Method and computer program product for converting ontologies into concept semantic networks

• US 7,676,485 B2
• Filed: 01/22/2007
• Issued: 03/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CONQ Incorporated
• Original Assignee: IxReveal Incorporated
• Inventors: Mohan, Rengaswamy, Elfayoumy, Sherif A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fleurantin; Jean B.
• Application Number:
  US11/656,017
• Publication Number:
  US 20070192272A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,142 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1- 10, 707100-1041, 707200-206, 706/55
• US Class Current: 706/55
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/36 Creation of semantic tools, e.g. ontology or thesauri

Abstract

A method and computer program product for producing a concept semantic network (CSN) from an ontology. Each class, subclass, object, restriction, and property of the ontology is converted into a concept of the CSN. Each hierarchy in the ontology is converted to a concept hierarchy of the CSN.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium comprising code representing instructions to cause a computer to produce a concept semantic network (CSN) from an ontology by:

for each class in the ontology, converting that class into a concept in the CSN, that concept corresponding to that class in the ontology;

converting each property of each class into a child concept of the concept corresponding to that class in the CSN;

converting each subclass, each object, and each restriction of the ontology to distinct concepts in the CSN; and

converting each hierarchy in the ontology to a concept hierarchy in the CSN, the hierarchies in the ontology comprising a property hierarchy.

2. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, further comprising code representing instructions to cause a computer to:

identify a type for each concept in the CSN.

3. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, further comprising code representing instructions to cause a computer to:

preserve, in the CSN, inherited properties in the ontology.

4. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, further comprising code representing instructions to cause a computer to:

receive editing commands from a user; and

manipulate the CSN according to the received editing commands.