System and method for storing data using a machine readable vocabulary

• US 7,516,063 B1
• Filed: 04/17/2001
• Issued: 04/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Personalized Mass Media Corporation
• Original Assignee: Personalized Mass Media Corporation
• Inventors: Harvey, Suzanne Elizabeth, Harvey, George Hamilton
• Primary Examiner(s): Edouard; Patrick N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Spooner; Lamont M
• Application Number:
  US09/835,400
• Time in Patent Office: 2,912 Days
• Field of Search: 704/1, 704/9, 704/10, 715/531, 715/532, 715/533, 707/100, 707/102, 707/101
• US Class Current: 704/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/374 Thesaurus
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A system and method for storing and processing words of a vocabulary that represents all concepts. The words are divided into a number of fields, each field having meaning with respect to the meaning of the word. The fields are stored and processed in a manner that allows the meaning of each field to be recognized by machine. The meanings of each field are processed to interpret the meaning of each word. This vocabulary of words as stored and processed by machine is particularly useful in fields such as artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and database processing.

Claims

1. A method of representing data comprising:

representing each root of a set of roots with a value based on a definitional tree-type structure, each root including a plurality of common fields representing levels of the tree-type structure, each specific field included in a specific root having a value corresponding to the meaning of the specific root at a level of the tree-type structure represented by the specific field;

representing a data concept by grouping a plurality of roots selected from the set of roots to form a word, each root of the plurality of roots corresponding to a characteristic of the data concept represented by the word; and

storing the word.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein each word includes a number of bits equal to a number of bits contained in a processor register of a computer for processing the word, each field of the plurality of common fields associated with at least one bit.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein a value of a field at each level of the tree-type structure designates a meaning of each value of a higher level of the tree-type structure.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein certain roots are conventionalized based on values assigned to more basic roots, conventionalized roots being assigned field values based on a predetermined convention.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein a characteristic designated by certain roots is defined based on values assigned to more basic roots.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the word includes a negation bit associated with a particular root, a value assigned to the negation bit designating that the meaning of the particular root is opposite to the meaning assigned to that value in the tree-type structure.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the word includes a connotative root that indicates how the word is used.

8. A method for storing data comprising:

forming a tree-type taxonomy for word roots, the upper level of the taxonomy divided into a plurality of classes, each class divided into a plurality of subclasses at a lower level of the taxonomy, each level of the taxonomy represented by a field in each word root;

combining a plurality of the word roots to form a word, each word root forming the word representing a characteristic of the word; and

storing the word.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein taxonomy for word roots includes conventions whereby the class and subclasses represented by fields of a word root are altered based on the fields of other word roots combined with the word root to form the word.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the characteristic represented by at least one root combined to form the word is designated by reference to another root combined to form the word.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of combining includes combining a series of negation bits with the word roots to form the word, the negation bits indicating whether each root is interpreted in the negative.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of combining includes combing a further root with the plurality of the word roots, the further root representing how the word is used.