Method and a computer program product for providing a response to a statement of a user

• US 7,991,724 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2007
• Issued: 08/02/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Knapp Investment Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Support Machines Limited
• Inventors: Antebi, Amit, Rahimi, Hanoch
• Primary Examiner(s): Gaffin, Jeffrey A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kim, David H
• Application Number:
  US11/961,035
• Publication Number:
  US 20080154828A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,321 Days
• Field of Search: 704/9, 704/275, 707/759, 715/231, 715/816, 706/46
• US Class Current: 706/45
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2462 Approximate or statistical queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/02 Knowledge representation; Symbolic representation
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/022 Knowledge engineering; Knowledge acquisition
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/04 Inference or reasoning models
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue

Abstract

A method for providing a response to a statement of a user, the method includes: receiving user input that comprises a portion of a user statement; selecting, before receiving a whole user statement, an answerable statement response between an answerable statement, multiple answerable statements and a response to an answerable statement; wherein the selecting is responsive to user input and to structured representations of answerable statements answerable by an answering entity; and sending to the user information representative of response to the user statement.

Claims

1. A method for providing a response to a statement of a user, the method comprising:

receiving user input that comprises a portion of a user statement;

selecting, before receiving a whole user statement, an answerable statement response between an answerable statement, multiple answerable statements and a response to an answerable statement;

wherein the selecting is responsive to user input and to structured representations of answerable statements answerable by an answering entity;

selecting a single answerable statement if the single answerable statement and the user input are characterized by a matching value that exceeds a first threshold and selecting multiple answerable statements if each of the multiple answerable statements and the user input are characterized by a matching value that exceeds a second threshold but is below the first threshold; and

sending to the user information representative of response to the user statement.

2. The method according to claim 1 comprising performing a weighted comparison between basic information units extracted from the user input to basic information units associated with each of the multiple answerable statements.

3. The method according to claim 1 comprising selecting between multiple answerable statements displayed to the user in response to audio information provided by the user.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein a knowledge database entry comprises an expected user statement field and at least one action field;

and wherein multiple entries of the knowledge database form a data structure that comprises multiple expected user statements fields that match an expected sequence of user textual inputs.

5. The method according to claim 1 comprising sending to the user two answerable statements each answerable statement included in a group of answerable statements that are associated with each other.

6. The method according to claim 1 comprising updating selection metadata in view of at least one response of at least one user to at least one answerable statement response;

wherein the selection metadata affects the selection of the answerable statement response.

7. The method according to claim 1 comprising applying natural language scripts during the selecting of the answerable statement.

8. The method according to claim 1 comprising providing the user an indication relating to unknown words, spelling errors or at least one difference between user statement and an answerable statement.

9. The method according to claim 1 wherein the information representative of the response to the user statement resembles the user statement.

10. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer usable medium including a computer readable program for providing a response to a statement of a user, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to:

receive user input that comprises a portion of a user statement;

select, before receiving a whole user statement, an answerable statement response between an answerable statement, multiple answerable statements and a response to an answerable statement;

wherein the selection is responsive to user input and to structured representations of answerable statements answerable by an answering entity;

select a single answerable statement if the single answerable statement and the user input are characterized by a matching value that exceeds a first threshold and selecting multiple answerable statements if each of the multiple answerable statements and the user input are characterized by a matching value that exceeds a second threshold but is below the first threshold; and

send to the user information representative of response to the user statement.

11. The computer program product according to claim 10 wherein the information representative of the response to the user statement resembles the user statement.