System and method for performing a search and a browse on a query

• US 20030126235A1
• Filed: 01/03/2002
• Published: 07/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Chandrasekar, Raman, Finger, James Charles II, Salas, Sally K., Watson, Eric Benjamin
• Granted Patent: US 6,978,264 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9532 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A search and a browse on a single user query is performed. A refined query is selected from the results of the first user query. Thereafter, a list of concepts from a first directory associated with the refined query is obtained. The concepts are defined in a hierarchical relationship with concepts having broader scope being higher in the hierarchy and concepts having a narrower scope being lower in the hierarchy. Additionally, a list of web sites associated with the search concept is obtained from a second directory.

Claims

13-1. The method as recited in claim 13 wherein said nodes comprise categories.

21. A system for locating web sites in a network, comprising:

A server computer having a directory of nodes wherein at least one node contains a plurality of web sites related to a first concept and a category related to the first concept and wherein the nodes are arranged in a hierarchical order such that a node having a concept narrower than the first concept is lower in the hierarchy and a node having a concept broader than the first concepts is higher in the hierarchy;

A client computer in communication with the server computer wherein when the client computer communicates a search term related to the at least one node so that the client computer receives the plurality of web pages and the category related to the at least one node.

22. The system as recited in claim 21 wherein the network is an intranet.

23. The system as recited in claim 21 wherein the network is an Internet.

24. The system as recited in claim 21 comprising a second node wherein the second node is broader in concept than the at least one node.

25. The system as recited in claim 21 comprising a second node wherein the second node is narrower in concept that the at least one node.

26. The system as recited in claim 21 wherein the hierarchical order is in the form of a directed graph.