Search engine with suggestion tool and method of using same
First Claim
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1. A method for providing support during an information search, the method comprising:
- receiving one or more characters from a user;
comparing the one or more characters to a set of search terms, wherein each of the search terms is associated with a query previously submitted by the user or a prior user;
selecting a subset of one or more search terms within the set of search terms based on the one or more characters; and
returning one or more suggested queries to the user, each of the queries being associated with the subset of one or more search terms.
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Abstract
A method and a tool for suggesting search terms and other information during information search based on characters entered by users. Search terms may be suggested based on a heuristic that may take into account frequency of use and indexing of a database.
335 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for providing support during an information search, the method comprising:
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receiving one or more characters from a user;
comparing the one or more characters to a set of search terms, wherein each of the search terms is associated with a query previously submitted by the user or a prior user;
selecting a subset of one or more search terms within the set of search terms based on the one or more characters; and
returning one or more suggested queries to the user, each of the queries being associated with the subset of one or more search terms. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A tool for providing support during information search, the tool comprising:
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a first interface for receiving one or more characters from a user;
a processor adapted to;
compare the one or more characters to a set of search terms, wherein each of the search terms is associated with at least one of a plurality of queries previously submitted by the user or a prior user, and select a subset of one or more search terms within the set of search terms based on the one or more characters using a selection heuristic; and
a second interface adapted to return one or more suggested queries selected from the plurality of queries to the user, each of the queries being associated with the subset of one or more search terms. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A computer program product for providing support during information search, the computer program product comprising:
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computer readable software for receiving one or more characters from a user;
computer readable software for comparing the one or more characters to a set of search terms, each of the search terms is associated with a query previously submitted by the user or a prior user;
computer readable software for selecting a subset of one or more search terms within the set of search terms based on the one or more characters using a selection heuristic; and
computer readable software for returning one or more suggested queries to the user, each of the queries being associated with the subset of one or more search terms.
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Specification