Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
92 words
Apparatus for providing advice about a design, the apparatus characterized by: a design document; a knowledge base (104) for producing information about a domain relevant to the design in response to a query; query providing means (QP) for producing the query in response to a specification of an advice area by a user and providing the query to the knowledge base; and advice providing means (AP) responsive to the information produced in response to the query for employing the information to provide an annotation for the design document which includes the advice.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that: the information has an owner, and the advice includes the owner of the information employed in providing the advice.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
54 words
The apparatus set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that: the advice providing means further includes means (Fig. 3) permitting the user to indicate that the user has not accepted the advice; and the advice providing means further includes an indication (108) that the user has not accepted the advice in the annotation.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus set forth in claim 1 further characterized by: means (105) for updating the knowledge base with additional information based on a review of the annotation.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
97 words
The apparatus set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that: the knowledge base includes a hierarchy (201) of design descriptions, a set (202) of design decisions indexed by design descriptions, and a set (203) of advice items indexed by design decision and design description; and the knowledge base produces the information by locating a design description corresponding to the advice area, locating a design decision indexed by the design description, locating an advice items indexed by the located design description and the located design decision, and producing the located advice item in response to the query.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
52 words
The apparatus set forth in claim 5 further characterized in that: at least one of the design descriptions has an establishing question (603) associated therewith; and the query providing means provides the establishing question to the user; and the user makes the specification of the advice area by answering the establishing question.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
56 words
The apparatus set forth in claim 5 further characterized in that: the advice items include an overriding advice item (A-18, A-13); and when the knowledge base locates both an overriding advice item and another advice item which is not an overriding advice item, the knowledge base produces the overriding advice item as the located advice item.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
59 words
The apparatus set forth in claim 5 further characterized in that: the advice items include primary advice items (607) and secondary advice items (609); and the knowledge base indicates whether a located advice item is a primary advice item or a secondary advice item; and the advice providing means indicates whether the provided advice is primary or secondary advice.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
55 words
The apparatus set forth in claim 7 further characterized in that: the apparatus further includes means (105) for updating the knowledge base; and the means for updating the knowledge base updates the knowledge base with additional information based on a review of the annotation which includes an indication of whether an advice item is overriding.