System and method for providing a natural language interface to a database

• US 8,671,088 B2
• Filed: 04/01/2013
• Issued: 03/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bampton Technologies, LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Eslambolchi, Hossein, Nadji, Behzad, Rahim, Mazin G., Cox, Richard Vandervoort
• Primary Examiner(s): Jami, Hares
• Application Number:
  US13/854,582
• Publication Number:
  US 20130218564A1
• Time in Patent Office: 344 Days
• Field of Search: 707/705, 707/706, 707/708, 707/735, 707/758, 707/999.1, 707/999.3, 704/1, 704/9
• US Class Current: 707/705
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3331 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3334 Selection or weighting of terms from queries, including natural language queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3344 using natural language analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 20/00 Machine learning
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/06 Transformation of speech into a non-audible representation, e.g. speech visualisation or speech processing for tactile aids G10L15/26 takes precedence

Abstract

A system and method for providing a natural language interface to a database or the Internet. The method provides a response from a database to a natural language query. The method comprises receiving a user query, extracting key data from the user query, submitting the extracted key data to a data base search engine to retrieve a top n pages from the data base, processing of the top n pages through a natural language dialog engine and providing a response based on processing the top n pages.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

extracting, via a processor, key data from a user query;

submitting the key data to a search engine to perform a search and to retrieve a set of top n pages from a database, wherein in response to a restriction to access a restricted page of the set of top n pages, the processor without user interference negotiates a fee to overcome the restriction independent of a user navigation to the restricted page;

providing, at a first time, a response to the user query;

after providing the response at the first time, continuing, without further user input, to search for information associated with the user query using a machine learning process to expand the search; and

presenting an option to a device associated with a user, at a second time which is later than the first time, to view the related information separate from the response.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the response is text-based and audible.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user query is one of a natural language speech query and a text-based query.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the key data comprises one of keywords and key phrases.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein submitting of the key data to the search engine further comprises submitting the key data to a plurality of search engines.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the user query is received via a speech recognizer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the response is a natural language response provided via synthetic speech.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the response is a multimedia response.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the user query and the response are provided and received via a dialog mode.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interacts with a virtual agent in a dialog mode.

11. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored which, when executed by the processor, result in the processor performing operations comprising;

extracting, via a processor, key data from a user query;

submitting the key data to a search engine to perform a search and to retrieve a set of top n pages from a database, wherein in response to a restriction to access a restricted page of the set of top n pages, the processor without user interference negotiates a fee to overcome the restriction independent of a user navigation to the restricted page;

providing, at a first time, a response to the user query;

after providing the response at the first time, continuing, without further user input, to search for information associated with the user query using a machine learning process to expand the search; and

presenting an option to a device associated with a user, at a second time which is later than the first time, to view the related information separate from the response.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the response is text-based and audible.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the user query is one of a natural language speech query and a text-based query.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the key data comprises one of keywords and key phrases.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein submitting of the key data to the search engine further comprises submitting the key data to a plurality of search engines.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the user query is received via a speech recognizer.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the response is a natural language response provided via synthetic speech.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the response is a multimedia response.

19. A computer-readable hardware device having instructions stored which, when executed by a computing device, result in the computing device performing operations comprising:

extracting, via a processor, key data from a user query;

submitting the key data to a search engine to perform a search and to retrieve a set of top n pages from a database, wherein in response to a restriction to access a restricted page of the set of top n pages, the processor without user interference negotiates a fee to overcome the restriction independent of a user navigation to the restricted page;

providing, at a first time, a response to the user query;

after providing the response at the first time, continuing, without further user input, to search for information associated with the user query using a machine learning process to expand the search; and

presenting an option to a device associated with a user, at a second time which is later than the first time, to view the related information separate from the response.

20. The computer-readable hardware device of claim 19, wherein the response is text-based and audible.