Hierarchical data-driven navigation system and method for information retrieval
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for enabling a user to browse information, the method comprising:
- storing a plurality of attribute-value pairs associated with a collection of materials, wherein each of a plurality of values has an association with at least one of a plurality of attributes characterizing the materials;
displaying a free-text search box;
accepting a search term entered in the free-text search box;
determining the attribute-value pairs that match the search term;
displaying a representation of the matching attribute-value pairs for the search term;
accepting a selection of an initial set of one or more of the matching attribute-value pairs;
entering a first navigation state corresponding to a first set of attribute-value pairs including at least the initial set of matching attribute-value pairs and to a first particular subset of the materials, the first particular subset of the materials consisting of those materials in the collection of materials that are each described by every attribute-value pair in the first set of attribute-value pairs; and
entering a second navigation state in response to a user action, the second navigation state corresponding to a second set of attribute-value pairs and to a second particular subset of the materials, the second set including at least two mutually incomparable attribute-value pairs, the second particular subset of the materials consisting of those materials in the collection of materials that are each described by every attribute-value pair in the second set of attribute-value pairs.
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Abstract
A data-driven, hierarchical information navigation system and method enable search of sets of documents or other materials by certain common attributes that characterize the materials. The invention includes several aspects of a data-driven, hierarchical navigation system that employs this navigation mode. The navigation system of the present invention includes features of an interface, a knowledge base and a taxonomy definition process and a classification process for generating the knowledge base, a graph-based navigable data structure and method for generating the data structure, World Wide Web-based applications of the system, and methods of implementing the system. Users are able to search or browse a particular collection of documents by selecting desired values for the attributes. A data-driven, hierarchical information navigation system and method enable this navigation mode by associating terms with the materials, defining a set of hierarchical relationships among the terms, and providing a guided search mechanism based on the relationship between the terms.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for enabling a user to browse information, the method comprising:
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storing a plurality of attribute-value pairs associated with a collection of materials, wherein each of a plurality of values has an association with at least one of a plurality of attributes characterizing the materials;
displaying a free-text search box;
accepting a search term entered in the free-text search box;
determining the attribute-value pairs that match the search term;
displaying a representation of the matching attribute-value pairs for the search term;
accepting a selection of an initial set of one or more of the matching attribute-value pairs;
entering a first navigation state corresponding to a first set of attribute-value pairs including at least the initial set of matching attribute-value pairs and to a first particular subset of the materials, the first particular subset of the materials consisting of those materials in the collection of materials that are each described by every attribute-value pair in the first set of attribute-value pairs; and
entering a second navigation state in response to a user action, the second navigation state corresponding to a second set of attribute-value pairs and to a second particular subset of the materials, the second set including at least two mutually incomparable attribute-value pairs, the second particular subset of the materials consisting of those materials in the collection of materials that are each described by every attribute-value pair in the second set of attribute-value pairs. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A computer-implemented method for enabling a user to browse information, the method comprising:
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storing a plurality of attribute-value pairs associated with a collection of materials, wherein each of a plurality of values has an association with at least one of a plurality of attributes characterizing the materials;
displaying a free-text search box;
accepting a search term entered in the free-text search box;
determining the attribute-value pairs that match the search term;
displaying a representation of the matching attribute-value pairs for the search term;
accepting a selection of a selected set of one or more of the matching attribute-value pairs; and
entering a first navigation state corresponding to a first set of attribute-value pairs including at least the selected set of matching attribute-value pairs and to a first particular subset of the materials, the first set of attribute-value pairs including at least two mutually incomparable attribute-value pairs, the first particular subset of the materials consisting of those materials in the collection of materials that are each described by every attribute-value pair in the first set of attribute-value pairs.
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10. A computer program product, residing on a computer-readable medium, for use in browsing information associated with a collection of materials, the computer program product comprising instructions for causing a computer to:
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access a data structure containing a plurality of attribute-value pairs associated with the materials, wherein each of a plurality of values has an association with at least one of a plurality of attributes characterizing the materials;
display a free-text search box;
accept a search term entered in the free-text search box;
determine the attribute-value pairs that match the search term;
display a representation of the matching attribute-value pairs for the search term;
accept a selection of a selected set of one or more of the matching attribute-value pairs;
enter a first navigation state corresponding to a first set of attribute-value pairs including at least the selected set of one or more matching attribute-value pairs and to a particular subset of the materials, the particular subset of the materials consisting of those materials in the collection of materials that are each described by every attribute-value pair in the first set of attribute-value pairs; and
enter a second navigation state in response to a user action, the second navigation state corresponding to a second set of attribute-value pairs and to a second particular subset of the materials, the second set including at least two mutually incomparable attribute-value pairs, the second particular subset of the materials consisting of those materials in the collection of materials that are each described by every attribute-value pair in the second set of attribute-value pairs. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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Specification