Patents Examined by Michael Holmes
  • Patent number: 7865453
    Abstract: An embodiment of a computer implemented method for determining the disposition of a hyperdocument includes retrieving a hyperdocument from an information source, providing information about content of the hyperdocument to a trained artificial neural network (ANN), the ANN being capable of evaluating the information and providing results reflecting the evaluation and determining the disposition of the hyperdocument based upon results of the ANN.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2011
    Inventors: Ellis R. Giles, Vick F. Giles
  • Patent number: 7865452
    Abstract: Techniques for automatically scoring submissions to an online question-and-answer submission system are disclosed. According to one such technique, an initial set of user submissions are scored by human operators and/or automated algorithmic mechanisms. The submissions and their accompanying scores are provided as training data to an automated machine learning mechanism. The machine learning mechanism processes the training data and automatically detects patterns in the provided submissions. The machine learning mechanism automatically correlates these patterns with the scores assigned to the submissions that match those patterns. As a result, the machine learning mechanism is trained. Thereafter, the machine learning mechanism processes unscored submissions. The machine learning mechanism automatically identifies, from among the patterns that the machine learning mechanism has already detected, one or more patterns that these submissions match.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2011
    Assignee: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel Boies, Benoit Dumoulin, Remi Kwan
  • Patent number: 7865455
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a computer-implemented method for providing intelligent support includes using at least one computer system to access information associated with a user experience for a particular user of a web page, the accessed information including user feedback collected from the particular user using feedback collection software; accessing intervention trigger logic; identify at least one intervention trigger by applying the intervention trigger logic to at least a portion of the accessed information; and generate one or more intervention elements for presentation to the particular user, in response to the identification of at least one intervention trigger, to improve the user experience for the particular user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2011
    Assignee: OpinionLab, Inc.
    Inventors: Rand B. Nickerson, Mark A. Treschl
  • Patent number: 7860811
    Abstract: A method and system for generating adaptive explanations for associated recommendations is disclosed. The adaptive explanations comprise a syntactical structure and associated phrases that are selected in accordance with usage behaviors and/or inferences associated with usage behaviors. The phrases included in an adaptive explanation may be selected through application of a non-deterministic process. The adaptive explanations may be beneficially applied to recommendations that are associated with content, products, and people, including recommendations that comprise advertisements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2010
    Assignee: ManyWorlds, Inc.
    Inventors: Steven Dennis Flinn, Naomi Felina Moneypenny
  • Patent number: 7860817
    Abstract: Automated facet analysis of input information selected from a domain of information in accordance with a source data structure is described. Facet analysis may proceed by discovering at least one of facets, facet attributes, and facet attribute hierarchies of the input information using pattern augmentation and statistical analyses to identify patterns of facet attribute relationships in the input information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2010
    Assignee: Primal Fusion Inc.
    Inventors: Peter Sweeney, Zhengrong Yao
  • Patent number: 7856411
    Abstract: Enabling dynamic, computer-driven, context-based detection of social network patterns within an input graph representing a social network. A Social Network Aware Pattern Detection (SNAP) system and method utilizes a highly-scalable, computationally efficient integration of social network analysis (SNA) and graph pattern matching. Social network interaction data is provided as an input graph having nodes and edges. The graph illustrates the connections and/or interactions between people, objects, events, and activities, and matches the interactions to a context. A sample graph pattern of interest is identified and/or defined by the user of the application. With this sample graph pattern and the input graph, a computational analysis is completed to (1) determine when a match of the sample graph pattern is found, and more importantly, (2) assign a weight (or score) to the particular match, according to a pre-defined criteria or context.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2010
    Assignee: 21st Century Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Timothy Paul Darr
  • Patent number: 7856412
    Abstract: A computer-readable recording medium storing a program to make a computer execute a process, the process including generating normal/abnormal patterns of paths between a start point node of application procedure and a reliability verification point node based on a node information that stores an object related to a fact confirmation at application procedure as a node and a path information that stores processing executed between nodes as path; determining whether it is possible to reach the verification point node from the start point node only via normal paths regarding each normal/abnormal pattern; generating a calculation expression to find the reliability of the application procedure as the total generation probability of the normal/abnormal patterns which was determined as reachable; and calculating the reliability of the application procedure by applying the probability of normality of the paths stored corresponding to each path in the path information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2010
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Hironobu Kitajima, Ryo Ochitani, Morio Ikesaka
  • Patent number: 7853542
    Abstract: A method for grid-based data clustering comprises: creating a feature space having a plurality of cubes by a computer and showing the feature space by an interface of the computer, disposing a plurality of data stored in a database into the cubes, and then defining a plurality of the cubes as populated cubes; identifying whether the data within each of the populated cubes being evenly distributed or not to define each populated cube as a major cube or minor cube; combining border data of the minor cubes with the data in the major cubes; and designating all the data combined with each other as in the same cluster and recursively processing the above procedures to cluster all the data stored in the database.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2010
    Assignee: National Pingtung University of Science and Technology
    Inventors: Cheng-Fa Tsai, Chia-Chen Yen
  • Patent number: 7849027
    Abstract: An unsupervised classification approach is improved by imposing some order into the treatment of the records and their attributes, which otherwise would be treated as random variables. A method is provided to identify particular attributes that are most associated with the “good” records within each of the plurality of groups of records within a data set. Based on a supervised scoring method, the records of the data set are processed to indicate their measure of “goodness”. There are various ways by which the records can be processed to indicate a bias during unsupervised clustering processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2010
    Assignee: Yahoo! Inc.
    Inventors: Joshua Ethan Miller Koran, David A. Burgess, Glen Anthony Ames, Amit Umesh Shanbhag, Nicholas Wayne Henderson
  • Patent number: 7849030
    Abstract: The invention provides a method and system for classifying insurance files for identification, sorting and efficient collection of subrogation claims. The invention determines whether an insurance claim has merit to warrant claim recovery efforts utilizing software code for partially describing a set of documents having unstructured and structured file data containing terms and phrases having contextual bases, code for transforming the terms and phrases, code for iterating a classification process to determine rules that best classify the set of documents based upon context, code for incorporating the rules into an induction and knowledge representation, thesauri taxonomies and text summarization to classify subrogation claims; code for calculating a base score and a concept vector to identify the selected claims that demonstrate a given probability of subrogation recovery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2010
    Assignee: Hartford Fire Insurance Company
    Inventor: Martin E. Ellingsworth
  • Patent number: 7849181
    Abstract: Devices and methods are disclosed for establishing device interaction among electronic devices of a device environment and a notification device interfaced with the user. Notification devices allow the user to communicate directly with the device environment, such as by entering information in a mobile phone that has a wireless connection to the environment. A device of the environment has a first transmitter and receiver for communicating with other devices, such as a notification device within the environment. In the instance where a notification device is located remotely, the device of the environment may also include a second transmitter and receiver for communicating with the remotely located notification device through a remote communications transport. A memory stores interaction rules and translation rules, and a processor implements the interaction rules and translation rules to establish interaction with the notification device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2010
    Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
    Inventors: John B. Slemmer, Stefan Olsson, Barrett Kreiner, Andre Jarboe, Kevin Kleinfelter
  • Patent number: 7849022
    Abstract: The present invention provides an optical functional sheet and a display device that are capable of keeping a given degree or more of front luminance and are capable of substantially reducing brightness nonuniformity. To this end, the optical functional sheet has a base 3, and prisms 4 arranged in a lattice pattern on at least one surface 3a of the base 3, wherein each of the prisms 4 has two bottoms L1 parallel to a first direction D1, two first inclined surfaces S1 that are inclined so as to face each other, two bottoms L2 parallel to a second direction D2 that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction D1, and two second inclined surfaces S2 that are inclined so as to face each other, and the area Ss2 of one of the second inclined surfaces S2 to the sum S2s1 of the areas of the two first inclined surfaces S1, or the area Ss1 of one of the first inclined surfaces S1 to the sum S2s2 of the areas of the two second inclined surfaces S2 is more than 0.5 times to 2.5 times or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2010
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshihiko Sano, Hideo Nagano, Ryuichi Katsumoto, Makoto Koike, Aya Kuwata
  • Patent number: 7849026
    Abstract: A simulated consciousness method (10) for an improved human/computer interface. A computer system (12) is programmed to have a Digital Life Form (32) possessing a plurality of attributes (65). A plurality of actions (64) taken relative to objects (60) in the environment (30) contribute to simulated feelings (76) which ultimately control the viability of the Digital Life Form (32). When there are not sufficient energy packets (66) to sustain the Digital Life Form (32) then simulated death 52 results. Therefore, only actions (64) which contribute to the viability of the Digital Life Form (32) are repeated in the long-run. Some of those actions (64) include perception of reality, concept formation, and natural language processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2010
    Inventor: Gregory J. Czora
  • Patent number: 7849031
    Abstract: Travel-demand forecasting methods are described for predicting traffic volume based, at least in part, on user-entered data in the form of origin/destination data pairs, user preferences, demographic data and other types of socioeconomic data. This data can source a prediction algorithm or be used to calibrate or more make accurate a current algorithm. Methods and systems are described for, among other things, optimizing traffic predictions, forecasting traffic patterns using user-assigned trip patterns, associating rich attribute information to navigation routes, exposing personal-logistic information to a group, communicating traffic-situation-generated alerts based on user information, optimizing a presentation of user-defined traffic routes, and presenting location indications based on proximity (temporal or geographical).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2010
    Assignee: HNTB Holdings Ltd.
