Conducting a search directed by a hierarchy-free set of topics
First Claim
1. A computer implemented method of directing a search aided by a set of topics, the topics not necessarily having a hierarchy, each topic having at least one attachment to at least one information item of a plurality of information items, the method comprising:
- identifying for a first searcher one or more information items of the plurality of information items according to search request information provided by the first searcher, the search request information including at least one of the group consisting of a search phrase and a subset of one or more search topics of the set of topics;
determining one or more suggested topics from the set of topics, the suggested topics being determined according to the attachments of the suggested topics to the one or more identified information items; and
providing search results to the first searcher, the search results including at least some of the identified information items and at least one of the suggested topics, wherein the suggested topics include one or more refinement topics determined from the set of topics according to a refinement topic criterion using a refinement selection method, such that the first searcher selecting one of the suggested topics generates a new set of suggested topics, and such that a hierarchy of topics is formed on the fly for a particular search for the first searcher.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A computer implemented method, and a software product for directing a search aided by a set of topics, the topics not necessarily having a hierarchy. Each topic is attached to at least one information item of a plurality of information items, such as a Web page identified by a URL. The method includes identifying one or more information items of the plurality of information items, and determining one or more suggested topics from the set of topics according to the attachments of the suggested topics to the identified information items, and providing search results to the user including at least some of the identified information items and at least one of the suggested topics. Selecting one of the suggested topics generates a new set of suggested topics, such that a hierarchy of topics is formed on the fly for a particular search.
77 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A computer implemented method of directing a search aided by a set of topics, the topics not necessarily having a hierarchy, each topic having at least one attachment to at least one information item of a plurality of information items, the method comprising:
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identifying for a first searcher one or more information items of the plurality of information items according to search request information provided by the first searcher, the search request information including at least one of the group consisting of a search phrase and a subset of one or more search topics of the set of topics;
determining one or more suggested topics from the set of topics, the suggested topics being determined according to the attachments of the suggested topics to the one or more identified information items; and
providing search results to the first searcher, the search results including at least some of the identified information items and at least one of the suggested topics, wherein the suggested topics include one or more refinement topics determined from the set of topics according to a refinement topic criterion using a refinement selection method, such that the first searcher selecting one of the suggested topics generates a new set of suggested topics, and such that a hierarchy of topics is formed on the fly for a particular search for the first searcher. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A carrier medium carrying one or more computer-readable code segments to instruct a processor of a processing system to execute a method of directing a search aided by a set of topics, the topics not necessarily having a hierarchy, each topic having at least one attachment to at least one information item of a plurality of information items, the method comprising:
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identifying for a first searcher one or more information items of the plurality of information items according to search request information provided by the first searcher, the search request information including at least one of the group consisting of a search phrase and a subset of one or more search topics of the set of topics;
determining one or more suggested topics from the set of topics, the suggested topics being determined according to the attachments of the suggested topics to the one or more identified information items; and
providing search results to the first searcher, the search results including at least some of the identified information items and at least one of the suggested topics, wherein the suggested topics include one or more refinement topics determined from the set of topics according to a refinement topic criterion using a refinement selection method, such that the first searcher selecting one of the suggested topics generates a new set of suggested topics, and such that a hierarchy of topics is formed on the fly for a particular search for the first searcher. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A computer readable carrier medium carrying a data structure comprising:
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a topic data structure configured to store a set of topics, the topic data structure having an element for each topic, the topic data structure further configured such that no topic hierarchy need exist for the set of topics;
a user data structure configured to store a set of users, a user being a searcher who has provided registration information, the user data structure having an element for each topic, each user data structure element including the registration information for the user;
an attachment data structure configured to store a set of attachments, each attachment being between one of the topics of the set of topics and an information item of a set of information items, the attachment data structure having an element for each attachment; and
the data structure configured for use by a computer implemented method of directing a search aided by the set of topics, the topics not necessarily having a hierarchy, the method comprising;
identifying for a first searcher one or more information items of the plurality of information items according to search request information provided by the first searcher, the search request information including at least one of the group consisting of a search phrase and a subset of one or more search topics of the set of topics;
determining one or more suggested topics from the set of topics, the suggested topics being determined according to the attachments of the suggested topics to the one or more identified information items; and
providing search results to the first searcher, the search results including at least some of the identified information items and at least one of the suggested topics, wherein the suggested topics include one or more refinement topics determined from the set of topics according to a refinement topic criterion using a refinement selection method, and such that the first searcher selecting one of the suggested topics generates a new set of suggested topics, such that a hierarchy of topics is formed on the fly for a particular search for the first searcher. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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Specification