Query-answering source for user queries

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional digital assistant software struggles to provide satisfactory answers for subjective and nuanced user queries, often leading users to abandon their questions or manually search for answers, which can be time-consuming and unsatisfactory.

Innovation Solution

A method where an information handling device receives a user query, identifies if a stored answer is not applicable, determines a query-answering source such as an online forum or willing contributors, transmits the query, and provides the received answer back to the user.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Speed

If digital assistant software uses stored answers to respond to user queries, then response speed is improved, but answer accuracy deteriorates for subjective and nuanced queries

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresponse speedVSAvoidanswer accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

SpeedVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary evaluation mechanism that assesses whether stored answers are appropriate for each query before use. The digital assistant evaluates the suitability of stored answers and can identify when they are not appropriate, then seek additional information or alternative sources, thereby maintaining both fast response times and high answer accuracy for subjective queries

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically adjusts its answer selection process based on query characteristics. For objective queries, it uses stored answers directly for speed; for subjective or nuanced queries, it evaluates and potentially supplements with external information, making the response mechanism adaptive rather than static

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Reliability

If users manually search for answers when digital assistant fails, then answer accuracy is improved, but time consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveanswer accuracyVSAvoidtime consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary evaluation of stored answers before presenting them to users. By pre-assessing whether stored answers are appropriate for each query, the system avoids situations where users would need to manually search, thereby maintaining answer accuracy while preventing time loss that would occur with manual searching

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Productivity

If digital assistant relies on pre-stored answers, then response efficiency is improved, but adaptability to new queries deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresponse efficiencyVSAvoidadaptability to new queries

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent makes the digital assistant multi-functional by enabling it to both use stored answers efficiently and evaluate when they are inappropriate. The system universally applies evaluation logic to all queries, allowing it to maintain high response efficiency for routine queries while adapting to new or subjective queries by identifying when stored answers should not be used

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS11269893B2Query-answering source for a user query

Publication Date: 2022.03.08 LENOVO SWITZERLAND INTERNATIONAL GMBH

AI summary

One embodiment provides a method, including: receiving, at an information handling device, a user query; identifying, using a processor, that a stored answer does not correspond to the user query; determining, using a processor, a query-answering source for the user query; transmitting the user query to the query-answering source; and providing an answer submitted by the query-answering source to a user. Other aspects are described and claimed.