Patent ID: 6604141
Filing Date: 2003-08-05
Classification: G06N,G06Q,Y10S

Abstract:
A method of providing technical support comprising steps of:Storing a knowledge base in memory, including defining a tree arrangement of rules relating to said operating conditions, said rules including relationships between resolutions and antecedents of said resolutions, said knowledge base having data relevant to diagnosing operating conditions of at least one product; Connecting said memory to an expert system for correlating resolutions to specific operating conditions and inputs that identify said specific operating conditions as applied to said at least one product; Enabling Internet connectivity between said expert system and remote computing devices of users of said at least one product, including enabling a plurality of independent and concurrent sessions in which information is exchanged between said expert system and said remote computers in a conversational format, each said session being unrelated to the other said sessions concurrently being conducted and comprising steps of: (a) transmitting outgoing text strings to a particular remote computer, said outgoing text strings being selected in an absence of human intervention and including question strings and resolution strings; (b) receiving incoming text strings from said particular remote computer, said incoming text strings including free-form descriptions of operating conditions of said at least one product; and (c) correlating said free-form descriptions within said incoming text strings and said data of said knowledge base including identifying indications of said antecedents contained within said incoming text strings from said particular remote computer, wherein during execution of said correlating, said step of transmitting resolution strings include basing content of said resolution strings upon identification of correlations wherein said steps of transmitting and correlating enable forward deducing from an indication of a first antecedent to a related first resolution and enable backward inducing in which an outgoing question string is transmitted to request confirmation of presence of a second antecedent that is also related to said first resolution, said second antecedent having been previously unidentified in any said incoming text string.