Patent · US Expired

Answering queries using query signatures and signatures of cached semantic regions

US6347314B1 · kind B1 · utility

30Cited by
7References
18Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateMay 19, 1999
Grant dateFeb 12, 2002
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 19, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S707/99936
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

In a system with cache that includes contents for each of a set of semantic regions, a query signature corresponding to a query is obtained. The query signature is used, together with a region signature for at least one of the regions, to find one or more semantic regions that are qualified and to use the contents of at least one of the qualified regions to obtain an answer to the query. The signatures can, for example, be binary strings, all having the same length. If the query and region formula are each a conjunction of terms, a signature can be obtained for each term and term signatures can be combined to obtain a query or region signature. Each signature can, for example, be a binary string, with all signatures having the same length so that signatures can be combined by performing logical operations. The query signature can be compared with the region signatures to determine whether the query is equivalent to or contained in any of the regions, in which case an answer can be obtained from cached contents. If not, another comparison can be made, either to determine whether any of the regions are contained within the query or to determine whether the query is likely to have a o…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.