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Inventions On Using Ldap For Different Purposes-Part-1, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

The objective of this article is to know how is LDAP used for applications in e-commerce and Policy Management. The analysis of patents shows which Inventive Principles have been used to solve those inventions. Unlike other parts of the study which have tried to improve certain aspect of LDAP technology and application, this article includes the inventions that use LDAP for various different purposes. This article is divided into 3 parts for convenience of size. The first part of the article includes 6 patents using LDAP for “e-commerce” and “Policy Management”. The second part includes 10 patents using LDAP for …

Inventions On Ldap Data Storage- A Study Based On Us Patents, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is an IETF open standard to provide directory services in the network. LDAP was initially developed at the University of Michigan with an objective to include most of the features of X.500 directory structure, while eliminating the burdens and difficulties of the same.

As LDAP does not provide any specification on the data storage, different venders can implement different mechanism for data storage as found suitable to the specific vender or environment. Although underlying data storage system between different LDAP servers can differ, this disparity does not affect the functionality or interaction of LDAP clients. …

Inventions On Ldap Data Storage- A Triz Based Analysis, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is an IETF open standard to provide directory services in the network. LDAP stores the directory information in a database. An LDAP server may store data in a Flat file, or in RDBMS or in any other format. The LDAP client applications such as LDAP enabled web browsers like Netscape communicator and Internet Explorer can use LDAP directory interface without having knowledge on the underlying data storage mechanism. This article is a part of the main study made on LDAP based on 60 patents selected from US patent database. (For more details on the study …

Inventions On Extending Ldap Functionality- A Triz Based Analysis, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

The LDAP server stores the directory information in a database. The client makes a TCP/IP connection and sends requests to an LDAP server. The LDAP server executes the client requests and returns a response to the client. LDAP offers nine basic functional operations, viz., add, delete, modify, bind, unbind, search, compare, and modify distinguished name and abandon. Apart from the above basic operations, LDAP v3 includes new mechanism called Extended Operations, which allows additional operations to be defined for services not available in this protocol, for instance digitally signed operations and results. Using this feature it is possible to provide …

Inventions On Ldap Data Management- A Triz Based Analysis, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

The data model of LDAP is same as X.500 data model. The LDAP protocol assumes there are one or more servers, which jointly provide access to a Directory Information Tree (DIT). The tree is made up of entries. Entries have relative distinguished name (RDN), which must be unique among all its siblings. The concatenation of the relative distinguished names from a particular entry to an immediate subordinate of the root of the tree forms the Distinguished Name (DN) for that entry. (IETF, RFC 2251).

LDAP provides add, delete and modify operations for data modification. Each of these LDAP update operation …

Inventions On Ldap Administration- A Triz Based Analysis, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is an IETF open standard to provide directory services in the network. LDAP was initially developed at the University of Michigan with an objective to include most of the features of X.500 directory structure, while eliminating the burdens and difficulties of the same. The LDAP protocols offer the following basic functional operations, viz., add, delete, modify, bind, unbind, search, compare, modify distinguished name, abandon and extended operations. The LDAP server stores the directory information in a database. It offers a rich set of searching capabilities and provides the capability for directory information to be queried …

Inventions On Data Searching In Ldap- A Triz Based Analysis, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

Searching is one of the most basic operation provided by an LDAP server. LDAP offers a rich set of searching capabilities. The search operation allows a client to request the server to perform a search on its behalf. The search operation locates specific users or services in the directory tree. The LDAP server executes the search (or update) command and returns a response to the client. Upon receipt of a Search Request, a server will perform the necessary search of the DIT. The server will then return to the client a sequence of responses in separate LDAP messages. The search …

Inventions On Ldap Access Interface- A Triz Based Analysis, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

LDAP server may store data in a Flat file, in RDBMS or in any other database. The LDAP client applications can use LDAP directory interface without having knowledge on the underlying data storage mechanism. LDAP can be mapped onto any other directory system so long as the X.500 data and service model as used in LDAP is not violated in LDAP interface. The individual entries are stored in the directory server. But different clients may need the same data in different format. LDAP specification does not provide any mechanism of accessing data in different format. This article is a TRIZ …

Inventions On Using Ldap For Different Purposes-Part-3, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

Unlike other parts of the study which have tried to improve certain aspect of LDAP technology and application, this article includes the inventions that use LDAP for various different purposes. This article is divided into 3 parts for convenience of size. The first part of the article includes 6 patents using LDAP for “e-commerce” and “Policy Management”. The second part includes 10 patents using LDAP for “Network Management” and “Telecommunications”. The third part of the article includes 11 patents using LDAP for “World Wide Web” and “Java and CORBA”. This is the third part of the article which analyses patents …

Inventions On Using Ldap For Different Purposes (Part-2) - A Triz Based Analysis Of Us Patents, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

