Method and system to answer a natural-language question

• US 6,498,921 B1
• Filed: 09/01/1999
• Issued: 12/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hanger Solutions, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: IP Learn LLC
• Inventors: Tong, Peter P., Ho, Chi Fai
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheng, Joe H.
• Application Number:
  US09/387,932
• Time in Patent Office: 1,210 Days
• Field of Search: 434/118, 434/156, 434/169, 434/185, 434/219, 434/307.R, 434/308, 434/322, 434/323, 434/327, 434/325, 434/350, 434/362, 434/365, 704/1, 704/207, 704/257, 704/258, 704/273, 704/276, 704/260, 706/927, 706/11, 706/55, 706/59, 706/916, 707/5, 707/35, 709/201, 709/212, 709/227, 709/229, 709/242, 709/244, 382/161, 382/229, 382/311, 340/7.23, 340/7.29, 340/825.27, 345/326, 345/538
• US Class Current: 434/362
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/00 Electrically-operated educational appliances working with questions and answers G09B7/00; simulators G09B9/00; advertising or displaying in general G09F
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/00 Electrically-operated teaching apparatus or devices working with questions and answers mechanically operated G09B3/00; computing arrangements G06F
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/04 characterised by modifying the teaching programme in response to a wrong answer, e.g. repeating the question, supplying a further explanation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 706/927 Education or instruction

Abstract

Providing methods and systems to quickly and accurately respond to a natural-language question. The responses to the question can depend on additional information about the user asking the question, and the subject matter of the question the user asked. For example, the system knows that the user understands French, and can supply French answers to the user. Such additional information can improve on relevancy of the responses to the question. More than one responses can be provided to the user to allow the user to pick the more appropriate one. One embodiment uses a computer with a database having many phrases and question formats. The computer identifies phrases in the question based on at least one grammatical rules and phrases in the database. Then the computer links the phrases to categories based on at least one semantic rule, the subject matter of the question, and information about the user, such as previous questions asked by the user. The computer then selects at least two question formats based on at least the scores. After the question formats are selected, the system allows the user to pick at least one of the question formats so as to have an answer to the question generated.

Claims

1. A method for answering a natural-language question from a user by a first computing engine having access to a database with a plurality of phrases, the method comprising:

identifying at least one phrase in the natural-language question entered by the user, based on at least a phrase in the database and at least one grammatical rule; and

generating a response to the question by the first computing engine based on at least one semantic rule and a piece of information related to an interest from the user profile of the user;

wherein the question was entered into a second computing engine which is connected to the first computing engine through a network; and

wherein the piece of information depends on at least an inquiry from the first computing engine.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the method further comprises providing a score to the identified phrase.

3. A method as recited in claim 2 wherein

the database includes question formats;

said identifying at least one phrase includes identifying at least two phrases in the question, based on phrases in the database and at least one grammatical rule;

said providing a score includes providing a score to each of the identified phrases; and

the method further comprises identifying at least two question formats in the database based on at least the scores to allow the user to select at least one of the question formats for answering the question.

4. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said generating also depends on at least a category related to the identified phrase.

5. A method as recited in claim 4 wherein the category is changed to another category in view of another piece of information related to the user.

6. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the response remains the same independent of a word in the question.

7. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the database includes question formats;

and the method further comprises identifying at least two question formats in the database based on the identified phrase; and

allowing the user to select at least one of the question formats for answering the natural-language question.

8. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said generating is also based on the subject matter of the question.

9. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said generating includes identifying an address location in the Internet.

10. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein

said response is in a language different from that of the question.

11. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said generating is related to a piece of demographic information of the user.

12. A method as recited in claim 11 wherein the piece of demographic information is related to the ethnicity of the user.

13. A method as recited in claim 11 wherein the piece of demographic information is related to where the user is located.

14. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said generating is related to a history of one or more questions previously asked by the user.

15. A method as recited in claim 14 wherein the history is stored in cookies.

16. A method as recited in claim 14 wherein the history is stored in hidden variables supported by hypertext markup language.

17. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said generating depends on a piece of information about the user, but not entered by the user.

18. A method as recited in claim 17 wherein the piece of information not entered by the user depends on the Internet protocol address of the second computing engine.

19. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein

the question includes a plurality of phrases;

at least two of the phrases are related to two different categories; and

the two different categories are classified under a higher-level category.

20. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein before said identifying at least one phrase in the question, the method further comprises regularizing at least one phrase in the question.

21. A method for answering a natural-language question from a user by a computing engine having access to a database with a plurality of phrases, the method comprising:

identifying at least one phrase in the natural-language question entered by the user, based on at least one phrase in the database and at least one grammatical rule; and

generating a response to the question based on the identified phrase and at least one semantic rule, with the response being in a language different from that of the question.

22. A method for answering a natural-language question from a user by a second computing engine, the method comprising:

transmitting, through a network, the natural-language question entered by the user to a first computing engine having access to a database with a plurality of phrases, the first computing engine being configured to;

identify at least one phrase in the question, based on at least a phrase in the database and at least one grammatical rule; and

generating a response to the question based on at least one semantic rule, and a piece of information related to an interest from the user profile of the user;

wherein the piece of information depends on at least an inquiry from the first computing engine.

23. An apparatus for answering a natural-language question from a user, the apparatus comprising:

a phrase identifier configured to identify at least one phrase in the natural-language question entered by the user, based on at least a phrase in a database and at least one grammatical rule;

a response generator configured to generate a response based on at least one semantic rule, and a piece of information related to an interest from the user profile of the user;

wherein the question was entered into a computing engine, which is connected to the apparatus through a network; and

wherein the piece of information depends on at least an inquiry from the first computing engine.

24. A computer readable media containing computer program code that is useful for answering a natural language question from a user, said code when executed by a first computing engine, having access to a database with a plurality of phrases, causing the first computer to perform a method comprising:

identifying at least one phrase in the natural language question entered by the user, based on at least a phrase in the database and at least one grammatical rule; and

generating a response to the question by the first computing engine based on at least one semantic rule, and a piece of information related to an interest from the user profile of the user;

wherein the question was entered into a second computing engine, which is connected to the first computing engine through a network; and

wherein the piece of information depends on at least an inquiry from the first computing engine.

25. A method for answering a natural-language question from a user by a first computing engine having access to a database with a plurality of phrases, the method comprising:

identifying at least one phrase in the question entered by the user, based on at least a phrase in the database and at least one grammatical rule; and

generating a response to the question by the first computing engine based on at least one semantic rule and a piece of demographic information of the user;

wherein the question was entered into a second computing engine, which is connected to the first computing engine through a network.

26. A method as recited in claim 25 wherein the response depends on an interest of the user, obtained at least from a user'"'"'s response to an inquiry from the first computing engine.

27. A method as recited in claim 25 wherein responding to the question is related to a history of one or more questions previously asked by the user.

28. A method as recited in claim 25 wherein the response is in a language different from that of the question.

29. A method for answering a natural-language question from a user by a first computing engine having access to a database with a plurality of phrases, the method comprising:

identifying at least one phrase in the question entered by the user, based on at least a phrase in the database and at least one grammatical rule; and

generating a response to the question by the first computing engine based on at least one semantic rule, a history of questions previously asked by the user and at least a piece of information related to the profile of the user;

wherein the question was entered into a second computing engine, which is connected to the first computing engine through a network.

30. A method as recited in claim 29 wherein responding to the question depends on a piece of information about the user, but not entered by the user.

31. A method as recited in claim 29 wherein the response is in a language different from that of the question.

32. A method as recited in claim 29 wherein the response depends on an interest of the user.

33. A method as recited in claim 29 wherein the interest of the user is at least from a user'"'"'s response to an inquiry from the first computing engine.

34. A method as recited in claim 29 wherein said generating depends on a piece of information about the user, but not entered by the user.