User interface for conducting a search directed by a hierarchy-free set of topics

• US 20060059143A1
• Filed: 09/09/2005
• Published: 03/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: III Holdings 1, LLC
• Original Assignee: Suggestica, Inc.
• Inventors: Palmon, Eran, Tavor, Guy, Ben-Shachar, Ofer, Smadja, Frank, Dan, Ido
• Granted Patent: US 7,502,783 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/20 of structured data, e.g. relational data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3323 using document space presentation or visualization, e.g. category, hierarchy or range presentation and selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/35 Clustering; Classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/38 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access

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.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of providing a user interface for a search method, the search method 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:

causing a first user interface to be displayed to a first searcher, the user interface providing for the searcher to input 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;

carrying out the search method, the search method including;

accepting the search request information input by the first searcher;

identifying one or more information items of the plurality of information items according to the accepted search request information; and

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

as a result of carrying out the search method, causing a second user interface to be displayed to the first searcher, the second user interface including at least some of the identified information items and at least one of the suggested topics, the second user interface providing for the first searcher the ability to select 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 using the displayed second user interface generates a new set of suggested topics, and causes at least some of topics of the new set of suggested topics to be displayed to the first searcher, such that that a hierarchy of topics is formed on the fly for a particular search for the first searcher.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein at most a predetermined number of refinement topics are displayed to the viewer.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first user interface and the second user interfaces are a first webpage and a second webpage, respectively.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

accepting from the searcher new search request information;

determining new search results including an identified set of information items and a new set of one or more suggested topics, the new search results determined by applying the one or more search criteria with the accepted new search request information; and

presenting to the searcher the new search results.

5. A method as recited in claim 4,

wherein the accepted new search request information includes a topic selected from the previously suggested topics;

wherein the information items in the new search results have attachments to the topic selected from the previously suggested topics.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the suggested topics presented to the first searcher include one or more similar topics determined from the set of topics according to a topic similarity criterion related to the identified information items.

7. A method as recited in claim 6, wherein the similar topics are ordered according to a similarity rank determined according to a similarity topic ranking method.

8. A method as recited in claim 7, wherein at most a pre-determined number of similar topics are displayed to the viewer.

9. A carrier medium carrying one or more computer-readable code segments to instruct a processor of a processing system to execute a computer implemented method of providing a user interface for a search method, the search method 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:

causing a first user interface to be displayed to a first searcher, the user interface providing for the searcher to input 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;

carrying out the search method, the search method including;

accepting the search request information input by the first searcher;

identifying one or more information items of the plurality of information items according to the accepted search request information; and

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

as a result of carrying out the search method, causing a second user interface to be displayed to the first searcher, the second user interface including at least some of the identified information items and at least one of the suggested topics, the second user interface providing for the first searcher the ability to select 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 using the displayed second user interface generates a new set of suggested topics, and causes at least some of topics of the new set of suggested topics to be displayed to the first searcher, such that that a hierarchy of topics is formed on the fly for a particular search for the first searcher.

10. A carrier medium as recited in claim 9, wherein at most a pre-determined number of refinement topics are displayed to the viewer.

11. A carrier medium as recited in claim 9 wherein the first user interface and the second user interface are a first webpage and a second webpage, respectively.

12. A carrier medium as recited in claim 9, wherein the method further comprises:

accepting from the searcher new search request information;

determining new search results including an identified set of information items and a new set of one or more suggested topics, the new search results determined by applying the one or more search criteria with the accepted new search request information; and

presenting to the searcher the new search results.

13. A carrier medium as recited in claim 12,

wherein the accepted new search request information includes a topic selected from the previously suggested topics;

wherein the information items in the new search results have attachments to the topic selected from the previously suggested topics.

14. A carrier medium as recited in claim 9, wherein the suggested topics presented to the first searcher include one or more similar topics determined from the set of topics according to a topic similarity criterion related to the identified information items.

15. A carrier medium as recited in claim 14, wherein the similar topics are ordered according to a similarity rank determined according to a similarity topic ranking method.

16. A carrier medium as recited in claim 15, wherein at most a pre-determined number of similar topics are displayed to the viewer.

17. A method comprising:

defining a set of topics for attachment to one or more information items of a plurality of information items, the defining being by at least one user, a user being a searcher who has provided registration information, the defining the topics including;

accepting from at least one user at least one topic; and

adding the topic to the set of topics,

wherein the topics do not necessarily have a hierarchical structure;

wherein each topic is for attachment to one or more information items of a plurality of information items, and

wherein the topics that are attached to at least one information item are for searching by a particular searcher for one or more information items of the plurality of information items according to search request information provided by the particular searcher, search request information including at least one topic of the set of topics, the searching including identifying at least one information item that has attachments to the at least one topic of the search request information.

18. A method as recited in claim 17, further comprising:

accepting from at least one user at least one attachment between at least one topic of the set of topics and at least one information item of the plurality of information items; and

for any topic that did not previously have an attachment to an information item, adding the topic to a group of one or more topics that each has at least one attachment to at least one information item of the plurality of information items.

19. A method as recited in claim 17, wherein an initial set of topics is pre-defined.

20. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein the result of a first user defining a first attachment between a first topic and a first information item and a second user defining an attachment between the first topic and the first information item is that at least two attachments exist between the first topic and the first information item.

21. A method as recited in claim 19, further comprising:

accepting from a user a rating for a particular attachment between a particular topic of the set of topics and a particular information item, such that a plurality of attachments between the particular topic and the particular information item can have different ratings.

22. A method as recited in claim 21, wherein the rating has two values, a first value (“

positive”

) and a second value (“

negative”

) less favorable than the first value.

23. A method as recited in claim 21, wherein the rating has more than two values.

24. A method as recited in claim 21, further including determining an overall attachment quality for the attachment or attachments between the particular topic and the particular information item based on the ratings between the particular topic and the particular information item of the attachments by users.