Patent US4611280A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US4611280A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Sorting method
Assignee: NCR Voyix Corp
•
Filing: 1984-03-12
•
Granted: 1986-09-09
•
Expires: 2004-03-12
Abstract
Abstract A sorting method for ordering information records according to the contents of one or more sort fields of the records. A sort key is the form of a character string is generated for each record according to a disclosed algorithm and the ordering of the records is performed according to a simple character-by-character sorting of the sort keys. Each of the sort fields may be of variable length and any sort field of any record may contain any number, including zero, of individual sort strings, referred to herein as sort objects.
Inventors
- 👤 John P. Linderman
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 22:51
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F7/00; G06F7/06; G06F7/08
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
233 words
A method of sorting information records in accordance with the contents of one or more specified sort fields for each record, in which any of the specified sort fields may contain any number of sort objects and in which sort objects may vary in length, the method comprising the steps of A. assigning for each successive specified sort field a next one of a set of lexicographically ordered field keys, B. generating a sort key for each record by B1. initializing the sort key to a prescribed initial state, B2. for a first sort field in the record containing at least one sort object, appending to the present sort key the assigned field key, B3. appending to the present sort key a character string derived from a first sort object of the field, the resulting appendage from steps B2 and B3 having the characteristic that it is not a valid prefix of a character string derived from any other sort object in the corresponding sort field of another of the records, B4. repeating steps B2 and B3 for each sort object of the first sort field, repeating steps B2, B3 and B4 for each successive specified sort field, B5. appending to the present sort key a different terminating field key selected from the set of lexicographically ordered field keys, and C. ordering the records according to a lexicographic comparison of their sort keys.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
233 words
A method of sorting information records in accordance with the contents of one or more specified sort fields for each record, in which any of the specified sort fields may contain any number of sort objects and in which sort objects may vary in length, the method comprising the steps of A. assigning for each successive specified sort field a next one of a set of lexicographically ordered field keys, B. generating a sort key for each record by B1. initializing the sort key to a prescribed initial state, B2. for a first sort field in the record containing at least one sort object, appending to the present sort key the assigned field key, B3. appending to the present sort key a character string derived from a first sort object of the field, the resulting appendage from steps B2 and B3 having the characteristic that it is not a valid prefix of a character string derived from any other sort object in the corresponding sort field of another of the records, B4. repeating steps B2 and B3 for each sort object of the first sort field, repeating steps B2, B3 and B4 for each successive specified sort field, B5. appending to the present sort key a different terminating field key selected from the set of lexicographically ordered field keys, and C. ordering the records according to a lexicographic comparison of their sort keys.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
37 words
The invention of claim 1 wherein step (A) further comprises assigning successive field keys monotonically decreasing in value to successive ones of the specified sort fields for which records are to be ordered in an ascending direction.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
37 words
The invention of claim 1 wherein step (A) further comprises assigning successive field keys monotonically increasing in value to successive ones of the specified sort fields for which records are to be ordered in a descending direction.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
53 words
The invention of claim 1 wherein step (A) further comprises assigning field keys monotonically descreasing in value to successive ones of the specified sort fields for which records are to be ordered in an ascending direction, and assigning field keys monotonically increasing in value to successive ones of the remaining specified sort fields.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
38 words
The invention of claim 4 wherein step B5 further comprises the step of appending to the present sort key a terminating field key having a value between the values of the last assigned increasing and decreasing field keys.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
61 words
The invention of claim 1 wherein for ASCII encoded records, step B3 further comprises the steps of appending the contents of the sort object to the field key for ones of the sort fields for which sorting is to be in ascending lexicographic order, and appending immediately after the contents of the sort object a delimiter having a value of zero.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
70 words
The invention of claim 1 wherein for ASCII encoded records, step B3 further comprises the step of appending the complement of the contents of the sort object to the field key for ones of the sort fields for which sorting is to be in descending lexicographic order, and appending immediately after the contents of the sort object a delimiter having a value equal to the complement of the value zero.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
40 words
The invention of claim 1 wherein the step B3 further comprises determining if a sort object, if any, of the sort field is constrained to be of fixed length, and, if so, appending the contents of the present sort object.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
80 words
The invention of claim 1 wherein step B3 further comprises determining if a sort object, if any, is of fixed length, and if not, determining if the object is encoded in ASCII format, and, if not, encoding the sort object according to a prescribed algorithm, in which the resulting encoding satisfies the characteristic that it is not a valid prefix of a character string derived from any other sort object in the corresponding sort fields of another of the records.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
87 words
The invention of claim 9 wherein the step of encoding the sort object further comprises partitioning the sort object into a plurality of substrings each having a prescribed length, inserting a fill character containing all ones between consecutive substrings, in the last substring, appending a sufficient number of padding characters each having a value of 0 to make the length of the last substring equal to the prescribed length, and appending to the last substring a character specifying the number of nonpadding characters in the last substring.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3725875A
Cited
US3639728A
Cited
US4181954A
Cited
US3755780A
Cited
US4210961B1
Cited
US4210961A
Cited
US3772685A
Cited
US4064556A
Cited
US4030077A
Cited
US4031520A
Cited
US4145753A
Cited
US4209845A
Cited
US4101968A
Cited
US4181948A
Cited
US4295206A
Cited
US4303989A
Cited
US4358824A
Cited
US4414643A
Cited
US4417321A
Cited
US4510567A
Cited
US4470129A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1989-09-08 | 1990-03-10 | 1990-09-09 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1993-09-08 | 1994-03-10 | 1994-09-09 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1997-09-08 | 1998-03-10 | 1998-09-09 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |