DYNAMIC SEARCH SUGGESTION AND CATEGORY SPECIFIC COMPLETION

• US 20110093488A1
• Filed: 10/15/2009
• Published: 04/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: A9.com Incorporated (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: A9.com Incorporated (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Mills, Brent Robert, Hotchkies, Blair L., Indrei, Alexandru I., Parshall, Daniel R., Patrikios, Jason P., Sewani, Anil A., Rose, Daniel E., Amacker, Matthew W.
• Granted Patent: US 9,405,841 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/767
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3323 using document space presentation or visualization, e.g. category, hierarchy or range presentation and selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

Methods and systems for providing dynamic and category specific search suggestions are provided. According to one embodiment, a partial search query entered by a user can be used to determine a set of relevant search queries, which can be displayed as search suggestions within a search query suggestion window. Each query in the list can be associated with at least one specific category. According to various embodiments, the set of relevant queries and associated categories are dynamically updated as the user modifies the partial search query. Furthermore, each category is selectable by the user such that a detailed list of items associated only with the selected category can be displayed to the user.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing category-specific search suggestions to a user, the method comprising:

under control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions,

receiving from a user one or more characters associated with a search query to be executed against a set of data;

determining a plurality of search queries relevant to the characters received from the user;

associating each of the plurality of relevant search queries with at least one of a plurality of search categories determined to be relevant to the search query;

providing for display a search suggestion window including an ordered set of at least some of the relevant search queries and at least some of the associated search categories, the user enabled to select one of the relevant search queries to be executed against the set of data in the associated search category;

dynamically updating the ordered set of relevant search queries and the associated search categories as the user enters or deletes characters; and

providing for display a category view upon selection of at least one associated search category, the category view providing an ordered set of available items for purchase by the user.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the search suggestion window includes a plurality of suggestion segments;

and wherein at least one suggestion segment of the plurality of suggestion segments is configured to display the ordered set of relevant search queries, and at least one suggestion segment of the plurality of suggestion segments is configured to display an ordered set of category-specific queries.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the category view is displayed in a new web page.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of relevant search queries are determined based upon historical search activity and a scoring system.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, further comprising:

wherein the ordered set of relevant search queries are ordered in accordance with the scoring system from most relevant to least relevant.

6. A computer-implemented method for providing category-specific search suggestions to a user, the method comprising:

under control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions,

receiving from a user one or more characters associated with a search query to be executed against a set of data;

determining a plurality of search queries relevant to the characters received from the user;

associating each of the plurality of relevant search queries with at least one of a plurality of search categories determined to be relevant to the search query; and

providing for display a search suggestion window including an ordered set of at least some of the relevant search queries and at least some of the associated search categories, the user enabled to select one of the relevant search queries to be executed against the set of data in the associated search category.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising:

dynamically updating the ordered set of relevant search queries and the associated search categories as the user enters or deletes characters.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein each search query in the ordered set of relevant search queries includes a selection element for selecting the category associated with the search query.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising:

upon selection of the at least one associated search category by the user via the selection element,

retrieving available items associated with the selected category; and

providing for display a category view corresponding to the selected category, the category view providing an ordered set of available items for purchase by the user.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the category view is displayed in a new web page.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the search categories associated with each search query in the ordered set of relevant search queries is immediately visible to the user.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the search suggestion window includes a plurality of suggestion segments;

and

wherein at least one suggestion segment of the plurality of suggestion segments is configured to display the ordered set of relevant search queries, and at least one suggestion segment of the plurality of suggestion segments is configured to display an ordered set of category-specific queries.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of relevant search queries are determined based upon historical search activity and a scoring system.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising:

wherein the ordered set of relevant search queries are ordered in accordance with the scoring system from most relevant to least relevant.

15. A system for providing dynamic and category-specific search suggestions to a user, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory device including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

in response to receiving from a user one or more characters associated with a partial search query to be executed against a set of data, determine a plurality of search queries relevant to the characters received from the user;

associate at least one search category with each of the plurality of relevant search queries; and

provide for display a search suggestion window including an ordered set of the relevant search queries and the at least one associated search category;

wherein the user is enabled to select one of the relevant search queries to be executed against the set of data in the associated search category.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising:

at least one database for storing search query scores and historical search activity regarding at least one of;

the number of times the search query has been executed, the number of times a link associated with a search query has been activated by a user, the number of times an item associated with the search query has been added to a virtual shopping cart, and the number of times an item associated with the search query has been purchased by a user;

wherein search queries having a higher number of search activity receive a higher search query score than search queries having a lower number of search activity; and

wherein the plurality of relevant search queries are determined based on the search query scores and search activity.

