Search methods and systems

• US 20070203898A1
• Filed: 02/24/2006
• Published: 08/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: California Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: California Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Carmona, Jonathan Lurie
• Application Number:
  US11/362,271
• Publication Number:
  US 20070203898A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/907 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques

Abstract

Metadata is received over a network, a query is received over the network, and the metadata is searched to identify metadata that is relevant to the query.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving metadata over a network;

receiving a query over the network; and

searching through the metadata to identify metadata that is relevant to the query.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

receiving the metadata comprises receiving the metadata over the network from providers; and

receiving the query comprises receiving the query over the network from a customer.

4. The method of any one of claims 1-3, further comprising:

responding to the customer query by forwarding to the customer over the network the identity of one or more providers that provided metadata identified as relevant to the customer query.

5. The method of any one of claims 1-3, further comprising:

responding to the customer query by forwarding to the customer over the network metadata identified as relevant to the customer query.

6. The method of any one of claims 1-3, further comprising:

responding to the customer query by forwarding to the customer over the network one or more of metadata identified as relevant to the customer query and the identity of one or more providers that provided forwarded metadata.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the identity of each provider that is forwarded to the customer is received from the respective provider.

8. The method of any one of claims 1-3, further comprising:

responding to the customer query by taking action on behalf of the customer.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the action taken on behalf of the customer is defined by the customer.

10. The method of any one of claims 1-3, further comprising:

receiving additional metadata after receiving the customer query and searching through the metadata; and

searching through the additional metadata to identify additional metadata that is relevant to the customer query.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

after identifying additional metadata that is relevant to the customer query, responding to the customer query by taking action on behalf of the customer.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the action taken on behalf of the customer is defined by the customer.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

after identifying additional metadata that is relevant to the customer query, responding to the customer query by forwarding to the customer over the network either one or both of the additional metadata identified as relevant to the customer query and the identity of the provider that provided each additional metadata identified as relevant to the customer query.

14. The method of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the metadata received from each provider describes any one or more of data, services, and/or goods available to the customer from the respective provider, data, services, and/or goods desired by the respective provider, and real-world events.

15. The method of any one of claims 1-3, further comprising:

receiving an update to the customer query from the customer after searching through the metadata; and

searching through the metadata to identify metadata that is relevant to the updated customer query.

16. The method of any one of claims 1-3, further comprising:

receiving a plurality of customer queries over the network;

searching through the metadata to identify metadata that is relevant to each of the plurality of received customer queries;

responding to each received customer query by forwarding to the respective customer over the network one or more of metadata identified as relevant to the query and the identity of one or more providers that provided relevant metadata;

receiving additional metadata after responding to the plurality of received customer queries; and

searching through the additional metadata to identify additional metadata that is relevant to each received customer query.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

after identifying additional metadata that is relevant to one or more of the received customer queries, responding to one or more of the received customer queries by forwarding to each respective customer over the network either one or both of additional metadata identified as relevant to the particular customer query and the identity of one or more providers that provided relevant metadata.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

after identifying additional metadata that is relevant to each received customer query, responding to one or more of the received customer queries by taking action on behalf of the respective customer.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

repeatedly receiving additional metadata; and

searching each received additional metadata to identify metadata relevant to any of the received customer queries.

20. The method of claim 10, wherein received additional metadata is searched to identify metadata relevant to the customer query until a time period expires.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the time period is specified by the customer.

22. The method of any one of claims 1-2, wherein receiving metadata is initiated by each respective metadata provider.

3. A method wherein providers of content select metadata descriptive of their respective content and initiate transfer of the metadata over a network, the method comprising:

receiving the metadata over the network from the providers;

receiving a query over the network from a customer; and

searching through the metadata to identify metadata that is relevant to the query.

23. A computer-readable medium containing one or more instructions for execution by a computer to:

receive metadata over a network from providers;

receive a query over the network from a customer; and

search through the metadata to identify metadata that is relevant to the customer query.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, further comprising instructions for execution by a computer to:

respond to the customer query by forwarding to the customer over the network the identity of one or more providers that provided metadata identified as relevant to the customer query.

25. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, further comprising instructions for execution by a computer to:

respond to the customer query by forwarding to the customer over the network metadata identified as relevant to the customer query.

26. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, further comprising instructions for execution by a computer to:

respond to the customer query by forwarding to the customer over the network one or more of metadata identified as relevant to the customer query and the identity of one or more providers that provided forwarded metadata.

27. The computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the identity of each provider that is forwarded to the customer is received from the respective provider.

28. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, further comprising instructions for execution by a computer to:

respond to the customer query by taking action on behalf of the customer.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the action taken on behalf of the customer is defined by the customer.

30. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, further comprising instructions for execution by a computer to:

receive additional metadata after receiving the customer query and searching through the metadata; and

search through the additional metadata to identify additional metadata that is relevant to the customer query.

31. The computer-readable medium of claim 30, further comprising instructions for execution by a computer to:

after identifying additional metadata that is relevant to the customer query, respond to the customer query by taking action on behalf of the customer.

32. The computer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein the action taken on behalf of the customer is defined by the customer.

33. The computer-readable medium of claim 30, further comprising instructions for execution by a computer to:

after identifying additional metadata that is relevant to the customer query, respond to the customer query by forwarding to the customer over the network either one or both of the additional metadata identified as relevant to the customer query and the identity of the provider that provided each additional metadata identified as relevant to the customer query.

34. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the metadata received from each provider describes any one or more of data, services, and/or goods available to the customer from the respective provider, data, services, and/or goods desired by the respective provider, and real-world events.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, further comprising instructions for execution by a computer to:

receive an update to the customer query from the customer after searching through the metadata; and

search through the metadata to identify metadata that is relevant to the updated customer query.

36. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, further comprising instructions for execution by a computer to:

receive a plurality of customer queries over the network;

search through the metadata to identify metadata that is relevant to each of the plurality of received customer queries;

respond to each received customer query by forwarding to the respective customer over the network one or more of metadata identified as relevant to the query and the identity of one or more providers that provided relevant metadata;

receive additional metadata after responding to the plurality of received customer queries; and

search through the additional metadata to identify additional metadata that is relevant to each received customer query.

37. The computer-readable medium of claim 36, further comprising instructions for execution by a computer to:

after identifying additional metadata that is relevant to one or more of the received customer queries, respond to one or more of the received customer queries by forwarding to each respective customer over the network either one or both of additional metadata identified as relevant to the particular customer query and the identity of one or more providers that provided relevant metadata.

38. The computer-readable medium of claim 36, further comprising instructions for execution by a computer to:

after identifying additional metadata that is relevant to each received customer query, respond to one or more of the received customer queries by taking action on behalf of the respective customer.

39. The computer-readable medium of claim 36, further comprising instructions for execution by a computer to:

repeatedly receive additional metadata; and

search each received additional metadata to identify metadata relevant to any of the received customer queries.

40. The computer-readable medium of claim 30, wherein received additional metadata is searched to identify metadata relevant to the customer query until a time period expires.

41. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the time period is specified by the customer.

42. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the instructions for execution by a computer to receive metadata over a network from providers comprise instructions for execution by the computer to receive metadata at the initiation of each respective metadata provider.

43. An apparatus, comprising:

a metadata store for receiving metadata;

a communications module for receiving a query; and

a search engine for searching through the received metadata to identify metadata that is relevant to the query.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein:

the metadata store is for receiving the metadata over a network from providers; and

the communications module is for receiving the query over the network from a customer.

45. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the communications module is further for responding to the customer query by forwarding to the customer over the network the identity of one or more providers that provided metadata identified as relevant to the customer query.

46. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the communications module is further for responding to the customer query by forwarding to the customer over the network metadata identified as relevant to the customer query.

47. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the communications module is further for responding to the customer query by forwarding to the customer over the network one or more of metadata identified as relevant to the customer query and the identity of one or more providers that provided forwarded metadata.

48. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the identity of each provider that is forwarded to the customer is received from the respective provider.

49. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the communications module is further for responding to the customer query by taking action on behalf of the customer.

50. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the action taken on behalf of the customer is defined by the customer.

51. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the metadata store is further for receiving additional metadata after receiving the customer query and searching through the metadata;

and

the search engine is further for searching through the additional metadata to identify additional metadata that is relevant to the customer query.

52. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the communications module is further for, after additional metadata that is relevant to the customer query has been identified, responding to the customer query by taking action on behalf of the customer.

53. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the action taken on behalf of the customer is defined by the customer.

54. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the communications module is further for, after additional metadata that is relevant to the customer query has been identified, responding to the customer query by forwarding to the customer over the network either one or both of the additional metadata identified as relevant to the customer query and the identity of the provider that provided each additional metadata identified as relevant to the customer query.

55. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the metadata received from each provider describes any one or more of data, services, and/or goods available to the customer from the respective provider, data, services, and/or goods desired by the respective provider, and real-world events.

56. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the metadata store is further for receiving an update to the customer query from the customer after searching through the metadata;

and

the search engine is further for searching through the metadata to identify metadata that is relevant to the updated customer query.

57. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the communications module is further for receiving a plurality of customer queries over the network;

the search engine is further for searching through the metadata to identify metadata that is relevant to each of the plurality of received customer queries;

the communications module is further for responding to each received customer query by forwarding to the respective customer over the network one or more of metadata identified as relevant to the query and the identity of one or more providers that provided relevant metadata;

the communications module is further for receiving additional metadata after responding to the plurality of received customer queries; and

the search engine is further for searching through the additional metadata to identify additional metadata that is relevant to each received customer query.

58. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein the communications module is further for, after additional metadata that is relevant to one or more of the received customer queries has been identified, responding to one or more of the received customer queries by forwarding to each respective customer over the network either one or both of additional metadata identified as relevant to the particular customer query and the identity of one or more providers that provided relevant metadata.

59. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein the communications module is further for, after additional metadata that is relevant to each received customer query has been identified, responding to one or more of the received customer queries by taking action on behalf of the respective customer.

60. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein the metadata store is further for repeatedly receiving additional metadata;

and

the search engine is further for searching each received additional metadata to identify metadata relevant to any of the received customer queries.

61. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein received additional metadata is searched to identify metadata relevant to the customer query until a time period expires.

62. The apparatus of claim 61, wherein the time period is specified by the customer.

63. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the metadata store is for receiving metadata at the initiation of each respective metadata provider.