Jason Chi Chang

US Patent:

20030046310, Mar 6, 2003

Filed:

Aug 28, 2001

Appl. No.:

09/941072

Inventors:

David Goodman - New York NY, US
Jason Chang - Brooklyn NY, US
Pratik Mehta - New York NY, US

Assignee:

Polytechnic University

International Classification:

G06F012/00

US Classification:

707/200000

Abstract:

Helping users to track the contents (e.g., files) stored on various types of storage media without requiring the user to insert the storage media into a read device of a machine, such as a floppy drive of a personal computer, and/or helping users to locate desired content (e.g., a file) without having to insert numerous storage media into a read device of a machine. The contents of a given storage medium may be determined by associating a machine-readable label with each machine-readable medium, and the contents thereof. When a user wants to know the contents of the machine-readable medium, they merely need to have another device (e.g., a Palm Pilot provided with a bar code scanner) read the label. The device may include a database synchronized with a database managed by the machine which is used to write content to, and/or read content from, the machine-readable medium. A file may be found by (i) allowing a user to enter one or more search parameters into the device, such as a handheld, untethered device, (ii) generating a search query from the entered parameter(s), (iii) getting a search result(s) indicating the storage medium that includes the desired content, and (iv) helping the user to associate the indicated storage medium with the physical storage medium actually storing the desired content.