Method and apparatus for generating and utilizing qualifiers and qualified taxonomy tables
US7725471B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 21, 2005 |
| Grant date | May 25, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 22, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S707/99943
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An embodiment of the invention comprises a method and apparatus for structuring, storing and retrieving data in database systems utilizing relational objects referred to as qualifiers. Catalog data are segregated into one or more primary tables (e.g., main tables), one or more lookup tables, and one or more qualified lookup tables following a predefined set of categories and a taxonomy. Qualified lookup tables comprise a special type of fields referred to as qualifiers. Searches are conducted in embodiments of the invention by determining a set of lookup fields, performing a lookup in one or more lookup tables, and retrieving data values which include association values with records that belong to one or more primary tables. The qualifiers are then used to narrow the search space by selecting only those values that satisfy the selection criteria with regard to the qualifiers. In embodiments of the invention, only a small set in the primary table are traversed to retrieve eligible records.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.