Patent analysis applications and corresponding user interface features

Abstract

Disclosed are various embodiments for patent analysis applications. A computing device may parse an electronic version of a patent document by identifying a reference numeral in the at least one drawing and identifying portions of the detailed description of the claims section that comprises the reference numeral. The computing device may generate at least one user interface that comprises a textual reproduction of at least a portion of the patent document; identify a user interaction with the reference numeral in the portion of the at least one drawing as shown in the at least one user interface; and, in response to the user interaction with the numeral, cause at least a portion of the detailed description or claims that corresponds to the at least one reference numeral to be presented proximate to the numeral.

Therefore, the following is claimed: 
     
         1 . A system, comprising:
 at least one computing device comprising at least one hardware processor; and   program instructions executable in the at least one computing device that, when executed, direct the at least one computing device to:
 parse an electronic version of a patent document comprising at least (a) a detailed description, (b) a claims section, and (c) at least one drawing by:
 identifying at least one reference numeral in the at least one drawing; and 
 identifying portions of the detailed description or the claims section that comprises the at least one reference numeral; 
 
 generate at least one user interface that comprises a textual reproduction of at least a portion of the patent document; 
 identify a user interaction with the at least one reference numeral in the portion of the at least one drawing as shown in the at least one user interface; and 
 in response to the user interaction with the at least one reference numeral, cause at least a portion of the detailed description or claims that corresponds to the at least one reference numeral to be presented proximate to the at least one numeral. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one computing device is further directed to emphasize the at least one reference numeral as shown in the at least one user interface. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one reference numeral is emphasized by applying highlighting of the at least one reference numeral, adjusting a color of the at least one reference number, or applying a different background color to the at least one reference numeral. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic version of the patent document is parsed by applying an optical character recognition (OCR) to the patent document. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one drawing comprises at least one black-and-white line drawing. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , further program instructions executable in the at least one computing device that, when executed, direct the at least one computing device to, in response to the user interaction with the at least one reference numeral, apply a color to a portion of the at least one drawing that corresponds to the claim term. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one computing device is further directed to, in response to the user interaction with the at least one reference numeral, apply a color to the instances of a claim term in the detailed description corresponding to the at least one reference numeral. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the user interaction comprises: a hover-over event being performed in association with the claim term or a selection event being performed in association with the claim term. 
     
     
         9 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:
 parsing, by at least one computing device comprising at least one hardware processor, an electronic version of a patent document comprising at least (a) a detailed description, (b) a claims section, and (c) at least one drawing by:
 identifying at least one reference numeral in the at least one drawing; and 
 identifying portions of the detailed description or the claims section that comprises the at least one reference numeral; 
   generating, by the at least one computing device, at least one user interface that comprises a textual reproduction of at least a portion of the patent document;   identifying, by the at least one computing device, a user interaction with the at least one reference numeral in the portion of the at least one drawing as shown in the at least one user interface; and   in response to the user interaction with the at least one reference numeral, causing, by the at least one computing device, at least a portion of the detailed description or claims that corresponds to the at least one reference numeral to be presented proximate to the at least one numeral.   
     
     
         10 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 9 , further comprising emphasizing, by the at least one computing device, the at least one reference numeral as shown in the at least one user interface. 
     
     
         11 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one reference numeral is emphasized by applying highlighting of the at least one reference numeral, adjusting a color of the at least one reference number, or applying a different background color to the at least one reference numeral. 
     
     
         12 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 9 , wherein the electronic version of the patent document is parsed by applying an optical character recognition (OCR) to the patent document. 
     
     
         13 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 9 , wherein the at least one drawing comprises at least one black-and-white line drawing. 
     
     
         14 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 9 , further comprising, in response to the user interaction with the at least one reference numeral, applying, by the at least one computing device, a color to a portion of the at least one drawing that corresponds to the claim term. 
     
     
         15 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 9 , further comprising, in response to the user interaction with the at least one reference numeral, applying, by the at least one computing device, a color to the instances of a claim term in the detailed description corresponding to the at least one reference numeral. 
     
     
         16 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 9 , wherein the user interaction comprises: a hover-over event being performed in association with the claim term or a selection event being performed in association with the claim term. 
     
     
         17 . A system, comprising:
 at least one computing device comprising at least one hardware processor; and   program instructions executable in the at least one computing device that, when executed, direct the at least one computing device to:
 parse an electronic version of a patent document comprising at least (a) a detailed description, (b) a claims section, and (c) at least one drawing by:
 identifying at least one reference numeral in the at least one drawing; and 
 identifying portions of the detailed description or the claims section that comprises the at least one reference numeral; 
 
 generate at least one user interface that comprises a textual reproduction of at least a portion of the patent document; and 
 in response to a user interaction, cause at least a portion of the detailed description or claims that corresponds to the at least one reference numeral to be presented proximate to the at least one numeral.