US6026388A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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User interface and other enhancements for natural language information retrieval system and method
Assignee: TEXTWISE LLC
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Filing: 1996-08-14
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Granted: 2000-02-15
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Expires: 2016-08-14
Abstract
Abstract Techniques for generating sophisticated representations of the contents of both queries and documents in a retrieval system by using natural language processing (NLP) techniques to represent, index, and retrieve texts at the multiple levels (e.g., the morphological, lexical, syntactic, semantic, discourse, and pragmatic levels) at which humans construe meaning in writing. The user enters a query and the system processes the query to generate an alternative representation, which includes conceptual-level abstraction and representations based on complex nominals (CNs), proper nouns (PNs), single terms, text structure, and logical make-up of the query, including mandatory terms. After processing the query, the system displays query information to the user, indicating the system's interpretation and representation of the content of the query. The user is then given an opportunity to provide input, in response to which the system modifies the alternative representation of the query. Once the user has provided desired input, the possibly modified representation of the query is matched to the relevant document database, and measures of relevance generated for the documents. A set of documents is presented to the user, who is given an opportunity to select some or all of the documents, typically on the basis of such documents being of particular relevance. The user then initiates the generation of a query representation based on the alternative representations of the selected document(s).
Inventors
- 👤 Elizabeth D. Liddy
- 👤 Woojin Paik
- 👤 Mary E. McKenna
- 👤 Michael L. Weiner
- 👤 Edmund S. Yu
- 👤 Theodore G. Diamond
- 👤 Bhaskaran Balakrishnan
- 👤 David L. Snyder
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 20:13
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/30; G06F16/33; G06F16/332; G06F16/3329; G06F16/3331; G06F16/334; G06F16/3344; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99931; Y10S707/99933; Y10S707/99935
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 42
Claim 1
Independent Claim
138 words
A method of operating a computerized information retrieval system where information is retrieved from a database containing documents in response to user queries, the method comprising: receiving a natural language query specifying information to be retrieved; processing the query to generate an alternative representation of the query, the alternative representation including generating a logical representation incorporating terms and phrases found in the query and assigning weighted Boolean scores to the query terms; displaying query information to the user indicating the result of said step of processing the query; receiving user input responsive to the display of query information; in response to such user input, if any, modifying the alternative representation of the query to reflect such user input; and matching the alternative representation of the query, modified in accordance with such user input, if any, against the database.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
138 words
A method of operating a computerized information retrieval system where information is retrieved from a database containing documents in response to user queries, the method comprising: receiving a natural language query specifying information to be retrieved; processing the query to generate an alternative representation of the query, the alternative representation including generating a logical representation incorporating terms and phrases found in the query and assigning weighted Boolean scores to the query terms; displaying query information to the user indicating the result of said step of processing the query; receiving user input responsive to the display of query information; in response to such user input, if any, modifying the alternative representation of the query to reflect such user input; and matching the alternative representation of the query, modified in accordance with such user input, if any, against the database.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 1 wherein: the alternative representation of the query includes a conceptual level defined by subset of a finite set of subject codes, the subset corresponding to subject codes interpreted by the system to characterize the subject contents of the query.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the user input specifies increasing or decreasing the set of terms and phrases.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
49 words
The method of claim 1 wherein: the alternative representation of the query includes a set of terms and phrases found in the query that are interpreted by the system to be mandatory requirements for relevance; and the user input specifies increasing or decreasing the set of terms and phrases.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 1 wherein: the database contains documents that have been processed to generate corresponding alternative representations of the documents.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
72 words
The method of claim 5, and further comprising the steps, performed after said step of matching the alternative representation of the query, of: for at least some documents in the database, generating a measure of relevance of the document to the query using the alternative representation of the document and the alternative representation of the of the query; and displaying a list of documents whose measures of relevance are deemed sufficiently high.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
59 words
The method of claim 6, and further comprising the steps, performed after said step of displaying a list of documents, of: receiving user input specifying selection of at least some of the list of documents; using the alternative representations of the documents, so selected, to generate a new query representation; and matching the new query representation against the database.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 7 wherein the new query representation is a combination of the alternative representation of the query and the alternative representations of the documents, so selected.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 7 wherein the new query representation does not depend on the alternative representation of the query.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
202 words
A method of operating a computerized information retrieval system where information is retrieved from a database containing documents in response to user queries, the method comprising: receiving a natural language query specifying information to be retrieved; processing the query to abstract the query to an alternative representation suitable for input to a database of documents, each document of which is abstracted to a corresponding alterative representation; displaying query information to the user indicating the result of said step of processing the query, the query information including a number of items characterizing the query including a subset of a finite set of subjects, the subset corresponding to subjects interpreted by the system to characterize the subject contents of the query; entering a mode that permits user modification of the items of query information; remaining in the mode pending user input that specifies exiting the mode, user input that specifies exiting the mode including a request to execute the query; while in the mode, receiving user modifications, if any, of the items of query information; and in response to a request to execute the query, executing the query, modified in accordance with any user modifications of the items of query information, against the database.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
202 words
A method of operating a computerized information retrieval system where information is retrieved from a database containing documents in response to user queries, the method comprising: receiving a natural language query specifying information to be retrieved; processing the query to abstract the query to an alternative representation suitable for input to a database of documents, each document of which is abstracted to a corresponding alterative representation; displaying query information to the user indicating the result of said step of processing the query, the query information including a number of items characterizing the query including a subset of a finite set of subjects, the subset corresponding to subjects interpreted by the system to characterize the subject contents of the query; entering a mode that permits user modification of the items of query information; remaining in the mode pending user input that specifies exiting the mode, user input that specifies exiting the mode including a request to execute the query; while in the mode, receiving user modifications, if any, of the items of query information; and in response to a request to execute the query, executing the query, modified in accordance with any user modifications of the items of query information, against the database.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 10 wherein user input specifying exiting the mode further includes: a request to modify the query; and a request to input a new query.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 10 wherein: the query includes a proper noun; the query information includes a plurality of variations representing an expansion of the proper noun.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 10 wherein: the query includes a particular term; and the query information includes a plurality of variations representing an expansion of the particular term.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 10 wherein the user modifications include increasing or decreasing the subset of subjects.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 10 wherein: the query information is a set of terms and phrases found in the query that are interpreted by the system to be mandatory requirements for relevance; and the user modifications include increasing or decreasing the set of terms and phrases.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
179 words
A method of operating a computerized information retrieval system where information is retrieved from a database containing documents in response to user queries, the method comprising: processing a natural language query specifying information to be retrieved to generate an alternative representation of the query, the alternative representation including generating a logical representation incorporating terms and phrases found in the query and assigning weighted Boolean scores to the query terms; matching the alternative representation of the query, against the database; for at least some documents in the database, generating a measure of relevance of the document to the query using a common alternative representation of the document and the alternative representation of the query; and displaying a list of documents whose measures of relevance are determined by the system to be sufficiently high; receiving user input specifying selection of at least a portion of at least some of the list of documents; using the alternative representations of the documents, or portions of documents, so selected, to generate a new query representation; and matching the new query representation against the database.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
179 words
A method of operating a computerized information retrieval system where information is retrieved from a database containing documents in response to user queries, the method comprising: processing a natural language query specifying information to be retrieved to generate an alternative representation of the query, the alternative representation including generating a logical representation incorporating terms and phrases found in the query and assigning weighted Boolean scores to the query terms; matching the alternative representation of the query, against the database; for at least some documents in the database, generating a measure of relevance of the document to the query using a common alternative representation of the document and the alternative representation of the query; and displaying a list of documents whose measures of relevance are determined by the system to be sufficiently high; receiving user input specifying selection of at least a portion of at least some of the list of documents; using the alternative representations of the documents, or portions of documents, so selected, to generate a new query representation; and matching the new query representation against the database.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the new query representation is a combination of the alternative representation of the query and the alternative representations of the documents or portions of documents, so selected.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the new query representation does not depend on the alternative representation of the query.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
57 words
The method of claim 16 wherein: the alternative representation of the query includes a conceptual level defined by subset of a finite set of subject codes, the subset corresponding to subject codes interpreted by the system to characterize the subject contents of the query; and the user input specifies increasing or decreasing the subset of subject codes.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the user input specifies increasing or decreasing the set of terms and phrases.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
49 words
The method of claim 16 wherein: the alternative representation of the query is a set of terms and phrases found in the query that are interpreted by the system to be mandatory requirements for relevance; and the user input specifies increasing or decreasing the set of terms and phrases.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 16 wherein: the database contains documents that have been processed to generate corresponding alternative representations of the items in the database.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
131 words
In a computerized information retrieval system where documents in a database are retrieved in response to user queries, with each document being processed to produce a respective alternative representation and each query being processed to provide a corresponding alternative representation, the alternative representation of the query including generating a logical representation incorporating terms and phrases found in the query and assigning weighted Boolean scores to the query terms, a method comprising: presenting the user with a list of documents, each document having a respective alternative representation; receiving user input specifying selection of at least a portion of at least some of the list of documents; using the alternative representations of the documents, or portions of documents, so selected, to generate a query representation; and matching the query representation against the database.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
131 words
In a computerized information retrieval system where documents in a database are retrieved in response to user queries, with each document being processed to produce a respective alternative representation and each query being processed to provide a corresponding alternative representation, the alternative representation of the query including generating a logical representation incorporating terms and phrases found in the query and assigning weighted Boolean scores to the query terms, a method comprising: presenting the user with a list of documents, each document having a respective alternative representation; receiving user input specifying selection of at least a portion of at least some of the list of documents; using the alternative representations of the documents, or portions of documents, so selected, to generate a query representation; and matching the query representation against the database.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
171 words
A method of operating a computerized information retrieval system where information is retrieved from a database containing documents in response to user queries, the method comprising: receiving a natural language query specifying information to be retrieved; extracting terms that appear in the query; detecting words that indicate negation of interest in certain information; if a word that indicates negation is detected, determining which of the terms belong to a negative portion of the query and which of the terms belong to a positive portion of the query; generating an alternative representation of the query that includes the terms in both the positive and negative portions of the query; matching the alternative representation of the query against the database by determining a measure of relevance for each document; providing a set of documents that satisfy a retrieval criterion; and within the set of documents, so provided, segregating those documents that satisfy only the positive portion of the query from those documents that satisfy both the positive and negative portions of the query.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
171 words
A method of operating a computerized information retrieval system where information is retrieved from a database containing documents in response to user queries, the method comprising: receiving a natural language query specifying information to be retrieved; extracting terms that appear in the query; detecting words that indicate negation of interest in certain information; if a word that indicates negation is detected, determining which of the terms belong to a negative portion of the query and which of the terms belong to a positive portion of the query; generating an alternative representation of the query that includes the terms in both the positive and negative portions of the query; matching the alternative representation of the query against the database by determining a measure of relevance for each document; providing a set of documents that satisfy a retrieval criterion; and within the set of documents, so provided, segregating those documents that satisfy only the positive portion of the query from those documents that satisfy both the positive and negative portions of the query.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method of claim 24 wherein: the alternative representation of the query includes a plurality of individual representations; said step of determining a measure of relevance for each document includes, for each document, determining a score for each of the individual representations, and combining the scores; and at least one of the individual representations does not include the terms in the negative portion of the query.
Claim 31
Independent Claim
192 words
A method of operating a computerized information retrieval system where information is retrieved from a database containing documents in response to user queries, the method comprising: receiving a natural language query specifying information to be retrieved; extracting terms that appear in the query; detecting words that indicate that a given term is required to be in a retrieved document; if a word that indicates a mandatory term is detected, determining which of the terms are indicated to be mandatory; generating an alternative representation of the query that includes both the terms that are indicated to be mandatory and the terms that are not indicated to be mandatory, the alternative representation including a logical representation wherein the mandatory terms are logically connected to the query terms using an AND fuzzy Boolean operator; matching the alternative representation of the query against the database by determining a measure of relevance for each document; providing a set of documents that satisfy a retrieval criterion; and within the set of documents, so provided, segregating those documents that satisfy the mandatory portion of the query from those documents that do not satisfy the mandatory portion of the query.
Claim 32
Independent Claim
192 words
A method of operating a computerized information retrieval system where information is retrieved from a database containing documents in response to user queries, the method comprising: receiving a natural language query specifying information to be retrieved; extracting terms that appear in the query; detecting words that indicate that a given term is required to be in a retrieved document; if a word that indicates a mandatory term is detected, determining which of the terms are indicated to be mandatory; generating an alternative representation of the query that includes both the terms that are indicated to be mandatory and the terms that are not indicated to be mandatory, the alternative representation including a logical representation wherein the mandatory terms are logically connected to the query terms using an AND fuzzy Boolean operator; matching the alternative representation of the query against the database by determining a measure of relevance for each document; providing a set of documents that satisfy a retrieval criterion; and within the set of documents, so provided, segregating those documents that satisfy the mandatory portion of the query from those documents that do not satisfy the mandatory portion of the query.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method of claim 26, and further comprising the steps, performed before said matching step, of: displaying query information to the user indicating the terms that are interpreted by the system to be mandatory; receiving user input responsive to the display of such query information; and in response to such user input, if any, modifying the alternative representation of the query to reflect such user input.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 26 wherein: said matching step includes increasing a document's measure of relevance if the document satisfies the mandatory portion of the query.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
170 words
A method of operating a computerized information retrieval system where information is retrieved from a database containing documents in response to user queries, the method comprising: receiving a natural language query specifying information to be retrieved; detecting linguistic clues, such as function words and punctuation, signifying logical relations among terms in the query; generating a logical representation of the query, incorporating the terms, linked on the basis of the linguistic clues signifying logical relations among the terms; assigning a respective weighted Boolean score to each term in the logical representation, the weighted Boolean scores based on the logical relations among the query terms; comparing the logical representation of the query with a document to be scored; for each term in the logical representation, (a) if that term is found in the document, assigning a possible weight corresponding to the weighted Boolean score to that term, and (b) otherwise assigning a zero weight to that term; combining the weights, so assigned; and computing a score based on the weights, so combined.
Claim 36
Independent Claim
170 words
A method of operating a computerized information retrieval system where information is retrieved from a database containing documents in response to user queries, the method comprising: receiving a natural language query specifying information to be retrieved; detecting linguistic clues, such as function words and punctuation, signifying logical relations among terms in the query; generating a logical representation of the query, incorporating the terms, linked on the basis of the linguistic clues signifying logical relations among the terms; assigning a respective weighted Boolean score to each term in the logical representation, the weighted Boolean scores based on the logical relations among the query terms; comparing the logical representation of the query with a document to be scored; for each term in the logical representation, (a) if that term is found in the document, assigning a possible weight corresponding to the weighted Boolean score to that term, and (b) otherwise assigning a zero weight to that term; combining the weights, so assigned; and computing a score based on the weights, so combined.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 29 wherein: the weighted Boolean scores have maximum values such that the score is 1 if all the terms in the logical representation are present in the document.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 29 wherein: a weight for ANDed terms is determined as the sum of weighted scores for the ANDed terms; and a weight for ORed terms is determined as the maximum of the weighted scores for the ORed terms.
Claim 39
Independent Claim
154 words
A method of operating a computerized information retrieval system where information is retrieved from a database containing documents in response to user queries, the method comprising: receiving a natural language query specifying information to be retrieved; processing the query to generate an alternative representation of the query; processing the documents to generate respective alternative representations of the documents, the alternative representation of a given document including a conceptual level defined by subject areas interpreted by the system to characterize the subject contents of the document; matching the alternative representation of the query against the database by determining a measure of relevance for each document; providing of documents meeting a retrieval criterion; determining a set of subject areas that are present in the conceptual level representations of the documents, so provided; for at least some subject areas in the set, providing groups of documents having that subject area as part of their conceptual level representations.
Claim 40
Independent Claim
154 words
A method of operating a computerized information retrieval system where information is retrieved from a database containing documents in response to user queries, the method comprising: receiving a natural language query specifying information to be retrieved; processing the query to generate an alternative representation of the query; processing the documents to generate respective alternative representations of the documents, the alternative representation of a given document including a conceptual level defined by subject areas interpreted by the system to characterize the subject contents of the document; matching the alternative representation of the query against the database by determining a measure of relevance for each document; providing of documents meeting a retrieval criterion; determining a set of subject areas that are present in the conceptual level representations of the documents, so provided; for at least some subject areas in the set, providing groups of documents having that subject area as part of their conceptual level representations.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 32, and further comprising displaying a representation of folders having subject area labels.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 32 wherein: the retrieval criterion requires a document to be in the group having the highest measures of relevance.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-02-14 | 2003-08-16 | 2004-02-15 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-02-14 | 2007-08-16 | 2008-02-15 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-02-14 | 2011-08-16 | 2012-02-15 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |