Patents by Inventor Torsten Bittner

Torsten Bittner has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11042794
    Abstract: Mechanisms are provided for validating a candidate answer to an input question. A candidate answer to an input question is identified using a natural language processing of the input question and a corpus of information from which the candidate answer is identified. A validator is selected to apply to the candidate answer based on a characteristic of a correct answer for the input question. The validator is applied to the candidate answer to evaluate whether or not criteria of the validator are met by the candidate answer. Validation information is generated based the evaluation of whether or not criteria of the validator are met by the candidate answer. The validation information is stored in a validation status object associated with the input question.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2021
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Corville O. Allen, Ian M. Bennett, Torsten Bittner, Kay Mueller
  • Patent number: 10602236
    Abstract: Television transmissions are received at multiple locations across a large area. Advertisements may be identified, harvested and tagged from within in the television transmissions. The advertisements may be assigned identifiers; media plans may be determined. A datastructure of observed advertisement sequences may be created; the observed advertisement sequences may be determined to have a probability of being unique above a threshold. The smart TVs may render broadcast content and may report advertisement and/or content identifiers. Reported advertisement sequences may be determined and compared to the datastructure of observed advertisement sequences to identify and/or confirm content rendered by the smart TVs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2020
    Assignee: ISPOT.TV, INC.
    Inventors: Sean Muller, Torsten Bittner, Moshe Cristel, Dennis Ameen
  • Patent number: 10567552
    Abstract: A method for expanding an answer key to verify a question and answer system is provided in the illustrative embodiments. A definition is constructed of an extended answer type. The extended answer type represents an answer type of an unrepresented answer. The unrepresented answer is unrepresented in the answer key as a valid response to a question in a set of valid responses to the question in the answer key. The extended answer type is created in the answer key according to the definition. The extended answer type is populated such that the unrepresented answer becomes as additional valid response to the question, the creating and the populating extending the answer key to form an extended answer key. The populated extended answer type in the extended answer key is used to verify that a generated answer from the Q and A system is correct.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2020
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Corville Orain Allen, Ian Michael Bennett, Torsten Bittner, Kay Muller
  • Patent number: 9720971
    Abstract: Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for discovering transformations applied to a source table to generate a target table. Selection is made of a source table comprising a plurality of rows and a target table resulting from a transformation applied to the rows of the source table. A first pre-processing method is applied with respect to columns in the source and target tables to produce first category pre-processing output. The first category pre-processing output is used to determine first category transformation rules with respect to at least one source table column and at least one target table column. For each unpredicted target column in the target table not predicted by the determined first category transformation rules, a second pre-processing method is applied to columns in the source table and unpredicted target columns to produce second category pre-processing output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Torsten Bittner, Holger Kache, Mary Ann Roth, Yannick Saillet
  • Publication number: 20170193350
    Abstract: Mechanisms are provided for validating a candidate answer to an input question. A candidate answer to an input question is identified using a natural language processing of the input question and a corpus of information from which the candidate answer is identified. A validator is selected to apply to the candidate answer based on a characteristic of a correct answer for the input question. The validator is applied to the candidate answer to evaluate whether or not criteria of the validator are met by the candidate answer. Validation information is generated based the evaluation of whether or not criteria of the validator are met by the candidate answer. The validation information is stored in a validation status object associated with the input question.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2017
    Publication date: July 6, 2017
    Inventors: Corville O. Allen, Ian M. Bennett, Torsten Bittner, Kay Mueller
  • Publication number: 20170155973
    Abstract: Television transmissions are received at multiple locations across a large area. Advertisements may be identified, harvested and tagged from within in the television transmissions. The advertisements may be assigned identifiers; media plans may be determined. A datastructure of observed advertisement sequences may be created; the observed advertisement sequences may be determined to have a probability of being unique above a threshold. The smart TVs may render broadcast content and may report advertisement and/or content identifiers. Reported advertisement sequences may be determined and compared to the datastructure of observed advertisement sequences to identify and/or confirm content rendered by the smart TVs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 10, 2017
    Publication date: June 1, 2017
    Inventors: Sean Muller, Torsten Bittner, Moshe Cristel, Dennis Ameen
  • Patent number: 9607035
    Abstract: Mechanisms are provided for validating a candidate answer to an input question. A candidate answer to an input question is identified using a natural language processing of the input question and a corpus of information from which the candidate answer is identified. A validator is selected to apply to the candidate answer based on a characteristic of a correct answer for the input question. The validator is applied to the candidate answer to evaluate whether or not criteria of the validator are met by the candidate answer. Validation information is generated based the evaluation of whether or not criteria of the validator are met by the candidate answer. The validation information is stored in a validation status object associated with the input question.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Corville O. Allen, Ian M. Bennett, Torsten Bittner, Kay Mueller
  • Publication number: 20160366478
    Abstract: Television transmissions are received at multiple locations across a large area. Advertisements may be identified, harvested and tagged from within in the television transmissions. The advertisements may be assigned identifiers; media plans may be determined. Advertisement representations (e.g. fingerprints) may be used to identify advertisements in television content received by the smart TVs. The smart TVs may report the fingerprints along with other identifiers or samples thereof. Television content and advertisements therein as rendered by the smart TVs may be categorized as live, timeshifted, on-demand, over-the-top, and the like. The advertisements may be categorized as occurring in national or local/regional ad slots. The data from the smart TVs may be used to determine ad impressions, gross rating points, and target rating points. View rates for advertisements may also be determined and variations of advertisement may also be prepared.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 24, 2016
    Publication date: December 15, 2016
    Inventors: Sean Muller, Ryan Hennig, Torsten Bittner, Moshe Cristel, Ewan Godley, Dennis Ameen
  • Patent number: 9413855
    Abstract: A system, and computer program product for expanding an answer key to verify a question and answer system are provided in the illustrative embodiments. A definition is constructed of an extended answer type. The extended answer type represents an answer type of an unrepresented answer. The unrepresented answer is unrepresented in the answer key as a valid response to a question in a set of valid responses to the question in the answer key. The extended answer type is created in the answer key according to the definition. The extended answer type is populated such that the unrepresented answer becomes as additional valid response to the question, the creating and the populating extending the answer key to form an extended answer key. The populated extended answer type in the extended answer key is used to verify that a generated answer from the Q and A system is correct.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2016
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Corville Orain Allen, Ian Michael Bennett, Torsten Bittner, Kay Muller
  • Patent number: 9300672
    Abstract: A method for redacting QA system answer information based on user access to content including analyzing a corpus by natural language processing techniques, wherein the corpora includes non-sensitive and sensitive content, and storing the analyzed corpora in memory; receiving a user question to be answered by utilizing the analyzed corpora; utilizing a processor to determine a set of answer information by processing using the corpora; determining a user access right to sensitive content; and redacting an answer information item from the set of answer information if sensitive content to which the user does not have access was used to determine the answer information item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Torsten Bittner, Leugim A. Bustelo, Abraham G. Guerra, Peter J. Parente
  • Patent number: 9276939
    Abstract: A system or computer usable program product for redacting QA system answer information based on user access to content including analyzing a corpus by natural language processing techniques, wherein the corpora includes non-sensitive and sensitive content, and storing the analyzed corpora in memory; receiving a user question to be answered by utilizing the analyzed corpora; utilizing a processor to determine a set of answer information by processing using the corpora; determining a user access right to sensitive content; and redacting an answer information item from the set of answer information if sensitive content to which the user does not have access was used to determine the answer information item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Torsten Bittner, Leugim A. Bustelo, Abraham G. Guerra, Peter J. Parente
  • Publication number: 20150339574
    Abstract: Mechanisms are provided for validating a candidate answer to an input question. A candidate answer to an input question is identified using a natural language processing of the input question and a corpus of information from which the candidate answer is identified. A validator is selected to apply to the candidate answer based on a characteristic of a correct answer for the input question. The validator is applied to the candidate answer to evaluate whether or not criteria of the validator are met by the candidate answer. Validation information is generated based the evaluation of whether or not criteria of the validator are met by the candidate answer. The validation information is stored in a validation status object associated with the input question.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 21, 2014
