Knowledge-base system and method
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- operating a knowledge-base system configured to store a database containing answers to questions, the knowledge-base system being operatively coupled to a client computer;
receiving a message from the client computer;
determining the message from the client computer was a reply to a previously generated message from the knowledge-base system; and
forwarding the message from the client computer to a representative in response to said determining.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A knowledge-base system includes a processor, a database, and a matcher for matching questions of clients to answers in the database. The knowledge-base system can be administered by emails sent to the system. Question-answer entries can be added, deleted, and modified through the use of emails and/or other forms. The system can be accessed over a network or directly accessed with an administration computer. Questions and answers are separately indexed in the system to increase the accuracy of generated results. The generated response sent to the client can be modified based on the question asked, the results, and predefined templates. The system can also detect when the system receives a reply from a customer in response to sent results. Once a reply is detected, the email is forwarded to an alternate email address.
117 Citations
44 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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operating a knowledge-base system configured to store a database containing answers to questions, the knowledge-base system being operatively coupled to a client computer;
receiving a message from the client computer;
determining the message from the client computer was a reply to a previously generated message from the knowledge-base system; and
forwarding the message from the client computer to a representative in response to said determining. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40)
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12. A method, comprising:
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operating a knowledge-base system configured to store a database containing answers to questions and a number of response templates each providing a different response format, the system being operatively coupled to a client computer;
receiving from the client computer an input corresponding to a question;
generating a query result from the database in response to the question from the client computer;
creating a response message based on the question from the client computer, at least one of the response templates, and the query result; and
sending the response message to the client computer.
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17. A method, comprising:
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operating a system configured with a database including a plurality of question-answer sets;
receiving a query input to the system, the query input including a word;
selecting one or more of the question-answer sets with the system in response to the query input by evaluating presence of the word in one or more answers of the question-answer sets differently than presence of the word in one or more questions of the question-answer sets; and
providing an output from the system based on said selecting.
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34. A method, comprising:
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operating a knowledge-base system configured to store a database formatted with a number of question-answer sets, the knowledge-base system being operatively coupled to a client computer;
receiving an input corresponding to a question from the client computer;
scoring the question-answer sets with respect to the question;
determining a threshold limit based upon said scoring; and
selecting the question-answer sets with scores above the threshold limit.
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39. A method, comprising:
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operating a knowledge-base system configured to store a database formatted with a number of question-answer sets, the knowledge-base system being operatively coupled to a client computer;
receiving an input corresponding to a question from the client computer;
selecting one or more candidate sets from the question-answer sets based on the question from the client computer;
creating a reflexive index that includes the question from the client computer and at least the candidate sets;
scoring each question from the candidate sets against the reflexive index;
scoring the question from the client against the reflexive index to generate a question score; and
choosing the candidate sets with scores that correlate with the question score.
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41. A system comprising:
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means for determining a message from a client computer was a reply to a previously generated message from a FAQ database and forwarding the message to a representative in response;
means for evaluating question components and answer components of the FAQ database independently relative to an input query; and
means for providing a response to the FAQ database query in accordance with one or more response templates, the response templates each relating to a different response format. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43)
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44. A system for processing a question from a client computer, comprising:
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a database formatted with a number of question-answer sets, said sets each including a question field and a corresponding answer field, each of said question and answer fields being configured to contain one or more words, said database further including a question index that associates each of said words in said question fields with each of said question-answer sets and an answer index that associates said words in said answer fields with each of said question-answer sets;
a matcher operatively coupled to said database to produce a query result using both said question index and said answer index in response to the question from the client computer; and
a processor operatively coupled to said matcher to send said query result to the client computer.
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Specification