Method and apparatus for frame-based analysis of search results

• US 8,935,152 B1
• Filed: 07/21/2008
• Issued: 01/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Netbase Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Netbase Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Li, Wei, Osofsky, Michael Jacob, Bajaj, Lokesh Pooranmal
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Huyen X.
• Application Number:
  US12/177,127
• Time in Patent Office: 2,367 Days
• Field of Search: 704 1- 10, 704/257, 704/270, 704/270.1, 704251-255, 704/277, 1/1
• US Class Current: 704/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3344 using natural language analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques

Abstract

A frame represents a concept with a set of roles and a set of linguistic rules. If a linguistic rule is satisfied, by a unit of natural language discourse (UNLD), the frame is invoked and a frame instance produced. A frame instance specifies how the UNLD, with particular values drawn from the UNLD, fulfills the roles of the frame. A frame-based search, of target content, can produce a search result comprised of records and corresponding frame instances. The values of such frame instances can be presented to the user as a role-value oriented search result. Multiple values of a role-value oriented search result, sufficiently similar in meaning, can be merged. Merged values can be represented, in a role-value oriented search result, by a single value. Selection of a value, of a role-value oriented search result, can cause the records, for which the value occurs in the corresponding instance, to be displayed to the user.

Claims

1. A method for analyzing a search of a source of computer-accessible content, comprising the following steps:

accepting, performed at least in part with a configuration of computing hardware and programmable memory, a first search result comprised of a first set of records and a first set of frame instances, wherein each member of the first set of records has a corresponding instance in the first set of frame instances,

selecting, performed at least in part with a configuration of computing hardware and programmable memory, role values, from the first set of frame instances, to produce a first set of candidate representative role values, wherein the selecting is performed as part of a determination, from the first set of frame instances, of a first set of representative role values;

merging, performed at least in part with a configuration of computing hardware and programmable memory, a first candidate representative role value and a second candidate representative role value, of the first set of candidate representative role values, when it is determined that a first and a second meaning of, respectively, the first and second candidate representative role values, are sufficiently similar, wherein the merging is performed as part of a determination, from the first set of frame instances, of a first set of representative role values; and

making accessible, performed at least in part with a configuration of computing hardware and programmable memory, to a user, at least a portion of the first set of representative role values.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of merging further comprises:

including, performed at least in part with a configuration of computing hardware and programmable memory, a single value, in the first set of representative role values, to represent the first and second candidate representative role values.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of including further comprises:

determining, performed at least in part with a configuration of computing hardware and programmable memory, the single value to be representative of a common meaning, between the first and second candidate representative role values.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of merging further comprises:

determining, performed at least in part with a configuration of computing hardware and programmable memory, a first and second logical form for the first and second candidate representative role values;

determining, performed at least in part with a configuration of computing hardware and programmable memory, the first and second meanings to be sufficiently similar if the first and second logical forms are sufficiently similar.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of determining, the first and second meanings to be sufficiently similar, further comprises:

comparing, performed at least in part with a configuration of computing hardware and programmable memory, structurally, the first and second logical forms.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of comparing structurally comprises:

comparing, performed at least in part with a configuration of computing hardware and programmable memory, from each of the first and second logical forms, a portion no larger than a parent node and its direct child nodes.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of determining, the first and second meanings to be sufficiently similar, further comprises:

comparing, performed at least in part with a configuration of computing hardware and programmable memory, using synonym matching, the first and second logical forms.

8. A system for analyzing a search of a source of computer-accessible content, performed by a computing system with a memory, comprising the following systems:

a system configured, at least in part with computing hardware and programmable memory, to accept a first search result comprised of a first set of records and a first set of frame instances, wherein each member of the first set of records has a corresponding instance in the first set of frame instances;

a system configured, at least in part with a configuration of computing hardware and programmable memory, to select role values, from the first set of frame instances, to produce a first set of candidate representative role values, wherein the selecting is performed as part of a determination, from the first set of frame instances, of a first set of representative role values;

a system configured, at least in part with a configuration of computing hardware and programmable memory, to merge a first candidate representative role value and a second candidate representative role value, of the first set of candidate representative role values, when it is determined that a first and a second meaning of, respectively, the first and second candidate representative role values, are sufficiently similar, wherein the merging is performed as part of a determination, from the first set of frame instances, of a first set of representative role values; and

a system configured, at least in part with computing hardware and programmable memory, to make accessible, to a user, at least a portion of the first set of representative role values.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the system configured to merge further comprises:

a system configured, at least in part with computing hardware and programmable memory, to include a single value, in the first set of representative role values, to represent the first and second candidate representative role values.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the system configured to include further comprises:

a system configured, at least in part with computing hardware and programmable memory, to determine the single value to be a value representative of a common meaning, between the first and second candidate representative role values.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the system configured to merge further comprises:

a system configured, at least in part with computing hardware and programmable memory, to determine a first and second logical form for the first and second candidate representative role values;

a system configured, at least in part with computing hardware and programmable memory, to determine the first and second meanings to be sufficiently similar if the first and second logical forms are sufficiently similar.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the system configured, to determine the first and second meanings to be sufficiently similar, further comprises:

a system configured, at least in part with computing hardware and programmable memory, to compare, structurally, the first and second logical forms.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the system configured to compare further comprises:

a system configured, at least in part with computing hardware and programmable memory, to compare, from each of the first and second logical forms, a portion no larger than a parent node and its direct child nodes.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the system configured, to determine the first and second meanings to be sufficiently similar, further comprises:

a system configured, at least in part with computing hardware and programmable memory, to compare, using synonym matching, the first and second logical forms.