System and method for monitoring a communication and retrieving information relevant to the communication

• US 20050160166A1
• Filed: 12/17/2003
• Published: 07/21/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kraenzel, Carl Joseph
• Granted Patent: US 9,288,000 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9532 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/295 Named entity recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/1815 Semantic context, e.g. disambiguation of the recognition hypotheses based on word meaning
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/088 Word spotting
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/48 for recognising items expressed in broadcast information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

A system, method, and computer readable medium for monitoring a communication, and providing users with information retrieved from one or more data sources that may be relevant to the communication. An information module monitors a communication associated with at least one remote client by receiving either all (or a portion of) the communication as input. The information module then analyzes the communication to filter out and produce a running list of words that may define the context or key topics of the communication. One or more of the topic words are then used as search terms in a search executed against one or more data sources. The search results may then be forwarded to the remote client in real-time, according to one or more specified parameters. In this regard, a user of a remote client does not have to formulate their own search terms, or even activate the search, while engaged in a communication. By coupling the information module to one or more data sources, a user of a remote client may be presented with access to knowledge reports of experts, various documents, information, or other resources relevant to the context of the communication to which they may currently be associated. This empowers the user with knowledge and expertise sources that match the evolution of the topic(s) of the communication.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring a communication and retrieving information relevant to the communication, comprising:

a server connected to a network, the server comprising an information module;

a first interface to a communications link for connecting the server to a remote client;

a second interface for connecting the server to at least one data source; and

wherein the information module comprises;

a monitoring module that monitors, via the first interface, a communication associated with the remote client;

a topic filter module that filters one or more topic words appearing in the communication; and

a search module that executes searches against the at least one data source using the one or more topic words to generate search results.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the information module further comprises a results module for outputting the search results to the remote client.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the network comprises the Internet.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the network comprises at least one of an intranet or a virtual private network.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the communications link comprises at least one of a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection, a digital data services (DDS) connection, an Ethernet connection, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) line, or an analog modem connection.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the communications link comprises a wireless connection.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the remote client comprises at least one of a personal computer, personal digital assistant, or a wireless terminal device.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one data source comprises at least one database.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one data source comprises at least one knowledge management (KM) repository.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the information module comprises an Internet web site.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the information module comprises a software application.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the monitoring module receives the communication as input.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the monitoring module receives the communication as input in real time.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication comprises at least one text message.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the at least one text message comprises an electronic mail message.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the at least one text message comprises a plurality of text messages comprising a web chat.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication comprises a voice communication.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the voice communication comprises at least one of a telephone conference, or live conversation.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the monitoring module receives the voice communication as input in real time and converts it to text.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the topic filter module filters one or more topic words appearing in the communication using a weighted averaging algorithm.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the topic filter module applies the weighted averaging algorithm to the communication at a predetermined frequency.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein a user associated with the remote client specifies the frequency.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the information module designates a default frequency.

24. The system of claim 2, wherein the results module outputs hypertext links to the search results, so that a user associated with the remote client may select the hypertext links to access the search results.

25. The system of claim 1, wherein the information module further comprises a customization module for enabling a user associated with the remote client to specify one or more parameters.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the user may specify the types of communication to be monitored by the monitoring module.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the user may specify the at least one data source to be searched.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein the user may specify the format of the search results.

29. In a system comprising a network, a server connected to the network and hosting an information module, a first interface to a communications link for connecting the server to a remote client, and a second interface for connecting the server to at least one data source, a method for monitoring a communication and retrieving information relevant to the communication, the method comprising the steps of:

monitoring, via the first interface, a communication associated with the remote client;

filtering one or more topic words appearing in the communication; and

searching the at least one data source using the one or more prevalent topic words to generate search results.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising the step of outputting the search results to the remote client.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the network comprises the Internet.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein the network comprises at least one of an intranet or a virtual private network.

33. The method of claim 29, wherein the communications link comprises at least one of a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection, a digital data services (DDS) connection, an Ethernet connection, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) line, or an analog modem connection.

34. The method of claim 29, wherein the communications link comprises a wireless connection.

35. The method of claim 29, wherein the remote client comprises at least one of a personal computer, personal digital assistant, or a wireless terminal device.

36. The method of claim 29, wherein the at least one data source comprises at least one database.

37. The method of claim 29, wherein the at least one data source comprises at least one knowledge management (KM) repository.

38. The method of claim 29, wherein the information module comprises an Internet web site.

39. The method of claim 29, wherein the information module comprises a software application.

40. The method of claim 29, wherein the monitoring step further comprises the step of receiving the communication as input.

41. The method of claim 29, wherein the monitoring step further comprises the step of receiving the communication as input in real time.

42. The method of claim 29, wherein the communication comprises at least one text message.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the at least one text message comprises an electronic mail message.

44. The method of claim 42, wherein the at least one text message comprises a plurality of text messages comprising a web chat.

45. The method of claim 29, wherein the communication comprises a voice communication.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the voice communication comprises at least one of a telephone conference, or live conversation.

47. The method of claim 45, wherein the monitoring step further comprises the step of receiving the voice communication as input in real time and converting it to text.

48. The method of claim 29, wherein the filtering step further comprises the step of filtering one or more topic words appearing in the communication using a weighted averaging algorithm.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the filtering step further comprises the step of applying the weighted averaging algorithm to the communication at a predetermined frequency.

50. The method of claim 49, further comprising the step of enabling a user associated with the remote client to specify the frequency.

51. The method of claim 49, wherein the information module designates a default frequency.

52. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of outputting hypertext links to the search results, so that a user associated with the remote client may select the hypertext links to access the search results.

53. The method of claim 29, further comprising the step of enabling a user associated with the remote client to specify one or more parameters.

54. The method of claim 53, further comprising the step of enabling the user to specify the types of communication to be monitored.

55. The method of claim 53, further comprising the step of enabling the user to specify the at least one data source to be searched.

56. The method of claim 53, further comprising the step of enabling the user to specify the format of the search results.

57. A system for monitoring a communication and retrieving information relevant to the communication, comprising:

monitoring means for monitoring a communication associated with a remote client;

filtering means for filtering one or more topic words appearing in the communication; and

searching means for executing a search against at least one data source using the one or more topic words, to generate search results.