Patent Issued for System and method for modeling a search query (USPTO 11775510): United Services Automobile Association

2023 OCT 20 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent by the inventors Bueche, Jr., Michael P. (San Antonio, TX, US), Burks, Rickey Dale (Boerne, TX, US), Niles, Thomas (San Antonio, TX, US), Oakes, III, Charles L. (Boerne, TX, US), filed on November 10, 2020, was published online on October 3, 2023, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents.

Patent number 11775510 is assigned to United Services Automobile Association (San Antonio, Texas, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “The use of personal computers (PCs), personal digital assistants (PDAs), Web-enabled phones, smart phones, tablet devices, wire line and wireless networks, the Internet, Web-based query systems and engines, and the like has gained relatively widespread acceptance in recent years. This is due, in large part, to the relatively widespread availability of high-speed, broadband Internet access through digital subscriber lines (DSLs) (including asymmetric digital subscriber lines (ADSLs) and very-high-bit-rate digital subscriber lines (VDSLs)), cable modems, satellite modems, wireless local area networks (WLANs), 3G/4G wireless systems, and the like. Thus far, user interaction with PCs, PDAs, smart phones, tablet devices, Web-enabled phones, wireline and wireless networks, the Internet, Web-based query systems and engines, and the like has been primarily non-voice-based, through keyboards, mice, intelligent electronic pads, monitors, touch screens, printers, and the like. This has limited the adoption and use of these devices and systems somewhat, and it has long been felt that allowing for accurate, precise, and reliable voice-based user interaction, mimicking normal human interaction, would be advantageous. For example, allowing for accurate, precise, and reliable voice-based user interaction would certainly draw more users to e-commerce, e-support, e-learning, etc., and reduce learning curves.

“In this context, “mimicking normal human interaction” means that a user would be able to speak a question into Web-enabled device or the like and the Web-enabled device or the like would respond quickly with an appropriate answer or response, through text, graphics, or synthesized speech, the Web-enabled device or the like not simply converting the user’s question into text and performing a routine search, but truly understanding and modeling the user’s question.

“Several products and services currently allow for limited voice-based user interaction with PCs, PDAs, and the like. Such software products include, for example, Dragon NaturallySpeaking™ by Scansoft, Inc. and SIRI™ by Apple. These products, however, which allow a user to perform dictation, voice-based command-and-control functions are often inaccurate, imprecise, and unreliable.

“Existing systems, apparatuses, software products, and methods for providing natural language query services suffer from at least one of the following shortcomings. They often require time-consuming, and often inaccurate, imprecise, unreliable, and require voice training.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The purpose and advantages of the below described illustrated embodiments will be set forth in and apparent from the description that follows. Additional advantages of the illustrated embodiments will be realized and attained by the devices, systems and methods particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof, as well as from the appended drawings.

“To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the illustrated embodiments, in one aspect, a computer method and system for providing information results in response to a natural language information request is described in which a natural language information request is received from a user and a computer executable query is compiled from the natural language information request wherein the query is formatted to extract data from one or more computer databases. The query is then presented to the user prior to execution of the query so as to enable the user to change the query prior to its execution. The query is then executed to extract data from one or more computer databases whereby extracted data is presented to the user in a certain presentation format.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A computer implemented method for providing information results in response to a natural language information request comprising: compiling a computer executable query from a natural language information request from a user; determining access to one or more databases based upon user identity and predetermined user authorization to access the one or computer databases; executing the query to selectively extract data from the one or more determined accessible computer databases based predetermined user authorization associated with the user identity for retrieving data from the one or computer databases such that query results are extracted from the one or more computer databases based upon the user authorization associated with the user identity; and presenting the query results to the user in a user predefined format wherein the predefined format is conditional upon predictive user behavior determined by prior user query precedent; wherein the predefined format is conditional upon predictive user behavior determined by prior user query precedent.

“2. The computer implemented method as recited in claim 1, further including receiving a natural language information request.

“3. The computer implemented method as recited in claim 2, wherein the natural language request includes instructions to present results in a predefined format.

“4. The computer implemented method as recited in claim 3 wherein the predefined format includes a graphics based presentation.

“5. The computer implemented method as recited in claim 3 wherein the predefined format includes an ASCII based presentation.

“6. The computer implemented method as recited in claim 1 further including the step of retaining in computer memory learned habits, trends and definitions for compiling prior queries.

“7. The computer implemented method as recited in claim 6, wherein the retained learned habits, trends and definitions for prior compiled queries are utilized for compiling the computer executable query.

“8. The computer implemented method as recited in claim 6, wherein the learned habits, trends and definitions for compiling prior queries are associated with the user.

“9. The computer implemented method as recited in claim 6, wherein the learned habits, trends and definitions for compiling prior queries are associated with one or more different users.

“10. The computer implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein providing information results in response to a natural language information request further includes presenting the query to the user prior to execution of the query and enabling a user to change the query prior to its execution.

“11. The computer implemented method as recited in claim 10, wherein the step of enabling a user to change the query prior to its execution includes using at least one of voice recognition, a computer keyboard a user gesture and user touch input to change the query.

“12. The computer implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of presenting the extracted data includes enabling a user to redefine a format for presenting the extracted data.

“13. The computer implemented method as recited in claim 1, further including determining the identity of the user based upon an IP address corresponding to a computer network device associated with the user.

“14. The computer implemented method as recited in claim 1, further including determining the user identity based upon biometric information corresponding to the user.

“15. A computer system for providing information results in response to a natural language information request, comprising: a memory configured to store instructions; a processor disposed in communication with said memory, wherein said processor upon execution of the instructions is configured to: compile a computer executable query from a natural language information request from a user; determine access to one or more databases based upon user identity and predetermined user authorization to access the one or computer databases; execute the query to selectively extract data from the one or more determined accessible computer databases based predetermined user authorization associated with the user identity for retrieving data from the one or computer databases such that query results are extracted from the one or more computer databases based upon the user authorization associated with the user identity; and present the query results to the user in a user predefined format wherein the predefined format is conditional upon predictive user behavior determined by prior user query precedent.

“16. The computer system as recited in claim 15 wherein the processor is further configured to present the query to the user prior to execution of the query and enabling a user to change the query prior to its execution.

“17. The computer system as recited in claim 16, wherein enabling a user to change the query prior to its execution includes using at least one of voice recognition, a computer keyboard a user gesture and user touch input to change the query.

“18. The computer system as recited in claim 15, wherein the natural language request from the user includes instructions to present results in a predefined format.

“19. The computer implemented method as recited in claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to determine the identity of the user based upon an IP address corresponding to a computer network device associated with the user.”

URL and more information on this patent, see: Bueche, Jr., Michael P. System and method for modeling a search query. U.S. Patent Number 11775510, filed November 10, 2020, and published online on October 3, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11775510)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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