| United States Patent | 5,696,964 |
| Cox, et. al. | Dec. 9, 1997 |
| Inventors: | Cox; Ingemar J. (Lawrenceville, NJ); Miller; Matthew L. (Vilnius, LT); Omohundro; Stephen M. (Monmouth Junction, NJ); Yianilos; Peter N. (Princeton, NJ). |
| Assignee: | NEC Research Institute, Inc. (Princeton, NJ). |
| Appl. No.: | 634,313 |
| Filed: | Apr. 16, 1996 |
| Intl. Cl. : | G06F 17/30 |
| Current U.S. Cl.: | 395/605; 395/326; 395/615 |
| Field of Search: | 395/601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 615, 326, 968 |
| 5,579,471 | Nov., 1996 | Barber et al. | 395/326 |
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A queryless, multimedia database search method incorporating a Bayesian inference engine that refines its answer with each user response. The set of user responses includes of a series of displays and user actions, and is defined by a relatively simple user interface.