Document Data Organization via Virtual Database Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing file+folder system and general document management systems fail to effectively manage and organize vast amounts of electronic documents in legal practice, lacking the ability to retain document originality, efficiently search and edit meta-data, and facilitate seamless data sharing among teams, leading to inadequate document review and intellectual production.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a database program for managing database files, a display program for visualizing data, and a viewer program for high-speed, continuous search, viewing, and editing of electronic documents, with a virtual database that loads data into memory for quick access and editing, allowing multiple users to work simultaneously without file locking and integrating edited data seamlessly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a file+folder system is used to store electronic documents, then document storage is simple, but efficient search, viewing, and editing of meta-data cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates document storage from meta-data management. Documents are stored in folders while meta-data (bibliographic information, notes, tags) are managed independently in a database structure. This segmentation allows efficient indexing and searching of meta-data without requiring complex file system operations, resolving the contradiction between simple storage and efficient access.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer (the database program and viewer program) between the file system and the user. This intermediary manages the connection between stored documents and their meta-data, enabling efficient search, view, and edit operations on meta-data without directly manipulating the file system, thus maintaining storage simplicity while improving access efficiency.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple users access document data simultaneously, then collaboration is improved, but file locking conflicts occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the data structure into master files (containing original document data) and user files (containing user-specific meta-data and notes). This segmentation allows multiple users to simultaneously access and edit different portions of the data without conflicting over the same file resources, enabling collaboration while avoiding file locking conflicts.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates copies of document data in different file formats and locations (master files in original format, user files in database format). Multiple users work on copies rather than the original files simultaneously, which eliminates file locking conflicts while maintaining data integrity through the database program's coordination.
3Productivity
If document meta-data is frequently edited, then document organization is improved, but data consistency becomes difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The database program implements feedback mechanisms that automatically detect and resolve conflicts when multiple users edit the same meta-data. The system provides real-time or periodic feedback on data consistency, allowing users to review and reconcile changes, thus maintaining data consistency while enabling frequent meta-data edits for improved organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains copies of meta-data in both user files and master files. When edits are made, changes are propagated to appropriate copies through the database program's coordination. This copying mechanism allows frequent editing while maintaining consistency across different data representations through controlled update propagation.
Data Source
AI summary
To provide a system having a mechanism for viewing a plurality of electronic documents and adding notes at high speed and for preventing a plurality of users from accessing database files at the same time. The system for organizing document data includes a database program for managing one set of database files provided for each of users, a display program for generating data to visualize a part or all of a table where the one set of database files is described, and a viewer program for displaying the data generated by the display program on a screen of each user terminal. The database program has a function for loading a part or all of the one set of database files into a memory of the user terminal and for having a virtual database in the memory.