (10) there is a separate linked list stored in the volatile memory section (32) for each category type included in the plurality of data records (10), wherein for each such linked list the nodes (34) are only associated with data records (10) of the same category type and the sequence of the nodes (34) is such that the associated data records (10) are temporally sorted according to their time stamp.

Claims

1. A data management system comprising:

a first non-volatile memory section (12) divided into a plurality of sequentially arranged memory locations, each identified by an address (14) and including a first memory location at one end of the first non-volatile memory section (12) and a last memory location at the opposite end thereof,

a volatile memory section (32), and

a storage controller (228) operably connected to the first non-volatile memory section (12) and the volatile memory section (32) and adapted to

receive a plurality of data records (10) including data records of at least two different category types, wherein each data record (10) comprises a data value (16), an indication (20) of the category type of the data record (10), and a time stamp (21) including a time information,

determine the category type of each received data record (10) on the basis of the indication (20) of the category type of the respective data record (10),

sequentially store one by one the data records (10) in the order they are received in the first non-volatile memory section (12) by storing each data record (10) into a memory location indicated by a write pointer (26) that is maintained by the storage controller (228) and that is incremented after each storage of a data record (10) to

indicate, in the direction from the first memory location towards the last memory location, the next memory location or

in case the last data record was stored into the last memory location, the first memory location,

so that each memory location storing a data record (10) stores exactly one data record (10),

for each received data record (10) add a new node (34) associated with the respective data record (10) to a linked list that is stored in the volatile memory section (32) for the determined category type of the respective data record (10), such that upon storing all received data records (10) there is a separate linked list stored in the volatile memory section (32) for each category type included in the plurality of data records (10), wherein for each such linked list the nodes (34) are only associated with data records (10) of the same category type and the sequence of the nodes (34) is such that the associated data records (10) are temporally sorted according to their time stamp (21).

2. The data management system according to claim 1, wherein the storage controller (228) is adapted to determine for each data record (10) to be stored in the first non-volatile memory section (12) whether there is already a linked list stored in the volatile memory section (32) for the determined category type of the respective data record (10), and if there is no such linked list to allocate a fresh linked list and to add the new node (34) associated with the respective data record (10) to the fresh linked list.

3. The data management system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the volatile memory section (32) comprises a plurality of sequentially arranged memory locations, each linked by a predetermined relationship stored in the storage controller (228) to exactly one memory location of the first non-volatile memory section (12), wherein the storage controller (228) is adapted to add a new node (34) to a linked list by storing the node (34) in the memory location of the volatile memory section (32) that is linked by the predetermined relationship to the memory location of the first non-volatile memory section (12) in which the data record (10) associated with the respective node (34) is stored.

4. The data management system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the storage controller (228) is adapted to receive an input signal indicating that a data record (10) stored in the first non-volatile memory section (12) is to be deleted, and is adapted to delete the data record (10) from the first non-volatile memory section (12) by manipulating at least one bit within the memory location of the first non-volatile memory section (12) in which memory location the data record (10) is stored in order to indicate that the memory location does not include a valid data record, and by removing the node (34) associated with the data record (10) from the corresponding linked list stored in the volatile memory section (32).

5. The data management system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the storage controller (228) is adapted to receive an input signal indicating that and in which manner a data record (10) stored in the first non-volatile memory section (12) is to be changed, and is adapted to

store the changed data record (10) in the memory location of the first non-volatile memory section (12) currently indicated by the write pointer (26),

to manipulate at least one bit within the memory location of the first non-volatile memory section (12) in which memory location the original data record (10) is stored in order to indicate that the memory location does not include a valid data record, and

to change the node (34) associated with the data record (10) to reflect the change of the memory location in the first non-volatile memory section (12) in which memory location the data record (10) is stored.

6. The data management system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first non-volatile memory section (12) is erasable but not over-writable and has a plurality of memory sectors that constitute the smallest erasable unit and have to be erased before being rewritten, wherein each memory sector comprises a plurality of the memory locations.

7. The data management system according to claim 6, wherein the first non-volatile memory section (12) is a flash memory.

8. The data management system according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the storage controller (228) is further adapted to determine prior to effecting storage of any data record (10) whether the write pointer (26) indicates the first memory location of a memory sector and whether this memory location is occupied, and, if the write pointer (26) indicates the first memory location of a memory sector and if this memory location is occupied, to erase this memory sector prior to storing the data record (10).

9. The data management system according to any of the preceding claims, further adapted to maintain an occupation pointer (24) that indicates the memory location among the occupied memory locations of the first non-volatile memory section (12) for which the longest time period has elapsed since storage of the corresponding data record (10) was effected, and adapted to update the occupation pointer (24) whenever an erasing operation on the first non-volatile memory section (12) is performed.

10. The data management system according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a second non-volatile memory section (22) operably connected to the storage controller (228), wherein the storage controller (228) is adapted to maintain the write pointer (26) within the second non-volatile memory section (22).

