COLLABORATIVE SEARCH AND SHARE

• US 20110270824A1
• Filed: 04/30/2010
• Published: 11/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Larco, Vanessa Adriana, McDirmid, Sean Clarence, LaRue, Monty Todd, Wang, Chao, Morris, Meredith June, Lombardo, Jarrod, Wigdor, Daniel J., Kikin-Gil, Erez
• Application Number:
  US12/771,282
• Publication Number:
  US 20110270824A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/722
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9038 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

Collaborative search and share is provided by a method of facilitating collaborative content-finding, which includes displaying a toolbar user interface object for each user that not only allows each user to perform content-finding but also increases awareness of each user to the activities of other users. The method further includes displaying content results as various disparate image clips that can easily be shared, moved, etc. amongst users.

Claims

1. A method of facilitating collaborative content-finding, comprising:

displaying at a first input display area a first toolbar user interface object, the first toolbar user interface object associated with a first user and capable of receiving user inputs;

displaying at a second input display area a second toolbar user interface object, the second toolbar user interface object associated with a second user and capable of receiving user inputs;

displaying at the first input display area a first marquee region associated with the first toolbar user interface object, the first marquee region configured to display a stream of data reflecting user activity of the second toolbar user interface object;

displaying at the second input display area a second marquee region associated with the second toolbar user interface object, the second marquee region configured to display a stream of data reflecting user activity of the first toolbar user interface object;

receiving a content request via the first toolbar user interface object;

updating the stream of data displayed at the second marquee region based on the content request; and

displaying content of a content result for the content request as two or more disparate images.

2. The method of claim 1, where the first user and the second user are co-located at a touch-display computing device and where the first input display area and the second input display area are on a same touch display of the touch-display computing device.

3. The method of claim 1, where the content of the content result includes a web page and where the two or more disparate images comprise different portions of the web page.

4. The method of claim 1, where the stream of data displayed at the first marquee region further reflects user activity of the first toolbar user interface object and where the stream of data displayed at the second marquee region further reflects user activity of the second toolbar user interface object.

5. A method of facilitating collaborative searching on a touch-display computing device having two or more co-located users, the method comprising:

displaying on a touch display of the touch-display computing device a toolbar user interface object for each of the two or more co-located users, each toolbar user interface object capable of receiving touch inputs;

displaying on the touch display a marquee region associated with each of the toolbar user interface objects, each marquee region displaying a stream of data reflecting user activity of all other toolbar user interface objects;

receiving a search request via one of the toolbar user interface objects; and

updating the stream of data of the marquee region of each of the other toolbar user interface objects based on the search request.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising dividing search results for the search request into two or more disparate image clips and displaying the two or more disparate image clips on the touch display.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising organizing a subset of the two or more disparate image clips into a container, the container configured to execute a search-by-example query based on the subset of the two or more disparate image clips within the container responsive to the container receiving a search command.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising receiving an input adding another disparate image clip to the container, and in response, executing a search-by-example query based on an updated subset of the two or more disparate image clips within the container.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising dividing search results for the search request into a plurality of disparate image clips, forming for each of the two or more co-located users a set of piles of disparate image clips each comprising a subset of the plurality of disparate image clips, and displaying for each of the two or more co-located users the set of piles of disparate image clips corresponding to that co-located user.

10. The method of claim 5, further comprising dividing search results for the search request into a plurality of displayable search results cards, each search results card associated with one of the search results and comprising a search result link and a description corresponding to the search result.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising displaying the plurality of search results cards in a carousel view, the carousel view providing a user interface that is vertically or horizontally scrollable via touch gesture inputs to scroll through the plurality of search results cards.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising recognizing a touch gesture from one of the two or more co-located users selecting one of the plurality of search results cards displayed in the carousel view, and in response, displaying on the touch display a virtual sliding of the selected one of the search results cards to another of the two or more co-located users.

13. The method of claim 5, further comprising creating a travel log associated with each of the toolbar user interface objects, the travel log indicating a history of searches performed via that toolbar user interface object.

14. The method of claim 5, further comprising creating a group activity log indicating user activity of each of the toolbar user interface objects.

15. The method of claim 5, where the stream of data displayed within each marquee region includes user-selectable marquee items, each marquee item capable of being selected by one of the two or more co-located users for drag-and-drop placement into a search region of the toolbar user interface object associated with the marquee region.

16. The method of claim 5, where each marquee region is further configured to display a stream of data reflecting user activity of the toolbar user interface object associated with that marquee region.

17. The method of claim 5, where each toolbar user interface object and user activity of that toolbar user interface object are displayed in a color coding associated with one of the two or more co-located users, and where the stream of data of the marquee region of each of the toolbar user interface objects is configured to display user activity in accordance with the color coding.

18. A collaborative search system for a touch-display computing system having two or more co-located users, comprising:

a touch display;

a logic subsystem to execute instructions;

a data-holding subsystem holding instructions executable by the logic subsystem to;

display on the touch display a toolbar user interface object for each of the two or more co-located users, each toolbar user interface object visually indicating that the toolbar user interface object is associated with a different user of the two or more co-located users and each toolbar user interface object capable of receiving touch inputs;

receive a search request via one of the toolbar user interface objects; and

display content of a search result for the search request as one or more content clips, each content clip visually indicating the one of the toolbar user interface objects that initiated the search request.

19. The collaborative search system of claim 18, where the instructions are further executable to display on the touch display a marquee region for each of the toolbar user interface objects, each marquee region displaying a stream of data reflecting user activity of all other toolbar user interface objects.

20. The collaborative search system of claim 19, where the instructions are further executable to display each toolbar user interface object and user activity of that toolbar user interface object in a color coding associated with one of the two or more co-located users, and to display user activity in the stream of data of the marquee region of each of the toolbar user interface objects in accordance with the color coding.