Managing a distributed knowledge graph

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019294733-A1
Application number	US-201815933748-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 23, 2018
Priority date	Mar 23, 2018
Publication date	Sep 26, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

A knowledge graph is divided into a plurality of sub-graphs, each sub-graph comprising a plurality of vertices and a plurality of edges. The knowledge graph is represented as a summary graph comprising for each of the sub-graphs a summary-graph vertex. A local sub-graph is generated as a copy of one of the sub-graphs together with a copy of a surrounding graph to the one of the sub-graphs. The content of the local sub-graph is modified. The local sub-graph is reintegrated, upon a reintegration trigger event, back into the knowledge graph, wherein a structure of the surrounding graph is used as a reintegration aid, by overlaying the structure and the knowledge graph, thereby identifying identical vertices of the surrounding structure and the knowledge graph as anchor points from where changes in the local sub-graph are reintegrated into the knowledge graph.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A computer-implemented method for managing a knowledge graph, the knowledge graph comprising vertices and edges, the method comprising:
dividing the knowledge graph into a plurality of sub-graphs, each sub-graph comprising a plurality of vertices and a plurality of edges; representing the knowledge graph as a summary graph comprising for each of the sub-graphs a summary-graph vertex, wherein each summary graph vertex is related to a respective index file and a respective content file, wherein the respective index file comprises a list of the vertices of the sub-graph and edges of the sub-graph, and wherein the respective content file comprises searchable content of the sub-graph; generating a local sub-graph as a copy of one of the sub-graphs together with a copy of a surrounding graph to the one of the sub-graphs, wherein the surrounding graph comprises a group of vertices of the knowledge graph that are each linked to the plurality of vertices of the one of the sub-graphs via less than a threshold number of edges; modifying the content of the local sub-graph; and reintegrating, upon a reintegration trigger event, the local sub-graph back into the knowledge graph, wherein a structure of the surrounding graph is used as a reintegration aid, by overlaying the structure and the knowledge graph, thereby identifying identical vertices of the surrounding structure and the knowledge graph as anchor points from where changes in the local sub-graph are reintegrated into the knowledge graph.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
locking the one of the sub-graphs in the knowledge graph.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein generating the local sub-graph further comprises separating the knowledge graph and the local sub-graph physically from each other.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the overlaying the structure and the knowledge graph comprises:
determining a percentage of identical vertices of the structure of the surrounding graph and the knowledge graph.

5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the reintegration is triggered after a predefined number of modifications has been made to the local sub-graph.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the reintegration is triggered if a stable connection between the knowledge graph and the local sub-graph is determined.

7 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein modifying the content of the local sub-graph comprises one out of the group comprising modifying content of a vertex of the local sub-graph, adding a vertex of the local sub-graph, deleting a vertex of the local sub-graph, modifying edges of the local sub-graph, modifying a weight factor of an edge, and modifying a property value of a vertex.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the reintegration trigger event is generated by the knowledge graph upon a predefined condition.

9 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
deleting a local sub-graph if it has not been accessed for a predefined period of time.

10 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein generating the local sub-graph as a copy of one of the sub-graphs is triggered if a predefined number or a predefined percentage of sub-graph vertices of the one of the sub-graphs has been tagged.

11 . A system for managing a knowledge graph, the knowledge graph comprising vertices and edges, the system comprising:
one or more processors; and a memory communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the memory comprises instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method comprising: dividing the knowledge graph into a plurality of sub-graphs, each sub-graph comprising a plurality of vertices and a plurality of edges; representing the knowledge graph as a summary graph comprising for each of the sub-graphs a summary-graph vertex, wherein each summary graph vertex is related to a respective index file and a respective content file, wherein the respective index file comprises a list of the vertices of the sub-graph and edges of the sub-graph, and wherein the respective content file comprises searchable content of the sub-graph; generating a local sub-graph as a copy of one of the sub-graphs together with a copy of a surrounding graph to the one of the sub-graphs, wherein the surrounding graph comprises a group of vertices of the knowledge graph that are each linked to the plurality of vertices of the one of the sub-graphs via less than a threshold number of edges; modifying the content of the local sub-graph; and reintegrating, upon a reintegration trigger event, the local sub-graph back into the knowledge graph, wherein a structure of the surrounding graph is used as a reintegration aid, by overlaying the structure and the knowledge graph, thereby identifying identical vertices of the surrounding structure and the knowledge graph as anchor points from where changes in the local sub-graph are reintegrated into the knowledge graph.

12 . The system according to claim 11 , wherein generating the local sub-graph further comprises separating the knowledge graph and the local sub-graph physically from each other.

13 . The system according to claim 11 , wherein the overlaying the structure and the knowledge graph comprises:
determining a percentage of identical vertices of the structure of the surrounding graph and the knowledge graph.

14 . The system according to claim 11 , wherein the reintegration is triggered after a predefined number of modifications has been made to the local sub-graph.

15 . The system according to claim 11 , wherein generating the local sub-graph as a copy of one of the sub-graphs is triggered if a predefined number or a predefined percentage of sub-graph vertices of the one of the sub-graphs has been tagged.

16 . A computer program product for managing a knowledge graph, the knowledge graph comprising vertices and edges, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, wherein the computer readable storage medium is not a transitory signal per se, the program instructions executable by a computer to perform a method comprising:
dividing the knowledge graph into a plurality of sub-graphs, each sub-graph comprising a plurality of vertices and a plurality of edges; representing the knowledge graph as a summary graph comprising for each of the sub-graphs a summary-graph vertex, wherein each summary graph vertex is related to a respective index file and a respective content file, wherein the respective index file comprises a list of the vertices of the sub-graph and edges of the sub-graph, and wherein the respective content file comprises searchable content of the sub-graph; generating a local sub-graph as a copy of one of the sub-graphs together with a copy of a surrounding graph to the one of the sub-graphs, wherein the surrounding graph comprises a group of vertices of the knowledge graph that are each linked to the plurality of vertices of the one of the sub-graphs via less than a threshold number of edges; modifying the content of the local sub-graph; and reintegrating, upon a reintegration trigger event, the local sub-graph back into the knowledge graph, wherein a structure of the surrounding graph is used as a reintegration aid, by overlaying the structure and the knowledge graph, thereby identifying identical vertices of the surrounding structure and the knowledge graph as anchor points from where changes in the local sub-graph are reinte

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Scheideler Tim U
• Rueger Erik
• Flöther Frederik F
• Ravizza Stefan

Classifications

• G06F16/316

  Indexing structures · CPC title

• G06F16/367

  Ontology · CPC title

• G06N5/022

  Knowledge engineering; Knowledge acquisition · CPC title

• G06F16/9024 Primary

  Graphs; Linked lists (G06F16/9027 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F17/30958 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic