Information management system

• US 6,424,968 B1
• Filed: 11/24/1998
• Issued: 07/23/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Inventors: Patel, Dipak, Broster, Ian, Maidment, Duncan, King, Alan John, Clough, Paul, Casson, Garry, Worsley, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Veillard, Jacques
• Application Number:
  US09/194,188
• Publication Number:
  US 20020073056A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,337 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/2, 707/3, 707/4, 707/5, 707/10, 707/101, 707/102, 707/104, 707/9, 709/201, 709/203, 709/204, 709/217, 709/229
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2216/01 Automatic library building
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• 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 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

An information management system is provided including a database and one or more data retrieval tools, a data retrieval tool being arranged to retrieve information according to registered interests of users of the system and to store data in the database relating to the information retrieved. User interests may be stored in the database as user profiles comprising one or more keywords. In addition, projects may be defined, each project having a profile stored within the system. A user interface enables a user to enter user and project profile or other information, and a data input tool is provided to generate from the user input one or more data sets for storage as profiles in the database, Control means are provided to take user input, submit it to the data input tool and to supply data sets generated and stored thereby to the data retrieval tool for use in searching and locating relevant information. A user may also manually select, from output by a data retrieval tool, information for persistent storage in relation to the user'"'"'s profile or in relation to one or more projects to which the user has appropriate access. The control means may be arranged to control access by users to view or modify projects and to share associated information.

Claims

1. An information management system for a plurality of users, the system comprising:

i) at least one user interface for receiving user input information;

ii) data storage means;

iii) a data input tool for generating an information profile from user input information received at the user interface, and for storing said information profile in the data storage means;

iv) means for generating and storing user profiles, each user profile comprising at least one keyword allocated to a respective user;

v) at least one data retrieval tool for locating information in accordance with an information profile generated by the data input tool, for storing data relating to information so located, and for searching data so stored in accordance with at least one user profile; and

vi) control means for receiving said user inputs and for running one or more of said tools

wherein the control means are arranged, in use, to receive said user input information, to run the data input tool to generate and store an information profile from said user input information, and to input said information profile to the data retrieval tool to locate information in accordance with said information profile.

2. An information management system according to claim 1 wherein the control means further comprise means to log user identity information against an information profile generated from information input by that user.

3. An information management system according to claim 1 wherein the control means are arranged to give access to said information profile and/or information thereby located, only to the user providing said user input information.

4. An information management system according to claim 1 wherein the control means give access to additional users, but not the capability to modify said information profile and/or information thereby located.

5. An information management system according to claim 1 wherein the control means are arranged to maintain, under the control of an owner of an information profile, a register of identifiers for other users having access to information located in accordance with the information profile, the owner having unique control over the contents of the register.

6. An information management system according to claim 1 further comprising user selection means for selecting results output by the data retrieval tool in accordance with a respective user profile, the selected results being persistently stored.

7. An information management system according to claim 6 wherein the selected results are persistently stored in relation to the respective user, and/or persistently stored in relation to an information profile used by the data retrieval tool to locate the results.

8. An information management system according to claim 1 wherein the data retrieval tool includes means for calculating a measure of relevance for information located in accordance with an information profile and for outputting said measure of relevance when reporting information so located.

9. An information management system according to claim 8 wherein said measure of relevance is applied in a discrete rather than a continuous way such that it can be used to separate search results into two or more sets, the first set being strongly relevant to a request and the second layer being weakly relevant to the request.