Patent indexing by concept coordination using links and roles
Barbara A. Montague · American Documentation · 1962
Abstract This paper presents the development and installation of a practical, working system for the storage and retrieval of patent information for the Polychemicals Department of the du Pont Company using concept coordination and an inverted system. False retrieval usually associated with such systems is overcome by using syntactical controls such as links and roles. Rapid, inexpensive access to patents selected from the polyolefin art is provided to the patent attorney saving him long hours of discouraging searching with cumbersome, conventional filing systems. A valuable source of technical information seldom utilized in the past is made readily available to the research man, the manufacturing engineer and the salesman. The system provides the capability to search for anticipation and as well as for domination. Techniques were devised to handle the peculiar language of patents and a systematic vocabulary of terms was developed for the extensive naming of generic classes of chemical compounds. A cross section of the patent literature is represented in the system which includes all types of patents such as articles of manufacture, process, composition of matter and apparatus. Retrieval of the patent information by electronic computer as well as by a manual search device is discussed.