The objective of this article is to know how is LDAP used for Network Management and Telecommunications. The analysis of patents shows which Inventive Principles have been used to solve those inventions. Unlike other parts of the study which have tried to improve certain aspect of LDAP technology and application, this article includes the inventions that use LDAP for various different purposes. This article is divided into 3 parts for convenience of size. The first part of the article includes 6 patents using LDAP for “e-commerce” and “Policy Management”. The second part includes 10 patents using LDAP for “Network Management” …

Inventions On Integrating Ldap With Other Directories - A Triz Based Analysis Of Us Patents, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

Thus the LDAP architecture allows multiple LDAP servers work together on the same directory tree or multiple directory trees. Besides, LDAP being built on an open architecture, it is quite possible to integrate with other directory servers. LDAP can be mapped onto any other directory system so long as the X.500 data and service model as used in LDAP is not violated in LDAP interface. LDAP server may store data in a Flat file, in RDBMS or in any other database. The LDAP client applications can use LDAP directory interface without having knowledge on the underlying data storage mechanism. However, …

Inventions On Ldap Security- A Triz Based Analysis, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

The specifications of LDAP v.3 provide facilities for simple authentication using a cleartext password as well as any SASL mechanism.SASL allows for integrity and privacy services to be negotiated (RFC 2251, www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2251.txt). Use of cleartext password is strongly discouraged where the underlying transport service cannot guarantee confidentiality and may result in disclosure of the password to unauthorized parties. The protocol allows other security mechanisms like SASL to be implemented in LDAP. The protocol also permits that the server can return its credentials to the client, if it chooses to do so. This article is a TRIZ based study on patents …

The Revised 40 Principles For Software Inventions, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

Applying 40 Principles is one of the earliest and most popular techniques of TRIZ. There are no controversies on application of 40 principles by any of the TRIZ schools. Although they are fundamentally sound, there is some difficulty in applying those in software related problems. As they were originally developed for mechanical or technical problems, the meaning of many terms like 'thermal', 'aerodynamic', 'hydrodynamic', 'ultrasonic', 'infrared', 'temperature', 'liquid', 'gas' etc. are embarrassing in a software context.

This article reviews the 40 principles in the context of software industry and rephrases the principles and their applications to make them suitable for …

Inventions On Ldap- A Study Based On Us Patents, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is an IETF open standard to provide directory services in the network. LDAP is based on X.500 directory architecture, intended to provide directory services in Internet compatible environments. LDAP is used to provide directory services to applications ranging from e-mail systems to distributed system management tools. LDAP is becoming more and more popular with its wider usage in the Internet.

This report on LDAP is based on a study of 60 selected patents on LDAP from US patent database. The objective of this article is to present the distribution of patents according to different features …

Evolution Of User Interfaces For The Visually Impaired- Part 2, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

Physically or mentally challenged people cannot use a computer in the same way a normal people can. For example, a person with disability in hands cannot use a standard keyboard or mouse efficiently. People having hearing problem, visual challenge etc. cannot interact with a computer like a normal person. So it is necessary to specially design the computers, interfacing devices and software interfaces, which can be used by the physically challenged people.

This article analyses the types of visual disabilities, different assistive technologies for different visual disabilities, guidelines for developing user interfaces for the visually impaired, software products available for …

Patentability Of Software Inventions, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

Software is very expensive to develop but very inexpensive to copy. Just by copying a software you create an exact duplicate of the original software and all with the same functionality. There is no difference between the original (which is bought) and the copy (pirated). The worse is when the source code is copied. The copier can even claim to have developed the software where the credit of the developer might go. The software developers use various methods to protect their source code such as copyright, trade secrets etc. but each having limitations. The developers are keen on finding legal …

Can A Triz Software Help You Inventing?, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

A software on TRIZ and/or Innovation can certainly supplement human brain and memory in order to speed up an innovation job. There are various TRIZ and Innovation software available in market. Some are too complex to use, some deal with only limited number of TRIZ techniques and some are having good features of innovation without much emphasis on TRIZ. An obvious task remains to evaluate them and find which software can help you best in inventing.

This article does not recommend or reject any TRIZ software per se. It only describes the expected features of a good TRIZ software and …

Evolution Of User Interfaces For The Visually Impaired- Part- 1, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

Physically or mentally challenged people cannot use a computer in the same way a normal people can. For example, a person with disability in hands cannot use a standard keyboard or mouse efficiently. People having hearing problem, visual challenge etc. cannot interact with a computer like a normal person. So it is necessary to specially design the computers, interfacing devices and software interfaces, which can be used by the physically challenged people.

