Patents by Inventor Richard Beaufort

Richard Beaufort 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: 10388278
    Abstract: In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, a computing device may identify a prompt associated with an automated dialog application. An application expectation of the automated dialog application may be identified. The application expectation may comprise a structured natural language representation for a natural language response to the prompt. The computing device may receive natural language input responsive to the prompt, populate one or more data fields of the structured natural language representation with at least a portion of the natural language input, and may respond to the application expectation using the one or more data fields of the structured natural language representation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2019
    Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Jacques-Olivier Goussard, Richard Beaufort
  • Publication number: 20170193385
    Abstract: Various implementations described herein are directed to a method for generating an instance of a finite state machine. The method may receive a configuration comprising a value for each of one or more configuration points of a finite state machine. The method may determine a configuration point of the finite state machine that is not defined with a value in the configuration. The method may determine a default value for the determined configuration point of the finite state machine that is not defined with a value in the configuration. The method may also generate, based on the configuration and the default value, an instance of the finite state machine. The instance of the finite state machine collects data using a dialog system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2016
    Publication date: July 6, 2017
    Inventor: Richard Beaufort
  • Publication number: 20170154621
    Abstract: In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, a computing device may identify a prompt associated with an automated dialog application. An application expectation of the automated dialog application may be identified. The application expectation may comprise a structured natural language representation for a natural language response to the prompt. The computing device may receive natural language input responsive to the prompt, populate one or more data fields of the structured natural language representation with at least a portion of the natural language input, and may respond to the application expectation using the one or more data fields of the structured natural language representation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 13, 2017
    Publication date: June 1, 2017
    Inventors: Jacques-Olivier Goussard, Richard Beaufort
  • Patent number: 9607102
    Abstract: Disclosed methods and systems are directed to task switching in dialog processing. The methods and systems may include activating a primary task, receiving, one or more ambiguous natural language commands, and identifying a first candidate task for each of the one or more ambiguous natural language commands. The methods and system may also include identifying, for each of the one or more ambiguous natural language commands and based on one or more rules, a second candidate task of the plurality of tasks corresponding to the ambiguous natural language command, determining whether to modify at least one of the one or more rules-based task switching rules based on whether a quality metric satisfies a threshold quantity, and when the second quality metric satisfies the threshold quantity, changing the task switching rule for the corresponding candidate task from a rules-based model to the optimized statistical based task switching model.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Jean-Francois Lavallee, Jacques-Olivier Goussard, Richard Beaufort
  • Publication number: 20160070696
    Abstract: Disclosed methods and systems are directed to task switching in dialogue processing. The methods and systems may include activating a primary task, receiving, one or more ambiguous natural language commands, and identifying a first candidate task for each of the one or more ambiguous natural language commands. The methods and system may also include identifying, for each of the one or more ambiguous natural language commands and based on one or more rules, a second candidate task of the plurality of tasks corresponding to the ambiguous natural language command, determining whether to modify at least one of the one or more rules-based task switching rules based on whether a quality metric satisfies a threshold quantity, and when the second quality metric satisfies the threshold quantity, changing the task switching rule for the corresponding candidate task from a rules-based model to the optimized statistical based task switching model.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2014
    Publication date: March 10, 2016
    Inventors: Jean-Francois Lavallee, Jacques-Olivier Goussard, Richard Beaufort
  • Publication number: 20130096911
    Abstract: Described herein is a method and system for normalising a SMS sequence in which the sequence is pre-processed to identify noisy segments in the sequence, normalising those noisy segments and normalising the rest of the SMS sequence in accordance with predefined rules. A morphosyntactic analysis is carried out on the normalised text before an output is provided either as a typewritten text or as a synthetic speech signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 21, 2011
    Publication date: April 18, 2013
    Applicant: UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN
    Inventors: Richard Beaufort, Cédrick Fairon
  • Patent number: 5276469
    Abstract: A new and improved electrophotographic printer and method of operation wherein a disposable print cartridge is rotatably mounted within the printer housing and is operative to directly drive paper out of a paper stack within a paper cassette in the housing and into the active print area therein between the surface of a photoconductive drum and an adjacent transfer roller. The rotatable disposable print cartridge is constructed to include a plurality of paper pick up strips and idler rollers uniformly spaced at predetermined locations along the surface of the disposable print cartridge and operative to be directly driven into contact with paper during the paper pick transport and print modes of the printer. In the non-print mode and in preparation for picking and printing the next sheet, the disposable print cartridge is rotated clockwise while the stack of paper drops away from the cartridge surface to avoid contact with the print cartridge at this time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 1992
    Date of Patent: January 4, 1994
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company
    Inventors: Richard Beaufort, Harold B. Noyes
  • Patent number: 5250986
    Abstract: A peripheral unit is provided with a control panel that includes a plurality of indicators, each indicator displaying to a user a state condition of the peripheral unit. The control panel also includes a user operable key. A "state" circuit is responsive to a functional state of the peripheral unit to cause the state indicators to manifest a selected one of a set of state conditions. A controller is provided for initiating peripheral unit operations. A state logic machine is responsive to each manifested state of the set and user actuation of the key, to cause the controller to initiate a peripheral unit operations, that operation uniquely related to a state manifested by the indicators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 5, 1993
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company
    Inventors: Bruce Axten, Richard Beaufort
  • Patent number: 5070529
    Abstract: An electrical circuit board interconnection system having motherboard 13 and a plurality of option board assemblies 10. Each option board assembly 10 has circuit board 15 to which is attached male pin connector assembly 12 on one surface and a mating female connector assembly 11 on the other surface. Both connector assemblies are oriented with pins 17 and female receptacles 18 parallel to the surface of the boards 15. Ejector levers 14 attached to female connector 11 to bear against male pin housing 36 to assist in disconnection option boards 10 from each other and motherboard 13. Power transfer bus 42 and signal transfer bus 43 interconnect the male and female pin connection 12 and 11 of each circuit board 15 to facilitate the sequential interconnection of a plurality of option board assemblies 10 to motherboard 13.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 1989
    Date of Patent: December 3, 1991
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company
    Inventors: Richard Beaufort, James Sangroniz, Darrell Cox