Better resolution when referencing to concepts

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019057697-A1
Application number	US-201816113464-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 27, 2018
Priority date	May 30, 2014
Publication date	Feb 21, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

Systems and processes for operating a virtual assistant programmed to refer to shared domain concepts using concept nodes are provided. In an example process, user speech input is received. A textual representation of the user speech input is generated. The textual representation is parsed to determine a primary domain representing a user intent for the textual representation. A first substring from the textual representation that corresponds to a first attribute of the primary domain is identified. The identified first substring is parsed to determine a secondary domain representing a user intent for the first substring. A task flow comprising one or more tasks is performed based on the primary domain and the secondary domain.

First claim

1 . (canceled)

2 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs configured to be executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, the one or more programs including instructions for:
receiving user speech input; determining, from a plurality of domains, a primary domain corresponding to a textual representation of the user speech input; identifying, from the textual representation, a first substring that corresponds to a first concept of the primary domain; parsing the first substring to determine a secondary domain of the plurality of domains; based on the secondary domain, obtaining a data item corresponding to the first substring; and in accordance with determining that the data item is valid for resolving the first concept of the primary domain:
extracting, from the data item, a parameter value for the first concept of the primary domain;
invoking a service based on the primary domain to produce a result using the parameter value for the first concept; and
outputting the result.

3 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 2 , wherein an ontology includes the plurality of domains, wherein the primary domain in the ontology includes a root node and a concept node descending from the root node, and wherein the concept node represents the concept of the primary domain.

4 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 2 , wherein the one or more programs further include instructions for:
in accordance with determining that a second concept of the primary domain has not been resolved:
applying a default parameter value for the second concept of the primary domain, wherein the result is produced using the parameter value for the first concept and the default parameter value for the second concept of the primary domain by invoking the service.

5 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 2 , wherein the one or more programs further include instructions for:
in accordance with determining that the data item is not valid for resolving the first concept of the primary domain:
resolving an error to determine a second parameter value for the first concept of the primary domain;
invoking the service based on the primary domain to produce a second result using the second parameter value; and
outputting the second result.

6 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 2 , wherein determining the data item corresponding to the first substring further comprises querying, using the first substring, a data source of the secondary domain to obtain the data item.

7 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 2 , wherein the secondary domain includes a same concept as the first concept of the primary domain.

8 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 2 , wherein parsing the first substring comprises analyzing parse results for only a subset of the plurality of domains, and wherein the subset includes the secondary domain.

9 . An electronic device, comprising:
one or more processors; and memory storing one or more programs configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for:
receiving user speech input;
determining, from a plurality of domains, a primary domain corresponding to a textual representation of the user speech input;
identifying, from the textual representation, a first substring that corresponds to a first concept of the primary domain;
parsing the first substring to determine a secondary domain of the plurality of domains;
based on the secondary domain, obtaining a data item corresponding to the first substring; and
in accordance with determining that the data item is valid for resolving the first concept of the primary domain:
extracting, from the data item, a parameter value for the first concept of the primary domain;
invoking a service based on the primary domain to produce a result using the parameter value for the first concept; and
outputting the result.

10 . The device of claim 9 , wherein an ontology includes the plurality of domains, wherein the primary domain in the ontology includes a root node and a concept node descending from the root node, and wherein the concept node represents the concept of the primary domain.

11 . The device of claim 9 , wherein the one or more programs further include instructions for:
in accordance with determining that a second concept of the primary domain has not been resolved:
applying a default parameter value for the second concept of the primary domain, wherein the result is produced using the parameter value for the first concept and the default parameter value for the second concept of the primary domain by invoking the service.

12 . The device of claim 9 , wherein the one or more programs further include instructions for:
in accordance with determining that the data item is not valid for resolving the first concept of the primary domain:
resolving an error to determine a second parameter value for the first concept of the primary domain;
invoking the service based on the primary domain to produce a second result using the second parameter value; and
outputting the second result.

13 . The device of claim 9 , wherein determining the data item corresponding to the first substring further comprises querying, using the first substring, a data source of the secondary domain to obtain the data item.

14 . The device of claim 9 , wherein the secondary domain includes a same concept as the first concept of the primary domain.

15 . The device of claim 9 , wherein parsing the first substring comprises analyzing parse results for only a subset of the plurality of domains, and wherein the subset includes the secondary domain.

16 . A method for operating a digital assistant, the method comprising:
at an electronic device having one or more processors and memory: receiving user speech input; determining, from a plurality of domains, a primary domain corresponding to a textual representation of the user speech input; identifying, from the textual representation, a first substring that corresponds to a first concept of the primary domain; parsing the first substring to determine a secondary domain of the plurality of domains; based on the secondary domain, obtaining a data item corresponding to the first substring; and in accordance with determining that the data item is valid for resolving the first concept of the primary domain:
extracting, from the data item, a parameter value for the first concept of the primary domain;
invoking a service based on the primary domain to produce a result using the parameter value for the first concept; and
outputting the result.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein an ontology includes the plurality of domains, wherein the primary domain in the ontology includes a root node and a concept node descending from the root node, and wherein the concept node represents the concept of the primary domain.

18 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
in accordance with determining that a second concept of the primary domain has not been resolved:
applying a default parameter value for the second concept of the primary domain, wherein the result is produced using the parameter value for the first concept and the default parameter value for the second concept of the primary domain by invoking the service.

19 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
in accordance with determining that the data item is not valid for resolving the first concept of the primary

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Giuli Richard D
• Treadgold Nicholas K

Classifications

• G10L15/22 Primary

  Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue · CPC title

• G10L2015/223

  Execution procedure of a spoken command · CPC title

• G06F16/3329

  Natural language query formulation · CPC title

• G06F3/167

  Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback · CPC title

• G10L15/1822 Primary

  Parsing for meaning understanding · CPC title