There are many special devices like mouse, keyboard, pointers, and touch screens etc. to assist the visually challenged users. It is a challenge for the inventors and manufacturers …

Evaluate Patentability Of Your Invention, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

The patent system is designed to encourage inventions that are useful to society by granting inventors absolute right to make profit from their inventions. While disclosing the invention benefits the society, protecting the invention benefits the inventor. But patents cannot protect each and every person who conceives an invention. While there are some common criteria of accepting an invention for patenting, the laws of patenting differ from country to country to some extent. The concept of patentability is also very vague in some instances of the legal system. Hence it is important to check the patentability of your invention in …

Inventions On Menu Interfacing For Gui Applications, A Triz Based Analysis, Part-3, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

This article analyses 15 patents on Menu System from a TRIZ perspective to find out their IFRs and Contradictions. The previous two parts of this article analysed ten patents on the menu interfaces. This part analyses five more patents from TRIZ perspective and draws out the conclusion that the TRIZ process and methodology is perfectly applicable to software inventions.

Patentability Criteria In Different Countries, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

The patent system is designed to attract inventors to disclose and protect their inventions. While disclosing the invention benefits the society, protecting the invention benefits the inventor. However, the invention must fulfill certain criteria to be patentable. Hence, patentability assessment is extremely important before filing a patent application. Although there are some commonalities in the criteria of patentability there are some differences from country to country depending on the law of the land. In many cases the criteria are very vague and the patent application may be rejected for several unforeseen reasons. A proper patentability assessment helps the inventors assessing …

Inventions On Menu Interfacing For Gui Applications, A Triz Based Analysis, Part-2, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

The first part of the article analyzed five patents on menu interfaces. This part analyses five more patents from TRIZ perspective to find out their IFRs, Contradictions and which Inventive Principles have been applied to achieve those solutions.

Using Triz To Design The Future Keyboard, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

A keyboard is the most common and widely used input device for a computer. Using the keyboard is often vital to interact with a computer. There are several aspects of a keyboard such as size, key layout, convenience and ergonomic features etc., which are continuously under improvement by keyboard designers and manufacturers. TRIZ is an efficient methodology in product designing. Using IFR and Trends we can well predict the directions of the future keyboards and using Contradictions and Principles we can overcome the current limitations. This article analyses the critical features of a keyboard, does a functional analysis, derives the …

An Ideal Computer Keyboard- A Case Study Of Applying Ideality On Keyboard Evolution, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

Any product or system moves towards its ideality. If we know the Ideal Final Result (IFR) it becomes easy to predict the future generation of the product or system. The author made a study of over 100 patents on computer keyboards. Each of these inventions tries to achieve some new feature or functionality. But what is the ultimate keyboard? This article makes an attempt to find the features of an Ideal Keyboard.

Inventions On Menu Interfacing For Gui Applications, A Triz Based Analysis, Part-1, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

During last two decades, the computer menu system has been improved from a text based multiple choice to highly adaptive, self organized menu system. This has been possible by hundreds of inventions. This article analyses 15 patents on Menu System from a TRIZ perspective to find out their IFRs and Contradictions. Besides we will also see what Inventive Principles have been applied to achieve those solutions.

Three Tests Of Patentability, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

United States patent law prescribes three major criteria of patentability, viz, novelty, usefulness and non-obviousness. These "three tests of patentability" are fundamentals behind issue of any patent from USPTO. It is important to know these fundamentals for any person who intends to work on patents.

The Father Of Triz- As We Know Him- A Short Biography Of Genrich Altshuller, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

The life of Genrich Altshuller, the father of TRIZ as we know him, is an inspiration to all TRIZ lovers. His startup as a patent clerk, extreme struggles in the prisons of Gulag, and great inventions on TRIZ are interesting to anybody who likes to know about the great soul.

Inventions On Computer Keyboard- A Triz Based Analysis, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

Every stage of evolution takes a product towards its ideality. This also happens in case of the Computer Keyboard. Today’s keyboards are outcome of hundreds of inventions in past. This article analyzes some interesting inventions on computer keyboard from TRIZ perspective. The inventions improve various aspects of computer keyboards like increasing operating (typing) efficiency, reducing size, improving ergonomic features and so on. This article was first published in TRIZ Journal (http://www.triz-journal.com/archives/2003/11/) in November 2003.

The Five Levels Of Inventions- A Classification Of Patents From Triz Perspective, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

The Five levels of Inventions is a popular concept in the study of TRIZ. Generally patent databases (like USPTO) classify inventions according to their topics or areas of invention. But they don’t classify inventions according to their easiness or usefulness or inventiveness. Altshuller classified patents into five levels according to their levels of inventiveness. The higher levels of inventions are difficult (and rare) while the lower levels of inventions are easy and plenty in number. This article attempts to explain the five levels of inventions in simple terms and the purpose behind such a classification. Although there are limitations and …