Method, system, and apparatus for converting numbers between measurement systems based upon semantically labeled strings

• US 20030212527A1
• Filed: 05/07/2002
• Published: 11/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Arayasantiparb, Athapan, Abbar, Mohamed Anas, Moore, Thomas G.
• Granted Patent: US 7,325,194 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/179
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/295 Named entity recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/454 Multi-language systems; Localisation; Internationalisation

Abstract

A method, system, and apparatus are provided for converting numbers between different units of measurement. When a string of text is entered into an application program, the string is analyzed to determine whether the string of text includes a number having an associated unit name. If the string of text includes a number having an associated unit name, the number is semantically labeled with schema information that identifies the unit name as a source unit of measurement. When a selection is received of the number or an indication that the number is labeled with schema information, a list of actions may be provided identifying conversion options available for the number. One of the conversion options may then be selected resulting in the conversion of the selected number to the destination unit of measure identified by the selected action. The converted number may then be inserted into the string of text to replace the selected number along with a unit name corresponding to the destination unit of measure.

Claims

1. In a system for creating and editing an electronic document, a method for converting a number between two systems of measurement, the method comprising:

determining whether a string of text contained within the electronic document contains a number having an associated unit name;

in response to determining that the string of text includes a number having an associated unit name, semantically labeling the number with schema information identifying the unit name as a source unit of measure;

providing a list of actions that may be performed on the number to convert the number to a destination unit of measure, the list of actions identified based upon the schema information;

receiving a selection of an action from the list of actions; and

generating a converted number by converting the number from the source unit of measure to the destination unit of measure identified by the selected action.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein operating a converted number by converting the number from the source unit of measure to the destination unit of measure identified by the selected action comprises:

retrieving from a conversion settings file a conversion ratio or formula corresponding to the selected action; and

generating a converted number by converting the number from the source unit of measure to the destination unit of measure with the conversion ratio or formula.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the conversion settings file comprises a conversion ratio or formula corresponding to one or more measurement conversions, and wherein the method further comprises receiving from a user a user-defined conversion ratio or formula and storing the user-defined ratio or formula in the conversion settings file.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

replacing the number and the associated unit name with the converted number and a unit name associated with the destination unit of measure.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein replacing the number and the associated unit name with the converted number and a unit name associated with the destination unit of measure comprises utilizing a document object model provided by an application for editing the electronic document to replace the number and the associated unit name with the converted number and a unit name associated with the destination unit of measure.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the list of actions comprises a dropdown menu having one or more menu items corresponding to the list of actions that may be performed on the number to convert the number to the destination unit of measure.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

determining a current user interface language setting for the application; and

generating the menu items of the dropdown menu in a language specified by the current user interface language setting.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein generating the menu items of the dropdown menu comprises:

generating menu items enabled for use with all languages; and

generating menu items enabled for use with the language specified by the current user interface language setting.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising displaying the number and an indication that the number has been semantically labeled, and wherein the list of actions is provided in response to the selection of the number or the indication.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the schema information comprises data uniquely corresponding to the source unit of measure and the language specified by the current user interface language setting.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining a value of the number prior to converting the number based upon a format associated with the language in which the string of text is expressed.

12. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of claim 2.

13. A computer-controlled apparatus capable of performing the method of claim 2.

14. In a system for creating and editing an electronic document, a method for converting a number between two systems of measurement, the method comprising:

receiving a portion of the electronic document as a string of text;

analyzing the string of text to determine whether the string of text includes a number having an associated unit name;

in response to determining that the string of text includes a number having an associated unit name, semantically labeling the number with schema information identifying the unit name as a source of measure;

displaying the number and the unit name and an indication that the number has been semantically labeled;

receiving a selection of the number or the indication;

in response to receiving the selection of the number or the indication, providing a list of actions that may be performed on the number to convert the number to a destination unit of measure;

receiving the selection of an action from the list of actions;

in response to receiving the selection of an action, determining a value for the number based upon a format associated with a language in which the string of text is expressed;

generating a converted number by converting the value to the destination unit of measure identified by the selected action; and

replacing the number with the converted number in the string of text.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the list of actions comprises a dropdown menu having one or more menu items corresponding to the list of actions that may be performed on the number to convert the number to the destination unit of measure.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining a current user interface language setting for an application program associated with the electronic document; and

generating the menu items of the dropdown menu in a language specified by the current user interface language setting.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein generating the menu items of the dropdown menu comprises:

generating menu items enabled for use with all languages; and

generating menu items enabled for use with the language specified by the current user interface language setting.

18. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of claim 14.

19. A computer-controlled apparatus capable of performing the method of claim 14.

20. A system for converting a number between two systems of measurement, the system comprising:

a recognizer plug-in capable of receiving a portion of an electronic document as a string of text from an application program, analyzing the string of text to determine whether the string of text includes a number having an associated unit name, and in response to determining that the string of text includes a number having an associated unit name, semantically labeling the number with schema information identifying the unit name as a source unit of measure and identifying the language used to express the string of text;

an application program for creating and editing the electronic document, the application program capable of displaying the string of text and an indication that the number has been semantically labeled, receiving a selection of the number or the indication, in response to receiving the selection of the number or the indication, providing a list of actions that may be performed on the number to convert the number to a destination unit of measure, receiving the selection of an action from the list of actions, and providing the selected action and the number to an action plug-in; and

an action plug-in capable of generating a converted number by converting the number to the destination unit of measure identified by the selected action, and replacing the number with the converted number and a unit name corresponding to the destination unit of measure in the string of text.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the list of actions comprises a dropdown menu having one or more menu items corresponding to the list of actions that may be performed on the number to convert the number to the destination unit of measure, and wherein the action plug-in is further operative to:

determine a current user interface language setting for the application program; and

to

generate the menu items of the dropdown menu in a language specified by the current user interface language setting.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the action plug-in is further operative to identify one or more enabled languages for the application program and to generate menu items enabled for use with all languages, and to generate menu items enabled for use with the language specified by the current user interface language setting.