US6438543B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
System and method for cross-document coreference
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1999-06-17
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Granted: 2002-08-20
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Expires: 2019-06-17
Abstract
Abstract A method for coreferencing a plurality of documents includes the steps of providing a name list for names extracted from documents to be coreferenced upon entry of a query by a user, sorting the names of the list of names into mergable names and exclusive sets, comparing contexts of the mergable names against the exclusive sets to merge the mergable names to the exclusive sets exceeding a predetermined threshold to form an aggregated cross-document name list and referencing the aggregated cross-document name list to provide the user with coreferenced names across the plurality of documents which refer to a same entity in accordance with the query.
Inventors
- 👤 Zunaid H. Kazi
- 👤 Yael Ravin
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 09:10
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/30; G06F16/38; G06F16/382; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99931; Y10S707/99933; Y10S707/99935; Y10S707/99937; Y10S707/99941; Y10S707/99944; Y10S707/99945
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 28
Claim 1
Independent Claim
119 words
A method for coreferencing a plurality of documents comprising the steps of: providing a name list for names extracted from documents to be coreferenced prior to or upon entry of a query by a user; placing each name of the name list into canonical form; sorting the names of the name list into mergable names and exclusive sets; comparing contexts of the mergable names against the exclusive sets to merge the mergable names to the exclusive sets which exceed a predetermined threshold to form an aggregated cross-document name list; and referencing the aggregated cross-document name list to provide the user with coreferenced names across the plurality of documents which refer to a same entity in accordance with the query.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
119 words
A method for coreferencing a plurality of documents comprising the steps of: providing a name list for names extracted from documents to be coreferenced prior to or upon entry of a query by a user; placing each name of the name list into canonical form; sorting the names of the name list into mergable names and exclusive sets; comparing contexts of the mergable names against the exclusive sets to merge the mergable names to the exclusive sets which exceed a predetermined threshold to form an aggregated cross-document name list; and referencing the aggregated cross-document name list to provide the user with coreferenced names across the plurality of documents which refer to a same entity in accordance with the query.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising the step of extracting the name list from a collection of documents by employing a name extractor.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising the step of normalizing the name list to provide the names in the name list in a predetermined format.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising the step of splitting the names of the name list into component names based on evidence derived from the names.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method as recited in claim 4 , wherein the evidence derived from the names includes one of prefixes, suffixes, titles and information indicating one of a place, organization and a person.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising the step of merging identical names to reduce the name list.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising the step of sorting the name list into a person list and a place list.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the step of comparing contexts of the mergable names against the exclusive sets includes the steps of mapping all of the mergable names to each of the exclusive sets to provide matches above the predetermined threshold.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
105 words
A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for coreferencing a plurality of documents, the method steps comprising: providing a name list for names extracted from documents to be coreferenced; placing each name of the name list into canonical form; sorting the names of the name list into mergable names and exclusive sets; and comparing contexts of the mergable names against the exclusive sets to merge the mergable names to the exclusive sets which exceed a predetermined threshold to form an aggregated cross-document name list for the names in the name list.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
105 words
A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for coreferencing a plurality of documents, the method steps comprising: providing a name list for names extracted from documents to be coreferenced; placing each name of the name list into canonical form; sorting the names of the name list into mergable names and exclusive sets; and comparing contexts of the mergable names against the exclusive sets to merge the mergable names to the exclusive sets which exceed a predetermined threshold to form an aggregated cross-document name list for the names in the name list.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
48 words
The program storage device as recited in claim 9 , further comprises the step of referencing the aggregated cross-document name list to provide a user with coreferenced names across the plurality of documents which refer to a same entity in accordance with a query input by the user.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
29 words
The program storage device as recited in claim 9 , further comprising the step of extracting the name list from a collection of documents by employing a name extractor.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
31 words
The program storage device as recited in claim 9 , further comprising the step of normalizing the name list to provide the names in the name list in a predetermined format.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
32 words
The program storage device as recited in claim 9 , further comprising the step of splitting the names of the name list into component names based on evidence derived from the names.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
34 words
The program storage device as recited in claim 13 , wherein the evidence derived from the names includes one of prefixes, suffixes, titles and information indicating one of a place, organization and a person.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
23 words
The program storage device as recited in claim 9 , further comprising the step of merging identical names to reduce the name list.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
27 words
The program storage device as recited in claim 9 , further comprising the step of sorting the name list into a person list and a place list.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
47 words
The program storage device as recited in claim 9 , wherein the step of comparing contexts of the mergable names against the exclusive sets includes the steps of mapping all of the mergable names to each of the exclusive sets to provide matches above the predetermined threshold.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
143 words
A method for searching a plurality of documents for an entity having a plurality of variant names comprising the steps of: providing a name list for names extracted from documents to be coreferenced prior to or upon entry of a search query by a user including a name of the entity; placing each name of the name list into canonical form; sorting the names of the name list into mergable names and exclusive sets; comparing contexts of the mergable names against the exclusive sets to merge the mergable names to the exclusive sets which exceed a predetermined threshold to form an aggregated cross-document name list, the aggregated cross-document name list including a list of variant names for the entity; and providing a list of documents to the user referencing the variant names and the name of the entity used for the search query.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
143 words
A method for searching a plurality of documents for an entity having a plurality of variant names comprising the steps of: providing a name list for names extracted from documents to be coreferenced prior to or upon entry of a search query by a user including a name of the entity; placing each name of the name list into canonical form; sorting the names of the name list into mergable names and exclusive sets; comparing contexts of the mergable names against the exclusive sets to merge the mergable names to the exclusive sets which exceed a predetermined threshold to form an aggregated cross-document name list, the aggregated cross-document name list including a list of variant names for the entity; and providing a list of documents to the user referencing the variant names and the name of the entity used for the search query.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method as recited in claim 18 , further comprising the step of extracting the name list from a collection of documents by employing a name extractor.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method as recited in claim 18 , further comprising the step of normalizing the name list to provide the names in the name list in a predetermined format.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method as recited in claim 18 , further comprising the step of splitting the names of the name list into component names based on evidence derived from the names.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method as recited in claim 21 , wherein the evidence derived from the names includes one of prefixes, suffixes, titles and information indicating one of a place, organization and a person.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method as recited in claim 18 , further comprising the step of merging identical names to reduce the name list.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method as recited in claim 18 , further comprising the step of sorting the name list into a person list and a place list.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method as recited in claim 18 , wherein the step of comparing contexts of the mergable names against the exclusive sets includes the steps of mapping all of the mergable names to each of the exclusive sets to provide matches above the predetermined threshold.
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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) | 2005-08-19 | 2006-02-18 | 2006-08-20 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-08-19 | 2010-02-18 | 2010-08-20 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-08-19 | 2014-02-18 | 2014-08-20 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |