Automatic invocation of computational resources without user intervention across a network

• US 6,049,792 A
• Filed: 09/04/1997
• Issued: 04/11/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited, Ricoh Corporation (Ricoh Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited, Ricoh Corporation (Ricoh Company Limited)
• Inventors: Graham, Jamey, Hart, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Hafiz, Tariq R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): STARKS, WILBERT L
• Application Number:
  US08/923,619
• Time in Patent Office: 950 Days
• Field of Search: 706/11, 706/48, 706/10
• US Class Current: 706/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2257 using expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/02 Knowledge representation; Symbolic representation

Abstract

A system is described for automatically invoking computational resources without intervention or request from a user of the system. The computational resources may operating by searching across a network, or may themselves be located across a network. In the system a query-free information retrieval system is described in which the exact technical documentation contained in existing user or other technical manuals is provided to a user investigating apparatus having a fault. The user enters symptoms based upon the user'"'"'s analysis of the apparatus, and in response the system provides information concerning likely faults with the apparatus. As the symptoms are entered, the relative value of individual faults is determined and related to the symptoms they cause. The user can then select technical information relating to probable faults in the system.

Claims

1. A system for dynamically invoking a remote computational resource for a user operating a local computer system comprising:

means for operating for the user a base application on said local computer system such that the computational resource is external to the base application;

means for receiving into the base application a series of user interactions which establish a context; and

means for in response to the series of user interactions dynamically instructing via a network, responsive to the context, the computational resource to perform selected computational operations;

wherein the computational resource comprises a remote computing system having an information retrieval system.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the computational resource further comprises a database system.

3. A system for dynamically invoking a remote computational resource for a user operating a local computer system comprising:

means for operating for the user a base application on said local computer system such that the computational resource is external to the base application;

means for receiving into the base application a series of user interactions which establish a context; and

means for in response to the series of user interactions dynamically instructing via a network, responsive to the context, the computational resource to perform selected computational operations;

wherein the means for operating for the user a base application comprises an expert system.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the expert system further comprises a belief network.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein said means for receiving into the base application a series of user interactions which establish a context comprises a data entry device.

6. A system for dynamically invoking a remote computational resource for a user operating a local computer system comprising:

means for operating for the user a base application on said local computer system such that the computational resource is external to the base application;

means for receiving into the base application a series of user interactions which establish a context; and

means for in response to the series of user interactions dynamically instructing via a network, responsive to the context, the computational resource to perform selected computational operations;

wherein the means for instructing the computational resource in response to the series of user interactions comprises means for displaying the availability of information to the user.

7. In a data processing system, a method for dynamically generating a result responsive to a series of user interactions comprising the steps of:

operating a base application on a first computer;

operating a computational resource external to the base application on a second computer accessible to the first computer via a network;

receiving at the first computer, using the base application, the series of user interactions;

monitoring a context defined by the series of user interactions;

dynamically constructing an instruction to the computational resource responsive to the context;

executing, using the computational resource, the instruction to generate a result;

sending the result from the second computer to the first computer; and

displaying the result on the first computer.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein said monitoring step is performed by the first computer, said dynamically constructing an instruction step is performed by the first computer, and the instruction is transmitted to the second computer.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein said monitoring step is performed by the first computer, information defining the context is transmitted from the first computer to the second computer, and the dynamically constructing an instruction step is performed by the second computer.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the computational resource comprises an information retrieval system and said step of executing the instruction comprises retrieving an indication of the availability of information.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the computational resource comprises a database system and the step of executing the instruction comprises accessing a database.

12. The method of claim 7 wherein said step of dynamically constructing an instruction comprises formulating a query responsive to the context.

13. The method of claim 7 wherein operating the base application comprises operating an expert system.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein operating the base application further comprises operating a belief network.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein said computational resource comprises an information retrieval system and said step of executing the instruction comprises retrieving an indication of availability of information.

16. The method of claim 7 wherein:

said step of receiving a series of user interactions comprises receiving entries of symptoms about a condition; and

said retrieved indication of availability refers to information about the condition.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the expert system includes probabilistic information relating to individual symptoms to the condition which causes those symptoms;

and wherein said step of executing the instruction further comprises retrieving documentation about the condition.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein said computational resource comprises a callback system for contacting an apparatus having said condition and retrieving further information about said apparatus.

19. In a data processing system, a method for accessing information comprising the steps of:

operating, on a first computer, a base application that receives a sequence of user inputs;

operating, on a second computer accessible to said first computer via a network, a computational resource external to the base application;

monitoring, at the first computer, the context defined by the sequence of user inputs to the base application;

dynamically constructing, at the first computer, a query to the computational resource responsive to the context;

sending the query from the first computer to the second computer via the network;

searching with the computational resource, using the query, for information relevant to the context; and

sending information discovered in said searching step from the second computer to the first computer.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of:

displaying information discovered in said searching step on said first computer.

21. A method for dynamically invoking a computational resource on a remote computer comprising:

operating on a local computer a base application external to the computational resource;

receiving into the base application a series of user interactions which establish a context; and

dynamically instructing in response to the series of user interactions, responsive to the context, the computational resource to perform selected computational operations.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein said dynamically instructing step comprises instructing an information retrieval system.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein said dynamically instructing step comprises instructing a database system.

24. The method of claim 21 wherein said operating step comprises operating an expert system.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein said operating step further comprises operating a belief network.