Patents by Inventor Robert L. Yates

Robert L. Yates 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).

  • Publication number: 20160224663
    Abstract: According to an aspect, a question answering computer system determines a set of search terms for a given question. A plurality of passages that each includes at least one search term in the set of search terms is identified in response to a search of a document for search terms in the set of search terms. A passage from the plurality of passages is selected. A context based score of the selected passage that indicates the likelihood that the selected passage contains an answer to the question is generated based on criteria that specify a relationship among the set of search terms, content of the passage, and content of at least one other passage in the plurality of passages.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 16, 2016
    Publication date: August 4, 2016
    Inventors: Christopher M. Nolan, William G. Visotski, David E. Wilson, Robert L. Yates
  • Publication number: 20160171095
    Abstract: Mechanisms are provided for identifying commonalities between candidate answers generated by a Question and Answer (QA) system in response to an input question. The mechanisms receive a plurality of candidate answers for an input question from the QA system and identify terms present in the candidate answers. The mechanisms determine relationships between terms in each of the candidate answers and determine a common relationship between a first term and a second term, the common relationship being common amongst at least a subset of the plurality of candidate answers, based on the determined relationships between terms in each of the candidate answers. The mechanisms present the plurality of candidate answers and the common relationship to a user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2016
    Publication date: June 16, 2016
    Inventors: William G. Visotski, David E. Wilson, Robert L. Yates
  • Publication number: 20160132589
    Abstract: According to an aspect, a question answering computer system determines a set of search terms for a given question. A plurality of passages that each includes at least one search term in the set of search terms is identified in response to a search of a document for search terms in the set of search terms. A passage from the plurality of passages is selected. A context based score of the selected passage that indicates the likelihood that the selected passage contains an answer to the question is generated based on criteria that specify a relationship among the set of search terms, content of the passage, and content of at least one other passage in the plurality of passages.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2014
    Publication date: May 12, 2016
    Inventors: Christopher M. Nolan, William G. Visotski, David E. Wilson, Robert L. Yates
  • Publication number: 20160099975
    Abstract: An information sharing paradigm for a cloud computing solution enables flexible organizational boundaries with respect to cloud resources. Cloud service customers manage their own organization boundary but can extend that boundary selectively by associating cloud resources they own with sets of domain names that may be associated with requests for cloud resources that the organization may be willing to share with other organizations that are using the cloud environment, and by ensuring that any such requests for resources that are shared in this manner are associated with one or more message handling policies that have been defined by (or otherwise associated with) the resource-owning organization. Cloud resources owned by an organization (even those marked as “internal only”) may be selectively shared with one or more other organizations using the cloud environment depending on the domain names associated with the requests. Message handling policies are enforced with respect to shared resources.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 15, 2015
    Publication date: April 7, 2016
    Inventors: Mustansir Banatwala, Harold Moss, III, Robert L. Yates, Mary E. Zurko
  • Patent number: 9246839
    Abstract: An information sharing paradigm for a cloud computing solution enables flexible organizational boundaries with respect to cloud resources. Cloud service customers manage their own organization boundary but can extend that boundary selectively by associating cloud resources they own with sets of domain names that may be associated with requests for cloud resources that the organization may be willing to share with other organizations that are using the cloud environment, and by ensuring that any such requests for resources that are shared in this manner are associated with one or more message handling policies that have been defined by (or otherwise associated with) the resource-owning organization. Cloud resources owned by an organization (even those marked as “internal only”) may be selectively shared with one or more other organizations using the cloud environment depending on the domain names associated with the requests. Message handling policies are enforced with respect to shared resources.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Mustansir Banatwala, Harold Moss, III, Robert L. Yates, Mary E. Zurko
  • Publication number: 20150161242
    Abstract: Mechanisms are provided for identifying commonalities between candidate answers generated by a Question and Answer (QA) system in response to an input question. The mechanisms receive a plurality of candidate answers for an input question from the QA system and identify terms present in the candidate answers. The mechanisms determine relationships between terms in each of the candidate answers and determine a common relationship between a first term and a second term, the common relationship being common amongst at least a subset of the plurality of candidate answers, based on the determined relationships between terms in each of the candidate answers. The mechanisms present the plurality of candidate answers and the common relationship to a user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 5, 2013
    Publication date: June 11, 2015
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: William G. Visotski, David E. Wilson, Robert L. Yates
  • Publication number: 20140297571
    Abstract: Mechanisms are provided for generating an answer to an input question. An input question is received and a set of candidate answers is generated along with, for each candidate answer in the set of candidate answers, a corresponding selection of one or more selected evidence portions from a corpus of information providing evidence in support of the candidate answer being a correct answer for the input question. The candidate answers are ranked based on an application of a justifying passage model (JPM) to the selected evidence portions for each of the candidate answers in the set of candidate answers. The JPM identifies whether a candidate answer is justified by a selected evidence passage corresponding to the candidate answer. A candidate answer is output as the correct answer for the input question based on the ranking of the candidate answers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2014
    Publication date: October 2, 2014
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Bridget B. Beamon, Michael D. Whitley, Robert L. Yates
  • Publication number: 20140298199
    Abstract: Mechanisms are provided, in association with a question and answer system, for generating answers to an input question. An input question is received and processed to generate at least one query. The at least one query is applied to the corpus to generate a set of candidate answers and corresponding selections of evidence portions of the corpus of information providing evidence in support of the at least one candidate answer being a correct answer for the input question. A graphical user interface (GUI) is output comprising a first GUI sub-section comprising the set of candidate answers, and a second GUI sub-section comprising the evidence portions of the corpus. User input modifying at least one of set of candidate answers or the evidence portions of the corpus of information is received via the GUI and an operation of the data processing system is adjusted based on the user input.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2013
    Publication date: October 2, 2014
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Robert C. Johnson, JR., Scott M. Lewis, Michael D. Whitley, Robert L. Yates
  • Publication number: 20140280883
    Abstract: A technique to update URLs is provided in an HTTP-based client upon receipt of an HTTP redirect in response to a request-URI. One or more references to the request-URI are saved in or in association with the client. Upon receipt of an HTTP 301 (permanent) redirect, the client automatically re-links the one or more stored references to the request-URI to one or more new references returned by the server (as identified in the HTTP redirect) when the redirect can be verified to originate from the application to which the client is attempting to connect. Preferably, the automatic re-linking is accomplished using a link editing capability for permanent (e.g., HTTP 301) redirects.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Publication date: September 18, 2014
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Olgierd S. Pieczul, Mariusz Pajecki, Isabela Pogorzelska-Pieczul, Robert L. Yates
  • Patent number: 8261329
    Abstract: In some embodiments, a system includes a database of trust information that internalizes security and trust relationships between a first entity and a second entity in regards to scheduling, and a central trust manager operable to determine from the database of trust information whether a trust relationship exists between a first organization and a second organization, the central trust manager also being operable to provide availability information of a user of the first organization to a second user of the second organization, the central trust manager also being operable to determine whether the second user of the second organization is granted access to requested calendar data and the central trust manager also being operable to provide the requested calendar data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Daniel C. Gurney, Carol A Jones, Anthony J Nadalin, Nataraj Nagaratnam, John J Rawls, Robert L. Yates, Alfred Zollar
  • Publication number: 20110161830
    Abstract: An entity's profile is augmented. Viewer-supplied data is received from a first viewing computer to modify an initial profile for a profiled entity in order to create an augmented profile about the profiled entity. This viewer-supplied data is hidden from the profiled entity. The augmented profile is generated and transmitted to an authorized viewing computer that has requested the augmented profile.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2009
    Publication date: June 30, 2011
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: STEPHEN P. KRUGER, CHRISTOPHER J. PAUL, ANUPHINH P. WANDERSKI, ROBERT L. YATES
  • Publication number: 20100306824
    Abstract: In some embodiments, a system includes a database of trust information that internalizes security and trust relationships between a first entity and a second entity in regards to scheduling, and a central trust manager operable to determine from the database of trust information whether a trust relationship exists between a first organization and a second organization, the central trust manager also being operable to provide availability information of a user of the first organization to a second user of the second organization, the central trust manager also being operable to determine whether the second user of the second organization is granted access to requested calendar data and the central trust manager also being operable to provide the requested calendar data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2009
    Publication date: December 2, 2010
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Daniel C. Gurney, Carol A. Jones, Anthony J. Nadalin, Nataraj Nagaratnam, John J. Rawls, Robert L. Yates, Alfred Zollar
  • Patent number: 6183795
    Abstract: A method of producing shattered, preservative-free dried fruit or vegetable pieces. Preferably, low moisture fruit is cryogenically frozen and the frozen fruit is then impacted (preferably using a roller mill or tumbler) to produce randomized, shattered fruit pieces (preferably having size primarily in the range from ¼ inch to ⅜ inch). The shattered fruit pieces are optionally dried (for example, while they are warmed in a warm air dryer) to reduce their moisture content to 22%-25% prior to packaging. In an optional, preliminary processing step, dried fruit is first rehydrated to a moisture content of 22%-30% (preferably 23%-25%) to produce low moisture fruit. The low moisture fruit is pitted and then frozen. The frozen, low moisture fruit is then shattered (and optionally then dried) in accordance with the invention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2001
    Assignee: Sunsweet Growers, Inc.
    Inventor: Robert L. Yates
  • Patent number: 5382149
    Abstract: Input food is extruded or otherwise deposited between a pair of counter-rotating wheels whose outer surfaces define mold cavities. The deposited input food is molded into pieces having desired shape (e.g., simulating pitted prunes or berries) by compression between aligned, counter-rotating mold cavity pairs. Preferably, the input food is heated prior to molding to prevent irreversible set up before compression between the mold cavities, and the wheels are chilled to cause deposited food to set up as it is compressed and carried between aligned, chilled mold cavities from a loading station to a release station. Preferably, the mold cavities are maintained at low temperature (e.g., in the range from about -10.degree. F. to 32.degree. F.). After the input food is molded and set up into pieces, the rotating cavities separate at a release station, allowing the molded pieces to fall away from the wheels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 17, 1995
    Assignee: Sunsweet Growers, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert L. Yates, Lyle Burkholder, Greg Roepke
  • Patent number: 5358727
    Abstract: Input food is extruded or otherwise deposited between a pair of counter-rotating wheels whose outer surfaces define mold cavities. The deposited input food is molded into pieces having desired shape (e.g., simulating pitted prunes or berries) by compression between aligned, counter-rotating mold cavity pairs. Preferably, the input food is heated prior to molding to prevent irreversible set up before compression between the mold cavities, and the wheels are chilled to cause deposited food to set up as it is compressed and carried between aligned, chilled mold cavities from a loading station to a release station. Preferably, the mold cavities are maintained at low temperature (e.g., in the range from about -10.degree. F. to 32.degree. F.). After the input food is molded and set up into pieces, the rotating cavities separate at a release station, allowing the molded pieces to fall away from the wheels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 1993
    Date of Patent: October 25, 1994
    Assignee: Sunsweet Growers, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert L. Yates, Lyle Burkholder, Greg Roepka