Methods and apparatus for matching entities and for predicting an attribute of an entity based on an attribute frequency value

US6018738A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Microsoft Corporation · US

Inventors

• John S. Breese · Mercer Island, US
• Carl M. Kadie · Bellevue, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jan 22, 1998
• Grant date: Jan 25, 2000
• Expiry date: Jan 22, 2018

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10S707/99935
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Matching (e.g., via correlation or similarity process) entities having attributes, some of which have associated values. The values of the attributes may be adjusted based on number of entities that have values for a particular attribute so that the values decrease as the number increases. The attributes of the entities may be harmonized and provided with default values so that entities being matched have common attributes defined by the union of the attributes of the entities being matched. The attributes of the entities may be expanded and provided with default values so that the entities being matched have attributes that neither had originally. The match values may be normalized to provide a weight value which may be used to predict an attribute value of a new entity based on known attribute values of known entities. The weight values may be tuned such that relatively high weights are amplified and relatively low weights are suppressed.