TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present subject matter relates to synchronization of alterations,
and more particularly, to synchronization of alterations made to work products that
are developed on client devices interspersed in a Collaborative Work Environment.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The proliferation of networks such as intranets, extranets, and the
internet has done away with traditional corporate environments that required
geographical co-location of professionals, and made way for newer Information &
Communication Technology based corporate environments wherein multiple persons
and/ or entities may participate, contribute and develop projects synchronously,
irrespective of their geographical locations.
[0003] One such environment that has become extremely prevalent in recent
times is a collaborative work environment that employs networks such as
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Metropolitan Area Networks, Local Area Networks, Wide Area Networks, and even
the internet, if required to connect multiple client devices through which multiple
professionals, registered with the collaborative work environment, interact and share
work products among themselves to synchronously complete the project. Person
skilled in the art would appreciate that in accordance with the invention, these work
products could be word files, image files, audio files, video files or any such other
files that need to be shared between those client devices that are configured to
develop and execute the project.
[0004] While there are multiple systems and methods to ensure prompt and
efficient sharing of work products between client devices (e.g. data chunking based
systems and methods), a lesser addressed problem arises when multiple alterations
are made to the work products during the course of development and execution of
the project, and that is the problem of improper synchronization of the alterations
made to the work products. Person skilled in the art would appreciate that if these
alterations are not properly synchronized with the work product then that could lead
to the creation of an erroneously altered version of the work product, which on
further use may lead to faulty execution of the project, and in some cases, may even
lead to complete failure to execute the project.
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[0005] This invention, therefore, is directed to address the aforesaid problem
and offer a solution that intelligently and efficiently synchronizes alterations in the
work products, and in turn, facilitates proper development and execution of the
project.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention is intended to address at least the above
mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide a suitable solution therefor.
Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a synchronization
system and a method for synchronizing the one or more alternations made to work
products shared between the client devices interspersed in the Collaborative Work
Environment.
[0007] In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a
synchronization system to synchronize one or more alterations made to a work
product, by client devices, is provided, wherein the synchronization system
comprises a server side memory unit which upon invocation by a server side
processor triggers thereat an initiation component, a comparison component, an
evaluation component, a scoring component, and an integration component.
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[0008] In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a
method for synchronizing the alterations made to work product developed at the
client devices interspersed in the collaborative work environment using the
synchronization system, described above, is provided.
[0009] Other aspects, advantages and salient features of the invention will
become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description,
which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses exemplary
embodiments of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
[0010] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain
exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the
detailed description that follows taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, wherein:
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[0011] Fig.1 illustrates a collaborative work environment 100 in accordance with the
invention,
[0012] Fig.2 illustrates a block diagram of a synchronization system 400 in
accordance with the invention,
[0013] Fig. 3 illustrates a preferred manner in which the comparison component 422
compares the two or more versions of the work product with the
corresponding metadata tags and identifies alterations therein; and
[0014] Fig.4 illustrates a preferred manner in which the scoring component 424
calculates the scores based on the time stamp and the error probability of the
valid corresponding alteration files with the corresponding metadata tags.
[0015] It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any diagrams
herein represent conceptual views of illustrative systems embodying the principles of
the present subject matter.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0016] Advantages and features of the present invention may be understood
more readily by referring to this detailed description of preferred embodiments and
the accompanying drawings. The embodiments disclosed herein are exemplary
representations of different aspects and features of the present invention and are
therefore not to be construed in a limiting sense. Rather these embodiments should
be considered for comprehensively disclosing and thoroughly conveying the
invention and its aspects thereof, to those skilled in the art. All modifications,
equivalents, and alternatives of the invention shall be deemed to fall within the spirit
and scope of the disclosure. For the sake of simplicity all aspects of the preferred
system and method embodiments are referred using numerals which refer to the
same aspects throughout the specification.
[0017] As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to
include plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Likewise,
some techniques and mechanisms of the present invention will sometimes be
described in singular form for clarity. Such singular descriptions of techniques and
mechanisms should be construed to include multiple iterations of those techniques
and/or multiple instantiations of those mechanisms, respectively, without deviating
from the scope of the invention.