    Publication date: November 26, 2015
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Corville O. Allen, Ian M. Bennett, Torsten Bittner, Kay Mueller
  • Publication number: 20150172294
    Abstract: A method for redacting QA system answer information based on user access to content including analyzing a corpus by natural language processing techniques, wherein the corpora includes non-sensitive and sensitive content, and storing the analyzed corpora in memory; receiving a user question to be answered by utilizing the analyzed corpora; utilizing a processor to determine a set of answer information by processing using the corpora; determining a user access right to sensitive content; and redacting an answer information item from the set of answer information if sensitive content to which the user does not have access was used to determine the answer information item.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 5, 2014
    Publication date: June 18, 2015
    Inventors: Torsten Bittner, Leugim A. Bustelo, Abraham G. Guerra, Peter J. Parente
  • Publication number: 20150170057
    Abstract: A method for expanding an answer key to verify a question and answer system is provided in the illustrative embodiments. A definition is constructed of an extended answer type. The extended answer type represents an answer type of an unrepresented answer. The unrepresented answer is unrepresented in the answer key as a valid response to a question in a set of valid responses to the question in the answer key. The extended answer type is created in the answer key according to the definition. The extended answer type is populated such that the unrepresented answer becomes as additional valid response to the question, the creating and the populating extending the answer key to form an extended answer key. The populated extended answer type in the extended answer key is used to verify that a generated answer from the Q and A system is correct.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 16, 2014
    Publication date: June 18, 2015
    Inventors: CORVILLE ORAIN ALLEN, Ian Michael Bennett, Torsten Bittner, Kay Muller
  • Publication number: 20150170054
    Abstract: A system, and computer program product for expanding an answer key to verify a question and answer system are provided in the illustrative embodiments. A definition is constructed of an extended answer type. The extended answer type represents an answer type of an unrepresented answer. The unrepresented answer is unrepresented in the answer key as a valid response to a question in a set of valid responses to the question in the answer key. The extended answer type is created in the answer key according to the definition. The extended answer type is populated such that the unrepresented answer becomes as additional valid response to the question, the creating and the populating extending the answer key to form an extended answer key. The populated extended answer type in the extended answer key is used to verify that a generated answer from the Q and A system is correct.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2013
    Publication date: June 18, 2015
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Corville Orain Allen, Ian Michael Bennett, Torsten Bittner, Kay Muller
  • Publication number: 20150172293
    Abstract: A system or computer usable program product for redacting QA system answer information based on user access to content including analyzing a corpus by natural language processing techniques, wherein the corpora includes non-sensitive and sensitive content, and storing the analyzed corpora in memory; receiving a user question to be answered by utilizing the analyzed corpora; utilizing a processor to determine a set of answer information by processing using the corpora; determining a user access right to sensitive content; and redacting an answer information item from the set of answer information if sensitive content to which the user does not have access was used to determine the answer information item.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2013
    Publication date: June 18, 2015
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Torsten Bittner, Leugim A. Bustelo, Abraham G. Guerra, Peter J. Parente
  • Publication number: 20090327208
    Abstract: Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture for discovering transformations applied to a source table to generate a target table. Selection is made of a source table comprising a plurality of rows and a target table resulting from a transformation applied to the rows of the source table. A first pre-processing method is applied with respect to columns in the source and target tables to produce first category pre-processing output. The first category pre-processing output is used to determine first category transformation rules with respect to at least one source table column and at least one target table column. For each unpredicted target column in the target table not predicted by the determined first category transformation rules, a second pre-processing method is applied to columns in the source table and unpredicted target columns to produce second category pre-processing output.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2008
    Publication date: December 31, 2009
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Torsten Bittner, Holger Kache, Mary Ann Roth, Yannick Saillet