Personal search result identifying a physical location previously interacted with by a user

• US 10,089,394 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2013
• Issued: 10/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Gyongyi, Zoltan, Segars, Albert, Cao, Qun, Dabholkar, Juthika, DeWeese, Darryl, Kesari, Anandsudhakar, Xia, Yiyuan, Zammit, Vincent
• Primary Examiner(s): Featherstone, Mark D
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gmahl, Navneet K
• Application Number:
  US13/939,884
• Publication Number:
  US 20140379696A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,909 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for generating, in response to a search query of a user, a personal search result that identifies a physical location previously interacted with by the user, such as a physical location previously visited by the user. Some implementations are directed to methods and apparatus for determining whether a search query is a personal locational query indicating a desire for information related to one or more physical locations previously interacted with by the user. Some implementations are directed to methods and apparatus for determining search parameters for such a personal locational query. Some implementations are directed to methods and apparatus for searching private content of the user to determine physical locations previously interacted with by the user that are responsive to such a personal locational query. Some implementations are directed to methods and apparatus for generating personal search results that identify determined physical locations previously interacted with by the user.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method, comprising:

receiving a search query of a user, the search query submitted through a user interface for searching both private and public content;

determining that the search query is a personal locational query indicating a desire for information related to one or more physical locations previously interacted with by the user;

determining, based on the search query, at least one search parameter for identifying the one or more physical locations previously interacted with by the user;

receiving user information of the user;

accessing a private content index that indexes private content that is accessible to the user and non-accessible to a plurality of additional users that lack authorization to access the private content, wherein accessing the private content index is based on the user information matching access information for the private content index;

determining, using the private content index, responsive content of the private content, the responsive content being responsive to the at least one search parameter and being previously stored in association with the user based on;

location data generated based on output from one or more hardware components of a computing device of the user, wherein the location data is indicative of a position of the computing device, or

a received email of the user;

determining, based on the responsive content of the private content, a physical location previously interacted with by the user and at least one date of a previous interaction with the physical location by the user;

generating a personal search result based on the responsive content of the private content, the personal search result identifying the physical location previously interacted with by the user and including an indication of the at least one date of the previous interaction with the physical location, wherein the at least one date of the previous interaction is determined from the responsive content of the private content and is included in the personal search result based on being determined based on the private content;

obtaining public search results based on the search query and using a public content index; and

in response to the search query submitted through the user interface for searching both private and public content, providing the personal search result with the public search results, for display to the user in a graphical user interface generated by a computing device of the user, the display of the personal search result in the graphical user interface including display of the indication of the at least one date of the previous interaction with the physical location, and the display of the personal search result visually distinguishing the personal search result from the public search results.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the personal search result based on the responsive content includes:

determining additional content related to the responsive content from at least one resource that is additional to the private content, the additional content not being included in the private content; and

including the additional content in the personal search result.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the additional content is determined based on a mapping between the responsive content and the additional content.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the responsive content is a first property of an entity and the additional content is at least a second property of the entity.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the at least one personal search result based on the responsive content includes:

determining, based on the responsive content, one or more relationships between the user and the physical location; and

providing, in the personal search result, an indication of the one or more relationships between the user and the physical location.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the one or more relationships each indicate at least one action type of the responsive content utilized to determine the physical location was previously interacted with by the user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the query is a personal locational search query is based on matching at least one personal locational query term to one or more terms of the search query.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining that the query is a personal locational search query is based on determining presence of one or more personal locational semantic segments in the search query, each of the personal locational semantic segments based on one or more terms of the search query.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the personal locational semantic segments include at least one of a location entity category segment, an action type segment, a reference geographic area segment, a temporal segment, and a business location identifier segment.

10. A computer implemented method, comprising:

receiving a search query of a user, the search query including a plurality of terms and being submitted through a user interface for searching both private and public content;

obtaining public search results based on the search query and using a public content index;

determining that one or more of the terms of the search query define a first locational semantic segment, the first locational semantic segment being an action type indicating one or more actions associated with one or more previous interactions of the user with one or more physical locations;

determining that one or more of the terms of the search query define a second locational semantic segment, the second locational semantic segment being one of a reference geographic area and a location entity category;

wherein the reference geographic area indicates a geographic area associated with the previous interactions of the user; and

wherein the location entity category indicates one or more categories of the physical locations of the previous interactions;

determining that one or more of the terms of the search query define a temporal segment;

determining one or more first search parameters based on the first locational semantic segment;

determining one or more second search parameters based on the second locational semantic segment;

determining, based on the temporal segment, one or more third search parameters that indicate one or more dates of interaction;

accessing private content of the user;

determining responsive content of the private content, based on the responsive content being indexed, in a private content index that indexes the private content, with the first search parameters, the second search parameters, and the third search parameters;

determining, based on the responsive content of the private content, a physical location previously interacted with by the user on at least one of the dates indicated by the third search parameters, wherein the responsive content is previously stored in association with the user based on;

location data generated based on output from one or more hardware components of a computing device of the user, wherein the location data is indicative of a position of the computing device, or

a received email of the user; and

in response to determining the responsive content of the private content, generating a personal search result based on the responsive content, the personal search result to be provided for display, in combination with the public search results, in response to the search query submitted through the user interface for searching both private and public content and with an indication that the physical location was previously interacted with by the user.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising determining the search query is a personal locational query;

wherein determining the search query is a personal locational query is based at least in part on determining that the terms of the query define the first locational semantic segment and the second locational semantic segment; and

wherein the generating the personal search result occurs only when the search query is determined to be a personal locational query.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the action type of the first locational semantic segment is a class of action types and wherein determining the at least one first search parameter includes determining a plurality of members of the class of action types and including one or more of the members in the first search parameters.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the class of action types is visits.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the members include one or more of a check-in, a review, a location data based interaction indication, a user'"'"'s social network content, a user interaction with an application, a user'"'"'s directional query, an e-mail of the user, a search, and a mapped based indication of interest.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein generating the personal search result based on the responsive content includes:

determining, based on the responsive content, a single member of the members of the class of action types; and

providing, for display in the personal search result, an indication of the single member.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the second locational segment is the reference geographic area.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein determining the at least one second search parameter includes determining additional geographic areas contained by the reference geographic area and including the additional geographic areas in the at least one second search parameter.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein generating at least one personal search result based on the responsive content includes:

determining additional content related to the responsive physical location from at least one resource that is additional to the private content; and

including the additional content in the personal search result.

19. A system including memory and one or more processors operable to execute instructions stored in the memory, comprising instructions to:

receive a search query of a user, the search query submitted through a user interface for searching both private and public content;

determine that the search query is a personal locational query indicating a desire for information related to one or more physical locations previously interacted with by the user;

determine, based on the search query, at least one search parameter for identifying the one or more physical locations previously interacted with by the user;

receive user information of the user;

access, based on user information, a private content index that indexes private content that is accessible to the user and non-accessible to a plurality of additional users that lack authorization to access the private content;

determine, using the private content index, responsive content of the private content, the responsive content being responsive to the at least one search parameter and being previously stored in association with the user based on;

location data generated based on output from one or more hardware components of a computing device of the user, wherein the location data is indicative of a position of the computing device, or

a received email of the user;

determine, based on the responsive content of the private content, a physical location previously interacted with by the user and at least one date of a previous interaction with the physical location by the user;

generate a personal search result based on the responsive content of the private content, the personal search result identifying the physical location previously interacted with by the user and including an indication of the at least one date of the previous interaction with the physical location, wherein the at least one date of the previous interaction is determined from the responsive content of the private content and is included in the personal search result based on being determined based on the private content;

obtaining public search results based on the search query and using a public index; and

in response to the search query submitted through the user interface for searching both private and public content, provide the personal search result with the public search results, for display to the user in a graphical user interface generated by a computing device of the user, the display of the personal search result in the graphical user interface including display of the indication of the at least one date of the previous interaction with the physical location, and the display of the personal search result visually distinguishing the personal search result from the public search results.