WO2017030543A1

WO2017030543A1 - Method solve technical problem of key violation and setting priority and sequence number

Info

Publication number: WO2017030543A1
Application number: PCT/US2015/045406
Authority: WO
Inventors: John Chung Lee
Original assignee: John Chung Lee
Priority date: 2015-08-14
Filing date: 2015-08-14
Publication date: 2017-02-23
Also published as: CN107924386A

Abstract

A method of solving a technical problem of key violation and setting priority and sequence number, includes the steps of inputting information, such as a person or a company's name, telephone number, follow up date, priority, sequence number, task number, and things-to-do, into appropriate fields in a database; querying the database to locate records with follow up dates equal to a particular desired date; retrieving the records with fields that match the queried criteria; sorting the retrieved records using "Follow up date" field as the Primary Index, "Priority" field as the Secondary Index, "Sequence number" field as the Third Index, "Task number" field as the Fourth Index which is the last Index of all the Indices; presenting the sorted records for viewing; and updating any field in the sorted records including but not limited to "follow up date", "priority", "sequence number", and "things-to-do" field.

Description

Title

Method to Solve Technical Problem of Key Violation and Setting Priority and Sequence Number

Background of the Present Invention Field of Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and a system for organizing and tracking information, and more particularly to a method and a system to solve technical problem of key violation and setting priority and sequence number.

Description of Related Arts [0002] In modern society, many persons may need to keep track of things that they need to do (things-to-do). These things-to-do may comprise of information such as tasks that must be performed, a telephone call that must be made, and customers or clients that needs to be followed up. These information must be readily and easily organized and be easily retrieved and sorted in the desired fashion for business or personal purposes.

[0003] The most widely used method of organizing and tracking information is to utilize a spreadsheet or a database software to store, retrieve, and sort the relevant information. However, conventional spreadsheets or database software are very difficult to learn and use. Moreover, some database software may have the problem of key violation which is described below. The present invention provides method and system to solve this technical problem of key violation, at the same time, use the same method and system to help end users setting their daily priorities and sequence numbers. So the end users can benefit from an easier and more convenient time- saving method and system. [0004] The present invention also provides some improvements to my previous patent application - PCT INTERNATIONAL PATENT APPLICATION OF JOHN CHUNG LEE FOR METHOD TO ORGANIZE AND TRACK INFORMATON ACCORDING TO CHRONOLOGICAL AND PRIORITY ORDER. International application No. PCT/US02/22136. International filing date/Date of receipt: 12 July, 2002.

[0005] In my previous PCT patent application, there are three indices in the database, these three indices may be customarily assigned as a primary index, a secondary index and a third index respectively. Each of these indices may represent particular information. The primary index may represent a value in "Follow up date" field, the secondary index may represent a value in "Priority" field, while the third index may represent a value in "Task number" field.

[0006] A particular example of the above-mentioned database may be shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1

[0007] A problem exists when there are several records in the database that have the same "Follow up date", same "Priority", but different "Task number". Obviously, the record with lower task number will be sorted and placed before the record with higher task number, but it does not always mean that we want to work on the record with lower task number first. When this happens, there are two solutions. [0008] The first solution to solve the above problem is to rearrange all the priorities according to the sequence we want to work on. For example, one may rearrange the priorities to be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10... An example to rearrange the above priorities is illustrated in Table 2 below.

Table 2

[0009] Now as an end user, one can place the record with higher task number (11) before the record with lower task number (6 and 5) by updating the priorities to be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, which is according to the sequence one wants to work on.

[0010] This solution is easy to accomplish when there are not so many priorities on the same "follow up date". However, when there are many priorities fall on the same "Follow up date", it will become more difficult for an end user to rearrange each of these priorities. This is because the end user will have to review almost every one of the priorities to decide how to rearrange all of the remaining priorities.

Summary of the Present Invention [0011] An objective of the present invention is to provide a method and a system of preventing key violation and setting priority and sequence number so as to allow an end user of the present invention to easily and conveniently rearrange priorities. [0012] In one aspect of the present invention, it provides a method of solving a technical problem of key violation and setting priority and sequence number, comprising the steps of:

[0013] inputting information, such as a person or a company's name, telephone number, follow up date, priority, sequence number, task number, and things-to-do, into appropriate fields in a database;

[0014] querying the database to locate records with follow up dates equal to a particular desired date;

[0015] retrieving the records with fields that match the queried criteria;

[0016] sorting the retrieved records using "Follow up date" field as the Primary Index (Primary Key), "Priority" field as the Secondary Index (Secondary Key), "Sequence number" field as the Third Index (Third Key), "Task number" field as the Fourth Index (Fourth Key) which is the last Index of all the Indices;

[0017] presenting the sorted records for viewing; and

[0018] updating any field in the sorted records including but not limited to "follow up date", "priority", "sequence number", and "things-to-do" field;

[0019] wherein a person may take actions to complete the "things-to-do"s based on the information presented.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020] Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a method of setting priority and sequence number according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a computing system which implements the method of setting priority and sequence number in a database according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

[0022] The following detailed description of the preferred embodiment is the preferred mode of carrying out the invention. The description is not to be taken in any limiting sense. It is presented for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the present invention.

[0023] Referring to Fig. 1 to Fig. 2 of the drawings, a method of setting priority and sequence number in a database is illustrated. Broadly, the method may comprise a number of steps for organizing information in a database 1 in such a manner that key violation may be prevented. The method may comprise the steps of:

[0024] inputting the information, such as a person or a company's name, telephone number, follow up date, priority, sequence number, task number, and things-to-do, into appropriate fields in a database 1 ;

[0025] querying the database 1 to locate records 10 with follow up dates equal to a particular desired date;

[0026] retrieving the records 10 with fields that match the queried criteria;

[0027] sorting the retrieved records 10 using "Follow up date" field as the Primary Index (Primary Key), "Priority" field as the Secondary Index (Secondary Key), "Sequence number" field as the Third Index (Third Key), "Task number" field as the Fourth Index (Fourth Key) which is the last Index of all the Indices;

[0028] presenting the sorted records 10 for viewing; and

[0029] updating any field in the sorted records 10 including but not limited to "follow up date", "priority", "sequence number", and "things-to-do" field;

[0030] By carrying out the above steps, a person may take actions to complete the "things-to-do"s based on the information presented. [0031] According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the above- mentioned method may be carried out or executed by a computing device 2 which may comprise a central processing unit 21, a display unit 22 having a display screen 221, and an input device 23. The central processing unit 21 may be configured to implement the database 1 mentioned above. The computing device 2 may comprise a memory unit 211 for storing the database 1. The central processing unit 21 is configured to execute the above-mentioned method. The computing device 2 may be configured as a desktop, a laptop, a tablet computer, a smart phone, or other computing devices. [0032] One may appreciate from the above steps that in the present invention, the method uses a "Follow up date" field as the Primary Index (Primary Key), a "Priority" field as the Secondary Index (Secondary Key), a "Sequence number" field as the Third Index (Third Key), and a "Task number" field as the Fourth Index (Fourth Key) which is the last Index of all the Indices. [0033] The purpose of the present invention is to provide the end users with easier and more convenient time-saving methods to rearrange and change the sequence numbers, so that they don't need to spend a lot of time to rearrange or change most of the priorities.

[0034] By using the sequence number field as the third index, and changing the task number field to be the fourth index which is the "last index of all the indices", the second index "priority" now has a more clear definition which is: how Important This record 10 is (Record contains "things-to-do" field). And the third index "Sequence Number" obviously play a role of rearranging (i.e. changing) the sequence of the records 10 ("things-to-do") with the same "follow up date" and same "priority". [0035] Now let us look at the above same example in Table 3 below:

01/02/1988 1 6

01/02/1988 1 11

01/02/1988 2 2

01/02/1988 3 7

Table 3

[0036] The second solution to solve the same problem on page 2 is to use "Follow up date" field as the Primary Index (Primary Key), "Priority" field as the Secondary Index (Secondary Key), "Sequence number" field as the Third Index (Third Key), and "Task number" field as the Fourth Index (Fourth Key) which is the last Index of all the Indices, one may rearrange (change) the sequence numbers to place the record 10 ("things-to-do") with higher task number (11) before the record 10 ("things-to-do") with lower task number (6 and 5). The method to make this work is to update or change the "Sequence number" field to be 1, 2, and 3 according to the sequence people want to work on. As a result, a user does not need to spend a lot of time to rearrange or change any of the priority. The results are given in Table 4 below.

Table 4 [0037] The function of "Sequence Number" is to decide which record 10 ("things- to-do") is to be displayed before the other records 10 ("things-to-do"s) with the same "Follow up Date" and same "Priority". Note that in this example, a default numeric value of 1 for all the "Sequence Number" is used. [0038] The effects of the present invention is as follows: first, the present invention provides clearer definition in the sense that the second index "priority" has a more clear definition - how important this record 10 ("things-to-do") is. It no longer has the meaning of "the sequence of the records 10 ("things-to-do") to be displayed".

[0039] A second effect of the present invention is to save time. The end users of the present invention will no longer need to review all of the priorities and rearrange and change most of the priorities.

[0040] Third, the present invention provides an option for end users who may determine if it is worth their time to rearrange and change the "sequence number". If they are happy with the existing "sequence", they don't need to spend more time on this. For some people, it is not always critical to have "sequence number" in order as long as the "priority" fall in the right place. Using the above example, there exist three records 10 having priority 1. An end user may not care which one thing-to-do needs to be done first, as long as all three things-to-dos having priority 1 are done before those having priority 2 and those having priority 3. This is because priority 1 is more important than priority 2 and priority 3.

[0041] Compared to my previous patent application where the second index "priority" carries both meaning of "How Important This Record 10 (things-to-do) Is" and "The sequence of the records 10 (things-to-do) to be displayed under the same follow up date", my present invention provides more clear definition, time saving, and freedom of choice methods.

[0042] "The sequence of the records 10 to be displayed under the same follow up date" actually means which things-to-do is going to be done (displayed) first, and which things-to-do is to be done (displayed) next. Because this is how people react when they use this method. [0043] A default value for the sequence number needs to be set up, and it can be a numeric value 1 or any other numeric value such as 9. The sequence number can be updated (changed) by end users according to the sequence they want to work on.

[0044] The next thing which needs to be mentioned is the "Sequence number" field and "Task Number" Field, please look at page 3, paragraph 2 of my previous patent application as follows:

[0045] "Information, such as a person or a company's name, telephone number, follow up dates, and priority, is gathered and the information is assigned a sequential task number. These information are entered into appropriate fields in a record in the database. The records in the database may be sorted using any field as the index. The database may also be sorted using one field as the primary index and another field as the secondary index to further organize and sort the records. In the preferred embodiment, the follow up date field is used as the primary index and the priority field is used as the secondary index. The task number field is used as the third index to avoid duplicate keys which may cause key violations in the database. The task number is assigned permanently to a record, and when a record is deleted the task number field for the remaining records will not be renumbered. When a new record is added, the new record will be assigned the next available task number."

[0046] The present invention uses (1) "Follow up date" field as the Primary Index (Primary Key), (2) "Priority" field as the Secondary Index (Secondary Key), (3) "Sequence number" field as the Third Index (Third Key), (4) "Task number" field as the Fourth Index (Fourth Key) which is the last Index of all the Indices.

[0047] So, for the present invention, the above paragraph should be rewritten as follows: [0048] Information, such as a person or a company's name, telephone number, follow up dates, priority, "Sequence number", and things-to-do is gathered and the information is assigned a sequential task number. These information are entered into appropriate fields in a record 10 in the database 1. Database 1 contains many records 10, each record 10 contains many fields. The records 10 in the database 1 may be sorted using any field as the index. The database 1 may also be sorted using one field as the primary index, another field as the secondary index, and another field as the third index to further organize and sort the records 10. In the preferred embodiment, the follow up date field is used as the primary index, the priority field is used as the secondary index, and the "Sequence number" field is used as the Third Index. The task number field is used as the fourth index to avoid duplicate keys which may cause key violations in the database 1. The task number is assigned permanently to a record 10, and when a record 10 is deleted the task number field for the remaining records 10 will not be renumbered. When a new record 10 is added, the new record 10 will be assigned the next available task number. After a record 10 is deleted, the deleted task number will not be reused again. In my present invention, the "Task number" field is used as the Fourth Index (Fourth Key) which is the last Index of all the Indices. In my previous invention, the "Task number" field is used as the Third Index (Third Key) which is also the last Index of all the Indices. To be able to solve the technical problem of key violation (duplicate keys), the "Task number" field needs to be the last Index of all the Indices.

[0049] The last index which is the fourth index in this patent application must be "Unique Code": It can be numeric number, alphanumeric code, or any other unique code in any language. So besides using numeric number for task number field, we can also use alphanumeric code or any other unique code in any language as long as there is no duplicate key problem. This "Unique Code" is assigned permanently to a record, the user is not allowed to update (change) this "Unique Code".

[0050] Please also look at page 3, paragraph 3 and page 4, paragraph 1 of my previous patent application, it reads: [0051] "The user may query the database to obtain the information he/she needs. One method of query may be locating records with follow up dates prior to the date of query or a particular desired date. This query will allow the user to locate past due follow up dates that require immediate action. The user may also query the database for specific information in any particular field in the records. Another useful query that the user may perform is to locate records with follow up dates between two specified dates. This query will allow the user to plan his/her schedules and the necessary actions that must be taken within a specified period of time."

[0052] "After the matching records are located within the database, the records are retrieved and sorted in accordance with the requirements of the user. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the final sorted records are presented to the user on a video screen for viewing. The user may then make efficient critical decisions based on the information presented."

[0053] For the present invention, the above two paragraphs should be rewritten as follows: [0054] The user may query the database 1 to obtain the information he/she needs. One method of query is to locate records 10 with follow up dates equal to a particular desired date. This query will allow the user to view and update any field in his/her records 10 including but not limited to "follow up date", "priority", "sequence number", and "things-to-do" on a particular desired follow up date, and take actions to complete the "things-to-do"s. Another method of query is to locate records 10 with follow up dates prior to a specific date. This query will allow the user to locate past due follow up dates that require immediate action. The user may also query the database 1 for specific information in any particular field in the records 10. Another useful method of query that the user may perform is to locate records 10 with follow up dates between two specified dates. This query will allow the user to plan his/her schedules and the necessary actions that must be taken within a specified period of time. At any point of time, the user may use any of the above query methods to view and update any field in any record 10 including but not limited to "follow up date", "priority", "sequence number" and "things-to-do" field. "Follow up date" field can be updated to a future "follow up date" if the "things-to-do" was not finished on time. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, whenever any of the field is updated, the records 10 will be automatically resorted in the order of "follow up date", "priority", "sequence number", and "task number". And there will be NO Key Violation (No Duplicate Key) Problem. [0055] After the matching records 10 are located within the database 1, the records 10 are retrieved and sorted in accordance with the requirements of the user. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sorted records 10 are presented to the user on a screen. The user can view and update the records 10 before starting to work on his/her "things-to-do"s based on the information presented.

[0056] The present invention, while illustrated and described in terms of a preferred embodiment and several alternatives, is not limited to the particular description contained in this specification. Additional alternative or equivalent components could also be used to practice the present invention.

Claims

What is Claimed is:

1. A method of solving a technical problem of key violation and setting priority and sequence number, comprising the steps of: inputting information, such as a person or a company's name, telephone number, follow up date, priority, sequence number, task number, and things-to-do, into appropriate fields in a database; querying the database to locate records with follow up dates equal to a particular desired date; retrieving the records with fields that match the queried criteria; sorting the retrieved records using "Follow up date" field as the Primary

Index (Primary Key), "Priority" field as the Secondary Index (Secondary Key), "Sequence number" field as the Third Index (Third Key), "Task number" field as the Fourth Index (Fourth Key) which is the last Index of all the Indices; presenting the sorted records for viewing; and updating any field in the sorted records including but not limited to "follow up date", "priority", "sequence number", and "things-to-do" field; wherein a person may take actions to complete the "things-to-do"s based on the information presented.

2. The method, as recited in claim 1, wherein the retrieved records are sorted using "Priority" field as the Primary Index (Primary Key), "Follow up date" field as the Secondary Index (Secondary Key), "Sequence number" field as the Third Index (Third Key), "Task number" field as the Fourth Index (Fourth Key) which is the last Index of all the Indices.

3. A method of solving a technical problem of key violation and setting priority and sequence number, comprising the steps of: inputting information, such as a person or a company's name, telephone number, follow up date, priority, sequence number, task number, and things-to-do, into appropriate fields in a database; querying the database to locate records with follow up dates prior to a specific date; retrieving the records with fields that match the queried criteria; sorting the retrieved records using "Follow up date" field as the Primary Index (Primary Key), "Priority" field as the Secondary Index (Secondary Key), "Sequence number" field as the Third Index (Third Key), "Task number" field as the Fourth Index (Fourth Key) which is the last Index of all the Indices; presenting the sorted records for viewing; and updating any field in the sorted records including but not limited to "follow up date", "priority", "sequence number", and "things-to-do" field; wherein a person may take actions to complete the "things-to-do"s based on the information presented.

4. The method, as recited in claim 3, wherein the retrieved records are sorted using "Priority" field as the Primary Index (Primary Key), "Follow up date" field as the Secondary Index (Secondary Key), "Sequence number" field as the Third Index (Third Key), "Task number" field as the Fourth Index (Fourth Key) which is the last Index of all the Indices.

5. A method of solving a technical problem of key violation and setting priority and sequence number, comprising the steps of: inputting information, such as a person or a company's name, telephone number, follow up date, priority, sequence number, task number, and things-to-do, into appropriate fields in a database; querying the database to locate records with follow up dates between two specified dates; retrieving the records with fields that match the queried criteria; sorting the retrieved records using "Follow up date" field as the Primary Index (Primary Key), "Priority" field as the Secondary Index (Secondary Key), "Sequence number" field as the Third Index (Third Key), "Task number" field as the Fourth Index (Fourth Key) which is the last Index of all the Indices; presenting the sorted records for viewing; and updating any field in the sorted records including but not limited to "follow up date", "priority", "sequence number", and "things-to-do" field; wherein a person may take actions to complete the "things-to-do"s based on the information presented.

6. The method, as recited in claim 5, wherein the retrieved records are sorted using "Priority" field as the Primary Index (Primary Key), "Follow up date" field as the Secondary Index (Secondary Key), "Sequence number" field as the Third Index (Third Key), and "Task number" field as the Fourth Index (Fourth Key) which is the last Index of all the Indices.

7. A method of solving a technical problem of key violation and setting priority and sequence number, comprising the steps of: inputting the information, such as a person or a company's name, telephone number, follow up date, priority, sequence number, task number, and things-to-do, into appropriate fields in a database; querying the database on any particular field (or fields), then locate records with contents inside this particular field (or fields) equal to specific queried criteria; retrieving the records with fields that match the queried criteria; sorting the retrieved records using "Follow up date" field as the Primary Index (Primary Key), "Priority" field as the Secondary Index (Secondary Key), "Sequence number" field as the Third Index (Third Key), "Task number" field as the Fourth Index (Fourth Key) which is the last Index of all the Indices; presenting the sorted records for viewing; and updating any field in the sorted records including but not limited to "follow up date", "priority", "sequence number", and "things-to-do" field; wherein a person may take actions to complete the "things-to-do"s based on the information presented.

8. The method, as recited in claim 7, wherein the retrieved records are sorted using "Priority" field as the Primary Index (Primary Key), "Follow up date" field as the Secondary Index (Secondary Key), "Sequence number" field as the Third Index (Third Key), "Task number" field as the Fourth Index (Fourth Key) which is the last Index of all the Indices.

9. The method, as recited in claim 8, wherein the "Task number" field is the last Index of all the Indices, wherein the deleted task number is not to be reused again, the last index which is the fourth index is a unique code, wherein the unique code is a numeric number, wherein the unique code is assigned permanently to a record, wherein a user is not allowed to update the unique code.

10. The method, as recited in claim 9, wherein the unique code is an alphanumeric code.