11. The data management system according to claims 8 and 9, wherein the storage controller (228) is adapted to maintain the occupation pointer (24) within the second non-volatile memory section (22).

12. The data management system according to claim 10 or claim 11, wherein said second non-volatile memory section (22) is an electrically erasable programmable read only memory.

13. The data management system according to any of the preceding claims, further adapted to maintain within the volatile memory section (32) for each linked list stored therein

a first pointer (44) indicating the node (34), associated with the data record (10) among the data records (10) associated with the respective linked list, having the earliest time stamp (21),

a last pointer (46) indicating the node (34), associated with the data record (10) among the data records (10) associated with the respective linked list, having the most recent time stamp (21), and/or

a last inserted pointer (54) indicating the node (34), associated with the data record (10) among the data records (10) associated with the respective linked list, that was stored most recently into the first non-volatile memory section (12).

14. The data management system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein each linked list stored in the volatile memory section (32) is a doubly linked list.

15. The data management system according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a data logging means operably connected to the storage controller (228) and to at least one data generating device, wherein the data logging means is adapted to

receive data records (10) from the at least one device and to communicate the data records (10) to the storage controller (228) for storage and/or

to receive data from the at least one device, to generate data records (10) on the basis of the received data, and to communicate the data records (10) to the storage controller (228) for storage,

each data record (10) comprising a data value (16), an indication (20) of the category type of the data record (10), and a time stamp (21) including a time information.

16. The data management system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the data management system is included in a glucose meter (200) of a blood glucose system, the blood glucose system comprising a blood glucose sensing means incorporated into the glucose meter or into a separate device, wherein the blood glucose sensing means includes a transmitter and is adapted to transmit by means of the transmitter data records (10) including a data value (16) characteristic of the blood glucose concentration determined during a measurement and a time stamp (21) indicating a time at which this measurement was performed to the storage controller (228) for storage.

17. The data management system according to claim 16, wherein the blood glucose system comprises an insulin pump (300) that includes a transmitter and is adapted to transmit by means of the transmitter data records (10) to the storage controller (228) for storage.

18. The data management system according to claim 16 or claim 17, wherein the category type (20) is a value chosen from the group consisting of an episodic glucose concentration, a continuous glucose concentration, a basal pump rate, and a bolus amount.

19. The data management system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the plurality of sequentially arranged memory locations, into which the first non-volatile memory section (12), is divided are equally sized.

20. The data management system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the volatile memory section (32) is a random access memory.

21. The data management system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the storage controller (228) includes a microprocessor that is programmed to automatically effect the operations of the data management system according to any of claims 1 to 20 in order to effect storage of the plurality of data records (10).

22. A data management method for storing a plurality of data records (10) including data records of at least two different category types, wherein each data record (10) comprises a data value (16), an indication (20) of the category type of the data record (10), and a time stamp (21) including a time information, in a first non-volatile memory section (12) divided into a plurality of sequentially arranged memory locations, each identified by an address (14) and including a first memory location at one end of the first non-volatile memory section (12) and a last memory location at the opposite end of the first non-volatile memory section (12), the method comprising the following steps:

receiving the plurality of data records (10),

determining the category type of each received data record (10) on the basis of the indication (20) of the category type of the respective data record (10),

sequentially storing the data records (10) one by one in the order they are received in the first non-volatile memory section (12) by storing each data record (10) into a memory location indicated by a write pointer (26) that is incremented after each storage of a data record (10) to

indicate, in the direction from the first memory location towards the last memory location, the next memory location or

in case the last data record was stored into the last memory location, the first memory location,

so that each memory location storing a data record stores exactly one data record (10),

for each received data record (10) adding a new node (34) associated with the respective data record (10) to a linked list that is stored in a volatile memory section (32) for the determined category type of the respective data record (10), such that upon storing all received data records (10) there is a separate linked list stored in the volatile memory section (32) for each category type included in the plurality of data records (10), wherein for each such linked list the nodes (34) are only associated with data records (10) of the same category type and the sequence of the nodes (34) is such that the associated data records (10) are temporally sorted according to their time stamp (21).

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising the steps of determining for each data record (10) to be stored in the first non-volatile memory section (12) whether there is already a linked list stored in the volatile memory section (32) for the determined category type of the respective data record (10), and if there is no such linked list allocating a fresh linked list and adding the new node (34) associated with the respective data record (10) to the fresh linked list.

24. The method according to claim 22 or claim 23, wherein the volatile memory section (32) comprises a plurality of sequentially arranged memory locations, each linked by a predetermined relationship to exactly one memory location of the first non-volatile memory section (12), wherein the method further comprises the steps of adding a new node (34) to a linked list by storing the node (34) in the memory location of the volatile memory section (32) that is linked by the predetermined relationship to the memory location of the first non-volatile memory section (12) in which the data record (10) associated with the respective node (34) is stored.

25. The method according to any of claims 22 to 24, further comprising the steps of

receiving an input signal indicating that a data record stored in the first non-volatile memory section (12) is to be deleted, and

deleting the data record (10) from the first non-volatile memory section (12) by manipulating at least one bit within the memory location of the first non-volatile memory section (12) in which memory location the data record (10) is stored in order to indicate that the memory location does not include a valid data record, and by removing the node (34) associated with the data record (10) from the corresponding linked list stored in the volatile memory section (32).

26. The method according to any of claims 22 to 25, further comprising the steps of

receiving an input signal indicating that and in which manner a data record (10) stored in the first non-volatile memory section (12) is to be changed,

storing the changed data record (10) in the memory location of the first non-volatile memory section (12) currently indicated by the write pointer (26),

manipulating at least one bit within the memory location of the first non-volatile memory section (12) in which memory location the original data record (10) is stored in order to indicate that the memory location does not include a valid data record, and

changing the node (34) associated with the data record (10) to reflect the change of the memory location in the first non-volatile memory section (12) in which memory location the data record (10) is stored.

27. The method according to any of claims 22 to 26, wherein the first non-volatile memory section (12) is erasable but not over-writable and has a plurality of memory sectors that constitute the smallest erasable unit and have to be erased before being rewritten, wherein each memory sector comprises a plurality of the memory locations.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the first non-volatile memory section (12) is a flash memory.

29. The method according to claim 27 or claim 28, further comprising the steps of determining prior to effecting storage of any data record (10) whether the write pointer (26) indicates the first memory location of a memory sector and whether this memory location is occupied, and, if the write pointer (26) indicates the first memory location of a memory sector and if this memory location is occupied, erasing this memory sector prior to storing the data record (10).

30. The method according to any of claims 22 to 29, wherein an occupation pointer (24) is maintained that indicates the memory location among the occupied memory locations of the first non-volatile memory section (12) for which the longest time period has elapsed since storage of the corresponding data record (10) was effected, and that is updated whenever an erasing operation on the first non-volatile memory section (12) is performed.

31. The method according to any of claims 22 to 30, wherein the write pointer (26) is maintained within a second non-volatile memory section (22).

32. The method according to any claims 30 and 31, wherein the occupation pointer (24) is maintained within the second non-volatile memory section (22).

33. The method according to claim 31 or claim 32, wherein the second non-volatile memory section (22) is an electrically erasable programmable read only memory.

34. The method according to any of claims 22 to 33, wherein for each linked list stored within the volatile memory section (32)

a first pointer (44) indicating the node (34), associated with the data record (10) among the data records (10) associated with the respective linked list, having the earliest time stamp (21),

a last pointer (46) indicating the node (34), associated with the data record (10) among the data records (10) associated with the respective linked list, having the most recent time stamp (21), and/or

a last inserted pointer (54) indicating the node (34), associated with the data record (10) among the data records (10) associated with the respective linked list, that was stored most recently into the first non-volatile memory section (12)

is maintained within the volatile memory section (32).

35. The method according to any of claims 22 to 34, wherein each linked list stored in the volatile memory section (32) is a doubly linked list.

36. The method according to any claims 22 to 35, further comprising the following steps:

generating the plurality of data records (10) at least one data generating device, transmitting the plurality of data records (10) with the at least one data generating device, and receiving the plurality of data records (10) for storage and/or

generating data corresponding to the plurality of data records (10) at least one data generating device, transmitting the data with the at least one data generating device, receiving the data, generating the plurality of data records (10) on the basis of the received data, and receiving the plurality of data records (10) for storage.

37. The method according to any of claims 22 to 36, the method steps are performed by the components of a blood glucose system that includes a glucose meter (200) comprising a storage controller (228), a blood glucose sensing means incorporated into the glucose meter or into a separate device, wherein the blood glucose sensing means includes a transmitter and the method further comprises the following steps:

generating data records (10) including a data value (16) characteristic of the blood glucose concentration determined during a measurement and a time stamp (21) indicating a time at which this measurement was performed, and

transmitting the data records (10) as part of the plurality of data records (10) to the storage controller (228) for storage.

38. The method according to claim 37, wherein the blood glucose system comprises an insulin pump (300) that includes a transmitter and wherein the method further comprises the following steps:

generating data records (10) including a data value (16) characteristic of a pump parameter and a time stamp (21) indicating a time at which the parameter value was measured, and

transmitting the data records (10) as part of the plurality of data records (10) to the storage controller (228) for storage.

39. The method according to claim 37 or claim 38, wherein the category type (20) is a value chosen from the group consisting of an episodic glucose concentration, a continuous glucose concentration, a basal pump rate, and a bolus amount.

40. The method according to any of claims 22 to 39, wherein the plurality of sequentially arranged memory locations, into which the first non-volatile memory section (12), is divided are equally sized.

41. The method according to any of claims 22 to 39, wherein the volatile memory (32) section is a random access memory.

42. The method according to any of claims 22 to 41, wherein some or all of the method steps are performed by means of a suitably programmed computer (228).