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US5642471A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Production rule filter mechanism and inference engine for expert systems

Assignee: Alcatel Lucent NV
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Filing: 1994-05-06
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Granted: 1997-06-24
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Expires: 2014-05-06
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Abstract

Abstract A mechanism for filtering production rules which express conditions to be satisfied, identifies during successive inference cycles rules whose conditions are satisfied for deduced facts. The mechanism includes a sorting system for ordering the conditions of the rules according to a sorting criterion in order to verify the conditions of the rules on the basis of an order in which the conditions are to be applied. The sorting mechanism activates the system for sorting the conditions of the rules only if the number of facts satisfying a rule condition is multiplied or divided by a variable factor between the current inference cycle and the last preceding inference cycle during which the sorting system was activated for that rule.

Inventors

  • 👤 Olivier Paillet

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-06 18:09
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06N; G06N5/00; G06N5/04; G06N5/046; G06N5/047

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim 102 words
An apparatus for filtering production rules, which express conditions to be satisfied, said apparatus being adapted to identify, during successive inference cycles, rule(s) whose conditions are satisfied for deduced facts, said apparatus comprising a sorting system for ordering the conditions of the rules in accordance with a sorting criterion, wherein said sorting system is activated to sort the conditions of the rules only if the number of facts which satisfy a rule condition is multiplied or divided by a variable factor between the current inference cycle and the last preceding inference cycle during which the sorting system was activated for this rule.
Claim 2
Independent Claim 102 words
An apparatus for filtering production rules, which express conditions to be satisfied, said apparatus being adapted to identify, during successive inference cycles, rule(s) whose conditions are satisfied for deduced facts, said apparatus comprising a sorting system for ordering the conditions of the rules in accordance with a sorting criterion, wherein said sorting system is activated to sort the conditions of the rules only if the number of facts which satisfy a rule condition is multiplied or divided by a variable factor between the current inference cycle and the last preceding inference cycle during which the sorting system was activated for this rule.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 24 words
The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said sorting system is adapted to memorize an ordered list of the other conditions of said rule.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 112 words
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the criteria for sorting the conditions of a rule comprises: a) a first condition of the rule is one which must be verified for a new deduced fact; b) a next condition of the rule is selected from the remaining conditions of the rule, said next condition being the one which satisfies one of the following criteria in the following order of preference: i) a condition that does not include any variable; ii) a condition including at least one variable present in a condition already selected; iii) a condition including at least one variable and for which the number of constrained facts is the smallest.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 111 words
Expert system inference engine comprising a filtering apparatus for filtering production rules which express conditions to be satisfied, said filtering apparatus being adapted to identify, during successive inference cycles, rule(s) whose conditions are satisfied for deduced facts, and said filtering apparatus comprising a sorting system for ordering the conditions of the rules in accordance with a sorting criterion, wherein said sorting system is activated to sort the conditions of the rules only if the number of facts which satisfy a rule condition is multiplied or divided by a variable factor between the current inference cycle and the last preceding inference cycle during which the sorting system was activated for this rule.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 111 words
Expert system inference engine comprising a filtering apparatus for filtering production rules which express conditions to be satisfied, said filtering apparatus being adapted to identify, during successive inference cycles, rule(s) whose conditions are satisfied for deduced facts, and said filtering apparatus comprising a sorting system for ordering the conditions of the rules in accordance with a sorting criterion, wherein said sorting system is activated to sort the conditions of the rules only if the number of facts which satisfy a rule condition is multiplied or divided by a variable factor between the current inference cycle and the last preceding inference cycle during which the sorting system was activated for this rule.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 27 words
An expert system inference engine according to claim 4, wherein said sorting system is adapted to memorize an ordered list of the other conditions of said rule.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 114 words
An expert system inference engine according to claim 4, wherein the criteria for sorting the conditions of a rule comprises: a) a first condition of the rule is one which must be verified for anew deduced fact; b) a next condition of the rule is selected from the remaining conditions of the rule, said next condition being the one which satisfies one of the following criteria in the following order of preference: i) a condition that does not include any variable; ii) a condition including at least one variable present in a condition already selected; iii) a condition including at least one variable and for which the number of constrained facts is the smallest.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

EP0314650A2 Cited
US4890240A Cited
US5297239A Cited
US5353385A Cited
US5263127A Cited
US5485549A Cited
US5265193A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 2000-06-23 2000-12-23 2001-06-24 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 2004-06-23 2004-12-23 2005-06-24 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2008-06-23 2008-12-23 2009-06-24 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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