Patent US6976053B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6976053B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method for using agents to create a computer index corresponding to the contents of networked computers
Assignee: ARCESSA PARTNERS LLC
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Filing: 2000-05-23
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Granted: 2005-12-13
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Expires: 2020-05-23
Abstract
Abstract A search engine utilizes a bottom-up approach to index the content of a network with agent programs running on each host computer instead of relying on a top-down approach as used by conventional search engines. A central catalog of object references is compiled on the central site or sites from the meta data reported from each web site. One or more brochure files may also be created and stored on each web site to provide conceptual or non-key-word data about the site, such as target demographics and categorization information. This conceptual information is then utilized in constructing the central catalog so that more accurate search results may be generated for search queries applied to the catalog.
Inventors
- 👤 Gary W. Tripp
- 👤 Michael D. Meadway
- 👤 Claude E. Duguay
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 20:49
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/90; G06F16/95; G06F16/951; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99941; Y10S707/99943; Y10S707/99944
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 42
Claim 1
Independent Claim
125 words
A method for constructing a catalog of object references corresponding to objects stored within a network, the network including a plurality of interconnected computers with at least one computer storing the catalog, each computer storing the catalog being designated a cataloging site, and the other computers on the network storing a plurality of objects and being designated source sites, the method comprising: running on each source site an agent program which processes the contents of objects stored on the source site and generates meta data for each processed object which describes the object; transmitting the generated meta data from each host site to at least one cataloging site; and aggregating the transmitted meta data at each cataloging site to generate the catalog of object references.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
125 words
A method for constructing a catalog of object references corresponding to objects stored within a network, the network including a plurality of interconnected computers with at least one computer storing the catalog, each computer storing the catalog being designated a cataloging site, and the other computers on the network storing a plurality of objects and being designated source sites, the method comprising: running on each source site an agent program which processes the contents of objects stored on the source site and generates meta data for each processed object which describes the object; transmitting the generated meta data from each host site to at least one cataloging site; and aggregating the transmitted meta data at each cataloging site to generate the catalog of object references.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 1 wherein at least one source site is also a cataloging site.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the transmitted meta data further comprises a command to the cataloging site operable to instruct the cataloging site.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 1 wherein transmitting the assembled meta data comprises transmitting differential meta data indicating changes in current meta data relative to previous meta data.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the agent program creates meta data only for selected objects on the source site, the selected objects selected by user input.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the agent program creates meta data only for selected objects on the source site, the selected objects selected by a computer algorithm.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the contents of at least some of the objects stored on a source site comprises nontextual data and the meta data comprises one or more vectors extracted from the contents.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 7 wherein the nontextual data comprise one or more digital image files and the vectors for each object stored on a source site correspond to features in the image file.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 7 wherein the nontextual data comprise one or more digital audio files and the vectors for each object stored on a source site correspond to frequency domain analysis of the audio file.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the agent program comprises a utility program that is resident in an operating system on the corresponding source site.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
101 words
A method for constructing a catalog of object references on a cataloging computer on a computer network, the computer network further including a plurality of interconnected source computers, comprising: running on each source computer an agent program which accesses a file system structure of the source computer and creates a data set which specifies the file system structure; transmitting at the initiation of each source computer the data set from the source computer to the cataloging computer; and processing the transmitted data sets at the cataloging computer to generate the catalog of object references that correspond to the transmitted data sets.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
101 words
A method for constructing a catalog of object references on a cataloging computer on a computer network, the computer network further including a plurality of interconnected source computers, comprising: running on each source computer an agent program which accesses a file system structure of the source computer and creates a data set which specifies the file system structure; transmitting at the initiation of each source computer the data set from the source computer to the cataloging computer; and processing the transmitted data sets at the cataloging computer to generate the catalog of object references that correspond to the transmitted data sets.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 11 wherein the file system structure comprises a plurality of directory entries for files stored on the corresponding source computer.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 11 wherein each source computer is also a cataloging computer.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 11 wherein the transmitted data further comprises a command to the cataloging computer operable to instruct the cataloging computer.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 11 wherein transmitting the data comprises transmitting differential data indicating changes in a current data set relative to a previous data set.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 11 wherein only a portion of the file system structure is selected.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 11 wherein only a portion of the file system structure is selected by user input.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 11 wherein only a portion of the file system structure is selected by a computer algorithm.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 11 wherein the agent program comprises a utility program that is resident in an operating system on the corresponding source computer.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
