CONTEXT BASED SEARCH ARRANGEMENT FOR MOBILE DEVICES

• US 20100036830A1
• Filed: 08/07/2008
• Published: 02/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lee, Younghyun
• Granted Patent: US 9,367,618 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: N/A
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9032 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques

Abstract

Embodiments are directed towards managing mobile searches by enabling a user to indicate a context of a search query to narrow a scope of the search. A user may fine tune a search by selecting from a plurality of pre-defined contexts for which to perform a search query. In one embodiment, the user may combine two or more pre-defined contexts to create more complex contexts for use in customized context search queries. The user also enters one or more search terms. A subset of databases is selected from a plurality of databases associated with different subject categories. The subset of databases is selected as predefined by an operator based on the user'"'"'s context, and searched based on the user'"'"'s entered search terms and selected context. Results are then aggregated and provided to the user. Results may be rank ordered based on the given user context or user'"'"'s previous search behavior.

Claims

1. A network device to manage a search query over a network, comprising:

a transceiver to send and receive data over a network; and

a processor that is operative to perform actions, comprising;

receiving a selection from a user of a context from a plurality of pre-defined contexts for performing a mobile search;

selecting a subset of databases from a plurality of databases, each database being associated with a defined category, and wherein the selection of the subset of databases is based on the selected context;

receiving at least one search term within the search query;

performing searches within the selected subset of databases based on the search query and the selected context;

receiving results from the searches;

aggregating the search results; and

providing the aggregated search results over the network for display at the mobile device.

2. The network device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of pre-defined contexts comprises at least two of the following:

for news, for fun, for location, for shopping, for image, for eating, for education, or for consumables.

3. The network device of claim 1, wherein the defined categories comprises at least one of the following categories:

finance, educational, blogs, location, Answers, music, maps, images, or online dating.

4. The network device of claim 1, wherein aggregating the search results further comprises rank ordering the search results based on a history of the user'"'"'s previous searches.

5. The network device of claim 1, wherein receiving a selection from a user of a context further comprises enabling the user to select a default context that comprises all of the plurality of pre-defined contexts.

6. A processor readable storage medium that includes data and instructions, wherein the execution of the instructions on a computing device provides for managing search queries by enabling actions, comprising:

receiving a selection from a user of a context from a plurality of pre-defined contexts for performing search;

selecting a subset of databases from a plurality of databases, each database being associated with a defined category, and wherein the selection of the subset of databases is based on the selected context;

receiving a search query comprising at least one search term from the user;

performing a plurality of searches, each search being performed within one of the selected subset of databases based on the search query and the selected context;

combining results of the plurality of searches; and

providing the combined search results over a network for display at the user'"'"'s client device.

7. The processor readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein the data and instructions enable actions, further comprising:

receiving a selection of at least two of the plurality of pre-defined contexts; and

combining the received selection to generate another context that is selectable from the plurality of pre-defined contexts.

8. The processor readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein receiving the selected context and the search query further comprises enabling an input mechanism wherein the user is able to input both the search query and the selected context within a single input field.

9. The processor readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein the plurality of pre-defined contexts enables the user to select all of the plurality of pre-defined contexts within which to perform the search query.

10. The processor readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein if the user selects more than one pre-defined contexts, then combining the results further comprises ordering the results based on each selected pre-defined context.

11. The processor readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein the plurality of pre-defined contexts comprises at least two of the following:

for news, for fun, for location, for shopping, for image, or for consumables.

12. A method for managing a mobile search over a network, comprising:

receiving a selection from a mobile device of a context from a plurality of pre-defined contexts for performing search;

automatically selecting, at a network device, a subset of databases from a plurality of databases, each database being associated with a different social networking category, and wherein the selection of the subset of databases is based on the selected context;

receiving a search query comprising at least one search term from the mobile device;

performing a search over the selected subset of databases based on the search query and the selected context;

ordering results of the search; and

providing the ordered search results over the network for display at the user'"'"'s mobile device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein ordering the search results further comprises rank ordering the search results based on the received context or a user'"'"'s previous search behavior.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein ordering the search results further comprises ordering the search results based on each selected context where the selected context includes a plurality of different contexts selected.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving a selection of at least two contexts from the plurality of pre-defined contexts; and

generating another pre-defined context by combining the at least two selected contexts.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein automatically selecting, at a network device, a subset of databases results in performing a search over less than the plurality of databases, wherein a category determined to be unrelated to the selected context is unselected in the subset of databases.

17. A system for enabling a search over a network, comprising:

a plurality of databases, wherein each database is associated with a different defined category; and

a network device configured to perform actions, including;

receiving a selection from a mobile device of a context from a plurality of pre-defined contexts for performing search;

selecting a subset of databases from the plurality of databases based on the selected context;

receiving a search query comprising at least one search term;

performing a search within the selected subset of databases based on the search query and the selected context;

organizing results of the search; and

providing the organized search results over the network for display at the mobile device.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the selected context includes all of the plurality of pre-defined contexts, and wherein organizing the results further comprises organizing the results based on each of the pre-defined contexts.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein organizing the results further comprises ordering the results based on a given context or information within a history of previous searches by a user of the mobile device.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the network device configured to perform actions, including:

receiving a request to generate a new context based on a combination of two or more pre-defined contexts; and

providing the generated new context within the plurality of pre-defined contexts for subsequent selection to narrow a scope of a subsequent search.