Method and apparatus for searching using an active ontology

• US 11,023,513 B2
• Filed: 05/10/2018
• Issued: 06/01/2021
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Cheyer, Adam
• Primary Examiner(s): Park, Grace
• Application Number:
  US15/976,566
• Publication Number:
  US 20180357308A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,118 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3334 Selection or weighting of terms from queries, including natural language queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/334 Query execution G06F16/335 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/367 Ontology

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and apparatus for searching using an active ontology. One embodiment of a method for searching a database includes receiving a search string, where the search string comprises one or more words, generating a semantic representation of the search string in accordance with an ontology, searching the database using the semantic representation, and outputting a result of the searching.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs configured to be executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, the one or more programs including instructions for:

receiving natural language input representing a user request;

receiving contextual data associated with the natural language input;

parsing, using an active ontology, a plurality of tokens representing the natural language input to determine a user intent corresponding to the natural language input, wherein the active ontology includes a plurality of concept nodes, and wherein the parsing comprises;

matching a first token of the plurality of tokens to both a first concept node and a second concept node of the plurality of concept nodes, wherein matching the first token of the plurality of tokens to both the first concept node and the second concept node comprises;

determining a confidence value associated with the first concept node based on the contextual data; and

selecting the second concept node based on the confidence value associated with the first concept node; and

in accordance with a determination that a second token of the plurality of tokens matches an attribute of the first concept node but not any attribute of the second concept node, determining that the user intent corresponds to a concept represented by the first concept node;

generating a semantic structure for the user intent using the attribute of the first concept node and the second token; and

performing a task corresponding to the semantic structure.

2. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the first concept node represents a first action of searching a first database, and wherein the second concept node represents a second action of searching a second database different from the first database.

3. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 2, wherein the task includes creating an event in the first database in accordance with the attribute and the second token.

4. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the plurality of concept nodes are arranged in a hierarchical manner, and wherein the second concept node is a descendant of the first concept node in the active ontology.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein parsing the plurality of tokens further comprises matching a third token of the plurality of tokens to an attribute of the second. concept node, and wherein the generated semantic structure includes a constraint derived from the third token and from the attribute of the second concept node.

6. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein the second concept node represents an attribute of the first concept node in the active ontology.

7. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the first concept node represents the concept of making a restaurant booking, and wherein the second concept node represents a second concept of searching restaurant reviews.

8. A method for natural language processing to perform a task, the method comprising:

at an electronic device having one or more processors and memory storing one or more programs configured to be executed by the one or more processors;

receiving natural language input representing a user request;

receiving contextual data associated with the natural language input;

parsing, using an active ontology, a plurality of tokens representing the natural language input to determine a user intent corresponding to the natural language input,

wherein the active ontology includes a plurality of concept nodes, and wherein the parsing comprises;

matching a first token of the plurality of tokens to both a first concept node and a second concept node of the plurality of concept nodes, wherein matching the first token of the plurality of tokens to both the first concept node and the second concept node comprises;

determining a confidence value associated with the first concept node based on the contextual data; and

selecting the second concept node based on the confidence value associated with the first concept node; and

in accordance with a determination that a second token of the plurality of tokens matches an attribute of the first concept node but not any attribute of the second concept node, determining that the user intent corresponds to a concept represented by the first concept node;

generating a semantic structure for the user intent using the attribute of the first concept node and the second token; and

performing the task corresponding to the semantic structure.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first concept node represents a first action of searching a first database, and wherein the second concept node represents a second action of searching a second database different from the first database.

10. The i rethod of claim 9, wherein the task includes creating an event in the first database in accordance with the attribute and the second token.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of concept nodes are arranged in a hierarchical manner, and wherein the second concept node is a descendant of the first concept node in the active ontology.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the second concept node represents an attribute of the first concept node in the active ontology.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the first concept node represents the concept of making a restaurant booking, and wherein the second concept node represents a second concept of searching restaurant reviews.

12. The method of claim I 1, wherein parsing the plurality of tokens further comprises matching a third token of the plurality of tokens to an attribute of the second concept node, and wherein the generated semantic structure includes a constraint derived from the third token and from the attribute of the second concept node.

15. An electronic device, comprising:

one or more processors; and

memory storing one or more programs configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for;

receiving natural language input representing a user request;

receiving contextual data associated with the natural language input;

parsing, using an active ontology, a plurality of tokens representing the natural language input to determine a user intent corresponding to the natural language input, wherein the active ontology includes a plurality of concept nodes, and wherein the parsing comprises;

matching a first token of the plurality of tokens to both a first concept node and a second concept node of the plurality of concept nodes wherein matching the first token of the plurality of tokens to both the first concept node and the second concept node comprises;

determining a confidence value associated with the first concept node based on the contextual data; and

selecting the second concept node based on the confidence value associated with the first concept node; and

in accordance with a determination that a second token of the plurality of tokens matches an attribute of the first concept node but not any attribute of the second concept node, determining that the user intent corresponds to a concept represented by the first concept node;

generating a semantic structure for the user intent using the attribute of the first concept node and the second token; and

performing a task corresponding to the semantic structure.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the first concept node represents a first action of searching a first database, and wherein the second concept node represents a second action of searching a second database different from the first database.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the task includes creating an event in the first database in accordance with the attribute and the second token.

18. The device of claim 15, wherein the plurality of concept nodes are arranged in a hierarchical manner, and wherein the second concept node is a descendant of the first concept node in the active ontology.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein parsing the plurality of tokens further comprises matching a third token of the plurality of tokens to an attribute of the second concept node, and wherein the generated semantic structure includes a constraint derived from the third token and from the attribute of the second concept node.

20. The device of claim 18, wherein the second concept node represents an attribute of the first concept node in the active ontology.

21. The device of claim 15, wherein the first concept node represents the concept of making a restaurant booking, and wherein the second concept node represents a second concept of searching restaurant reviews.