Logical and constraint based browse hierarchy with propagation features
US6834282B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 18, 2001 |
| Grant date | Dec 21, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 17, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F16/9027
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A logical and constraint-based hierarchical approach provides a highly flexible and expressive way in which to browse items stored in a database. The logical and constraint-based approach permits a user to create an arbitrary number of hierarchical representations of the items in a database. The approach permits items to be logically grouped on one level and grouped based on attribute/value constraints on the next. The hierarchical representation consists of nodes that are related to one another in a tree-like structure starting with a root node. Each node has a unique label, preferably indicative of the items in the database that it represents. Each node has a list of the labels of the nodes that are its children. Each node can only be the child of one parent node. Nodes may optionally express constraints based on attributes and their values that serve to define the scope of database items that fall under the node in the hierarchy. Each node inherits the constraints of its ancestors and therefore the scope of items in a database that that fall underneath a given node are defined by the aggregation of the constraints from the given node up to and including the root. A node that doe…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.