Method and apparatus for recognizing topic structure of language data
US5642520A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 6, 1994 |
| Grant date | Jun 24, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 6, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F40/253
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for recognizing the topic structure of language. Language data is divided into simple sentences and a prominent noun portion (PNP) extracted from each. The simple sentences are divided into blocks of data dealing with a single subject. A starting point of at least one topic is detected and a topic introducing region of each topic is determined from block information and language data characteristics. A PNP satisfying a predetermined condition is chosen from the PNPs in each determined topic intro. region as the topic portion (TP) of the topic in the topic intro. region. A topic level indicating a depth of nesting of each topic and a topic scope indicating a region over which the topic continues is determined from the TP and sentences before and after the TP. Sub-topic intro. regions in the remaining area where no topic intro. regions are recognized are determined from block information and language data characteristics. A PNP satisfying a predetermined condition is chosen from the PNPs in each determined sub-topic intro. region as the sub-topic portion (STP) of the sub-topic in the sub-topic intro. region. A temporary topic level indicating a depth of nesting…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.