Methods for navigating collections of information in varying levels of detail

• US 20070100799A1
• Filed: 10/31/2005
• Published: 05/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tam, Raymond, Rose, Daniel, Riblet, Christian
• Granted Patent: US 7,693,912 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2425 Iterative querying; Query formulation based on the results of a preceding query
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2428 Query predicate definition using graphical user interfaces, including menus and forms G06F16/2423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links

Abstract

By varying the levels of detail associated with items in an ordered collection of information, items may be organized in a way to emphasize details about item of current interest. Displaying varying levels of detail about items in an ordered collection of information involves determining a focus, and based on their relative location to the focus adding additional detail to other items displayed from the collection of information. For instance, a user browsing a web search results list typically only sees a few essential details such as the name, link, and brief abstract about each item in the list. Providing the user with varying levels of detail about each item in the list helps them decide to where they want to navigate.

Claims

1. A method comprising performing a machine-executed operation involving instructions, wherein the machine-executed operation is at least one of:

A) sending said instructions over transmission media;

B) receiving said instructions over transmission media;

C) storing said instructions onto a machine-readable storage medium; and

D) executing the instructions;

wherein said instructions are instructions which, when executed by one or more

processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of;

presenting to a user at least a portion of an ordered collection, wherein the portion comprises a set of entries that correspond to items in the ordered collection;

identifying a current location of a focus, wherein the current location of the focus corresponds to a subset of the set of entries;

determining a level of detail, from a set of at least three distinct levels of detail, for each entry in the set of entries based on the current location of the focus and a current location of each entry;

displaying, for each entry, a set of semantic details that is based on the level of detail determined for each entry; and

wherein each level of detail is used to display at last one entry in said portion.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the level of detail comprises the current location of each entry'"'"'s proximity to the current location of the focus.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of semantic detail comprises at least one of a summary of the item'"'"'s content, a thumbnail image, an image from the item, a logo, a key concepts, and metadata.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least three distinct levels of detail comprise a focus level of detail associated with the focus, an adjacent level of detail associated with entries adjacent to the focus, and a distant level of detail for the other entries.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the set of semantic details associated with the focus is larger than the other sets of semantic details.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the set of semantic details associated with the adjacent level of detail comprises fewer details than the set of semantic details associated with the focus and more details than the sets of semantic details associated with entries at the distant level of detail.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of semantic details includes information that originates from a source other than the item that corresponds to the entry.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying, for each entry, a set of semantic detail includes inserting the set of semantic detail in-line.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying, for each entry, a set of semantic details comprises:

retrieving, for each entry, the set of semantic details;

resizing the associated set of semantic detail proximate to each entry; and

adjusting the position of each entry in the set of entries to fit on the display.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the current location of the focus comprises:

receiving user input from a navigation device; and

navigating to an area on the display indicated by the user input on the navigation device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the navigating is accompanied by an audio cue.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein adjusting the position of each entry in the set of entries to fit the display includes modifying at least one of the group of shading, font size, font style, and font type of the entry.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the ordered collection of information is a set of search results.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the ordered collection of information is an electronic programming guide.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the current location of the focus is controlled by a nonlinear response navigator.

16. A method comprising performing a machine-executed operation involving instructions, wherein the machine-executed operation is at least one of:

A) sending said instructions over transmission media;

B) receiving said instructions over transmission media;

C) storing said instructions onto a machine-readable storage medium; and

D) executing the instructions;

wherein said instructions are instructions which, when executed by one or more

processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of;

presenting to a user at least a portion of an ordered collection, wherein the portion comprises a set of entries that correspond to items in the ordered collection;

identifying a current location of a focus, wherein the current location of the focus corresponds to a subset of the set of entries;

determining a level of detail for each entry in the set of entries based on the current location of the focus and a current location of each entry;

displaying, for each entry, a set of semantic details that is based on the level of detail determined for each entry; and

wherein the semantic detail of at least one entry includes information that originates from a source other than the item that corresponds to the entry.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

identifying a navigation change from the current location of the focus to a subsequent location;

removing the set of semantic detail displayed for each entry;

determining a new level of detail for each entry in the set of entries; and

displaying, for each entry, a new set of semantic details that is based on the new level of detail.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the level of detail comprises each entry'"'"'s proximity to the current focus.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein displaying, for each entry, the set of semantic details includes inserting the set of semantic detail for each entry in-place proximate to associated entry.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein a set of semantic details associated with entries adjacent to the focus includes fewer details than a set of semantic details associated with the focus and more details than the sets of semantic details associated with entries located more distantly from the focus.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the set of semantic details includes dynamically generated suggestions.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the navigation change is initiated by a user action.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the navigation change is controlled by a nonlinear response navigator.

24. The method of claim 16, wherein presenting to a user includes presenting to the user in a web browser.

25. A method comprising performing a machine-executed operation involving instructions, wherein the machine-executed operation is at least one of:

A) sending said instructions over transmission media;

B) receiving said instructions over transmission media;

C) storing said instructions onto a machine-readable storage medium; and

D) executing the instructions;

wherein said instructions are instructions which, when executed by one or more

processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of;

presenting to a user, in a web browser, a search results list, wherein the search results list comprises a set of hyperlinks corresponding to web pages;

selecting a focus from the set of hyperlinks, wherein the focus corresponds to a subset of the set of hyperlinks;

determining a level of detail, from a set of at least three distinct levels of detail, for each hyperlink in the set of hyperlinks based on the current location of the focus and a current location of each hyperlink in relation to the focus;

displaying, for each hyperlink, a set of semantic details that is based on the level of detail determined for each hyperlink;

wherein each level of detail is used to display at last one hyperlink in said search result list; and

wherein the semantic detail of at least one hyperlink includes information that originates from a source other than the web page that corresponds to the hyperlink.