Systems and Methods for Retrieving Data

Abstract

This invention relates to a computer-based method and system for facilitating the retrieval, classification, and distribution of information. In one embodiment, a method for providing information comprises providing a plurality of entities, each having an entity type, providing a plurality of relationships among the entities, each relationship having a relationship type and direction, and constructing an entity-relationship network comprising the entities and relationships. The method further includes receiving a plurality of information items, facilitating the association of the information items with at least one corresponding entity, receiving a request for information items associated with a selected one of the entities, determining a subset of the entities based on the selected entity, the relationships, the relationship types and the relationship directions, and providing the information items associated with the subset of the entities.

1 .- 28 . (canceled) 
     
     
         29 . A method of providing information items, the method comprising:
 receiving, at a first computer, a plurality of information items;   facilitating the association of information with at least one entity, the information comprising a portion of a document rendered within the application and selected by a user;   storing the selected information and the association between the selected information and the at least on entity for subsequent retrieval;   receiving, at a second computer, a request for information associated with the at least one entity;   retrieving the selected information associated with the entity; and   displaying the retrieved data.   
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29  further comprising:
 defining the at least one entity; and   defining one or more relationships between the at least one entity and other entities wherein each relationship comprises a relationship type and a relationship direction, thus facilitating the creation of an entity-relationship network comprising the at least one entity, the other entities, and the relationships therebetween.   
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30  wherein the entity comprises one of a company, an industry, an index, a person and a subject. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 30  wherein the relationship direction is one of unidirectional and bi-directional. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32  wherein the relationship direction is bi-directional and the relationship type represents a set of reciprocal relationships between the entities. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 29  wherein the information items comprise at least one of an electronic message, an email, an instant message, a financial report, a voicemail, a web page, a research report, an electronic document, and a press release. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 29  wherein the information items are received via one or more of an electronic message, electronic mail, instant message, voice message, scheduled database query, or triggered database query. 
     
     
         36 . A system for presenting information, comprising:
 a collection of application plug-in adapters implemented as software stored on a client computer, each adapter comprising:
 a receiver for receiving information from an application, the information comprising a portion of a document rendered within the application and selected by a user; and 
 an information management module for associating the selected information with at least one entity; and 
   a central server in communication with each of the application plug-in adapters and configured to receive therefrom the selected information, and further comprising;
 a data storage server for storing the selected information and the association between the selected information and the at least on entity; and 
 an application server implemented as application software stored on the central server and configured to:
 (i) receive a request for information associated with the at least one entity; 
 (ii) retrieve from the data storage server the selected information associated with the entity; and 
 (iii) display the retrieved data. 
 
   
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 36  wherein the application plug-in adapters further comprises:
 an entity definition module for defining the at least one entity; and   a relationship definition module for defining one or more relationships between the at least one entity and other entities wherein each relationship comprises a relationship type and a relationship direction, thus facilitating the creation of an entity-relationship network comprising the at least one entity, the other entities, and the relationships therebetween.   
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 36  wherein the receiver receives one or more of an electronic message, an email, an instant message; a streaming data feed, a voice message, and a web page. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 37  further comprising a rules engine for governing the permissible relationship types among the entities. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 37  wherein the relationships between entities are one or more of unidirectional and bi-directional. 
     
     
         41 . The system of  claim 37  wherein the central server further comprises a messaging module for distributing modifications made to one of the entities, the relationships, and the rules to users of the system. 
     
     
         42 . The system of  claim 41  wherein the messaging module distributes the modifications asynchronously. 
     
     
         43 . The system of claim  54  wherein the messaging module distributes the modifications on demand. 
     
     
         44 . The system of  claim 37  wherein the central server further comprises a permissions module for enforcing user access privileges to one or more of the entities, the relationships, and the information items associated with the entities.