79 words
A method for constructing a catalog of object references to objects on a site in a network, the network including a plurality of sites and the objects on the site not being accessible to other sites on the network, comprising; running on the site a agent program that generates meta data from the contents of objects on the site, and assembling the meta data to construct the catalog of object references that correspond to the contents of the objects.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
79 words
A method for constructing a catalog of object references to objects on a site in a network, the network including a plurality of sites and the objects on the site not being accessible to other sites on the network, comprising; running on the site a agent program that generates meta data from the contents of objects on the site, and assembling the meta data to construct the catalog of object references that correspond to the contents of the objects.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 20 wherein the catalog is stored on the same site as the objects.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 20 wherein the catalog is assembled on a central site which is not the site where the objects are located.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 20 wherein object references remain in the catalog although an object corresponding to an object reference no longer exists.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 20 wherein the catalog comprises object references to objects stored on a plurality of sites, the object references aggregated and stored on a central site.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 20 wherein the agent program creates meta data only for selected objects on the site, the selected objects being selected by user input.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 20 wherein the meta data further comprises a command operable to instruct the site.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 20 wherein the contents of at least some of the objects comprises nontextual data.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 20 wherein the agent program comprises a utility program that is resident in an operating system on the site.
Claim 32
Independent Claim
114 words
A method for constructing a catalog of object references from objects stored within a network, the network including a plurality of interconnected computers with one computer storing the catalog and being designated a cataloging site and each of the other computers storing a plurality of objects and being designated a source site, the method comprising: receiving at the cataloging site, meta data about objects stored on each source site, the meta data generated by an agent program stored on each source site, the agent program processing objects stored on the host site and generating corresponding meta data; and processing the received meta data at the cataloging site to generate the catalog of object references.
Claim 33
Independent Claim
114 words
A method for constructing a catalog of object references from objects stored within a network, the network including a plurality of interconnected computers with one computer storing the catalog and being designated a cataloging site and each of the other computers storing a plurality of objects and being designated a source site, the method comprising: receiving at the cataloging site, meta data about objects stored on each source site, the meta data generated by an agent program stored on each source site, the agent program processing objects stored on the host site and generating corresponding meta data; and processing the received meta data at the cataloging site to generate the catalog of object references.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 29 wherein the transmitted meta data further comprises a command to the cataloging site operable to instruct the cataloging site.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 29 wherein the agent program creates meta data only for selected objects on the source site, the selected objects being selected by user input.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 29 wherein the agent program comprises a utility program that is resident in an operating system on the corresponding source site.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
92 words
A computer-readable medium containing computer-executable instructions for constructing a catalog of object references about objects stored on a source site in a network, the network including a plurality of sites, the objects on the source site not being accessible to other sites on the network, the computer-executable instructions operable for: running an agent program for generating meta data corresponding to the contents of objects on the source site, and assembling said meta data to construct a catalog of object references, wherein the catalog is stored on the same site as the objects.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
92 words
A computer-readable medium containing computer-executable instructions for constructing a catalog of object references about objects stored on a source site in a network, the network including a plurality of sites, the objects on the source site not being accessible to other sites on the network, the computer-executable instructions operable for: running an agent program for generating meta data corresponding to the contents of objects on the source site, and assembling said meta data to construct a catalog of object references, wherein the catalog is stored on the same site as the objects.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
24 words
The computer-readable medium of claim 33 wherein object references remain in the catalog although an object relating to an object reference no longer exists.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
31 words
The computer-readable medium of claim 33 wherein the catalog comprises object references to objects stored on a plurality of sites, these object references being aggregated and stored on a central site.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
29 words
The computer-readable medium of claim 33 wherein the agent program creates meta data only for selected objects on the source site, the selected objects being selected by user input.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
20 words
The computer-readable medium of claim 33 wherein the meta data further comprises a command operable to instruct the source site.
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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) | 2008-12-12 | 2009-06-13 | 2009-12-13 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2012-12-12 | 2013-06-13 | 2013-12-13 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2016-12-12 | 2017-06-13 | 2017-12-13 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |