US5652880A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Apparatus and method for storing, retrieving and presenting objects with rich links
Assignee: Cascade Parent Ltd
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Filing: 1994-09-01
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Granted: 1997-07-29
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Expires: 2014-09-01
Abstract
Abstract A method and apparatus for managing and sub-classifying units of data (objects) through the use of codified linkages between objects and for querying and presenting such objects, their linkages, and the codified data concerning their linkages. The query and presentation method is called Query-By-Outline (QBO). The method of retrieving and displaying interrelated data stored according to class memberships, linkages between individual objects, or linkages between classes, upon identification of an object of interest, including the steps of (1) creating an inventory of related objects related to the object of interest, the inventory including information about the objects themselves as well as relationship information about their relationships to the object of interest; (2) developing an arrangement of the inventory making use of the relationship information as well as information about the related objects themselves; (3) simplifying the arrangement for presentation by intelligently grouping the inventory into groups determined at least in part by the relationship information and the information about the related objects; and (4) displaying the arrangement.
Inventors
- 👤 Gerald C. Seagraves
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 20:37
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/20; G06F16/21; G06F16/217; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99941; Y10S707/99944
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
148 words
A computer implemented method of retrieving and displaying interrelated data stored according to class memberships, linkages between individual objects, or linkages between classes, upon identification of an object of interest, comprising: retrieving information related to objects related to said object of interest wherein at least one related object is related to said object of interest by a rich link data structure; accessing the rich link data structure to retrieve rich link relationship information including information associated with both the object of interest and the related object; developing an arrangement of said related objects making use of the relationship information as well as information about said related objects themselves; simplifying said arrangement for presentation by grouping said related objects into groups subordinate to said object of interest and determined at least in part by said relationship information and said information about said related objects; and displaying said simplified arrangement.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
148 words
A computer implemented method of retrieving and displaying interrelated data stored according to class memberships, linkages between individual objects, or linkages between classes, upon identification of an object of interest, comprising: retrieving information related to objects related to said object of interest wherein at least one related object is related to said object of interest by a rich link data structure; accessing the rich link data structure to retrieve rich link relationship information including information associated with both the object of interest and the related object; developing an arrangement of said related objects making use of the relationship information as well as information about said related objects themselves; simplifying said arrangement for presentation by grouping said related objects into groups subordinate to said object of interest and determined at least in part by said relationship information and said information about said related objects; and displaying said simplified arrangement.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
156 words
A computer implemented method of retrieving and displaying interrelated data stored according to class memberships, linkages between individual objects, or linkages between classes, upon identification of an object of interest, comprising: retrieving information related to objects related to said object of interest wherein at least one related object is related to said object of interest by a rich link data structure; accessing the rich link data structure to retrieve relationship information including information associated with both the object of interest and the related object; developing an arrangement of said related objects making use of the relationship information retrieved from the rich link data structure as well as information about said related objects themselves; simplifying said arrangement for presentation by grouping said related objects into groups subordinate to said object of interest and determined at least in part by said relationship information and said information about said related objects; and displaying an outline of said simplified arrangement.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
156 words
A computer implemented method of retrieving and displaying interrelated data stored according to class memberships, linkages between individual objects, or linkages between classes, upon identification of an object of interest, comprising: retrieving information related to objects related to said object of interest wherein at least one related object is related to said object of interest by a rich link data structure; accessing the rich link data structure to retrieve relationship information including information associated with both the object of interest and the related object; developing an arrangement of said related objects making use of the relationship information retrieved from the rich link data structure as well as information about said related objects themselves; simplifying said arrangement for presentation by grouping said related objects into groups subordinate to said object of interest and determined at least in part by said relationship information and said information about said related objects; and displaying an outline of said simplified arrangement.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
218 words
A computer implemented method of retrieving and displaying interrelated data stored according to class memberships, linkages between individual objects, or linkages between classes, upon identification of an object of interest, comprising: retrieving information related to objects related to said object of interest wherein at least one related object is related to said object of interest by a rich link data structure; accessing the rich link data structure go retrieve relationship information including information associated with both the object of interest and the related object; developing an arrangement of said related objects making use of the relationship information retrieved from the rich link data structure as well as information about said related objects themselves; simplifying said arrangements for presentation by grouping said related objects into groups subordinate to said object of interest and determined at least in part by said relationship information and said information about said related objects; displaying an outline of said simplified arrangement; and responding to an identification of a second object of interest by redisplaying said outline of said simplified arrangement to show the relationship between said second object of interest and the other related objects which may include the original object of interest, wherein the other related objects which may include the original object of interest are subordinate to said second object of interest.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
218 words
A computer implemented method of retrieving and displaying interrelated data stored according to class memberships, linkages between individual objects, or linkages between classes, upon identification of an object of interest, comprising: retrieving information related to objects related to said object of interest wherein at least one related object is related to said object of interest by a rich link data structure; accessing the rich link data structure go retrieve relationship information including information associated with both the object of interest and the related object; developing an arrangement of said related objects making use of the relationship information retrieved from the rich link data structure as well as information about said related objects themselves; simplifying said arrangements for presentation by grouping said related objects into groups subordinate to said object of interest and determined at least in part by said relationship information and said information about said related objects; displaying an outline of said simplified arrangement; and responding to an identification of a second object of interest by redisplaying said outline of said simplified arrangement to show the relationship between said second object of interest and the other related objects which may include the original object of interest, wherein the other related objects which may include the original object of interest are subordinate to said second object of interest.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
179 words
A computer implemented method of retrieving and displaying interrelated data store according to class memberships, linkages between individual objects, or linkages between classes, upon identification of an object of interest, comprising: retrieving information related to objects related to said object of interest wherein at least one related object is related to said object of interest by a rich link data structure; accessing the rich link data structure to retrieve relationship information including information associated with both the object of interest and the related object; developing an arrangement of said related objects making use of the relationship information retrieved from the rich link data structure as well as information about said related objects themselves; simplifying said arrangement for presentation by grouping said related objects into groups subordinate to said object of interest and determined at least in part by said relationship information and said information about said related objects; and displaying an outline of said simplified arrangement, the outline using syntax to reflect at least one aspect of the nature of the relationship between the objects in said simplified arrangement.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
179 words
A computer implemented method of retrieving and displaying interrelated data store according to class memberships, linkages between individual objects, or linkages between classes, upon identification of an object of interest, comprising: retrieving information related to objects related to said object of interest wherein at least one related object is related to said object of interest by a rich link data structure; accessing the rich link data structure to retrieve relationship information including information associated with both the object of interest and the related object; developing an arrangement of said related objects making use of the relationship information retrieved from the rich link data structure as well as information about said related objects themselves; simplifying said arrangement for presentation by grouping said related objects into groups subordinate to said object of interest and determined at least in part by said relationship information and said information about said related objects; and displaying an outline of said simplified arrangement, the outline using syntax to reflect at least one aspect of the nature of the relationship between the objects in said simplified arrangement.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 4 wherein at least one aspect of the nature of the relationship of the objects in said simplified arrangement is temporal.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 4 wherein at least one aspect of the nature of the relationship of the objects in said simplified arrangement is possessive.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 4 wherein at least one aspect of the nature of the relationship of the objects in said simplified arrangement is pluralization.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
155 words
A computer implemented method of storing and subsequently displaying interrelated data stored according to class memberships, linkages between individual objects, or linkages between classes, comprising: retrieving information related to objects related to said object; of interest wherein at least one related object is related to said object of interest by a rich link data structure; accessing the rich link data structure to retrieve relationship information including information associated with both the object of interest and the related object; developing an arrangement of said related objects making use of the relationship information retrieved from the rich link data structure as well as information about said related objects themselves; classifying said relationship information into relationship classifications, each of which is subordinate to said object of interest; attaching to each of the relationship classifications data pertinent to that classification of said relationship; displaying said interrelated data including said relationship classifications and their attached data; and displaying said arrangement.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
155 words
A computer implemented method of storing and subsequently displaying interrelated data stored according to class memberships, linkages between individual objects, or linkages between classes, comprising: retrieving information related to objects related to said object; of interest wherein at least one related object is related to said object of interest by a rich link data structure; accessing the rich link data structure to retrieve relationship information including information associated with both the object of interest and the related object; developing an arrangement of said related objects making use of the relationship information retrieved from the rich link data structure as well as information about said related objects themselves; classifying said relationship information into relationship classifications, each of which is subordinate to said object of interest; attaching to each of the relationship classifications data pertinent to that classification of said relationship; displaying said interrelated data including said relationship classifications and their attached data; and displaying said arrangement.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2000-07-28 | 2001-01-27 | 2001-07-29 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2004-07-28 | 2005-01-27 | 2005-07-29 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2008-07-28 | 2009-01-27 | 2009-07-29 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |