DATA SEARCHING SYSTEM

• US 20120023119A1
• Filed: 03/26/2010
• Published: 01/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Inventors: Ducatel, Gery M., Thompson, Simon G.
• Application Number:
  US13/262,420
• Publication Number:
  US 20120023119A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/766
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3326 using relevance feedback from the user, e.g. relevance feedback on documents, documents sets, document terms or passages

Abstract

A method of and system for searching for data, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a query from a user; ii) analysing the content of the user query received in step i); iii) presenting one or more selection options to the user based on the results of the analysis performed in step ii); iv) receiving the one or more selections from the user; v) augmenting the query in accordance with the selections received in step iv); vi) searching a data index for terms that match with the augmented query; and vii) returning to the user one or more search results which match the terms of the augmented query.

Claims

1. A method of searching data using an augmented user query, the method comprising the steps of:

a) augmenting a user query, wherein the user query augmentation comprises the steps of;

i) receiving a query from a user;

ii) analysing the content of the user query received in step i);

iii) presenting one or more selection options to the user based on the results of the analysis performed in step ii);

iv) receiving the one or more selections from the user; and

v) augmenting the query in accordance with the selections received in step iv);

b) searching a data index for terms that match with the augmented query, the data index comprising multimedia data, the multimedia data being associated with one or more metadata tags; and

c) returning to the user one or more search results which match the terms of the augmented query.

2. A method according to claim 1, whereon in step ii) of the query augmentation, the user query content is analysed grammatically.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the grammatical analysis determines the significant nouns and verbs which comprise the user query content.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein in step ii) of the query augmentation, the user query content is analysed for the presence of specific entities.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein in step ii) of the query augmentation the user query content is analysed contextually.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein in step iii) of the query augmentation, the user is presented with one or more of the following as a selection option:

a product category, a product name or an action.

7. A method according to claim 1, where the metadata tags are assigned by users to the associated multimedia data.

8. A tangible computer program product comprising computer executable code for performing a method according to claim 1.

9. A system for searching data, the system configured to execute a method according to claim 1.