Systems and methods for storing a pattern occurring in situation representations for context representation in an application

• US 20050216438A1
• Filed: 02/03/2005
• Published: 09/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Werner, Horst
• Granted Patent: US 7,617,165 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for storing a pattern occurring in situation representations for context representation in an application. A system stores a pattern occurring in situation representations for context representation in an application. The system includes a first storage medium for storing a plurality of situations in which the user is or has been involved, as a respective plurality of situation representations having at least one property determined by the respective situation. The system also includes a pattern identifier for identifying a pattern including a common property shared by at least two of the plurality of situation representations in the plurality of stored situation representations. The system further includes a second storage medium for storing a representation of the pattern. The first storage medium is arranged to remove the at least two of the plurality of situation representations from the first storage medium in response to the identification of the pattern.

Claims

1. A system for storing a pattern occurring in situation representations for a context representation in an application, the system comprising:

a first storage medium for storing a plurality of situations in which the user is or has been involved, as a plurality of situation representations having at least one property determined by the respective situation;

a pattern identifier for identifying a pattern, including a common property shared by at least two of the plurality of situation representations in the plurality of stored situation representations; and

a second storage medium for storing a representation of the pattern, wherein the first storage medium is arranged to remove the at least two of the plurality of situation representations from the first storage medium in response to the identification of the pattern.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first storage medium is a short term memory.

3. The system according claim 1, wherein the second storage medium is a long term memory.

4. The system according claim 1, wherein the pattern identifier is arranged to identify the pattern if a number of situation representations with at least one common property exceeds a first threshold value.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the pattern identifier is arranged to identify the pattern if a number of common properties shared by the at least two situation representations exceeds a second threshold value.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of situation representations is stored as a respective plurality of frames describing at least one entity and action involved in the respective situation and their relationship to each other.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the pattern is stored as a frame representation.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the frame storing the pattern is an abstraction of the plurality of frames corresponding to the at least two of the plurality of situation representations sharing a common property.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system is arranged to identify whether a situation has been encountered before.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein if the system identifies that the situation has not been encountered before, the situation is stored in the first storage medium as a situation representation, and the system determines whether the situation representation fits the pattern representation.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein if the situation representation deviates from the pattern representation or cannot be matched with the pattern representation, the system assigns an activation value to the situation representation causing the duration of the storage of the situation representation in the first storage medium to be extended.

12. The system according to claim 10, wherein the pattern identifier is arranged to intermittently identify the pattern.

13. The system according to claim 10, wherein the pattern identifier is arranged to perform an abstraction with respect to a plurality of properties to determine an abstract pattern.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the second storage medium is arranged to store an abstract pattern representation corresponding to the abstract pattern.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the system is arranged to define an activation threshold and is arranged to define the situation representation for a respective situation as being a set of entities in a current context representation having an activation value above the activation threshold.

16. A method of storing a pattern occurring in situation representations for context representation in an application, the method comprising:

storing in a first storage medium a plurality of situations in which the user is or has been involved, as a respective plurality of situation representations having at least one property determined by the respective situation;

identifying a pattern including a common property shared by at least two of the plurality of situation representations in the plurality of stored situation representations; and

storing in a second storage medium a representation of the pattern, wherein the first storage medium is arranged to remove the at least two of the plurality of situation representations from the first storage medium in response to the identification of the pattern.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

storing the situation representations in the first storage medium for a short term duration.

18. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

storing the pattern representation in the second storage medium for a long term duration.

19. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

identifying the pattern if a number of situation representations with at least one common property exceeds a first threshold value.

20. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

identifying the pattern if a number of common properties shared by the at least two situation representations exceeds a second threshold value.

21. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

storing the plurality of situation representations as a respective plurality of frames describing at least one entity and action involved in the respective situation and their relationship to each other.

22. The method according to claims 16, further comprising:

storing the pattern as a frame representation.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising:

abstracting the plurality of frames corresponding to the at least two of the plurality of situation representations sharing a property to determine the frame representation of the pattern.

24. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

identifying whether a situation has been encountered before.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein if the system identifies that the situation has not been encountered before, storing the situation in the first storage medium as a situation representation, and determining whether the situation representation fits the pattern representation.

26. The method according to claim 25, further comprising:

determining if the situation representation deviates from the pattern representation or cannot be matched with the pattern representation, and, if so, assigning an activation value to the situation representation causing the duration of the storage of the situation representation in the first storage medium to be extended.

27. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

intermittently identifying the pattern.

28. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

performing an abstraction with respect to a plurality of properties to determine an abstract pattern.

29. The method according to claim 28, further comprising:

storing in the second storage medium an abstract pattern representation corresponding to the abstract pattern.

30. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

defining an activation threshold and defining the situation representation for a respective situation as being a set of entities in a current context representation having an activation value above the activation threshold.

31. A program storage device readable by a processing apparatus, the device embodying a program of instructions executable by the processor to perform a method, the method comprising:

storing in a first storage medium a plurality of situations in which the user is or has been involved, as a respective plurality of situation representations having at least one property determined by the respective situation;

identifying a pattern including a common property shared by at least two of the plurality of situation representations in the plurality of stored situation representations; and

storing in a second storage medium a representation of the pattern, wherein the first storage medium is arranged to remove the at least two of the plurality of situation representations from the first storage medium in response to the identification of the pattern.