Data processing system with improved work flow system and method
July 9, 2013. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.Patent ReferencesControlled work flow system Distributed management support system for software managers Automated interfacing of design/engineering software with project management software Method and apparatus for converting documents into electronic data for transaction processing Conceptual design tool Method and apparatus for selective suspension and resumption of computer based manufacturing processes Interface and application development management system based on a gene metaphor Electronic yearbook publication system Method of managing expression data to control the presentation of visual displays Method for displaying information from an information based computer system Patent #: 5325478 InventorApplicationNo. 967090 filed on 10/27/1992US Classes:705/1AUTOMATED ELECTRICAL FINANCIAL OR BUSINESS PRACTICE OR MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTExaminersPrimary: Herndon, Heather R.Assistant: Vo, Cliff N. Attorney, Agent or FirmInternational ClassG06F 003/14AbstractA Work Flow Manager (WFM), or process manager, is the software to manage and control the flow of work items from one function to the next in a well-defined application process to achieve the complete processing of those work items. Applications of WFMs include the processing of imaged or multimedia documents such as health and other insurance forms, filmless radiology, IRS tax submissions, and FBI fingerprint and voice identification. The invention WFM:a. provides an improved, scalable subsystem and method for work flow management;b. partitions the application (work flow) process into component distributed services, each represented by an OSF Distributed Computer Environment (DCE) service;c. defines the application process with a state transition diagram (STD);d. uses centralized control software with a work-in-process (WIP) manager, a work queue manager, and a WIP submission attributes data base manager;e. defines and uses a common "pull system" protocol for communication between the WFM and the component distributed services;f. distinguishes WIP submissions from archived submissions; andg. uses an "attribute-base file system" to store submissions, typically implemented with both a data base for submission attributes (including the current state of WIP submissions), and a distributed file system for submission contents files.Other References
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