Retrieving information items from a data storage

• US 20070073684A1
• Filed: 11/11/2004
• Published: 03/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Ten Kate, Warner
• Application Number:
  US10/580,056
• Publication Number:
  US 20070073684A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/68 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of retrieving a plurality of information items from a data storage, the method comprising: submitting a request to the data storage, the request comprising a general classification; retrieving the plurality of information items of which at least a predefined amount of the plurality of information items complies with the general classification and wherein the general classification defines a first class and the plurality of information items are elements of a second class and there exists a subsumption relation between the first and second class. The invention further relates to a system (300) for retrieving a plurality of information items from a data storage, the system comprising: submitting means (306) conceived to submit a request to the data storage, the request comprising a general classification; classification means (312) conceived to define a first class and a second class, wherein the general classification defines the first class, and wherein the plurality of information items are elements of the second class and there exists a subsumption relation between the first and second class; retrieving means (308) conceived to retrieve the plurality of information items of which at least a predefined amount of the plurality of information items complies with the general classification.

Claims

1. Method of retrieving a plurality of information items from a data storage, the method comprising:

submitting a request to the data storage, the request comprising a general classification;

retrieving the plurality of information items of which at least a predefined amount of the plurality of information items complies with the general classification, the general classification defining a first class, and the plurality of information items are elements of a second class and there exists a relation between the first and second class.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the elements of the second class and/or first class are defined extensionally by enumerating each information item of the plurality of information items.

3. Method according to claim 1, the method comprising

removing information items that do not comply with the general classification from the second class;

annotating the removed information items as being related to the second class;

applying reasoning rules to the first and second class based upon the request to the data storage;

retrieving the plurality of information items of which at least a predefined amount of the plurality of information items complies with the general classification.

4. Method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of information items is a subset of a second plurality of information items implies that at least a predefined amount of the plurality of information items is a subset of the second plurality of information items.

5. Method according to claim 1, wherein the predefined amount is one of a percentage of the plurality of information items or an absolute number of the plurality of information items.

6. Method according to claim 3, wherein the predefined amount of information items is complemented with the annotated removed information items.

7. Method according to claim 3, wherein the second class is being annotated as having removed information items

8. Method according to claim 1, the method comprising removing information items that do not comply with the general classification from the first class.

9. System (300) for retrieving a plurality of information items, the system comprising:

a data storage; and

a programmable processor configured to;

submit a request to the data storage, the request comprising a general classification;

define a first class and a second class, wherein the general classification defines the first class, and wherein the plurality of information items are elements of the second class and there exists a relation between the first and second class; and

retrieve the plurality of information items of which at least a predefined amount of the plurality of information items complies with the general classification.

10. System according to claim 9, wherein the system is a distributed system.

13. System according to claim 9, wherein the data storage is a distributed data storage.

11. Computer program stored on a computer readable medium, the computer program, when executed, comprises:

submitting a request to a data storage, the request comprising a general classification;

retrieving a plurality of information items of which at least a predefined amount of the plurality of information items complies with the general classification, the general classification defining a first class, and the plurality of information items are elements of a second class and there is a relation between the first and second class.

12. (canceled)