Computer program product for retrieving multi-media objects using a natural language having a pronoun

• US 6,233,547 B1
• Filed: 12/08/1998
• Issued: 05/15/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Monument Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Denber, Michel J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Thomas, Joseph
• Application Number:
  US09/207,453
• Time in Patent Office: 889 Days
• Field of Search: 704/9, 704/10, 704/1, 707/3, 707/4, 707/5, 707/6, 707/100, 707/104
• US Class Current: 704/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/90332 Natural language query formulation or dialogue systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/211 Syntactic parsing, e.g. based on context-free grammar [CFG] or unification grammars
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/268 Morphological analysis
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A computer program product for retrieving multi-media objects uses a natural language having a pronoun. The computer program product includes a computer readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon for performing the steps of receiving a query in the natural language containing the pronoun; determining the pronoun in the query; determining whether either a phrase or sentence containing the pronoun conforms to a predetermined phrase structure; determining a noun or noun phrase to which the pronoun refers; and processing the query.

Claims

1. A computer program product for retrieving multi-media objects using a natural language containing a pronoun, comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon for performing the steps of;

(a) receiving a query in the natural language containing the pronoun;

(b) determining the pronoun in the query;

(c) determining whether either a phrase or sentence containing the pronoun conforms to a predetermined phrase structure;

(d) determining a noun or noun phrase to which the pronoun refers based on step (c); and

(e) processing the query based on step (d).

2. The computer program product as in claim 1, wherein step (a) includes using “

it”

as the pronoun.

3. The computer program product as in claim 2, where step (c) includes using either a meteorological phrase structure, temporal phrase structure or passive construction phase structure as the predetermined phrase structure.

4. The computer program product as in claim 3 further comprising the step of identifying “

it”

as anaphoric if there is not a meteorological phrase structure, temporal phrase structure or passive construction phase structure match.

5. The computer program product as in claim 3, wherein using the meteorological phrase structure includes determining whether the meteorological phrase structure conforms to the structure of:

“

it”

with any form of “

be,”

zero or more adverbs and a present progressive verb.

6. The computer program product as in claim 3, wherein using the meteorological phrase structure includes determining whether the meteorological phrase structure conforms to the structure of:

“

it”

with any form of “

be,” and

an adjective.

7. The computer program product as in claim 3, wherein using the meteorological phrase structure includes determining whether the meteorological phrase structure conforms to the structure of:

“

it”

with any form of “

be,” and

a noun.

8. The computer program product as in claim 3, wherein using the temporal phrase structure includes determining whether the temporal phrase structure conforms to the structure of:

“

it”

with any form of “

be,”

an adverb, and either the word “

early”

or “

late.”

9. The computer program product as in claim 3, wherein using the temporal phrase structure includes determining whether the temporal phrase structure conforms to the structure of:

“

it”

with any form of “

be,”

a preposition, and the word “

time.”

10. The computer program product as in claim 3, wherein using the temporal phrase structure includes determining whether the temporal phrase structure conforms to the structure of:

“

it”

with any form of “

be,”

zero or more adverbs, and a number phrase.

11. The computer program product as in claim 3, wherein using the passive-construction phrase structure includes determining whether the passive-construction phrase structure conforms to the structure of:

“

it”

with any form of “

be,” and

a modal adjective.

12. The computer program product as in claim 11 further comprising the step of using either “

necessary,”

“

good,”

“

economical,”

“

possible,”

“

useful,”

“

easy,”

“

certain,”

“

advisable,”

“

desirable,”

“

likely,”

“

convenient,”

“

difficult,”

“

important,”

“

sufficient,”

“

legal”

or their negations, comparatives or superlatives as the modal adjective.

13. The computer program product as in claim 3, wherein using the passive-construction phrase structure includes determining whether the passive-construction phrase structure conforms to the structure of:

“

it”

with any form of “

be,”

a modal adjective, optionally having “

for”

followed by a noun, and having “

to”

followed by a verb.

14. The computer program product as in claim 3, wherein using the passive-construction phrase structure includes determining whether the passive-construction phrase structure conforms to the structure of:

a noun, a cognitive verb, “

it,”

a modal adjective, optionally having “

for”

followed by a noun, and having “

to”

followed by a verb.

15. The computer program product as in claim 3, wherein using the passive-construction phrase structure includes determining whether the passive-construction phrase structure conforms to the structure of:

“

it”

with any form of “

be,” and

a modal adjective followed by a pronoun.