Techniques for passing data across the human-machine interface

• US 7,702,501 B2
• Filed: 05/10/2006
• Issued: 04/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Toebes, John, Turner, Bryan
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo; Huyen X.
• Application Number:
  US11/431,768
• Publication Number:
  US 20070265829A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,441 Days
• Field of Search: 704 1- 10, 704/231, 704/235, 704/251, 704/257, 704/270, 704/270.1, 704/277, 704/272, 379/88.02
• US Class Current: 704/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/237 Lexical tools

Abstract

Techniques for presenting a key to a human across a human-machine interface include receiving key data that indicates a key to be input to a target process. The key is reversibly converted to a first human-language statement. The human language statement is designed so that multiple variations in the human-language statement due to common human errors can be correctly reversed to regenerate the key data. The common human-language statement is presented to a human user for use in the target process. After receiving input data that indicates a second human language statement based on human memory of the first human language statement, the second human language statement is corrected for common human language errors. The corrected second human language statement is then converted to second key data and sent to the target process. Thus multiple human inputs are accepted and correctly converted to the key for the target process.

Claims

1. A method operated by a computer for presenting a key for subsequent input to a process, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving key data in one or more computers that indicates a key to be input to a process, wherein the key data comprises a non-word forming combination of letters, numbers, or symbols;

configuring a dictionary to map different individual portions of the key data to different concept representative words contained in a human-language statement;

configuring the dictionary with variations of the concept representative words corresponding with errors in one or more of the concept representative words contained in the human-language statement;

using the dictionary to convert with the computer different grammatical types of concept words and incorrectly entered variations of the different grammatical types of concept words contained in the human language statement into different individual portions of second key data, wherein the different individual portions of the second key data correspond with the different individual portions of first key data; and

presenting the second key data at a user interface.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

adding ancillary words that are not in the dictionary according to rules of language; and

selecting alternative words among the plurality of words associated with a separable concept according to rules of language.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

adding a particular number of random bits to a binary string representing the key data, whereby a different particular binary string is generated based on the key data to generate a different new second human-language statement.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein:

the dictionary includes a plurality of separable concepts for each of a plurality of grammatical types of words, wherein each separable concept includes a plurality of words of the same grammatical type associated with that separable concept, no word is associated with more than one separable concept, and each separable concept is associated with a unique binary number for each grammatical type; and

a particular separable concept in the dictionary is used as a substitute for each word in the human language statement that appears among the plurality of words associated with the particular separable concept to produce an ordered set of separable concepts.

5. A method operated by a computer for determining a key for input to a process, comprising the steps of:

receiving input data that comprises a first human language statement based on a second human language statement, wherein the second human language statement is reversibly generated from first key data for input to the process;

providing a dictionary that maps different individual portions of the first key data with different grammatical types of concept words in the first human-language statement and maps the individual portions of the first key data with incorrectly entered variations of the different grammatical types of concept words contained in the first human-language statement;

using the dictionary to convert with the computer the different grammatical types of concept words and incorrectly entered variations of the different grammatical types of concept words contained in the first human language statement into different individual portions of second key data, wherein the different individual portions of the second key data correspond with the different individual portions of the first key data; and

providing the second key data to the process.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, further comprising:

including in the dictionary a plurality of separable concepts for each of a plurality of grammatical types of concept words, wherein each separable concept includes a plurality of words of the same grammatical type associated with that separable concept, no word is associated with more than one separable concept, and each separable concept is associated with a unique binary number for each grammatical type;

selecting a particular separable concept as a substitute for each word in the first human language statement that appears among the plurality of words associated with the particular separable concept to produce an ordered set of separable concepts; and

forming an ordered set of binary values based on the ordered set of separable concepts, and

determining the second key based on the ordered set of binary values.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein:

the dictionary includes a plurality of ordered lists among which the plurality of separable concepts for a particular grammatical type of the plurality of grammatical types of concept words are ordered differently; and

a different ordered list for the particular grammatical type is used at different positions within the first human language statement.

8. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

excluding ancillary words including at least one of reflexive pronouns, definite and indefinite articles and prepositions from the dictionary; and

removing the ancillary words in the first human language statement.

9. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising removing a particular number of random valued bits called salt bits from a particular location in the ordered set of binary values.

10. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

receiving grammar matrix data that indicates a plurality of grammatical forms of human language statements for a corresponding plurality of sizes of binary strings;

determining a sequence of grammatical types of words based on the ordered set of separable concepts, and selecting a particular grammatical form from the grammar matrix data based on the sequence of grammatical types; and

forming the ordered set of binary values based on the ordered set of separable concepts and the particular grammatical form.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, further comprising:

determining whether the particular grammatical form can be selected from the grammar matrix based on the ordered set of separable concepts;

if it is determined that the particular grammatical form can not be selected, then sending an error message to a user to input a third human language statement based on human memory of the second human language statement; and

if it is determined that the particular grammatical form can not be selected, then performing said step of selecting the particular grammatical form from the grammar matrix data based on the sequence of grammatical types.

12. An apparatus for presenting a key, comprising:

means for receiving input data associated with a first human language statement based on a second human language statement, wherein the second human language statement is reversibly generated from first key data for input to a process;

means for providing a dictionary that maps the first key data with an ordered sequence of different grammatical types of words in the first human-language statement, wherein the different grammatical types of words correspond with particular locations of different portions of the first key data;

means for using the dictionary to convert the different grammatical types of words and incorrectly entered variations of the different grammatical types of words contained in the first human language statement into different individual portions of second key data; and

means for providing the second key data to the process.

13. The apparatus as recited in claim 12, further comprising:

means for providing a dictionary that includes a plurality of separable concepts for each of a plurality of the grammatical types of words, wherein each separable concept includes a plurality of words of the same grammatical type associated with that separable concept, no word is associated with more than one separable concept, and each separable concept is associated with a unique binary number for each grammatical type;

means for selecting a particular separable concept in the dictionary as a substitute for each word in the first human language statement that appears among the plurality of words associated with the particular separable concept to produce an ordered set separable concepts; and

means for forming an ordered set of binary values based on the ordered set of separable concepts, and

means for determining the second key based on the ordered set of binary values.

14. The apparatus as recited in claim 13, wherein:

the dictionary includes a plurality of ordered lists among which the plurality of separable concepts for a particular grammatical type of the plurality of grammatical types of words are ordered differently; and

a different ordered list for the particular grammatical type is used at different positions within the first human language statement.

15. A computer-readable storage device carrying one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

receiving input data corresponding with a first human language statement that includes variations from of a second human language statement, wherein the second human language statement is reversibly generated from first key data for input to a process;

determining a word type sequence template according to a sequence of the words in the first human language statement;

determining a grammatical form for the first human language statement according to the word type sequence template;

determining data values associated with each word position in the grammatical form based on the words in the first human language statement and the associated position of the words in the grammatical form;

creating second key data by combining together the data values in an ordered sequence corresponding with an order of each associated word position in the grammatical form.

16. The computer-readable storage device as recited in claim 15, further comprising:

providing a dictionary that includes a plurality of separable concepts for each of a plurality of grammatical types of words, wherein each separable concept includes a plurality of words of the same grammatical type associated with that separable concept, and each separable concept is associated with a unique binary number for each grammatical type;

selecting a particular separable concept in the dictionary as a substitute for each word in the first human language statement that appears among the plurality of words associated with the particular separable concept to produce an ordered set separable concepts; and

forming an ordered set of binary values based on the ordered set of separable concepts, and

determining the second key based on the ordered set of binary values.

17. The computer-readable storage device as recited in claim 16, wherein:

the dictionary includes a plurality of ordered lists among which the plurality of separable concepts for a particular grammatical type of the plurality of grammatical types of words are ordered differently; and

a different ordered list for the particular grammatical type is used at different positions within the first human language statement.