    Inventors: Tommy Allen Stehle, Christopher James Simon, Terrence Matthew Palloto, Michael Richard Ostrom
  • Patent number: 7849025
    Abstract: Described herein is a system that facilitates modifying a relational model. The system includes a first model component that is a relational model that includes a plurality of atoms. The system further includes a modifier component that automatically assigns values to a plurality of atoms in the relational model by clustering atoms of the relational model to create a second model component, wherein the second model component is a relational model.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Lilyana Simeonova Mihalkova, Matthew Richardson
  • Patent number: 7844568
    Abstract: At least one embodiment relates to data processing and transferring in a multi computer environment for reporting, monitoring, and predicting the supply, demand, and generation of alternative energy on a global scale. The system is configured to collect past and present alternative energy generation and distribution data from a variety of distributed sources. Example of such distributed data producing sources may include any of various power installations and systems, power sources, and billing systems. The data collected from these sources is stored and contemplated in a central database unit. Based on the data contemplated in the central database unit, the system, further, makes predictions of present and future generations, supply, and demand of alternative energy at local, regional, national, and global scales. Using these predictions, the system recommends changes in the existing energy generation resources, and/or proposes deployment of new energy generation resources.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2010
    Inventors: Gene S. Fein, Edward Merritt
  • Patent number: 7844565
    Abstract: A method (system and computer program product) performs facet classification synthesis to relate concepts represented by concept definitions defined in accordance with a faceted data set comprising facets, facet attributes, and facet attributes hierarchies. Dimensional concept relationships are expressed between the concept definitions. Two concept definitions are determined to be related in a particular dimensional concept relationship by examining whether at least one of explicit relationships and implicit relationships exist in the faceted data set between the respective facet attributes of the two concept definitions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2010
    Assignee: Primal Fusion Inc.
    Inventor: Peter Sweeney
  • Patent number: 7844563
    Abstract: Described is a system and method for determining relationships between a plurality of existing rules in a rule set, wherein the relationships include cause interactions and effect interactions among the existing rules, creating a representation of the relationships including the cause interactions and effect interactions, receiving a new rule to be inserted into the rule set and determining if a conflict is created by insertion of the new rule in the rule set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2010
    Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II, L.P.
    Inventor: Jeffrey Farah
  • Patent number: 7844555
    Abstract: Systems and methods for selecting a ranker for statistical natural language processing are provided. One disclosed system includes a computer program configured to be executed on a computing device, the computer program comprising a data store including reference performance data for a plurality of candidate rankers, the reference performance data being calculated based on a processing of test data by each of the plurality of candidate rankers. The system may further include a ranker selector configured to receive a statistical natural language processing task and a performance target, and determine a selected ranker from the plurality of candidate rankers based on the statistical natural language processing task, the performance target, and the reference performance data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Jianfeng Gao, Galen Andrew, Mark Johnson, Kristina Toutanova
  • Patent number: 7844564
    Abstract: A system and method of load balancing using fuzzy logic and, more particularly, to a system and method of load balancing tasks over a grid environment including, for example, CPU utilization, traffic over a network and other functions. The method comprises defining cause and effect relations associated with input variables and output variables. A current utilization is assessed. The method further includes determining which cause and effect relations are associated with the current utilization and calculating a weighted balancing factor for the cause and effect relations having membership with the utilization. A load is balanced using the weighted balancing factor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2010
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Elizabeth A. Donohue, Michael P. Outlaw, Ken A. Sohal, Matthew B. Trevathan