System for fulfilling an information need
US6859800B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 26, 2000 |
| Grant date | Feb 22, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 26, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S707/99934
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The invention offers new approaches to fulfilling an information need, in particular to finding a result for a query based on a large body of information such as a collection of documents. The invention accepts a query containing an unspecified portion that expresses the information need. The invention locates matches for the query within a body of information and returns the matches or portions thereof in addition to or instead of identifiers for documents in which the matches are found. The invention ranks the matches in order to provide the most relevant information. One preferred method of ranking considers the number of instances of a match among a plurality of documents. The invention further defines a new type of index that includes contexts in which terms occur and provides methods of searching such indices to fulfill an information need.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.