Patent ID: 8086614
Filing Date: 2011-12-27
Classification: G05B,G06F,Y02P,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A method of operating a computerized control system that includes at least one processor and a memory, the control system being for controlling a plurality of tasks, activities, and/or attributes, the method comprising: (a) converting or representing the tasks, activities, and/or attributes that are to be controlled to or by a plurality of data objects that correspond to respective tasks, activities, and/or attributes; (b) providing a plurality of ranking values for each of the plurality of data objects, the data objects for sorting, such that a ranking value is generated for each corresponding sort field of a plurality of sort fields for each data object, each ranking value being indicative of the sort order of the data object or of meta-data associated with the data object, the sort order using only the sort field corresponding to the ranking value; (c) providing a function of a plurality of the ranking values corresponding to the plurality of sort fields, and using the provided function to generate a single collation key value for the data objects that is determined from each of a row with values in each of N fields to determine a weight for each value, the collation key arranged to provide for ordering the plurality of data objects, the function for a particular data object indicative of the relative degree to which the ranking value for each of the plurality of corresponding sort fields influences the collation key; and (d) using the collation key for ordering the tasks, activity, and/or attributes that correspond to the data objects, wherein the collation key is arranged to provide for ordering the plurality of data objects according to their respective relevance to a user, user operating context, or a system acting as a user system.