CONTEXT-AWARE MOBILE SEARCH BASED ON USER ACTIVITIES
First Claim
1. A method for searching databases using a mobile communications device, the method comprising:
- collecting activity data characterizing the usage of each of a plurality of user features on the mobile communications device;
detecting the initiation of a database search by a user of the mobile communications device;
responsive to said detecting, predicting one or more search parameters, based on recent activity data for user activities concurrent with or proximately preceding said detecting;
presenting at least one of the one or more search parameters to the user of the mobile communications device; and
responsive to user confirmation, submitting a search query to a search engine remote from the mobile communications device, wherein said search query comprises at least one of the one or more search parameters.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Search processes are improved by modeling a mobile device user'"'"'s context for a particular mobile search activity. Activity data characterizing usage of the mobile communications device is collected. This data may include the user'"'"'s usage of the music and video player, including the types of media and specific titles, as well as activity data related to phone calls and other communications activities. The activity information is used by a predictive model to predict search parameters based on recent activity data. The predictive model can provide suggested search parameters, based on the user'"'"'s recent activity as well as on search-specific user input. In some cases, the predictive model may be used to re-order the search results returned from a conventional search engine, based on the collected activity data.
62 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method for searching databases using a mobile communications device, the method comprising:
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collecting activity data characterizing the usage of each of a plurality of user features on the mobile communications device; detecting the initiation of a database search by a user of the mobile communications device; responsive to said detecting, predicting one or more search parameters, based on recent activity data for user activities concurrent with or proximately preceding said detecting; presenting at least one of the one or more search parameters to the user of the mobile communications device; and responsive to user confirmation, submitting a search query to a search engine remote from the mobile communications device, wherein said search query comprises at least one of the one or more search parameters. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for searching databases using a mobile communications device, the method comprising:
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collecting activity data characterizing the usage of a plurality of user features on the mobile communications device; generating a search query, based on data input by a user of the mobile communications device; submitting a search query to a search engine remote from the mobile communications device, said search query comprising one or more search parameters; receiving a plurality of search results in response to the search query, wherein the search results are ranked by relevance to the search parameters; and re-ranking the search results, based on collected activity data for user activities concurrent with or proximately preceding said re-ranking.
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12. A mobile communication device, comprising:
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a communications transceiver; a user interface; and a processing circuit operatively coupled to the user interface and the communications transceiver and configured to; collect activity data characterizing the usage of each of a plurality of user features on the mobile communications device; detect the initiation of a database search by a user of the mobile communications device, via the user interface; responsive to said detection, predict one or more search parameters, based on recent activity data for user activities concurrent with or proximately preceding said detection; present at least one of the one or more search parameters to the user of the mobile communications device; and responsive to user confirmation, submit a search query to a search engine remote from the mobile communications device, via the communications transceiver, wherein said search query comprises at least one of the one or more search parameters. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A mobile communication device, comprising:
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a communications transceiver; a user interface; and a processing circuit operatively coupled to the user interface and the communications transceiver and configured to; collect activity data characterizing the usage of each of a plurality of user features on the mobile communications device; forward the collected activity data to a remote node, via the communications transceiver, for generation of a predictive model; collect partial search data from a user of the mobile communications device, via the user interface; forward the partial search data to the remote node, via the communications transceiver; receive one or more suggested search parameters from the remote node, via the communications transceiver, in response to the partial search data; and responsive to user selection, submit a search query to a search engine remote from the mobile communications device, via the communications transceiver, wherein said search query comprises at least one of the one or more search parameters.
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19. A network-connected processing node, comprising:
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a network communications interface circuit; and a processing circuit operatively coupled to the network communications interface circuit and configured to; receive activity data characterizing the usage of each of a plurality of user features on a mobile communications device; detect the initiation of a database search by a user of the mobile communications device; responsive to said detecting, predict one or more search parameters, based on recent activity data for user activities concurrent with or proximately preceding said detection; and send the one or more search parameters to mobile communications device. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification