Patent ID: 8666730
Filing Date: 2014-03-04
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method for question-answering based on automatic semantic labeling of text documents and user questions, the method comprising: electronically receiving natural language text documents using at least one computer processor coupled to at least one non-transitory storage medium; electronically receiving a user question formulated in a natural language; performing a basic linguistic analysis of the text documents and the user question; performing semantic labeling of the text documents through semantic analysis, including identifying target words in the text documents using linguistic patterns stored in a database and assigning question types to the target words in the text documents; storing the semantically labeled text documents in a labeled text documents database; performing semantic labeling of the user question through semantic analysis, including identifying one or more target words in the user question using linguistic patterns stored in a database and assigning a question type to each of the one or more target words in the user question; searching the labeled text documents database for text fragments relevant to the semantically labeled user question at least in part by matching a question type assigned to a target word in the labeled text documents to a question type assigned to a target word in the user question, wherein relevance is based on a ranking of the text fragments relative to the semantically labeled user question; and synthesizing answers to the user question from the relevant text fragments, and electronically presenting the synthesized answer to the user.