US6601026B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Information retrieval by natural language querying
Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC
•
Filing: 1999-09-17
•
Granted: 2003-07-29
•
Expires: 2019-09-17
Abstract
Abstract A natural language information querying system includes an indexing facility configured to automatically generate indices of updated textual sources based on one or more predefined grammars and a database coupled to the indexing facility to store the indices for subsequent searching.
Inventors
- 👤 Douglas E. Appelt
- 👤 James Frederick Arnold
- 👤 John S. Bear
- 👤 Jerry Robert Hobbs
- 👤 David J. Israel
- 👤 Megumi Kameyama
- 👤 David L. Martin
- 👤 Karen Louise Myers
- 👤 Gopalan Ravichandran
- 👤 Mark Edward Stickel
- 👤 William Mabry Tyson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 12:59
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/30; G06F16/33; G06F16/3331; G06F16/3332; G06F16/3338; G06F16/31; G06F16/313; G06F16/334; G06F16/3344; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99931; Y10S707/99933; Y10S707/99936; Y10S707/99941; Y10S707/99944; Y10S707/99945
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 54
Claim 1
Independent Claim
80 words
A system for providing information in response to a natural language query, comprising: an information extraction engine adapted to index an updated text source based on a predefined grammar, wherein said predefined grammar is based on one or more topics and objects; a database coupled to the information extraction engine to store the index output; and a natural language query engine coupled to the database to search the index for the text corpus in response to the natural language query.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
80 words
A system for providing information in response to a natural language query, comprising: an information extraction engine adapted to index an updated text source based on a predefined grammar, wherein said predefined grammar is based on one or more topics and objects; a database coupled to the information extraction engine to store the index output; and a natural language query engine coupled to the database to search the index for the text corpus in response to the natural language query.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system of claim 1 , further comprising a data acquisition unit coupled to the information extraction engine to automatically update the text corpus.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system of claim 2 , wherein the data acquisition unit receives data from a web crawler, a news service, or a search engine.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
14 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the grammar is associated with a topic.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the grammar is based on events and relationships associated with a topic.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
12 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the grammar comprises pattern-action rules.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the grammar comprises one or more rules to specify a proper noun, a complex word, a phrase, or a domain event.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the grammar comprises one or more rules for merging partial information from different parts of a document.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 1 , further comprising searching the index for the text corpus using natural language querying.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 9 , wherein the natural language querying is based on a query grammar.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
15 words
The system of claim 10 , wherein the query grammar is associated with a topic.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
15 words
The system of claim 10 , wherein the query grammar is represented as pattern-action rules.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system of claim 1 , further comprising a query reply generator coupled to the natural language query engine to format the output of the search.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system of claim 13 , wherein the query reply generator creates a summary of the output for a group of documents.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system of claim 13 , wherein the query reply generator quotes a relevant portion of each located document in a summary.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 13 , wherein the query reply generator annotates the output by group in a summary.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 13 , wherein the query reply generator highlights a relevant portion in each located document.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 1 , further comprising a network coupled to the natural language query system.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
12 words
The system of claim 18 , wherein the network comprises the Internet.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 18 , further comprising one or more clients coupled to the natural language query engine.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
13 words
The system of claim 20 , wherein each client is a mobile computer.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system of claim 20 , wherein the client is a handheld computer adapted to transmit a natural language query to the natural language query engine and to receive a distilled natural language response from the natural language query engine.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system of claim 20 , wherein the client has a speech recognition engine adapted to convert user speech to the natural language query.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system of claim 20 , wherein the client has a text-to-speech engine adapted to convert the result of the search to speech.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
18 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the text corpus is generated through computer recognition of spoken language.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
57 words
The system of claim 1 , further comprising: a multimedia data source having a sound stream and a corresponding video stream; and, a speech recognizer coupled to the multimedia data source and the data acquisition unit, the speech recognizer converting the sound stream to a text stream and delivering the text stream to the data acquisition unit.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
29 words
The system of claim 26 , wherein the multimedia data source comprises one of a digital video disk, a videotape, a television transmission source, and a cable transmission source.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system of claim 21 , wherein the client has a pen input engine adapted to convert user handwritings to the natural language query.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
52 words
A natural language information querying system, comprising: an indexing facility configured to automatically generate indices of updated versions of the textual information based on a predefined grammar, wherein said predefined grammar is based on one or more topics and objects; and a database coupled to the indexing facility to store the indices.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
52 words
A natural language information querying system, comprising: an indexing facility configured to automatically generate indices of updated versions of the textual information based on a predefined grammar, wherein said predefined grammar is based on one or more topics and objects; and a database coupled to the indexing facility to store the indices.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system of claim 29 , further comprising a query engine coupled to the database to respond to the natural language query.
Claim 33
Independent Claim
51 words
A method for providing information in response to a natural language query, comprising: extracting information from an updated text source based on a predefined grammar, wherein said predefined grammar is based on one or more topics and objects; and creating a stored indexed text corpus adapted to permit natural language querying.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
51 words
A method for providing information in response to a natural language query, comprising: extracting information from an updated text source based on a predefined grammar, wherein said predefined grammar is based on one or more topics and objects; and creating a stored indexed text corpus adapted to permit natural language querying.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 31 , further comprising searching the stored indexed text corpus based on the natural language query.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 31 , wherein the information extracting step further comprises creating templates conforming to one or more events and relationships associated with a topic.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 31 , further comprising updating the text corpus by applying a speech recognizer to a multimedia stream.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 31 , further comprising creating a summary for each group of documents.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 31 , further comprising quoting a relevant portion of each located document in a summary.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 31 , further comprising annotating the output by group in a summary.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 31 , wherein the stored indexed text corpus resides on a server, further comprising: sending the natural language query from a handheld computer; and receiving a natural language response from the server and forwarding the response to a user.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 31 , further comprising converting the response to speech using a text-to-speech unit.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 31 , further comprising receiving the natural language query using a speech recognizer.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 31 , further comprising receiving the natural language query using a handwriting recognizer.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 31 , wherein the query and the text corpus relate to locating competitive intelligence information.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 31 , wherein the query and the text corpus relate to locating litigation support information.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 31 , wherein the query and the text corpus relate to locating products on-line.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 31 , wherein the query and the text corpus relate to locating medical information.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 31 , wherein the query and the text corpus relate to locating legal information.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 31 , wherein the query and the text corpus relate to locating electronic commerce information.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 31 , wherein the query and the text corpus relate to locating educational information.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 31 , wherein the query and the text corpus relate to locating financial information.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 31 , wherein the query and the text corpus relate to locating investment information.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 31 , wherein the query and the text corpus relate to locating information for a vertical market application.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US5278980A
Cited
US5630121A
Cited
US5963205A
Cited
US6487545B1
Cited
US5895464A
Cited
US6094649A
Cited
US5983221A
Cited
US6173279B1
Cited
US6470333B1
Cited
US6233547B1
Cited
US6295529B1
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2006-07-28 | 2007-01-27 | 2007-07-29 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2010-07-28 | 2011-01-27 | 2011-07-29 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2014-07-28 | 2015-01-27 | 2015-07-29 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |