System, method, and article of manufacture for seamless integrated searching

• US 20070061416A1
• Filed: 08/29/2006
• Published: 03/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ServStor Technologies, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Blue Dolphin Solutions LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Gould, Eric
• Granted Patent: US 7,739,357 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

A search system (10) employing a scheme of meta-folders (14) in which conventional objects (18) and search objects (20) may be stored in an intermingling manner. Upon opening a meta-folder (14) the search objects (20) are resolved into conventional static pointers, and thus into conventional objects (18). Optionally, an unresolved meta-folder (14a) may very fleetingly appear while this occurs. A resolved meta-folder (14a) then results, presenting only conventional objects (18). In particular, the search objects (20) may be search criteria which the process of resolving causes to produce only such searched out conventional objects (18) which are currently available. Users (80) of the search system (10) my employ it in large network environments (82), including the Internet (96).

Claims

1. A system for searching for and presenting collections of conventional objects, comprising:

a computerized system;

a display unit controllable by said computerized system;

a selection unit configured to influence what said computerized system depicts with said display unit;

a meta-folder configured to locate current instances of the conventional objects in said computerized system, wherein the meta-folder is a file system object that is associated with search criteria;

wherein a closed representation of said meta-folder is depictable on said display unit, said closed representation being selectable and open-able with said selection unit; and

further wherein an open representation of said meta-folder is also depictable on said display unit, said open representation of said meta-folder including representations of said current instances of the conventional objects.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said computerized system includes a network, a client device which is connectable to said network, and at least one server which is connected to said network, such that said client device is configured to access instances of the conventional objects, said search criteria, and said meta-folders which are stored on said at least one server.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said network is a global communications network.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein said client device is a personal computers or an enhanced device.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein said meta-folder is provided as a file and may be freely transferred and stored within said computer system.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said display unit is configured to output non-visual representations.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said display unit outputs visual, audible, or tactile representations.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein said selection unit is a user operated input device.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein said selection unit is an automated process.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein said meta-folder further includes conventional objects or other meta-folders.

11. A method for searching for and presenting collections of conventional objects in a computerized system having a display unit and a selection unit, the method comprising:

(a) depicting a meta-folder with the display unit as a closed representation, wherein said meta-folder is a file system object associated with at least one previously defined search criteria;

(b) selecting and opening said meta-folder with the selection unit;

(c) in response to opening said meta folder, searching according to the search criteria associated with the meta-folder for current instances of the conventional objects which are findable within the computerized system; and

d) depicting said meta-folder with the display unit as an open representation, which includes said current instances of the conventional objects which are thus found.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said meta-folder is provided as a file and the method further comprises transferring said file from a storage medium into the computerized system.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the computerized system includes a network, a client device which is connectable to said network, and a server which is connected to said network; and

said meta-folder is stored on said server;

and the method further comprises;

connecting said client device to said server via said network; and

accessing said meta-folder on said server via said network.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein

said meta-folder is a parent meta-folder;

said parent meta-folder further includes at least one member of the set consisting of conventional objects and other meta-folders;

step (c) includes searching according to all said searches criteria in all said meta folders for current instances of the conventional objects which are findable in the computerized system; and

step (d) includes depicting said open representation including said current instances of all the conventional objects which are thus found.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein said step (a) and said step (d) include depicting with the display unit using non-visual representations.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein said step (a) and said step (d) include outputting visual, audible, or tactile representations.

17. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium for searching for and presenting collections of conventional objects in a computer system having a display unit and a selection unit, comprising:

(a) a code segment that depicts a meta-folder with the display unit as a closed representation, wherein said meta-folder is a file system object associated with at least one previously defined search criteria;

(b) a code segment that selects and opens said meta-folder upon instruction from the selection unit;

(c) a code segment that searches according to all said search criteria associated with said meta folder for current instances of the conventional objects which are findable in the computerized system; and

(d) a code segment that depicts an open representation of said meta-folder with the display unit which includes said current instances of the conventional objects which are thus found.

18. The computer program of claim 17, wherein said meta-folder is provided as a file, and the computer program further comprising a code segment that transfers said file from a storage medium into the computerized system.

19. The computer program of claim 17, wherein:

the computerized system includes a network, a client device which is connectable to said network, and a server which is connected to said network; and

said meta-folder is stored on said server; and

the computer program further includes;

a code segment that connects said client device to said server via said network; and

a code segment that accesses said meta-folder on said server via said network.

20. The computer program of claim 17, wherein said code segment (a) and said code segment (d) output non-visual representations with the display unit.

21. The computer program of claim 17, wherein said code segment (a) and said code segment (d) output visual, audible, or tactile representations with the display unit.

22. The computer program of claim 17, wherein

said meta-folder is a parent meta-folder;

said parent meta-folder further includes at least one member of the set consisting of conventional objects and other said meta-folders;

said code segment (c) searches all said search criteria in all said meta-folders for current instances of the conventional objects which are findable in said computerized system; and

said code segment (d) depicts an open representation of said parent meta-folder including said current instances of all the conventional objects which are thus found.

23. A computer-implemented method comprising:

configuring a collection of search criteria associated with a meta-folder, wherein the meta-folder is a file system object;

receiving a command to open the meta-folder, wherein the meta-folder is opened and displayed;

in response to receiving the command, initiating a search over a network domain for conventional objects that satisfy the search criteria; and

displaying icons within the meta-folder, wherein the icons respectively represent the conventional objects returned by the search that satisfy the search criteria.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the meta-folder is stored as a file on a storage medium.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the meta-folder is represented by an icon.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the file representing the meta-folder is transferred over a network connection.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the meta-folder is transferred over the network connection via email.

28. The method of claim 24, wherein the meta-folder is stored on a first computer.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the first computer stores at least some of the conventional objects.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein the first computer is connected to a second server computer via the Internet, wherein the second server computer is a content server.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the second server computer is a web-page server, and FTP server, or a news server.

32. The method of claim 28, wherein the first computer is connected to a third server computer via the Internet, wherein the third server computer is a vendor server.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the vendor server includes a search engine or media products.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the vendor server includes conventional objects associated with media products including books, video tapes, DVDs, CDs and audio tapes.

35. The method of claim 23, wherein the network domain includes a local area network, a wide area network, or the Internet, wherein the network includes a collection of storage systems for storing at least some of the conventional objects.

36. The method of claim 23, wherein the conventional objects are associated with media products including books, video tapes, DVDs, CDs and audio tapes.

37. The method of claim 23, wherein the conventional objects include conventional folders, conventional files, electronic mail, notes, contact or address book items, or files containing text, audio, or video information.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the conventional objects include files containing audio or video information, wherein the audio or video information is played back.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the audio or video information includes music.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the meta-folder includes icons that indicate whether or not each conventional object is owned or un-owned.

41. The method of claim 39, wherein a purchase of a conventional object including music is initiated from the same display that displays the meta-folder.

42. The method of claim 39, wherein a purchase of a conventional object including music is enabled via link from which the music can be purchased.

43. The method of claim 23, wherein the meta-folder is displayed with indicia indicative of a search function.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the indicia is a magnifying glass.

45. The method of claim 23, wherein the meta-folder include descriptive text.

46. The method of claim 41, wherein the descriptive text describes the search criteria.

47. The method of claim 23, wherein the search criteria include wildcard characters.