Abstract: A method is provided for activating a rating capability in a microprocessor-based parcel manifest system. The method includes storing in the system's memory a number of rate tables, each containing data for calculating parcel shipment charges, and disabling access to one or more of the rate table. A rate activation request, which includes information that identifies the system and the rate table to be activated, is transmitted to a data center. In response to the request, an activation code is received from the data center. Access to the rate table is activated by entering the received code into the system.Activation of a rate table may be temporary and subject to a time deadline.

Abstract: A method of automatically generating feature probabilities that allow later automatic generation of document extracts. The computer system generates the probabilities by analyzing each document a document at a time. First, the computer system designates one of the documents as a selected document. Next, the computer system analyzes each sentence of the selected document to determine the value of the paragraph feature and the value of the uppercase feature. The computer system repeats this effort for each document of the document corpus. Afterward, the number of occurrences of each value of each feature is calculated and is used to calculate feature value probabilities for all of the features.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for camping on an electronic calendar. In one embodiment, the invention determines, in response to an input of a date, a time and a duration of a proposed meeting between a meeting requester and a target, that a conflicting event appears on the target's electronic calendar, monitors the target's electronic calendar to detect the removal of the conflicting event, and schedules a meeting between the requester and the target on their electronic calendars in response to the detection of the removal of the conflicting event.

Abstract: An automated transaction tax reporting/collection system. The system includes individual point of sale terminals disposed at each remote vendor location. The point of sale terminals are networked to a central computer, preferably via a plurality of intermediate data collection sub-stations. Each terminal includes means for inputting and storing data regarding taxable transactions, as well as for storing data reflecting the tax accrued on each transaction. This stored data is collected on a periodic, rotating basis by the corresponding data collection sub-station according to control signals generated by the central computer. All of the collected data is ultimately transmitted to the central computer, which is operative to generate reports reflecting the transaction tax due from each remote vendor location. These reports may then be sent to the taxing authority, the individual merchants, and/or to other taxing authorities, such as the federal government.

Abstract: A retrieving unit retrieves an entry of a dictionary which corresponds to an input character string while comparing input characters, one by one, with entries of TRIE tables stored in a dictionary storing unit. When a character of the input character string does not coincide with any of the entries in the currently-used TRIE table, a skipping unit locates a next effective pseudo-syllable border in the input character string to find candidates of those TRIE tables which correspond to the effective pseudo-syllable border. The retrieving unit retrieves a character string consisting of those characters which follow the pseudo-syllable border thus located, while using the candidates of these TRIE tables, and retrieves an entry in the dictionary which corresponds to the input character string to thereby output it as a recognized word.

Abstract: An associative text search and retrieval system uses one or more front end processors to interacting with a network having one or more user terminals connected thereto to allow a user to provide information to the system and receive information from the system. The system also includes storage for a plurality of text documents, and at least one processor, coupled to the front end processors and the document storage. The processor(s) search the text documents according to a search request provided by the user and provide to the front end processor a predetermined number of retrieved documents containing at least one term of the search request. The retrieved documents have higher ranks than documents not provided to the front end processor. The ranks are calculated using a formula that varies according to the square of the frequency in each of the text documents of each of the search terms.

Abstract: The present invention is a system for translating text from a first source language into a second target language. The system assigns probabilities or scores to various target-language translations and then displays or makes otherwise available the highest scoring translations. The source text is first transduced into one or more intermediate structural representations. From these intermediate source structures a set of intermediate target-structure hypotheses is generated. These hypotheses are scored by two different models: a language model which assigns a probability or score to an intermediate target structure, and a translation model which assigns a probability or score to the event that an intermediate target structure is translated into an intermediate source structure. Scores from the translation model and language model are combined into a combined score for each intermediate target-structure hypothesis.

Abstract: A computerized merchandising system useable by a corporation associated with a group of stores selling goods, the system acting not only to induce a consumer to purchase these goods, but also to induce this consumer to buy shares of stock issued by the corporation, for either choice is to his possible advantage. On the site of each store is a satellite computer which prints out and supplies a certificate to a buyer who pays its face value. The certificate is redeemable within a specified period, and when redeemed then entitles the buyer either to acquire from any one of the stores, goods whose total sales price is equal to the face value of the certificate, or to acquire shares of stock in the corporation whose market value at the time the certificate was purchased was then equal to its face value. If therefore the market value of the shares at the time of redemption has appreciated above the face value of the certificate, the buyer stands to gain by acquiring the shares.

Abstract: An associative text search and retrieval system uses one or more front end processors to interacting with a network having one or more user terminals connected thereto to allow a user to provide information to the system and receive information from the system. The system also includes storage for a plurality of text documents, and at least one processor, coupled to the front end processors and the document storage. The processor(s) search the text documents according to a search request provided by the user and provide to the front end processor a predetermined number of retrieved documents containing at least one term of the search request. The retrieved documents have higher ranks than documents not provided to the front end processor.

Abstract: A system and method for ordering and prescribing drugs for a patient. This system includes an improved process for facilitating and automating the process of drug order entry. The user may interact with the system in a variety of ways such as keyboard, mouse, pen-base entry or voice entry. The system includes a database containing medical prescribing and drug information which is both general and patient-specific. The system also permits the user to view current and previously prescribed medications for any patient. The system can alert the user to potentially adverse situations as a result of the prescribed medication based on information in the database. The system also can automatically determine product selection based on descriptions and can automatically communicate the order to a pharmacy. Further, the system includes a means for automatically displaying messages to the user relating to predetermined situations.

Abstract: To aid a medical practitioner in positioning a surgical instrument or implant when performing surgery on or examining portions of a patient, patient data is developed which identifies the position and orientation of the portion to which surgical procedures or examinations are to be applied. The position and orientation of the instrument or implant is sensed and instrument data is developed from this sensing. The patient data is converted to objective signals to be displayed on a video display, and the instrument data is converted to instrument signals for presenting the position and orientation of the instrument or implant on the same display. Thus, by watching the display, the medical practitioner is aided in manipulating the insrument or implant relative to the portion.

Abstract: A business requirement handling apparatus is adapted to a data processing system which includes a central processing unit, a display unit and an input unit.

Abstract: An interface for an electronic classified advertising system. The interface includes the capability for the user to enter search criteria for an item of interest, to save the search criteria and to be notified by the system when an item matching the search criteria is entered into the system.

Abstract: An electronic prescription creation system for use by professional prescribers at the point of care has a prescription division subsystem permitting creation of a single prescription to be automatically divided into two components for fulfilment of one portion quickly and locally at higher cost and of another portion by remote mail order taking more time but providing a cost saving for a major part of the prescription. The prescription creation system has an ability to access remote source databases for system presentation to the prescriber of relevant, authorized and current drug, drug formulary and patient history information, with dynamic creation of a transient virtual patient record, the information being presented to the prescriber before completion of the prescription, permitting enhancement of the quality of prescribing decisions.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for identifying, predicting and reporting relationships. The present invention uses a quad structure to describe relationships between dramatic units. Story elements, characters and appreciations are mapped onto the quad structure to reveal and constrain relationships. A storyform whose structure is described by the quad structure configuration and choices is identified and provided to a user.

Abstract: An efficient method and apparatus for tokenizing natural language text minimizes required data storage and produces guaranteed incremental output. Id (text) is composed with a tokenizer to create a finite state machine representing tokenization paths. The tokenizer itself is in the form of a finite state transducer. The process is carried out in a breadth-first manner so that all possibilities are explored at each character position before progressing. Output is produced incrementally and occurs only when all paths collapse into one. Output may be delayed until a token boundary is reached. In this manner, the output is guaranteed and will not be retracted unless the text is globally ill-formed. Each time output is produced, storage space is freed for subsequent text processing.

Abstract: The invention concerns a graphical user interface for a bank's customer database. The interface allows a user to choose from several pre-defined operations upon the database, and eliminates the need for the user to use a command-line format to execute the operations.The invention allows the user to divide the database into demographic segments, and to perform computations upon the segments, as well as to export results of the computations to files, and to other programs.

Abstract: A system for checking the spelling of words and character strings without the need for a stored dictionary of words and the memory required thereby. The system selects an error-free string and modifies it according to one or more rules which change the error-free string to a possible error string. The rules creating the possible error string can modify the error-free string by predictable character manipulation to yield usual and common errors of the character string. The frequency of occurrence of both the error and error-free strings within the text are determined. These frequencies are compared to each other and, based upon the comparison, the system decides whether the possible error string is an actual error string. The system can use modifying rules which are psychological or technically related to the computer system or operator, and rules which correspond to errors common with specialized input methods, such as character and speech recognition.

Abstract: The invention concerns a graphical user interface for a bank's customer database. The interface allows a user to choose from several pre-defined operations upon the database, and eliminates the need for the user to use a command-line format to execute the operations.The invention allows the user to divide the database into demographic segments, and to perform computations upon the segments, as well as to export results of the computations to files, and to other programs.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for objectively assessing the complexity of health-care services delivered by each health-care provider within a group of health-care providers to patients serviced by the group of health-care providers. In-patient data records representative of inpatient health-care services performed for patients by health-care providers with the group of health-care providers are stored in a database. Out-patient data records representative of out-patient health-care services performed for patients by health-care providers with the group of health-care providers are also stored in a database. A plurality of sickness episode data records are built by combining information from the in-patient and out-patient data records. Each sickness episode data record corresponds to an individual sickness episode for which health-care services were performed for one of the patients by at least one health-care provider from the group of health-care providers.