18. A computer-readable storage device carrying one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

receiving input data that indicates a first human language statement that includes variations from of a second human language statement, wherein the second human language statement is reversibly generated from key data for input to a process;

receiving dictionary data that indicates a plurality of separable concepts for each of a plurality of grammatical types of words, wherein each separable concept includes a plurality of words of the same grammatical type associated with that separable concept by correct and common incorrect associations;

receiving statement form data that indicates a particular grammatical form of the first human language statement comprising an ordered plurality of grammatical types of words;

generating a particular binary string based on the key data;

associating each grammatical type of word in the particular grammatical form with a corresponding portion of the particular binary string, wherein every bit of the particular binary string is in a portion of the particular binary string that corresponds to a grammatical type of word in the particular grammatical form;

for each grammatical type of word in the particular grammatical form, selecting a separable concept based on a value in the portion of the particular binary string that corresponds to the grammatical type; and

generating the second human-language statement based on the selected separable concept for every grammatical type of word in the particular grammatical form.

19. The computer-readable storage device as recited in claim 18, wherein:

the dictionary data includes a plurality of ordered lists among which the plurality of separable concepts for a particular grammatical type of the plurality of grammatical types of words are ordered differently; and

the grammatical form uses a different ordered list for the particular grammatical type at different positions within the grammatical form.

20. The computer-readable storage device as recited in claim 18, further comprising:

receiving grammar matrix data that indicates a plurality of grammatical forms of human language statements for a corresponding plurality of sizes of binary strings; and

selecting a particular grammatical form from the grammar matrix data based on a particular size of the particular binary string.

21. The computer-readable storage device as recited in claim 20, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions further causes the one or more processors to perform the step of forming the grammar matrix data, comprising the steps of:

determining a number of bits for each of the grammatical types of words;

determining a plurality of grammatical forms each comprising an ordered plurality of the grammatical types of words which ordered plurality is commonly used in human language; and

for each grammatical form of two or more grammatical types of words determine a range of bit string lengths for which the grammatical forms provides sufficient bits.

22. The computer-readable storage device as recited in claim 18, said step of generating the particular binary string further comprising adding a particular number of random bits called salt bits to a particular location in a binary representation of the key data to form salted key data.

23. The computer-readable storage device as recited in claim 22, said step of generating the particular binary string further comprising applying a reversible transform to the salted key data, wherein the transform transforms two nearby values input to the transform to outputs from the transform that are not nearby to each other.

24. The computer-readable storage device as recited in claim 23, said step of applying a reversible transform further comprises applying a reversible Error Correction Code (ECC) transform, determining whether a particular value can not have been produced by the ECC transform, and detecting at least some errors in converting from the first human-language statement to the key data according to the ECC transform.

25. The computer-readable storage device as recited in claim 18, said step of generating the particular binary string further comprising applying a reversible transform to a binary representation of the key data, wherein the transform transforms two nearby values input to the transforms to outputs from the transform that are not nearby to each other.

26. The computer-readable storage device as recited in claim 25, said step of applying a reversible transform further comprising applying a reversible Error Correction Code (ECC) transform, determining whether a particular value can not have been produced by the ECC transform, and at least some errors in converting from the first human-language statement to the key data are detected according to the ECC transform.

27. The computer-readable storage device as recited in claim 18, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions further causes the one or more processors to perform the step of forming the dictionary data, comprising the steps of:

selecting a number of separable concepts for each grammatical type of word in the second human language statement, wherein the number is equal to a particular power of two, whereby each separable concept is uniquely associated with a particular value for a fixed number of bits associated with the particular power of two;

for each separable concept, associating a plurality of words of the same grammatical type including at least two of synonyms, antonyms, conjugated forms, variations with number and gender and case, common misspellings, homophones, and similar appearing unrelated words; and

removing duplicate words from the dictionary data so that each spelling of a word appears only once in the dictionary data for a particular grammatical type of word.

28. The computer-readable storage device as recited in claim 27, wherein the grammatical types of words include nouns, transitive verbs, intransitive verbs, adverbs, adjectives.

29. The computer-readable storage device as recited in claim 27, said step of forming the dictionary data further comprising excluding from the dictionary data ancillary words including at least one of reflective pronouns, definite and indefinite articles, and prepositions.