SEARCH ENGINE UTILIZING FLOW NETWORKS
First Claim
1. A method of searching a network comprising a plurality of nodes interconnected via a link structure, said method comprising:
- associating at least one pictogram with at least one node of said plurality of nodes;
searching said network such that a positive flow quantity and/or a negative flow quantity is propagated through at least one link of said link structure based upon a prior selection of said at least one pictograms; and
ordering said plurality of nodes based on a computed flow value resulting from propagation resulting from said positive flow quantity and/or said negative flow quantity.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for searching resources is disclosed. Each resource is associated with one or more pictograms. The pictorial questions (pictions) are created by searching a network of pictions and displaying associated pictograms. The selections of pictograms define a path of linked resources. The resource paths are computed as flows and used to update resource network connections. A user'"'"'s prior selection(s) of resources are used as flow sources for result ordering. The ratio of the number of times the pictogram was displayed versus the number of times it was clicked rates can be utilized as selection criteria in an evolutionary algorithm to optimize pictograms. The disclosed system and method can also display local goods and services through a kiosk.
29 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of searching a network comprising a plurality of nodes interconnected via a link structure, said method comprising:
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associating at least one pictogram with at least one node of said plurality of nodes; searching said network such that a positive flow quantity and/or a negative flow quantity is propagated through at least one link of said link structure based upon a prior selection of said at least one pictograms; and ordering said plurality of nodes based on a computed flow value resulting from propagation resulting from said positive flow quantity and/or said negative flow quantity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method of updating a link structure of a network, said method comprising:
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recording a history of node selections to form a node path having nodes and links; assigning a positive source flow and/or a negative source flow to target selected nodes of said node path; computing steady state flow values through each link of said node path based on said positive source flow and/or said negative source flow; and updating network links of said link structure of said network via said steady state flow values. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. A system for searching a network comprising a plurality of nodes interconnected via a link structure, said system comprising:
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a processor; a data bus coupled to said processor; and a computer-usable medium embodying computer code, said computer-usable medium being coupled to said data bus, said computer program code comprising instructions executable by said processor and configured for; associating at least one pictogram with at least one node of said plurality of nodes; searching said network such that a positive flow quantity and/or a negative flow quantity is propagated through at least one link of said link structure based upon a prior selection of said at least one pictograms; and ordering said plurality of nodes based on a computed flow value resulting from propagation resulting from said positive flow quantity and/or said negative flow quantity. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A system for updating a link structure of a network, said system comprising:
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a processor; a data bus coupled to said processor; and a computer-usable medium embodying computer code, said computer-usable medium being coupled to said data bus, said computer program code comprising instructions executable by said processor and configured for; recording a history of node selections to form a node path having nodes and links; assigning a positive source flow and/or a negative source flow to target selected nodes of said node path; computing steady state flow values through each link of said node path based on said positive source flow and/or said negative source flow; and updating network links of said link structure of said network via said steady state flow values. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification