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US6185592B1
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Summarizing text documents by resolving co-referentiality among actors or objects around which a story unfolds
Assignee: Apple Inc
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Filing: 1997-11-18
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Granted: 2001-02-06
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Expires: 2017-11-18
Abstract
Abstract A method and system for characterizing the content of a document is disclosed. The method and system comprise identifying a plurality of discourse referents in the document, dividing the document into topically relevant document segments, and resolving co-referentiality among the discourse referents within, and across, the document segments. The method and system also comprises calculating salience values for the discourse referents based upon the resolving step, and determining topic stamps for the document segments based upon the salience values of the associated discourse referents. Finally the method and system comprise providing summary-like abstractions, in the form of capsule overviews of each of the segments derived from its topic stamps. In so doing, a capsule overview is derived for the entire document, which will depict the core content of an average length article in a more accurate and representative manner than utilizing conventional techniques.
Inventors
- 👤 Branimir Boguraev
- 👤 Christopher David Kennedy
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 06:03
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F40/00; G06F40/20; G06F40/258
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
90 words
A method for characterizing the content of a document comprising the steps of: a) identifying a plurality of discourse referents in the document; b) dividing the document into topically relevant document segments; c) resolving co-referentiality among the discourse referents within, and across, the document segments; d) calculating salience values for the discourse referents based upon the resolving step; e) determining topic stamps for the document segments based upon discourse salience values of the associated discourse referents; and f) providing a capsule overview of the document, constructed from the topic stamps.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
90 words
A method for characterizing the content of a document comprising the steps of: a) identifying a plurality of discourse referents in the document; b) dividing the document into topically relevant document segments; c) resolving co-referentiality among the discourse referents within, and across, the document segments; d) calculating salience values for the discourse referents based upon the resolving step; e) determining topic stamps for the document segments based upon discourse salience values of the associated discourse referents; and f) providing a capsule overview of the document, constructed from the topic stamps.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 1 in which step (a) comprises the step of generating a plurality of discourse referents from a plurality of phrasal units.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 1 in which the resolving step (c) comprises linking the discourse referents by co-referentiality with each other to assess a frequency with which they appear within a document and to establish prominence.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 3 in which the salience calculating step (d) comprises evaluating a predetermined number of salience factors associated with each discourse referent.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 4 in which the salience calculating step (d) assesses a plurality of anaphoric expressions on a basis of a shallow syntactic base alone.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 5 wherein co-referentiality is determined primarily by resolving anaphoric expressions, and is represented by grouping discourse referents into equivalence classes.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 6 in which the calculating step (d) comprises calculating a local salience value for each of the discourse referents and calculating a discourse salience value on the basis of co-reference classes of discourse referents.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 7 in which the local salience value is the sum of the values of the salience factors that are satisfied by some member of the equivalence class to which a candidate antecedent belongs.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 7 in which the discourse salience is defined to be a measure of the prominence of discourse referents across the document.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
93 words
A system for characterizing the content of a document comprising: means for identifying a plurality of discourse referents in the document; means for dividing the document into topically relevant document segments; means for resolving co-referentiality among the discourse referents within, and across, the document segments; means for calculating salience values for the discourse referents based upon the resolving step; means for determining topic stamps for the document segments based upon discourse salience values of the associated discourse referents; and means for providing a capsule overview of the document, constructed from the topic stamps.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
93 words
A system for characterizing the content of a document comprising: means for identifying a plurality of discourse referents in the document; means for dividing the document into topically relevant document segments; means for resolving co-referentiality among the discourse referents within, and across, the document segments; means for calculating salience values for the discourse referents based upon the resolving step; means for determining topic stamps for the document segments based upon discourse salience values of the associated discourse referents; and means for providing a capsule overview of the document, constructed from the topic stamps.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
25 words
The system of claim 10 in which the identifying means comprises means for generating a plurality of discourse referents from a plurality of phrasal units.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system of claim 10 in which the resolving means comprises means for linking the discourse referents by co-referentiality with each other to assess a frequency with which they appear within a document and to establish prominence.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system of claim 12 in which the salience calculating means comprises means for evaluating a predetermined number of salience factors associated with each discourse referent.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system of claim 13 in which the salience calculating means assesses a plurality of anaphoric expressions on a basis of a shallow syntactic base alone.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system of claim 14 wherein co-referentiality is determined primarily by resolving anaphoric expressions, and is represented by grouping discourse referents into equivalence classes.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
38 words
The system of claim 15 in which the calculating means comprises means for calculating a local salience value for each of the discourse referents and calculating a discourse salience value on the basis of co-reference classes of discourse-referents.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system of claim 16 in which the local salience value is the sum of the values of the salience factors that are satisfied by some member of the equivalence class of which a candidate antecedent belongs.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
25 words
The system of claim 16 in which the discourse salience is defined to be a measure of the prominence of discourse referents across the document.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
119 words
A method for characterizing the content of a document comprising the steps of: a) identifying a plurality of discourse referents in the document; b) dividing the document into topically relevant document segments; c) resolving co-referentiality among the discourse referents within, and across, the document segments, wherein the resolving step comprises linking the discourse referents by co-referentiality with each other to assess a frequency with which they appear within a document and to establish prominence; d) calculating salience values for the discourse referents based upon the resolving step; e) determining topic stamps for the document segments based upon discourse salience values of the associated discourse referents; and f) providing a capsule overview of the document, constructed from the topic stamps.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
119 words
A method for characterizing the content of a document comprising the steps of: a) identifying a plurality of discourse referents in the document; b) dividing the document into topically relevant document segments; c) resolving co-referentiality among the discourse referents within, and across, the document segments, wherein the resolving step comprises linking the discourse referents by co-referentiality with each other to assess a frequency with which they appear within a document and to establish prominence; d) calculating salience values for the discourse referents based upon the resolving step; e) determining topic stamps for the document segments based upon discourse salience values of the associated discourse referents; and f) providing a capsule overview of the document, constructed from the topic stamps.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
124 words
A system for characterizing the content of a document comprising: means for identifying a plurality of discourse referents in the document; means for dividing the document into topically relevant document segments; means for resolving co-referentiality among the discourse referents within, and across, the document segments wherein the resolving means comprises means for linking the discourse referents by co-referentiality with each other to assess a frequency with which they appear within a document and to establish prominence; means for calculating salience values for the discourse referents based upon the resolving step; means for determining topic stamps for the document segments based upon discourse salience values of the associated discourse referents; and means for providing a capsule overview of the document, constructed from the topic stamps.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
124 words
A system for characterizing the content of a document comprising: means for identifying a plurality of discourse referents in the document; means for dividing the document into topically relevant document segments; means for resolving co-referentiality among the discourse referents within, and across, the document segments wherein the resolving means comprises means for linking the discourse referents by co-referentiality with each other to assess a frequency with which they appear within a document and to establish prominence; means for calculating salience values for the discourse referents based upon the resolving step; means for determining topic stamps for the document segments based upon discourse salience values of the associated discourse referents; and means for providing a capsule overview of the document, constructed from the topic stamps.
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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) | 2004-02-06 | 2004-08-07 | 2005-02-06 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2008-02-06 | 2008-08-07 | 2009-02-06 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2012-02-06 | 2012-08-07 | 2013-02-06 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |