Prose feedback in information access system

• US 6,711,561 B1
• Filed: 05/02/2000
• Issued: 03/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: iPhrase com Inc (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Lau, Raymond, Chang, Jane Wen, McCandless, Michael Kyle
• Primary Examiner(s): Breene, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEWIS, CHERYL RENEA
• Application Number:
  US09/562,539
• Time in Patent Office: 1,421 Days
• Field of Search: 707/3, 707/4, 707/6, 707/10, 707/2, 707/5, 707/100, 704/9, 345/967, 345/968, 345/853, 345/854, 345/738
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24522 Translation of natural language queries to structured queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24575 using context
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/56 Natural language generation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/917 Text
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/959 Network
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A method of generating prose in response to a query includes generating a text frame from the query and processing the text frame in conjunction with grammar rules to produce a prose rendition of the query.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of generating prose in response to a query, comprising:

generating a text frame from the query; and

processing the text frame in conjunction with grammar rules to produce a prose rendition of the query.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the text frame comprises a data structure, the data structure representing an expanded query, the expanded query representing different elements of the query and different criteria of the query.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 wherein the data structure comprises rows, each of the rows having a key, the key identifying information in each of the rows.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 wherein the data structure further comprises a plurality of data structures.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 wherein the grammar rules are natural language rules.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 wherein the grammar rules are English.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 wherein the generating the text frame further comprises encapsulating the processed text frame in a markup language.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 wherein the markup language is extensible markup language (XML).

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 wherein the markup language is hypertext markup language (HTML).

10. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the processing the text frame comprises matching the text frame to the grammar rules.

11. A computer program, residing on a computer-readable medium, comprising instructions for causing a computer to:

generate a text frame from the query; and

process the text frame in conjunction with grammar rules to produce a prose rendition of the query.

12. A method of processing a query comprising:

generating a text frame for the query;

loading grammar rules; and

processing the text frame in conjunction with the grammar rules to produce a prose rendition of the query.

13. The method of claim 12 in which the text frame comprises a data structure, the data structure representing an expanded query, the expanded query representing different elements of the query and different criteria of the query.

14. The method of claim 13 in which the data structure comprises rows, each of the rows having a key, the key identifying information in each of the rows.

15. The method of claim 14 in which the data structure comprises a plurality of data structures.

16. The method of claim 12 in which the grammar rules are natural language rules.

17. The method of claim 16 in which the grammar rules are English.

18. The method of claim 12 in which generating the text frame further comprises encapsulating the processed text frame in a markup language.

19. The method of claim 18 in which the markup language is extensible markup language (XML).

20. The method of claim 18 in which the markup language is hypertext markup language (HTML).

21. The method of claim 12 in which processing further comprises:

matching content residing in a database to the text frame; and

associating the matched content with the prose rendition.

22. The method of claim 21 in which the database resides in a server in a network.

23. The method of claim 22 in which the matched content is a search result summary.

24. An article comprising:

a storage medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed by a machine result in the following;

generate a text frame for the query;

load grammar rules; and

process the text frame in conjunction with the grammar rules to produce a prose rendition of the query.