Search engine interface and method of controlling client searches

• US 20030093409A1
• Filed: 01/04/2001
• Published: 05/15/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Weil, Frank L., Boggs, Chadwick K.
• Granted Patent: US 6,907,423 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

A method for controlling access provided to content files during an information search initiated by a client device and performed by a search engine. The method includes receiving a search request from the client. A modified search request is generated by applying a search profile for the user of the client device to the received search request. The modified search request is then routed to the search engine to apply search criteria in the modified search request to search engine collections populated from the content files. The user'"'"'s search profile includes restrictions defining which of the search engine collections can be searched and how such collections can be searched. The search profile may be generated at the time the search request is received based on login information for the user of the client and based on stored user profile or account information. According to this method, the client is not provided direct access to the search engine and is particularly useful in client-server environments, such as clients with browsers linked to the Internet that search networked devices for information.

Claims

1. A method for controlling access provided to a client to content files during an information search based on a client search profile, comprising:

receiving a search request from a client;

creating a modified search request by applying a search profile for the client to the received search request; and

routing the modified search request to a search engine having a search engine collections populated from the content files.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the creating of the modified search request includes generating the search profile based on stored information pertaining to the client.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the generating includes accessing the stored client information using login information for the client, the login information being collected prior to the receiving of the search request.

4. The method of claim 1, further including in response to routing the modified search request, receiving a set of search results in a format defined by the search engine and including standardizing the set of search results.

5. The method of claim 4, further including generating a results page including the standardized set of search results for transmittal to the client.

6. The method of claim 1, further including prior to the receiving of the search request, intercepting an indexing request from the search engine for a set of information from the content for the search engine collections and in response, returning to the search engine a modified form of the requested set of information.

7. A method for restricting direct access to content files by a search engine and a client during an information search initiated by the client and performed by the search engine, comprising:

positioning a search engine interface between the client and the search engine, wherein the search engine interface is also positioned between the search engine and the content files;

receiving with the search engine interface an indexing request from the search engine for a set of information from the content files;

operating the search engine interface to retrieve the set of information from the content files;

modifying the set of information with the search engine interface;

passing the modified set of information to the search engine for use in populating a search engine collections;

receiving at the search engine interface a search request from the client; and

routing the search request to the search engine for use in searching the search engine collections.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the modifying includes removing metatags from at least a portion of the set of information.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the modifying includes adding additional information to the set of information.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the received search request includes a client search profile defining select collections in the search engine collections for applying the search request.

11. The method of claim 7, further including prior to the routing, modifying the search request by operating the search engine interface to add a client search profile to the received search request to identify select ones of the search engine collections for applying the search request.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the modifying includes generating the client search profile including retrieving with the search engine interface user information for the client.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the positioning includes constructing an instance of the search engine interface that is configured for communicating with the search engine.

14. A Web server for controlling access to content files during a network-based information search initiated by a remote client, the Web server being communicatively linked to a search engine with search engine collections and the content files, comprising:

a Web server application in communication with a data communications network configured for communicating with the communications network and for receiving a search request from the remote client; and

a search engine interface adapted for processing the search request to add a client search profile to the search request to define select collections in the search engine collections for applying the search request and for routing the processed search request to the search engine.

15. The Web server of claim 14, wherein the Web server is a HTTP Web server configured to support Java™

and the search engine interface comprises a Java™

API.

16. The Web server of claim 14, wherein the search engine interface is further adapted parsing a set of search results returned by the search engine in response to the routed search request to generate a standardized set of search results.

17. The Web server of claim 16, further comprising a page generator for generating a results page including the standardized set of search results, and wherein the Web server application is adapted for transmitting the results page over the communications network to the client.

18. A computer program for controlling access to content files during an information search initiated by a client and performed by a search engine, comprising:

first computer code devices configured to cause a computer to receive a search request from the client;

second computer code devices configured to cause a computer to create a modified search request by applying a search profile for the client to the received search request; and

third computer code devices configured to cause a computer to route the modified search request to the search engine, the search engine being communicatively linked to a search engine collections populated with a set of information from the content files;

wherein the search profile defines select ones of the search engine collections for applying the modified search request during the information search.

19. The computer program of claim 18, further including fourth computer code devices configured to cause a computer to generate the search profile based on client information.

20. The computer program of claim 18, further including fifth computer code devices configured to cause a computer to receive a set of search results from the search engine and to parse the set of search results into a standardized set of search results for inclusion in a results page.

21. The computer program of claim 20, further including sixth computer code devices configured to cause a computer to intercept an indexing request from the search engine for information from the content files and to generate a restricted populating set of information by modifying results of the indexing request, wherein the search engine uses the restricted populating set to populate the search engine collections.