17. The system of claim 15, further comprising,

a web-based interface having a search box for enabling a user to input a search query.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the memory device further includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

dynamically update the ordered set of relevant search queries and associated search categories as the user enters or deletes characters.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the memory device further includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

provide a selection means adjacent to the display of each search query in the ordered set of search queries so as to enable user selection of the associated search categories.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the memory device further includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

upon selection of the at least one associated search category by the user via the selection means

retrieve available items associated with the selected category; and

display a category view corresponding to the selected category, the category view providing an ordered set of available items for purchase by the user.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the category view is displayed in a new web page.

22. The system of claim 15, wherein the memory device further includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

display the search suggestion window as a plurality of search suggestion segments such that at least one suggestion segment displays the ordered set of search queries, and at least one suggestion segment displays an ordered set of category-specific queries.

23. A computer program product embedded in a computer-readable medium for providing dynamic and category specific search suggestions to a user, the computer program product including instructions that, when executed by at least one computing device, cause the at least one computing device to:

in response to receiving from a user one or more characters associated with a partial search query to be executed against a set of data, determine a plurality of search queries relevant to the characters received from the user;

associate at least one search category with each of the plurality of relevant search queries; and

provide for display a search suggestion window including an ordered set of the relevant search queries and the at least one associated search category;

wherein the user is enabled to select one of the relevant search queries to be executed against the set of data in the associated search category.

24. The computer program product of claim 23, further including instructions that, when executed by at least one computing device, cause the at least one computing device to:

dynamically update the ordered set of relevant search queries and associated search categories as the user enters or deletes characters.

25. The computer program product of claim 23, further including instructions that, when executed by at least one computing device, cause the at least one computing device to:

provide a selection means adjacent to the display of each search query in the ordered set of relevant search queries so as to enable user selection of the associated search category.

26. The computer program product of claim 25, further including instructions that, when executed by at least one computing device, cause the at least one computing device to:

upon selection of the associated search category by the user via the selection means

retrieve available items associated with the selected category; and

display a category view corresponding to the selected category, the category view providing an ordered set of available items for purchase by the user.

27. The computer program product of claim 23, further including instructions that, when executed by at least one computing device, cause the at least one computing device to:

display the search suggestion window as a plurality of search suggestion segments such that at least one segment displays the ordered set of relevant search queries, and at least one suggestion segment displays an ordered set of category-specific queries.

28. A computer-implemented method for providing sentence-structured searching, the method comprising:

under control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions,

receiving from a user one or more characters associated with a search term to be executed against a set of data, the characters being received to a user-modifiable search element;

determining a plurality of search terms and a plurality of search categories relevant to the characters received from the user; and

providing for display a set of at least some of the relevant search terms and a set of at least some of the relevant search categories, the user enabled to select at least one of the relevant search terms or one of the relevant search categories to be executed against the set of data, a selected search term and a selected search category in the user-modifiable search element being separated by a preposition associated with at least one of the selected search term and the selected search category, the preposition specifying a context by which to search for the selected search term in the selected search category.

29. The computer-implemented method of claim 28, wherein the set of relevant search terms is displayed separately from the set of relevant search categories.

30. The computer-implemented method of claim 28, wherein the preposition, the selected search category, and the selected search term are each modifiable by the user, and are each dynamically updatable in response to input from the user in the user-modifiable search element.

31. The computer-implemented method of claim 30, wherein the preposition is removed from the user-modifiable search element based on the input from the user.

32. A system for providing sentence-structured searching, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory device including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

in response receiving from a user one or more characters associated with a search term to be executed against a set of data, the characters being received to a user-modifiable search element, determine a plurality of search terms and a plurality of search categories relevant to the characters received from the user; and

providing for display a set of at least some of the relevant search terms and a set of at least some of the relevant search categories,

wherein the user is enabled to select at least one of the relevant search terms or one of the relevant search categories to be executed against the set of data, and

wherein a selected search term and a selected search category in the user-modifiable search element are separated by a preposition associated with at least one of the selected search term and the selected search category, the preposition specifying a context by which to search for the selected search term in the selected search category.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the set of relevant search terms is displayed separately from the set of relevant search categories.

34. The system of claim 32, wherein the preposition, the selected search category, and the selected search term are each modifiable by the user, and are each dynamically updatable in response to input from the user in the user-modifiable search element.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein the preposition is removed from the user-modifiable search element based on the input from the user.