Patents by Inventor David Spike Palfrey
David Spike Palfrey 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).
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Patent number: 11120341Abstract: Techniques are described for determining the value of individual facts in a knowledge base, and various applications of such fact values. In one example, the knowledge base is part of a question answering system. A ranking of knowledge base facts based on the number of times each of the knowledge base facts is used in answering user questions (e.g., as determined from question answering logs) is used to derive a fact value function that may then be used to determine the value of other facts included in or subsequently added to the knowledge base.Type: GrantFiled: December 18, 2015Date of Patent: September 14, 2021Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.Inventors: David Spike Palfrey, Sina Samangooei, Mihai Valentin Tablan, Maxime Peyrard
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Patent number: 11055355Abstract: A method comprising sending query data representative of a query to a first and second query-answering subsystem of a query-answering system. It is determined that the query-answering system lacks a satisfactory answer to the query. Paraphrase data representative of a rephrased version of the query is received. The paraphrase data is sent to the first and second query-answering subsystems. Answer data representative of an answer to the rephrased version of the query is received from the first query-answering subsystem.Type: GrantFiled: June 25, 2018Date of Patent: July 6, 2021Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Emilio Fabio Monti, Anjishnu Kumar, David Spike Palfrey, Sainyam Kapoor, Janez Starc, Samuel Tucker
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Patent number: 10963497Abstract: A query parsing system uses a multi-stage process to parse the text of incoming queries before attempting to answer the queries. The multi-stage configuration involves a first trained classifier to determine the query type, or intent, of the text and a plurality of second trained classifiers, where each of the second trained classifiers is configured particularly for one specific respective query type. During query processing, the first trained classifier is used on the text to identify the query type. A second trained classifier for that specific identified query type is then found and used on the text to identify what strings in the text correspond to specific entities needed to resolve the query. The identified text strings and query type are then placed into a form understandable by a knowledge base and sent to the knowledge base for resolution. The classifiers may be trained using queries and answers previously processed by the knowledge base using a rules/template resolution process.Type: GrantFiled: March 29, 2016Date of Patent: March 30, 2021Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Mihai Valentin Tablan, Sina Samangooei, Arpit Mittal, David Spike Palfrey, Emilio Monti, Pedro Ribeiro, Benjamin David Scott, Petra Elisabeth Holmes, Dianhuan Lin
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Patent number: 10049375Abstract: A system is disclosed that identifies early adopter users by creating a directed graph of item access information for an item category and performing a page rank type process on the item access information. This directed graph may be created in a reverse temporal order. The early adopter users can be identified as the users with nodes in the directed graph that have a threshold number or rate of incoming links directly or indirectly pointing towards the nodes. Using the early adopter users as a sample, systems herein can determine whether to recommend an item based on the popularity of the item with respect to the early adopter users. Further, systems herein can determine an inventory level to maintain for an item based on the popularity of the item with respect to the early adopter users.Type: GrantFiled: March 23, 2015Date of Patent: August 14, 2018Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Giovanni Zappella, Marcel Ackermann, Rodolphe Jenatton, David Spike Palfrey, Samuel Theodore Sandler
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Publication number: 20180157960Abstract: A system and method is disclosed for improving automated question-answering using real-world knowledge from a knowledge base. The system can be used to answer questions from various users. The system can generate answers to these questions using data stored in a knowledge base. In some embodiments, the system is provided with a list of questions separate from any user questions. The system can be trained using these questions in advance of a user question. The system can process the presented questions to determine that it can generate high-quality correct answers. The system can take various steps to determine a high-quality answer to a question. The system can utilize human intelligence providers to improve this process, such as through a human interactive task system. Human intelligence can be used to determine that a question is understood, that a question is answered, and that the answer is of high quality.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 27, 2017Publication date: June 7, 2018Inventors: Petra Elisabeth Holmes, Andrew Graham Fenn, Andrew Hopkinson, David Spike Palfrey, William Tunstall-Pedoe, Neil Copland
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Patent number: 9965726Abstract: Techniques are described for adding knowledge to a knowledge base.Type: GrantFiled: April 24, 2015Date of Patent: May 8, 2018Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Mihai Valentin Tablan, Andrew Graham Fenn, David Spike Palfrey, Petra Elisabeth Holmes, Sina Samangooei
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Patent number: 9659052Abstract: A system and method to recognize and resolve when a source data object is the same or similar to an existing data object in a database using structured information and facts about each object. The system and method compare relations of the source data object and relations of the existing data object in the database and determine how similar the source data object is to the data object in the database based on scores of the comparisons. The system and method may provide outputs, such as whether the data objects match, the data objects are distinct, the source data object is a strong match to multiple data objects in the database, and the data objects conflict one another. The system and method may then resolve the database entries based on the potential matching outputs.Type: GrantFiled: September 26, 2013Date of Patent: May 23, 2017Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Barry Dean Glennon, David Spike Palfrey, William Tunstall-Pedoe, Duncan Joseph Reynolds, Petra Elisabeth Holmes, Gregory Christopher Doran
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Patent number: 9646260Abstract: Techniques are described for adding knowledge to a knowledge base in which alternative information retrieval techniques are used to obtain missing information from an available corpus of documents (e.g., the World Wide Web). Existing relationships in a knowledge base are used to identify entities for which the relationships are not expressed in the knowledge base. The alternative information retrieval techniques are then used to find this information.Type: GrantFiled: June 24, 2013Date of Patent: May 9, 2017Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.Inventors: William Tunstall-Pedoe, Jianhan Zhu, Gregory Christopher Doran, Petra Elisabeth Holmes, David Spike Palfrey
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Patent number: 9582757Abstract: A system and method is disclosed for improving automated question-answering using real-world knowledge from a knowledge base. The system can be used to answer questions from various users. The system can generate answers to these questions using data stored in a knowledge base. In some embodiments, the system is provided with a list of questions separate from any user questions. The system can be trained using these questions in advance of a user question. The system can process the presented questions to determine that it can generate high-quality correct answers. The system can take various steps to determine a high-quality answer to a question. The system can utilize human intelligence providers to improve this process, such as through a human interactive task system. Human intelligence can be used to determine that a question is understood, that a question is answered, and that the answer is of high quality.Type: GrantFiled: July 25, 2014Date of Patent: February 28, 2017Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Petra Elisabeth Holmes, Andrew Graham Fenn, Andrew Hopkinson, David Spike Palfrey, William Tunstall-Pedoe, Neil Copland
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Patent number: 9286910Abstract: A system for resolving a user's question regarding media at the user's location where the question includes ambiguity as to the context of the question. Context information is acquired from a device or devices at the user's location, and if multiple possible contexts are identified, the system may attempt to resolve the question for more than one of the possible contexts. The system for answering questions and the source of the media may be different and independent.Type: GrantFiled: March 13, 2014Date of Patent: March 15, 2016Assignee: AMAZON TECHNOLOGIES, INC.Inventors: Meng Li, Duncan Joseph Reynolds, William Tunstall-Pedoe, Petra Elisabeth Holmes, Robert Peter Stacey, David Spike Palfrey, Andrew Graham Fenn, Mark Rafn, Graham John French