Patent Application
20080120606
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The invention relates to the exchange of data across data field standards as defined through Extensible Markup Language (XML) standards being used for electronic data transfer and electronic filing specific, in part, to the legal, medical, and financial fields.
In order for data to be exchanged electronically between legal systems, hospitals, and insurance companies, standards must be agreed to for the naming of data fields. As courts and law enforcement have converted from paper to electronic data storage, the necessity has grown for having standards by which each field on an electronic form be named. Electronic data flow between a court and a law enforcement agency, for instance, requires agreement on the abbreviations for eye color and the naming of the field for eye color. The names and abbreviations for all data fields must be agreed to in advance for the completed transfer of data between organized data lists. Increasingly, these data lists are named and electronically transferred within an XML schema. Several national and international standards for XML schemas have evolved including, GJXDM (Global Justice XML Data Model), LegalXML 3.0, and 2GEFS (2nd Generation Electronic Filing Specification), and HL7 3.0. Prior art allows for a completed transfer of data within a single XML standard. The development of XML standards have by necessity required the regular convening of governing bodies to agree, in part, on the spelling of each XML abbreviation within the standardized dictionary of terms. The need has grown within the legal, law enforcement, medical, and financial arenas for data transfer across differing standards.
The invention here outlined allows for complete data transfer between differing XML standards. The primary embodiment of the invention translates between the differing standards for the naming of data fields within an XML schema. Because state and federal courts, and law-enforcement operations use different nomenclature for the naming of their database data-fields, this invention applies an algorithmic methodology for data-field translation of alternate names for like data-fields.
In one embodiment of the invention, a method of processing and translation is applied as data fields are electronically transmitted to a court through the GJXDM standard, then translated through use of a court database dictionary of data-field names and subjects, and finally deposited to a court's case management system within the protocol of a requisite XML schema. The invention solves for translation for all commonly accepted XML standards. The invention conducts the automated translation of differing terms for identical data-fields.
The inventions systems architecture incorporates migration strategies for new releases of XML and release of LegalXML 3.0, GJXDM, and HL7 standards. The invention functions as a bridge translator between standards able to be upgraded quickly and efficiently to the latest XML standards.
The preferred embodiments of the invention presented here are described in the Figures and Detailed Description. Unless specifically noted, it is intended that the words and phrases in the specification and claims are given the ordinary and accustomed meaning to those of ordinary skill in the applicable arts. If any other special meaning is intended for any word or phrase, the specification will clearly state and define the special meaning.
Likewise, the use of the words “function” or “means” in the Detailed Description is not intended to indicate a desire to invoke the special provisions of 36 U.S.C. 112, Paragraph 6, to define the invention. To the contrary, if the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 112, Paragraph 6. Are sought to be invoked to define the invention, the claims will specifically state the phrases “means for” or “step for” and a function, without also reciting in such phrases any structure, material or act in support of the function. Even when the claims recite a “means for” or “step for” performing a function, if they also recite any structure, materials or acts in support of that means or step, then the intention is not to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 112, Paragraph 6. Moreover, even if the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 112, Paragraph 6 are invoked to define the inventions, it is intended that the inventions not be limited only to the specific structure, material or acts that are described in the preferred embodiments, but in addition, include any and all structures, materials or acts that perform the claimed function, along with any and all known or later-developed equivalent structures, material or acts for performing the claimed function.
In one embodiment, the invention conducts translation between Legal XML 3.0, Global Justice XML Data Model (GJXDM), as supported by COSCA/NACM standards and has the flexibility to adapt to emerging Legal XML, GJXDM, and COSCA/NACM standards as well such as Health Level Seven Clinical Document Architecture XML (HL7 CDA, Version 2.3.1).
In one embodiment it is also conceived as a systems schema translator based on Legal XML 3.0 and is compatible with Legal XML Court Filing 1.0, and California 2GEFS Court Filing 2.0. As emerging standards such as GJXDM and Legal XML 3.0 are finalized, the Universal XML Translator, here in described, will allow users to readily adapt to updated or emerging standards, as well as retrieve data as referenced against older XML standardized versions.
In one embodiment, dataflow (
Using comparative databases, field name identifiers are reassigned based on translational equivalency. (
Having now provided a detailed description of the present invention, it should now be apparent to those skilled in this art that the forgoing is illustrative but not limiting, having been presented by way of example only. Numerous embodiments, other than those illustrated here as means of example, and modifications thereof are contemplated as falling within the scope of the present invention and as defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereto.
