Address completion

• US 20040153519A1
• Filed: 12/09/2003
• Published: 08/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Stolze, Markus
• Granted Patent: US 7,475,113 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method and apparatus for completing an address, e.g., a mail address, an e-mail address, or a phone number. For that the method comprises the steps of detecting an incomplete user input of the address, deriving a completion offer to the incomplete user input in dependence on a derivable score, and offering the derived completion offer for completing the address. This allows to design more effective support systems, which help the user to find more quickly addresses that have not been entered in full. The derivable score approximates the probability of the address to be the one intended by a user. The derivable score can be influenced by several factors which can be given but as well as can be chosen or influenced by the user.

Claims

1. A method executed in a computer system for completing an address, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting an incomplete user input of the address;

deriving a completion offer to the incomplete user input in dependence on a derivable score; and

offering the derived completion offer for completing the address.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the completion offer comprises a list of address completions, the list is ordered in accordance with the derivable score.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the step of offering comprises presenting the list of address completions.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of deriving comprises determining the completion offer based on a score order.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the derivable score is a context dependent address score.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of deriving comprises defining at least one possible address based on the incomplete user input.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the step of deriving further comprises assigning one context dependent address score to the or each possible address, and including the or each possible address in the completion offer in dependence on the or each assigned context dependent address score.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein a base score is derived from the content of one or more of a user organizational context record, a user address book, an incoming mail record, an outgoing mail record, an address record.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein the context dependent address score is derived from the base score and from one or more of a user typed address fragment, recently opened addresses, addresses used in recent communication, recent completion corrections.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the base score decreases over time and thereby influences the derivable score.

11. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the address is one of a mail address, an e-mail address, or a phone number.

12. A computer program element comprising program code means for performing the method of claim 1 when said program is run on a computer.

13. A computer program product stored on a computer usable medium, comprising computer readable program means for causing a computer to perform the method according to claim 1.

14. An apparatus for completing an address, the apparatus comprising:

a logic configured to detect an incomplete user input of the address;

a logic configured to derive a completion offer to the incomplete user input in dependence on a derivable score; and

a logic configured to offer the derived completion offer for completing the address.

15. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing completion of an address the computer readable program code means in said computer program product comprising computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect the functions of claim 14.

16. An apparatus for completing an address, the apparatus comprising:

means for detecting an incomplete user input of the address;

means for deriving a completion offer to the incomplete user input in dependence on a derivable score; and

means for offering the derived completion offer for completing the address.

17. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing completion of an address the computer readable program code means in said computer program product comprising computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect the functions of claim 16.