Patents by Inventor John J. Messerly

John J. Messerly 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: 6246977
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to performing information retrieval utilizing semantic representation of text. In a preferred embodiment, a tokenizer generates from an input string information retrieval tokens that characterize the semantic relationship expressed in the input string. The tokenizer first creates from the input string a primary logical form characterizing a semantic relationship between selected words in the input string. The tokenizer then identifies hypemyms that each have an “is a” relationship with one of the selected words in the input string. The tokenizer then constructs from the primary logical form one or more alternative logical forms. The tokenizer constructs each alternative logical form by, for each of one or more of the selected words in the input string, replacing the selected word in the primary logical form with an identified hypernym of the selected word.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2001
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: John J. Messerly, George E. Heidorn, Stephen D. Richardson, William B. Dolan, Karen Jensen
  • Patent number: 6161084
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to performing information retrieval utilizing semantic representation of text. In a preferred embodiment, a tokenizer generates from an input string information retrieval tokens that characterize the semantic relationship expressed in the input string. The tokenizer first creates from the input string a primary logical form characterizing a semantic relationship between selected words in the input string. The tokenizer then identifies hypernyms that each have an "is a" relationship with one of the selected words in the input string. The tokenizer then constructs from the primary logical form one or more alternative logical forms. The tokenizer constructs each alternative logical form by, for each of one or more of the selected words in the input string, replacing the selected word in the primary logical form with an identified hypernym of the selected word. Finally, the tokenizer generates tokens representing both the primary logical form and the alternative logical forms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2000
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: John J. Messerly, George E. Heidorn, Stephen D. Richardson, William B. Dolan, Karen Jensen
  • Patent number: 6076051
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to performing information retrieval utilizing semantic representation of text. In a preferred embodiment, a tokenizer generates from an input string information retrieval tokens that characterize the semantic relationship expressed in the input string. The tokenizer first creates from the input string a primary logical form characterizing a semantic relationship between selected words in the input string. The tokenizer then identifies hypernyms that each have an "is a" relationship with one of the selected words in the input string. The tokenizer then constructs from the primary logical form one or more alternative logical forms. The tokenizer constructs each alternative logical form by, for each of one or more of the selected words in the input string, replacing the selected word in the primary logical form with an identified hypernym of the selected word. Finally, the tokenizer generates tokens representing both the primary logical form and the alternative logical forms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2000
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: John J. Messerly, George E. Heidorn, Stephen D. Richardson, William B. Dolan, Karen Jensen
  • Patent number: 5941944
    Abstract: Weights are assigned to features of data objects and the weights are utilized to determine whether data objects are substantially identical or not. One application of such weights is to assign weights to terms in web page documents. The weights assigned to the terms may then be utilized to determine whether web page documents are substantially identical. A set of identicals may be generated for each web page that is indexed by the system and utilized to repair broken hyperlinks. Specifically, when a uniform resource locator (URL) associated with the hyperlink cannot be resolved or cannot be resolved in a timely fashion, one of the identicals of the desired web page documents may be returned to provide a requesting party with the desired content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 24, 1999
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventor: John J. Messerly
  • Patent number: 4653942
    Abstract: A conventional serial computer printer is modified by removing the roller platen, solenoid plunger and daisy wheel. A punch guide in the form of an elongated plate having openings corresponding to at least some of the embossment positions in a line of Braille together with a back-up die in the form of an elongated plate having indentations each defining the shape of a Braille character embossment in alignment with the openings in the punch guide are substituted for the platen roller in the printer. A Braille medium upon which a line of Braille is to be printed is receivable between the punch guide and back-up die. A flexible punch is substituted for the normal plunger in the solenoid so that the Braille characters can be successively punched by the punch passing through selected ones of the openings to thereby provide a line of Braille.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 1986
    Date of Patent: March 31, 1987
    Assignee: Visualtek, Inc.
    Inventors: Yakov G. Soloveychik, John J. Messerly