Patent ID: 8839097

Claim:
A method of information encapsulation for providing at least one deliverable format, the method comprising the steps of: collecting data from a plurality of disparate information sources, each of the plurality of disparate information sources providing information associated with a single product; separating the collected data into a plurality of blocks; associating at least one descriptor element selected from a list of descriptor elements with each of the plurality of blocks, each descriptor element providing a general description for an associated block; associating at least one descriptor atom, selected from a list of descriptor atoms corresponding to the at least one descriptor element, with at least one individual component data of each block, each descriptor atom providing a specific description of an associated data component; receiving, for each of a plurality of deliverable formats, at least one formatting rule associated with a selected one of the plurality of deliverable formats, wherein the at least one formatting rule specifies at least one descriptor element associated with the at least one formatting rule; storing the plurality of blocks the data components, the associated descriptor elements, and the associated descriptor atoms in a data storage device; storing, for each of the plurality of deliverable formats, the at least one formatting rule associated with the selected one of the plurality of deliverable formats in the data storage device; providing an output selection means for selection of the at least one deliverable format by a user; receiving input from the user indicating the at least one deliverable format selected by the user; selecting blocks associated with the descriptor element specified by a formatting rule associated with the at least one deliverable format selected by the user; identifying, for at least one stored data component of each selected block, a format based on the descriptor atom associated with that stored data component and the formatting rule associated with the at least one deliverable format selected by the user; formatting the selected data blocks and at least one stored data component of each selected block based on the identified formats; and generating an output document comprising the formatted data blocks and the formatted data components.