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[0018] It will be understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising”,
when used in the specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers,
steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or
addition of other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components.
Similarly, it will further be understood that, although the terms first, second, third
etc., may be used herein to describe some elements, components, regions, layers
and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should
not be limited by these terms. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer and/or
section disclosed in the description could be termed as a second element, component,
region, layer and/or section, or vice versa, without departing from the teachings of
the present invention.
[0019] Various techniques and mechanisms of the present invention will
sometimes describe a connection between two entities. It should be noted that in
such context, the connection between two entities would not necessarily mean a
direct, unimpeded connection, as a variety of other entities may reside between the
two entities. These entities may include without limitation, network peripherals
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including routers, bridges, modems, hubs, amplifiers, switches, repeaters or a
combination thereof. Further the connection between any two entities disclosed in
the invention should not only be construed as being dedicated hard wired
connections, but should also include virtual and/or wireless connections.
[0020] Unless otherwise defined, the terms (including technical and scientific
terms) used herein shall have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of
ordinary skill in the art. Further, the terms defined in commonly used dictionaries
should be interpreted and construed in a manner consistent with their dictionary
meaning, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless
expressly defined.
[0021] Fig.1 to Fig.4, discussed below are non limiting illustrations which
have been used to explain and describe the invention disclosed herein. Persons
skilled in the art will appreciate that the purpose of these figures is to provide clarity
to the concepts associated with the various technical embodiments of the invention
and not to limit the invention. These figures include without limitation, block
diagrams, flowcharts, schematics and/or other simplistic representations that explain
the various aspects of the invention with ease and effectiveness.
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[0022] Referring now to the figures and first to Fig.1, a collaborative work
environment, in accordance with the invention, is referred by the numeral 100. As
may be seen in the illustration, the collaborative work environment 100 contains a
network 200, client devices 300, and a synchronization system 400, wherein the
client devices 300 and the synchronization system 400, are spread across the network
200 of the collaborative work environment 100.
[0023] The network 200, as per the invention, could be one or more intranets,
Local Area Networks, Wide Area Networks, and Metropolitan Area Networks, either
standalone or in combination, or even the Internet, if required, that are either
dedicated or shared, and implement communication protocols such as Hypertext
Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP), and Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). In a preferred embodiment, the
network 200 may further include a variety of network devices including routers,
bridges, servers, repeaters, amplifiers, hubs and switches.
[0024] The client devices 300 in accordance with the invention are those one
or more client setups and/ or installations in the collaborative work environment 100,
wherefrom the work products and the alterations therein, are created. In a preferred
embodiment, these client devices 300 may be pre – configured with instructions
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obtained from the registered users of the collaborative work environment 100,
wherein the one or more instructions guide and assist in the creation of the work
products and/ or the alterations therein at the client devices 300 where they are pre –
configured.
[0025] Fig.2 illustrates a block diagram of the synchronization system 400 in
accordance with the invention. As may be seen in the illustration, the
synchronization system 400 comprises a server side processor 410, a server side
memory unit 420, and a server side I/O interface 430. The server side processor 410,
as per the invention, comprises one or more specialized server side processing units
including integrated system (bus) controllers, memory management control units,
floating point units, graphics processing units, digital signal processing unit, or a
combination thereof. The server side processor 410 may be designed and developed
from scratch or obtained by substantially reconstructing preexisting processors
including embedded processors such as Application-Specific Integrated circuits
(ISICs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays
(FPGAs), or microprocessors such as ADM Athlon, ADM Duron, AMD Opteron,
ARM’s range of micro processors, IMB Power PC Intel core, Intel Itanium, Intel
Xeon, Intel Celeron or a combination thereof.
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[0026] The server side memory unit 420 can include any non-transitory
computer-readable medium known in the art including, volatile memory (e.g. RAM),
and/or non-volatile memory (e.g. EPROM and flash memory). As per the invention,
the server side memory unit 420, on being invoked by the server side processor 410
through one or more signals and/ or instructions, triggers thereat, an initiation
component 421, a comparison component 422, an evaluation component 423, a
scoring component 424, and an integration component 425, all of which are destined
to perform one or more operations and/ or render one or more functionalities, in
accordance with the invention.
[0027] The server side processors 410 and the server side memory unit 420
may be disposed in communication with each other via the server side I/O interface
430. The server side I/O interface 430 may employ communication protocols and/ or
methods such as, audio, analog, digital, monoaural, RCA, stereo, IEEE-1394, serial
bus, universal serial bus (USB), infrared, PS/2, BNC, coaxial, component,
composite, digital visual interface (DVI), high-definition multimedia interface
(HDMI), RF antennas, S-Video, VGA, IEEE 802.n/b/g/n/x, Bluetooth, and cellular
(e.g., code-division multiple access (CDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA+),
global system for mobile communications (GSM), long-term evolution (LTE),
WiMax, or the like).
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[0028] As may be seen in the illustration, the synchronization system 400, in
a preferred embodiment, may further comprise a server side data historian 440 which
may be selected from amongst digital databases, cloud databases, on premise
databases, relational databases including Oracle RDBMS, Microsoft SQL Server,
IBM DB2, YSQL and Postgre SQL, SOSQL databases, ERPs, CRM systems, and/or
a combination thereof, wherein the server side data historian 440 records trends and
historical information about the processes of the collaborative work environment 100
for future reference. More specifically, the server side data historian 440 may capture
information about status, performance monitoring, quality assurance, tracking and
genealogy, work product delivery and management, and such other characteristics
relevant to the invention, and store this information at discrete tuples therein,
wherein the discrete tuples are edified to access, operate, federate, combine, sync,
and link with one other. In a preferred embodiment, the server side data historian 440
may also possess data compression and data presentation capabilities.
[0029] Now, therefore, in light of the above definitions and descriptions, the
invention is initiated when two or more versions of the work product are received at
the synchronization system 400. Upon receiving the two or more versions of the
work product, the server side processor 410 is invoked which in turn instructs the
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server side memory unit 420 to firstly trigger the initiation component 421 that
receives the two or more versions of the work product and appends to each version
of the work product, a corresponding metadata tag which as per a preferred variation
includes, name of the creator of that version of the work product, designation of the
creator of that version of the work product, time stamp of that version of the work
product, and error probability of that version of the work product wherein the error
probability is calculable, statistically, from historical data pertaining to the quantum
and frequency with which the creator of that version of the work product is known to
make errors.
[0030] The two or more versions of the work product with the corresponding
metadata tags are thereafter subjected to the comparison component 422 that
communicatively connects the initiation component 421 to execute a two- fold
operation. Firstly, the comparison component 422 compares the two or more
versions of the work product with the corresponding metadata tags and identifies
alterations made therein, and thereafter records the alterations identified thereof in
corresponding alteration files. Next the comparison component 422 attaches the
corresponding metadata tags of the two or more versions of the work product to the
corresponding alteration files.
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[0031] Fig. 3 illustrates the manner in which the comparison component 422
compares the two or more versions of the work product with the corresponding
metadata tags and identifies alterations therein. As may be seen in the illustration,
when three versions with the corresponding metadata tags, for the work product
ABC.txt viz. ABC_1.txt, ABC_2.txt and ABC_3.txt (corresponding metadata tags
not illustrated for the sake of simplicity), are inputted to the comparison component
422, then they are compared to identify alterations in each version of the work
product which are then recorded in corresponding alteration files viz. ABC_1(alt).txt,
ABC_2(alt).txt, and ABC_3(alt).txt such that ABC_1(alt).txt corresponds to
ABC_1.txt, ABC_2(alt).txt corresponds to ABC_2.txt, and ABC_3(alt).txt
corresponds to ABC_3.txt. Thereafter, in accordance with the remaining functioning
of the comparison component 422, the corresponding metadata tags in ABC_1.txt,
ABC_2.txt, and ABC_3.txt are attached to the corresponding alteration files
ABC_1(alt).txt, ABC_2(alt).txt, and ABC_3(alt).txt, respectively.
[0032] The proceeds of the comparison component 422, that is, the
corresponding alteration files with the corresponding metadata tags are forwarded to
the evaluation component 423 that checks whether the creators of the corresponding
alteration files with corresponding metadata tags were authorized to create so or not.
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[0033] In accordance with the invention, the evaluation component 423
checks whether the alterations made in each corresponding alteration file with the
corresponding metadata tag are valid or not, by referring to the name and the
designation of the creator of that corresponding alteration file from its corresponding
metadata tag, and checking whether the creator bearing the name and designation
referred thereof has been authorized by the higher management to alter the work
product or not. In case, this operation at the evaluation component 423 yields that a
particular corresponding alteration file with a particular corresponding metadata tag
is not valid as its creator was not authorized by the higher management then the
corresponding alteration file with the corresponding metadata tag and the version of
the work product to which the corresponding alteration file corresponds are
immediately discarded. However, if this operation of the evaluation component 423
yields that a particular corresponding alteration file with a particular corresponding
metadata tag is valid as its creator was authorized by the higher management then the
evaluation component 423, transfers all the valid corresponding alteration files with
corresponding metadata tags to the scoring component 424.
[0034] The scoring component 424, upon receiving the valid corresponding
alteration files with the corresponding metadata tags, firstly, calculates the time
stamp score and the error probability score of the valid corresponding alteration files
with the corresponding metadata tags received thereof. Person skilled in the art
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would obviously understand that the score based on the time stamp would be lesser if
the time stamp value is earlier in time as that would mean that the alterations
recorded in the valid corresponding alteration file with corresponding metadata tag
are old, and most likely, outdated. Likewise, person skilled in the art would
obviously understand that the score based on error probability is likely to be lesser if
the error probability value is higher as high error probability value would mean that
the contents of the valid corresponding alteration file with the corresponding
metadata tag are likely to be erroneous.
[0035] Fig.4 illustrates a preferred manner in which the scoring component
424 calculates the scores based on the time stamp and the error probability of the
valid corresponding alteration files with the corresponding metadata tags. As may be
seen in the illustration, firstly the time stamp value and the error probability value are
read from the corresponding metadata tag of the valid corresponding alteration file,
which in the illustration are read as 11 AM and 60%, respectively (marked as 4(a)).
Thereafter, the time stamp value is matched against a first scoring reference (marked
as 4(b)), and the error probability value is matched against a second scoring
reference (marked as 4(c)), to determine a time stamp score and an error probability
score, respectively. Person skilled in the art would appreciate that in accordance with
the invention the first scoring reference and the second scoring reference are tables
substantiating upon the scores to be given for particular ranges of values for the time
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stamp and the error probability, respectively, wherein these value ranges and
corresponding scores are determined based on the historical scoring trends and
patterns. Thus, by referring to the first scoring reference and the second scoring
reference, the time stamp score and the error probability score may be calculated,
respectively. In the illustration, the time stamp score is boxed in the first scoring
reference 4(b) (score calculated assuming that the original work product was created
at 10:30 AM), and the error probability score is boxed in the second scoring
reference 4(c).
[0036] Thereafter, the scoring component 424 triggers its second operation of
calculating a cumulative score for the valid corresponding alteration file with the
corresponding metadata tag, based on time stamp score and the error probability
score calculated thereof. In accordance with the invention, the cumulative score may
be calculated by adding and/ or convoluting the time stamp scores and the error
probability scores calculated thereof by employing mathematical models including
without limitation, wavelet transform, time-frequency approaches, Fourier transform,
Wigner-Ville Distribution (WVD), statistical measures, and higher-order statistics.
Further, Artificial Intelligence based approaches may also be employed for
calculating the cumulative scores using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), dynamic
recurrent neural networks (DRNN), fuzzy logic system, Genetic Algorithm (GA),
and Hidden Markov Model (HMM).
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[0037] The proceeds of the scoring component 424, that is, the cumulative
scores of the valid corresponding alteration files with the corresponding metadata
tags, pertaining to a particular work product, are thereafter moved to the integration
component 425 that compares the cumulative scores to determine that valid
corresponding alteration file with the corresponding metadata tag having the highest
cumulative score, separates the corresponding alteration file having the highest
cumulative score from the corresponding alteration file with the corresponding
metadata tag having the highest cumulative score, and integrates the corresponding
alteration file having the highest cumulative score, separated thereof, with the
particular work product thereby updating it for further use. Once the updation is
completed the integration component 425 discards all the other valid corresponding
alteration files with the corresponding metadata tags, pertaining to the particular
work product, and also discards the two or more versions of the particular work
product to which the other valid corresponding alteration files correspond, and thus
achieves the intended purpose of the synchronization system 400.
[0038] A method 500 for synchronizing the alterations made to work product
developed at the client devices 300 interspersed in the collaborative work
environment 100 using the synchronization system 400 is also disclosed herein. The
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method 500 is initiated by receiving two or more versions of the work product at the
synchronization system 400, 505, and appending to each version of the work
product, corresponding metadata tag 510 which as per a preferred variation may
include, name of the creator of that version of the work product, designation of the
creator of that version of the work product, time stamp of that version of the work
product, and error probability of that version of the work product wherein the error
probability is calculable, statistically, from historical data pertaining to the quantum
and frequency with which the creator of that version of the work product is known to
make errors.
[0039] The two or more versions of the work product with the corresponding
metadata tags are thereafter subjected to next step of the method 500 and that is,
comparing the two or more versions of the work product with the corresponding
metadata tags and identifying alterations made therein 515. After identifying the
alterations made in the two or more versions of the work product 515, the step of
recording the alterations identified thereof in corresponding alteration files 520 is
triggered. The corresponding alteration files obtained from the step 520 are thereafter
subjected to the step of attaching the corresponding metadata tags of the two or more
versions of the work product to the corresponding alteration files 525.
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[0040] The proceeds of the step 525, that is, the corresponding alteration files
with the corresponding metadata tags are subjected to the next step of checking
whether the creators of the corresponding alteration files with corresponding
metadata tags were authorized to create so or not 530. In accordance with the method
500, the step 530 checks whether the alterations made in each corresponding
alteration file with the corresponding metadata tag are valid or not, by referring to
the name of the creator of that corresponding alteration file from the corresponding
metadata tag 531, and by referring to the designation of the creator of that
corresponding alteration file from the corresponding metadata tag 532, and thereafter
checking, for that corresponding alteration file with the corresponding metadata tag,
whether the creator bearing the name and designation referred thereof, has been
authorized by the higher management to alter the work product or not 533.
[0041] In case, the step 530 and the sub steps 531, 532, 533 thereof, reveals
that a particular corresponding alteration file with a particular corresponding
metadata tag is not valid as its creator was not authorized by the higher management
then the step of discarding that particular corresponding alteration file with the
particular corresponding metadata tag and the version of the work product to which
the particular corresponding alteration file corresponds 535 is triggered.
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[0042] If, however, the step 530 and the sub steps 531, 532, 533 thereof,
reveals that a particular corresponding alteration file with a particular corresponding
metadata tag is valid as its creator was authorized by the higher management, then
the method 500 triggers for that particular corresponding alteration file with the
particular corresponding metadata tag, the next step of calculating its time stamp
score and its error probability score 540. In a preferred embodiment, the calculating
of the scores based on the time stamp and the error probability of the valid
corresponding alteration file with the corresponding metadata tag 540 may be
achieved by firstly reading the time stamp value and the error probability value from
the corresponding metadata tag 541. After reading 541, the sub step of matching the
time stamp value read thereof against a first scoring reference for determining a time
stamp score 542 and the sub step of matching the error probability value read thereof
against a second scoring reference for determining an error probability score 543,
may be triggered, wherein the first scoring reference and the second scoring
reference of the sub step 542 and the sub step 543, respectively, are tables
substantiating upon the scores to be given for particular ranges of values for the time
stamp and the error probability, respectively, wherein these value ranges and
corresponding scores are determined based on the historical scoring trends and
patterns.
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[0043] Thereafter, the method 500 triggers the step of calculating a
cumulative score for the valid corresponding alteration file with the corresponding
metadata tag, by adding and/ or convoluting the time stamp score and the error
probability score calculated thereof, using mathematical models including without
limitation, wavelet transform, time-frequency approaches, Fourier transform,
Wigner-Ville Distribution (WVD), statistical measures, and higher-order statistics
545. Further, Artificial Intelligence based approaches may also be employed for
calculating the cumulative scores 545 using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN),
dynamic recurrent neural networks (DRNN), fuzzy logic system, Genetic Algorithm
(GA), and Hidden Markov Model (HMM).
[0044] The proceeds of step 545, that is, the cumulative scores of the valid
corresponding alteration files with the corresponding metadata tags, pertaining to a
particular work product, are thereafter subjected to the step of comparing the
cumulative scores and determining that valid corresponding alteration file with the
corresponding metadata tag having the highest cumulative score 550. Upon
determining the valid corresponding alteration file with the corresponding metadata
tag having the highest cumulative score 550, the method triggers the next two steps
of separating the corresponding alteration file having the highest cumulative score
from the corresponding alteration file with the corresponding metadata tag having
the highest cumulative score 555, and integrating the corresponding alteration file
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having the highest cumulative score, separated thereof, with the particular work
product thereby updating it for further use 560.
[0045] After the integrating of the corresponding alteration file, and the
subsequent updating of the work product 560, the work product deemed to be
properly updated and declared fit for future use. Thus after step 560, the method 500
performs the steps of discarding all the other valid corresponding alteration files with
the corresponding metadata tags pertaining to the particular work product 565, and
discarding the two or more versions of the particular work product to which the other
valid corresponding alteration files correspond 570, before concluding its working.
[0046] While the present invention has been particularly shown and
described in sufficient detail, through exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be
understood by those of ordinary skills in the art that other embodiments may be
utilized and that other changes may be made in form and details, without departing
from the scope of the present invention.

I/ We Claim:
1. A synchronization system 400 to synchronize alterations made to a work product,
by client devices 300, wherein the synchronization system 400 and the client
devices 300 are interspersed in a collaborative work environment 100 and
wherein the synchronization system 400 is characterized by -
a server side processor 410 that comprises one or more specialized processing
units; and
a server side memory unit 420 which upon invocation by the server side
processor 410 triggers thereat –
an initiation component 421,
a comparison component 422,
an evaluation component 423,
a scoring component 424, and
an integration component 425; and
wherein, the server side processor 410 and the server side memory unit 420
are disposed in communication via a server side I/O interface 430.
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2. The synchronization system 400 as claimed in claim 1 wherein the
synchronization system 400 further comprises a server side data historian 440
that records trends and/ or historical information about the synchronization
system 400 wherein the trends and/ or the historical information, pertain
without limitation to attributes including status, performance, quality,
genealogy, and work product delivery and management.
3. The synchronization system 400 as claimed in claim 1 wherein the
synchronization system 400 is characterized by the server side memory unit
420 which upon invocation by the server side processor 410 triggers thereat,
the initiation component 421 that –
receives two or more versions of the work product; and
appends to each version of the work product received thereof, a
corresponding metadata tag which comprises –
name of the creator of that version of the work product,
designation of the creator of that version of the work product,
time stamp of that version of the work product, and
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error probability of that version of the work product wherein, the error
probability is calculable, statistically, from historical data pertaining
to the quantum and frequency with which the creator of that version
of the work product is known to make errors.
4. The synchronization system 400 as claimed in claim 1 and claim 3 wherein
the synchronization system 400 is characterized by the server side memory
unit 420 which upon invocation by the server side processor 410 triggers
thereat, the comparison component 422 that –
receives the two or more versions of the work product with the corresponding
metadata tags from the initiation component 421;
compares the two or more versions of the work product with the
corresponding metadata tags and identifies alterations made therein; and
records the alterations identified thereof in corresponding alteration files; and
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attaches the corresponding metadata tags of the two or more versions of the
work product to the corresponding alteration files.
5. The synchronization system 400 as claimed in claim 1 and claim 4 wherein the
synchronization system 400 is characterized by the server side memory unit 420
which upon invocation by the server side processor 410 triggers thereat, the
evaluation component 423 that checks whether the alterations made in each
corresponding alteration file with the corresponding metadata tag are valid or
not, by –
receiving the corresponding alteration files with the corresponding metadata
tags from the comparison component 422;
referring, for each corresponding alteration file with the corresponding
metadata tag, to the name of the creator of that corresponding alteration file
from the corresponding metadata tag;
referring, for each corresponding alteration file with the corresponding
metadata tag, to the designation of the creator of that corresponding alteration
file from the corresponding metadata tag; and
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checking, for each corresponding alteration file with the corresponding
metadata tag, whether the creator bearing the name and designation referred
thereof has been authorized by the higher management to alter the work
product or not;
wherein, a particular corresponding alteration file with a particular corresponding
metadata tag would be invalid if its creator is not authorized by the higher
management to alter the work product, in which case, the corresponding alteration
file with the corresponding metadata tag and the version of the work product to
which the corresponding alteration file corresponds would be discarded; and
wherein, a particular corresponding alteration file with a particular corresponding
metadata tag would be valid if its creator is authorized by the higher management to
alter the work product, in which case, the corresponding alteration file would be
forwarded to the scoring component 424 for further processment.
6. The synchronization system 400 as claimed in claim 1 and claim 5 wherein the
synchronization system 400 is characterized by the server side memory unit 420
which upon invocation by the server side processor 410 triggers thereat, the scoring
component 424 that –
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receives the valid corresponding alteration file with the corresponding
metadata tag from the evaluation component 423;
calculates a time stamp score and an error probability score for the valid
corresponding alteration files with the corresponding metadata tags received
thereof; and
calculates a cumulative score for the valid corresponding alteration file with
the corresponding metadata tag, based on time stamp score and the error
probability score calculated thereof.
7. The synchronization system as claimed in claim 6 wherein the scoring
component 424 calculates the time stamp score and the error probability
score for the valid corresponding alteration file with the corresponding
metadata tag received thereof, by -
reading the time stamp value and the error probability value from the
corresponding metadata tag of the corresponding alteration file;
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matching the time stamp value read thereof against a first scoring reference
for determining a time stamp score; and
matching the error probability value read thereof against a second scoring
reference for determining an error probability score;
wherein the first scoring reference and the second scoring reference are tables
substantiating upon the scores to be given for particular ranges of values for the
time stamp and the error probability, respectively, and wherein these ranges of
values and corresponding scores are determined based on the historical scoring
trends and patterns.
8. The synchronization system 400 of claim 6 wherein scoring component 424
calculates a cumulative score for the valid corresponding alteration file with
the corresponding metadata tag, based on time stamp score and the error
probability score calculated thereof by adding and/ or convoluting the time
stamp score and the error probability score calculated thereof by employing
mathematical models including wavelet transform, time-frequency
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approaches, Fourier transform, Wigner-Ville Distribution (WVD), statistical
measures, and higher-order statistics, and/ or by employing AI based
approaches including Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), dynamic recurrent
neural networks (DRNN), fuzzy logic system, Genetic Algorithm (GA), and
Hidden Markov Model (HMM).
9. The synchronization system 400 as claimed in claim 1 and claim 6 wherein
the synchronization system 400 is characterized by the server side memory
unit 420 which upon invocation by the server side processor 410 triggers
thereat, the integration component 425 that –
receives the cumulative scores of the valid corresponding alteration files with
the corresponding metadata tags, pertaining to a particular work product,
from the scoring component 424;
compares the cumulative scores received thereof to determine that valid
corresponding alteration file with the corresponding metadata tag having the
highest cumulative score;
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separates the corresponding alteration file having the highest cumulative
score from the corresponding alteration file with the corresponding metadata
tag having the highest cumulative score; and
integrates the corresponding alteration file having the highest cumulative
score, separated thereof, with the particular work product;
wherein, upon integration of the valid corresponding alteration file having the
highest cumulative score with the particular work product, the integration
component 425 –
discards all the other valid corresponding alteration files with the
corresponding metadata tags for the particular work product, and
discards the two or more versions of the particular work product to which the
other valid corresponding alteration files, correspond.
10. A method 500 for synchronizing the alterations made to work product
developed at the client devices 300 interspersed in the collaborative work
environment 100 using the synchronization system 400 wherein the method
comprises the steps of –
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receiving two or more versions of the work product at the synchronization
system 400, 505;
appending to each version of the work product, a corresponding metadata tag
510;
comparing the two or more versions of the work product with the
corresponding metadata tags and identifying alterations made therein 515;
recording the alterations identified thereof in corresponding alteration files
520;
attaching the corresponding metadata tags of the two or more versions of the
work product to the corresponding alteration files 525;
checking whether the alterations made in each corresponding alteration file
with the corresponding metadata tag are valid or not 530;
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discarding those corresponding alteration files with the corresponding
metadata tags, where upon checking 530, the alterations made therein are
found to be invalid 535;
calculating the time stamp score and the error probability score for those
corresponding alteration files with the corresponding metadata tags, where
upon checking 530, the alterations made therein are found to be valid 540;
calculating a cumulative score for the valid corresponding alteration file with
the corresponding metadata tag 545;
comparing the cumulative scores of the valid corresponding alteration files
with the corresponding metadata tags, pertaining to a particular work product
and determining that valid corresponding alteration file with the
corresponding metadata tag having the highest cumulative score 550;
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separating the corresponding alteration file having the highest cumulative
score from the corresponding alteration file with the corresponding metadata
tag having the highest cumulative score 555; and
integrating the corresponding alteration file having the highest cumulative
score, separated thereof, with the particular work product 560.
11. The method 500 comprising the step of attaching the corresponding metadata
tags of the two or more versions of the work product to the corresponding
alteration files 525, wherein each corresponding metadata tag comprises -
the name of the creator of that version of the work product;
the designation of the creator of that version of the work product;
the time stamp of that version of the work product; and
the error probability of that version of the work product;
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wherein the error probability is calculable, statistically, from historical data
pertaining to the quantum and frequency with which the creator of that version of
the work product is known to make errors.
12. The method 500 wherein the step of checking whether the alterations made in
each corresponding alteration file with the corresponding metadata tag are
valid or not 530, comprises the sub steps of -
referring to the name of the creator of that corresponding alteration file from
the corresponding metadata tag 531;
referring to the designation of the creator of that corresponding alteration file
from the corresponding metadata tag 532; and
checking, for that corresponding alteration file with the corresponding
metadata tag, whether the creator bearing the name and designation referred
thereof has been authorized by the higher management to alter the work
product or not 533.
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13. The method 500 wherein the step of calculating the time stamp score and the
error probability score for those corresponding alteration files with the
corresponding metadata tags, where upon checking 530, the alterations made
therein are found to be valid 540, performs for each valid corresponding
alteration file with the corresponding metadata tag, the sub steps of –
reading the time stamp value and the error probability value from the
corresponding metadata tag of that valid corresponding alteration file with
the corresponding metadata tag 541;
matching, for that valid corresponding alteration file with the corresponding
metadata tag, the time stamp value read thereof against a first scoring
reference for determining a time stamp score 542; and
matching, for that valid corresponding alteration file with the corresponding
metadata tag, the error probability value read thereof against a second scoring
reference for determining an error probability score 543;
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wherein the first scoring reference and the second scoring reference are tables
substantiating upon the scores to be given for particular ranges of values for the
time stamp and the error probability, respectively, and wherein these value
ranges and corresponding scores are determined based on the historical scoring
trends and patterns.
14. The method 500 wherein the step of calculating the cumulative score for the
valid corresponding alteration file with the corresponding metadata tag 545 is
achieved by adding and/ or convoluting the time stamp score and the error
probability score calculated thereof, using mathematical models including,
wavelet transform, time-frequency approaches, Fourier transform, Wigner-Ville
Distribution (WVD), statistical measures, and higher-order statistics 545, and/ or
by using AI based approaches including Artificial Neural Networks (ANN),
dynamic recurrent neural networks (DRNN), fuzzy logic system, Genetic
Algorithm (GA), and Hidden Markov Model (HMM).
15. The method 500 wherein upon integrating the corresponding alteration file
having the highest cumulative score with the particular work product 560, the
method 500 performs the additional step of –
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discarding all the other valid corresponding alteration files with the
corresponding metadata tags pertaining to the particular work product 565;
and
discarding the two or more versions of the particular work product to which
the other valid corresponding alteration files correspond 570.