Patent Publication Number: US-10318108-B2

Title: Converting text content to a set of graphical icons

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/487,128, filed Sep. 16, 2014, entitled “Converting Text Content to a Set of Graphical Icons,” which is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/742,779, filed Jan. 16, 2013, entitled “Converting Text Content to a Set of Graphical Icons,” the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     The disclosure relates generally to a technique for analyzing and summarizing textual information, and more specifically to depicting a meaning of a textual document in graphical form. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Textual documents can be long and complex. Similarly, an email message chain, whereby an initial email is responded to (by email recipient(s)) one or more times and such responses are all included with the original email, can be long and complex. A user may have to analyze/review this email message chain to ascertain/determine response information such a simple ‘yes’ response that was made by a given email recipient. 
     As described in US Patent Publication 2009/0049140, attempts have been made to analyze email content to determine potential intended recipients. Other document analysis techniques involve visually summarizing documents using images which are a visual representative of the documents for which the images represent, where an external image is obtained from an external source using key phrases from the document. 
     There exists a need to provide a more robust technique for analyzing and summarizing textual information such as may be found in one or more documents. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method, system and program product are provided for analyzing textual information and providing a visual representative of a summary of such textual information in the form of a ranked list of icons. A text to icon engine is used that takes as input a textual document. A plurality of icons are each associated to a specific rule such that when the text to icon engine processes textual input, it will apply the rules associated with the icons and return a value that represents how much the text belongs to a specific icon. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an illustrative diagram of a data processing environment in which illustrative embodiments may be implemented; 
         FIG. 2  is an illustration of a data processing system in accordance with an illustrative embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating a text to icon conversion system in accordance with an illustrative embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating a process flow of a text to icon conversion process; and 
         FIG. 5  is a representative user interface/display that results from the text to icon conversion process/system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system, method or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon. 
     Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing. 
     Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). 
     Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     With reference now to the figures and, in particular, with reference to  FIG. 1 , an illustrative diagram of a data processing environment is provided in which illustrative embodiments may be implemented. It should be appreciated that  FIG. 1  is only provided as an illustration of one implementation and is not intended to imply any limitation with regard to the environments in which different embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depicted environments may be made. 
       FIG. 1  depicts a pictorial representation of a network of data processing systems in which illustrative embodiments may be implemented. Network data processing system  100  is a network of computers in which the illustrative embodiments may be implemented. Network data processing system  100  contains network  102 , which is the medium used to provide communications links between various devices and computers connected together within network data processing system  100 . Network  102  may include connections, such as wire, wireless communication links, or fiber optic cables. 
     In the depicted example, server computer  104  and server computer  106  connect to network  102  along with storage  108 . In addition, client computers  110 ,  112 , and  114  connect to network  102 . Client computers  110 ,  112 , and  114  may be, for example, personal computers or network computers. In the depicted example, server computer  104  provides information, such as boot files, operating system images, and applications to client computers  110 ,  112 , and  114 . Client computers  110 ,  112 , and  114  are clients to server computer  104  in this example. Network data processing system  100  may include additional server computers, client computers, and other devices not shown. 
     In this depicted example, client computers  110 ,  112 , and  114  may send and receive email messages via at least one of server computer  104  and server computer  106 . One or more of the different illustrative embodiments may be implemented in network data processing system  100  to manage the delivery of email messages. 
     Program code located in network data processing system  100  may be stored on a computer recordable storage medium and downloaded to a data processing system or other device for use. For example, program code may be stored on a computer recordable storage medium on server computer  104  and downloaded to client computer  110  over network  102  for use on client computer  110 . 
     In the depicted example, network data processing system  100  is the Internet with network  102  representing a worldwide collection of networks and gateways that use the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite of protocols to communicate with one another. At the heart of the Internet is a backbone of high-speed data communication lines between major nodes or host computers consisting of thousands of commercial, governmental, educational, and other computer systems that route data and messages. Of course, network data processing system  100  also may be implemented as a number of different types of networks, such as, for example, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), or a wide area network (WAN).  FIG. 1  is intended as an example and not as an architectural limitation for the different illustrative embodiments. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 2 , an illustration of a data processing system is depicted in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. In this illustrative example, data processing system  200  includes communications fabric  202 , which provides communications between processor unit  204 , memory  206 , persistent storage  208 , communications unit  210 , input/output (I/O) unit  212 , and display  214 . Data processing system  200  may be used to implement computers, such as server computer  106  and client computer  110  in  FIG. 1 . Additionally, data processing system  200  may be used to implement other types of devices, such as notebook computers, desktop computers, mobile phones, and other suitable types of devices. 
     Processor unit  204  serves to process instructions for software that may be loaded into memory  206 . Processor unit  204  may be a number of processors, a multi-processor core, or some other type of processor, depending on the particular implementation. A number, as used herein with reference to an item, means one or more items. Further, processor unit  204  may be implemented using a number of heterogeneous processor systems in which a main processor is present with secondary processors on a single chip. As another illustrative example, processor unit  204  may be a symmetric multi-processor system containing multiple processors of the same type. 
     Memory  206  and persistent storage  208  are examples of storage devices  216 . A storage device is any piece of hardware that is capable of storing information, such as, for example, without limitation, data, program code in functional form, and/or other suitable information, either on a temporary basis and/or a permanent basis. Storage devices  216  may also be referred to as computer readable storage devices in these examples. Memory  206 , in these examples, may be, for example, a random access memory or any other suitable volatile or non-volatile storage device. Persistent storage  208  may take various forms, depending on the particular implementation. 
     For example, persistent storage  208  may contain one or more components or devices. For example, persistent storage  208  may be a hard drive, a flash memory, a rewritable optical disk, a rewritable magnetic tape, or some combination of the above. The media used by persistent storage  208  also may be removable. For example, a removable hard drive may be used for persistent storage  208 . 
     Communications unit  210 , in these examples, provides for communications with other data processing systems or devices. In these examples, communications unit  210  is a network interface card. Communications unit  210  may provide communications through the use of either or both physical and/or wireless communications links. 
     Input/output unit  212  allows for input and output of data with other devices that may be connected to data processing system  200 . For example, input/output unit  212  may provide a connection for user input through a keyboard, a mouse, and/or some other suitable input device. Further, input/output unit  212  may send output to a printer. Display  214  provides a mechanism to display information to a user. 
     Instructions for the operating system, applications, and/or programs may be located in storage devices  216 , which are in communication with processor unit  204  through communications fabric  202 . In these illustrative examples, the instructions are in a functional form on persistent storage  208 . These instructions may be loaded into memory  206  for processing by processor unit  204 . The processes of the different embodiments may be performed by processor unit  204  using computer implemented instructions, which may be located in a memory, such as memory  206 . 
     These instructions are referred to as program code, computer usable program code, or computer readable program code that may be read and run by a processor in processor unit  204 . The program code in the different embodiments may be embodied on different physical or computer readable storage media, such as memory  206  or persistent storage  208 . 
     Program code  218  is located in a functional form on computer readable media  220  that is selectively removable and may be loaded onto, or transferred to, data processing system  200  for processing by processor unit  204 . Program code  218  and computer readable media  220  form computer program product  222  in these examples. In one example, computer readable media  220  may be computer readable storage media  224  or computer readable signal media  226 . Computer readable storage media  224  may include, for example, an optical or magnetic disk that is inserted or placed into a drive or other device that is part of persistent storage  208  for transfer onto a storage device, such as a hard drive, that is part of persistent storage  208 . Computer readable storage media  224  also may take the form of a persistent storage, such as a hard drive, a thumb drive, or a flash memory, that is connected to data processing system  200 . In some instances, computer readable storage media  224  may not be removable from data processing system  200 . In these examples, computer readable storage media  224  is a physical or tangible storage device used to store program code  218 , rather than a medium that propagates or transmits program code  218 . Computer readable storage media  224  is also referred to as a computer readable tangible storage device or a computer readable physical storage device. In other words, computer readable storage media  224  is a media that can be touched by a person. 
     Alternatively, program code  218  may be transferred to data processing system  200  using computer readable signal media  226 . Computer readable signal media  226  may be, for example, a propagated data signal containing program code  218 . For example, computer readable signal media  226  may be an electromagnetic signal, an optical signal, and/or any other suitable type of signal. These signals may be transmitted over communications links, such as wireless communications links, optical fiber cable, coaxial cable, a wire, and/or any other suitable type of communications link. In other words, the communications link and/or the connection may be physical or wireless in the illustrative examples. 
     In some illustrative embodiments, program code  218  may be downloaded over a network to persistent storage  208  from another device or data processing system through computer readable signal media  226  for use within data processing system  200 . For instance, program code stored in a computer readable storage medium in a server to data processing system may be downloaded over a network from the server to data processing system  200 . The data processing system providing program code  218  may be a server computer, a client computer, or some other device capable of storing and transmitting program code  218 . 
     The different components illustrated for data processing system  200  are not meant to provide physical or architectural limitations to the manner in which different embodiments may be implemented. The different illustrative embodiments may be implemented in a data processing system including components in addition to or in place of those illustrated for data processing system  200 . Other components shown in  FIG. 2  may be varied from the illustrative examples shown. The different embodiments may be implemented using any hardware device or system capable of running program code. As one example, the data processing system may include organic components integrated with inorganic components and/or may be comprised entirely of organic components excluding a human being. For example, a storage device may be comprised of an organic semiconductor. 
     In another illustrative example, processor unit  204  may take the form of a hardware unit with circuits that are manufactured or configured for a particular use. This type of hardware may perform operations without needing program code to be loaded into a memory from a storage device to be configured to perform the operations. 
     For example, when processor unit  204  takes the form of a hardware unit, processor unit  204  may be a circuit system, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device, or some other suitable type of hardware configured to perform a number of operations. With a programmable logic device, the device is configured to perform the number of operations. The device may be reconfigured at a later time or may be permanently configured to perform the number of operations. Examples of programmable logic devices include, for example, a programmable logic array, programmable array logic, a field programmable logic array, a field programmable gate array, and other suitable hardware devices. With this type of implementation, program code  218  may be omitted because the processes for the different embodiments are implemented in a hardware unit. 
     In still another illustrative example, processor unit  204  may be implemented using a combination of processors found in computers and hardware units. Processor unit  204  may have a number of hardware units and a number of processors that are configured to run program code  218 . With this depicted example, some of the processes may be implemented in the number of hardware units, while other processes may be implemented in the number of processors. 
     In another example, a bus system may be used to implement communications fabric  202  and may be comprised of one or more buses, such as a system bus or an input/output bus. Of course, the bus system may be implemented using any suitable type of architecture that provides for a transfer of data between different components or devices attached to the bus system. 
     Additionally, a communications unit may include a number of more devices that transmit data, receive data, or transmit and receive data. A communications unit may be, for example, a modem or a network adapter, two network adapters, or some combination thereof. Further, a memory may be, for example, memory  206 , or a cache, such as found in an interface and memory controller hub that may be present in communications fabric  202 . 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method, system and program product are provided for analyzing textual information and providing a visual representative of a summary of such textual information in the form of a ranked list of icons. A text to icon engine is used that takes as input a textual document. A plurality of icons are each associated to a specific rule such that when the text to icon engine processes textual input, it will apply the rules associated with the icons and return a value that represents how much the text belongs to a specific icon. A method implemented by a computer to provide a graphical summary of textual data, comprising steps implemented by the computer of: analyzing the textual data using a plurality of rules that each specify textual characteristics for various types of the textual data and an associated icon; selecting at least one of the plurality of rules whose specified textual characteristics match characteristics of the textual data to form selected rules; and generating a list of at least one icon according to the selected rules. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 3 , there is depicted at  300  a text to icon conversion system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A text to icon engine  302  is used, and receives as input the textual information  304 , such as a document, email message or email string(s). The text-to-icon engine  302  analyzes the textual content/information  304  and generates a summary description of the information, in the form of a set of one or more images/icons  308 , using functional rule and icon database  306 . In a preferred embodiment, each icon  308  is associated with a specific rule in the rule and icon database  306 . As the text to icon engine  302  analyzes incoming text from textual information  304 , it applies the rules associated with the icons and determines an integer value that represents how much the text belongs to a specific icon, with such integer value also called a matching index, as further described hereinbelow. At the end of the analysis, after processing each of the rules in the rule and icon database  306 , after the engine  302  generates a set of matching indexes for the textual information, each matching index is compared with a customizable threshold value. If a given matching index exceeds (or in an alternative embodiment(s), exceeds or equals; or in another alternative embodiment, is less than) the customizable threshold value, the icon/image corresponding to such matching index is assigned to the textual information/document  304 , as further described hereinbelow. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 4 , there is depicted, such as is depicted by element  304  of  FIG. 3 , d at  400  a more detailed implementation of the text-to-icon summary process. A new text document to be analyzed, such as is depicted by element  304  of  FIG. 3 , is provided at  402 . The text-to-icon engine, such as is depicted by element  302  of  FIG. 3 , is made ready or initialized at  404 . A given rule is selected/retrieved from a rule and icon database, such as is depicted by element  306  of  FIG. 3 , at  406 . Text from text/document file  304  (as depicted in  FIG. 3 ) is analyzed to determine a matching index at  410 . The text/document file is analyzed using traditional pattern matching rules that are used to perform text mining, as exemplified by IBM InfoSphere (and other known natural language processing techniques including both manual coding of language rules and machine learning of statistical patterns such as is provided by IBM Watson and/or relationship extraction/sentiment analysis techniques), according to Value_i=Rule_i (text document). At step  410 , a determination is made as to whether the matching index that was determined at step  408  exceeds a (configurable) threshold. If not, the icon associated with the given rule is not included in a resulting list at  418 . If, instead, it is determined at  410  that the matching index does exceed the (configurable) threshold, the icon associated with the given rule is included in a resulting list of icons associated with the textual information/document  304  at  412 . Next, at step  414 , a determination is made as to whether any more unprocessed rules in rule and icon database  306  (as depicted in  FIG. 3 ) remain to be processed at  414 . If so, processing returns to step  406  to process another rule from the rule and icon database  306  (as depicted in  FIG. 3 ). If this is instead the last rule to analyze, processing proceeds to  416  where the created list of icons/images that pertain to the textual information/document  304  (as depicted in  FIG. 3 ) is now available for use, such as presenting such information to a user. In a preferred embodiment, the list is maintained/created in a sorted order, with the icon having an associated matching index with the highest value being placed at the top of the list, and subsequent icons that exceed the (customized) threshold are placed in the list in a ranked descending order according to their respective matching indices. Alternatively, the ranked list could be ordered from lowest to highest, which may be preferred in the alternative embodiment where matching indexes that are less than the (configurable) threshold are deemed to be associated with text in the textual document/email. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a resulting display screen at  500 . Here, a particular user&#39;s email inbox or folder is depicted at  510 , including a set of ‘high importance’ emails, followed by an email pertaining to a ‘calendar event’, and finally a set of ‘normal’ emails in the user&#39;s inbox/folder are depicted at inbox/folder  510 . A particular email that has been processed by the text to icon/image engine in order to determine an appropriate icon or set of icons that summarizes the textual content is shown at  514 . The resulting icon that summarizes such textual content—here a ‘happy face’ icon—is depicted at the tail end of arrow  512 , and is adjacent to the sender&#39;s name of Antonio Sgro&#39; who sent the reply email  514  and summarizes the textual string of ‘Thanks for your help’ that is included in such email response. 
     The following is a representative, non-exhaustive list of summary images/icons that may be generated as a result of the above described text to icon/image summarization process pertaining to analysis of text/document/email information: 
     Happy Smile icon: it is a thanks message; 
     Question Mark icon: it means the text/document/email contains one or more questions; 
     Positive Acknowledgement icon: it means that a user is providing a confirmation message; 
     Negative Acknowledgement icon: it means that a user is providing a negative message; 
     Short Document icon: it means the text/document/email has short text content; 
     Long Document icon: it means the text/document/email has long text content; and 
     Technical Document icon: it means the text/document/email is a document with technical details. 
     Thus, illustrative embodiments of the present invention provide a computer implemented method, computer system, and computer program product for analyzing textual information and providing a visual representative of a summary of such textual information in the form of a ranked list of icons. 
     The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiment. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiment, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed here. 
     The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.