[table of contents for nonframes version]

FSORT

Description

The FSORT command is used to group together patent records pertaining to the same invention into patent families.

Patent Family Definition

For the purposes of FSORT, a patent family is defined as follows: Two patent records, A and B, are considered to be members of the same family if any patent, application, or priority number from the PN or APPS fields appears in both record A and B.

Command Line

To use the FSORT command, follow this sample format:

=>
FSORT
L-number

1
2

Example: => FSORT L2

Command Guidelines

Use the guidelines below to enter command line information.

Field

Guidelines

Type: FSORT

Type: the L-number of an answer set containing patent records

Default: The last answer set L-number created in the current file

Note!

To use FSORT you must be in one of the files from the PATENTS cluster or in a multifile environment that contains files from the PATENTS cluster.

Results

Results obtained with FSORT are placed in a new L-number answer set.

To display answers from FSORT, use the DISPLAY command.

Example

The following example shows use of FSORT to group together patent records pertaining to the same invention family.

=> FILE CAPLUS

=> S (COCOA BUTTER OR CACAO BUTTER OR FAT)(S)
   (SUBSTITUT? OR REPLAC?) AND CHOCOLAT?

          1813 COCOA BUTTER
                 (COCOA(W)BUTTER)
           112 CACAO BUTTER
                 (CACAO(W)BUTTER)
L1         216 (COCOA BUTTER OR CACAO BUTTER OR FAT)(S)
               (SUBSTITUT? OR REPLAC?) AND CHOCOLAT?

=> FSORT L1

SET SMARTSELECT ON
SET COMMAND COMPLETED

SET HIGHLIGHTING OFF
SET COMMAND COMPLETED

SEL L1 1- PN,APPS
L2          SEL L1 1- PN APPS :     314 TERMS

'L2' DELETED
L2          216 FSO L1

              3 MULTI-RECORD FAMILIES   ANSWERS 1-6
                  FAMILY 1                ANSWERS 1-2
                  FAMILY 2                ANSWERS 3-4
                  FAMILY 3                ANSWERS 5-6
            128 INDIVIDUAL RECORDS      ANSWERS 7-134
             82 NON-PATENT RECORDS      ANSWERS 135-216

SET SMARTSELECT OFF
SET COMMAND COMPLETED

SET HIGHLIGHTING DEF                                     
SET COMMAND COMPLETED

=> D L2 TI DT 1-3 7 135
   
L2   ANSWER 1 OF 216  CAPLUS  COPYRIGHT 1998 ACS     FAMILY  1
TI   STARCH-BASED TEXTURIZING AGENT FOR REDUCED-FAT FOODS
DT   PATENT
   
L2   ANSWER 2 OF 216  CAPLUS  COPYRIGHT 1998 ACS     FAMILY  1
TI   STARCH-BASED TEXTURIZING AGENT
DT   PATENT
   
L2   ANSWER 3 OF 216  CAPLUS  COPYRIGHT 1998 ACS     FAMILY  2
TI   DIOL LIPID ANALOGES AS EDIBLE FAT REPLACEMENTS.
DT   PATENT
   
L2   ANSWER 7 OF 216  CAPLUS  COPYRIGHT 1998 ACS
TI   FAT-REDUCED BUTTER TRUFFLE CHOCOLATE CANDY
DT   PATENT
   
L2   ANSWER 135 OF 216  CAPLUS  COPYRIGHT 1998 ACS
TI   UTILIZATION OF FRACTIONATED MILK FAT IN CHOCOLATE
     FORMULATION
DT   CONFERENCE

Notes:

The sorted results are placed in a new L-number answer set, in this case L2. Answer set L2 has:
- 3 patent families, each containing two answers
- 128 individual patents
- 82 non-patent answers
In the display of answers from L2, each answer that is part of a family is tagged.

STN Assistance

If you enter just the FSORT command, STN prompts for an answer set L-number.

If you are unsure how to answer an STN prompt, type a question mark (?) and STN provides more details.

For more information on the FSORT command, type HELP FSORT.

[table of contents for nonframes version]

CAS Home| About STN

This set of html files is also available at the web site of FIZ-Karlsruhe, which operates the STN Service Center in Europe.