Context-sensitive query enrichment

• US 20130106892A1
• Filed: 10/31/2011
• Published: 05/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Davis, Marc E., Dyor, Matthew G., Gates, William, Huang, Xuedong, Hyde, Roderick A., Jung, Edward K.Y., Kare, Jordin T., Levien, Royce A., Lu, Qi, Malamud, Mark A., Myhrvold, Nathan P., Nadella, Satya, Reed, Daniel, Shum, Harry, Tegreene, Clarence T., Wood, Lowell L. Jr.
• Application Number:
  US13/317,989
• Publication Number:
  US 20130106892A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/589
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9032 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0304 Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042

Abstract

Structures and protocols are presented for facilitating a search partly based on a movement status of a search-capable device or on a position of a person'"'"'s limb or on an association with another search-capable device.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

circuitry for recognizing a position of a first limb of a person in relation to a facial region of the person and to a three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person, the three-dimensional region including a first informational element; and

circuitry for transmitting a search result relating to the first informational element and partly based on first auditory data from a vicinity of the person and partly based on the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the facial region of the person and to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for determining from key press input from a user whether or not the user has apparently corroborated a configuration feature, the user being the person, the configuration feature being a search criterion that includes the first informational element.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for determining from auditory data whether or not a user has apparently corroborated a configuration feature, the user being the person, the first auditory data from the vicinity of the person including a preliminary indication of the configuration feature, the configuration feature being a search criterion that includes the first informational element.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for determining from optical data whether or not a user has apparently corroborated a configuration feature, the user being the person, the optical data including a preliminary indication of the configuration feature, the configuration feature being a search criterion that includes the first informational element.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for associating a first device used by a first user with a second device used by a second user in response to an association request from the first user, the first user being the person, the second device being configured to receive the search result relating to the first informational element and partly based on the first auditory data from the vicinity of the person and partly based on the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the facial region of the person and to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person from the first device.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for associating a first device with a second device by recording an identification of the first device in a memory of the second device in response to the first auditory data from the vicinity of the person, the second device having received the first auditory data from the vicinity of the person.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for generating a first coordinate and a second coordinate that jointly characterize a position of a portion of an appendage of a user, the appendage of the user being the first limb of the person.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for determining whether or not a user has apparently assented to a structured dialog, the user being the person, the first auditory data from the vicinity of the person indicating whether or not the user has apparently assented to the structured dialog.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for adjusting a rectangular image component aspect ratio in response to an indication of a symbol adjacent an edge of a portion of an image, the image indicating the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person, the portion of the image depicting at least some of the first informational element.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for responding to an indication of a symbol adjacent an edge of a region of an image by adjusting a size of the region of the image, the image indicating the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person, the region of the image being a two-dimensional region depicting at least some of the first informational element.

14. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for comparing a local time with temporal data in a first cached document and with temporal data in a second cached document, the local time being within a vicinity of the person, the search result including at least one of the first cached document or the second cached document.

15. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for initiating a search using a character obtained from a photograph, the first informational element including the character obtained from the photograph.

16. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for displaying a search expression that includes a character sequence obtained from a photograph, the first informational element including the character sequence obtained from the photograph.

17. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for expressing a search term at a first interface that includes a character sequence obtained from a second interface, the first informational element being the character sequence.

18. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for highlighting an areal portion of an image selectively in response to a position of a depiction of an appendage in the image, the appendage being the first limb of the person, the position of the depiction of the appendage in the image indicating the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person.

19. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for recognizing a literal expression of a time signifying when a specific time interval begins, the literal expression of the time signifying when the specific time interval begins being a component of the search result relating to the first informational element and partly based on the first auditory data from the vicinity of the person and partly based on the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the facial region of the person and to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person.

20. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for obtaining a boolean expression indicative of whether or not content includes a literal expression of a time of day, the content being a component of the search result relating to the first informational element and partly based on the first auditory data from the vicinity of the person and partly based on the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the facial region of the person and to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person.

21. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for obtaining a boolean expression indicative of whether or not content includes a geographic identifier, the content being a component of the search result relating to the first informational element and partly based on the first auditory data from the vicinity of the person and partly based on the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the facial region of the person and to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person.

22. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for ranking a first component of a search result in relation to a second component of the search result partly based on a digital expression of a time of day and partly based on whether or not a confirmation of a search criterion has been received, the search result being the search result relating to the first informational element and partly based on the first auditory data from the vicinity of the person and partly based on the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the facial region of the person and to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person.

23. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for causing a first search term and a second search term to be transmitted to a mobile device after initiating a first search using the first search term and after initiating a second search using the second search term, the first search term being the first informational element.

24. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for causing a search engine to use a search term conditionally in response to a user of a mobile device corroborating the search term via the mobile device, the search term including the first informational element.

25. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for receiving a result of a search from an Internet search engine into a memory of a mobile device, the result of the search from the Internet search engine being the search result relating to the first informational element and partly based on the first auditory data from the vicinity of the person and partly based on the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the facial region of the person and to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person.

26. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for triggering a search task by transmitting a search expression to a search engine as a real time response to detecting a component of the search expression in a component of a vocalization, the auditory data from the vicinity of the person including the component of the vocalization.

27. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for triggering an anticipatory search task by transmitting a search expression to a remote search engine in response to detecting a component of the search expression in a component of a visual image without first detecting a confirmation of the search expression, the remote search engine being remote from the person, the component of the search expression being the first informational element.

28. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for highlighting a first portion of an image without highlighting a remainder of the image, the first portion having a location that depends upon whether or not the image depicts an appendage of a user, the appendage of the user being the first limb of the person, the image indicating the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person.

29. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for performing an image modification upon a first region of a photographic image without performing the image modification upon a remainder of the photographic image, the first region having a location that depends upon whether or not the photographic image includes a semblance of an appendage, the appendage being the first limb of the person, the photographic image indicating the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person.

30. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for responding to a detection of a depiction of an appendage by discarding a major portion of a photographic image without discarding a remainder of the photographic image, the remainder of the photographic image having a rectangular shape, the major portion of the photographic image encompassing more than 50% of an area of the depiction of the appendage and more than 50% of an area of the photographic image, the appendage being the first limb of the person, the depiction of the appendage indicating the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person.

31. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for responding to a depiction of an appendage in a data file representative of a photographic image by discarding a first component of the data file without discarding a second component of the data file, the appendage being the first limb of the person, the depiction of the appendage in the data file representative of the photographic image indicating the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person;

144. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for associating a first device with a second device by recording an identification of the first device in a memory of the second device in response to the first auditory data from the vicinity of the person, the second device having received the first auditory data from the vicinity of the person;

circuitry for determining from key press input from a user whether or not the user has apparently corroborated a configuration feature, the user being the person, the configuration feature being a search criterion that includes the first informational element;

circuitry for determining whether or not the user has apparently assented to a structured dialog, the first auditory data from the vicinity of the person indicating whether or not the user has apparently assented to the structured dialog;

circuitry for responding to an indication of a symbol adjacent an edge of a region of an image by adjusting a size of the region of the image, the image indicating the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person, the region of the image being a two-dimensional region depicting at least some of the first informational element; and

circuitry for highlighting a first portion of the image without highlighting a remainder of the image, the first portion having a location that depends upon whether or not the image depicts an appendage of the user, the appendage of the user being the first limb of the person, the image indicating the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person.

145. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for performing an image modification upon a first region of the photographic image without performing the image modification upon a remainder of the photographic image, the first region having a location that depends upon whether or not the photographic image includes a semblance of an appendage, the appendage being the first limb of the person, the photographic image indicating the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person;

circuitry for displaying a search expression that includes a character sequence obtained from a photograph, the first informational element including the character sequence obtained from the photograph, the photograph being the photographic image;

circuitry for triggering an anticipatory search task by transmitting the search expression to a remote search engine in response to detecting a component of the search expression in a component of the photographic image without first detecting a confirmation of the search expression, the remote search engine being remote from the person, the component of the search expression being the first informational element; and

circuitry for obtaining a boolean expression indicative of whether or not the content includes a geographic identifier, the content being a component of the search result relating to the first informational element and partly based on the first auditory data from the vicinity of the person and partly based on the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the facial region of the person and to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person.

146. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry for associating a first device used by a first user with a second device used by a second user in response to an association request from the first user, the first user being the person, the second device being configured to receive the search result relating to the first informational element and partly based on the first auditory data from the vicinity of the person and partly based on the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the facial region of the person and to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person from the first device;

circuitry for determining from auditory data whether or not the first user has apparently corroborated a configuration feature, the first auditory data from the vicinity of the person including a preliminary indication of the configuration feature, the configuration feature being a search criterion that includes the first informational element;

circuitry for generating a first coordinate and a second coordinate that jointly characterize a position of a portion of an appendage of the first user, the appendage of the first user being the first limb of the person;

circuitry for comparing a local time with temporal data in a first cached document and with temporal data in a second cached document, the local time being within a vicinity of the person, the search result including at least one of the first cached document or the second cached document;

circuitry for expressing a first search term at a first interface that includes a character sequence obtained from a second interface, the first informational element being the character sequence;

circuitry for responding to a detection of a depiction of an appendage by discarding a major portion of a photographic image without discarding a remainder of the photographic image, the remainder of the photographic image having a rectangular shape, the major portion of the photographic image encompassing more than 50% of an area of the depiction of the appendage and more than 50% of an area of the photographic image, the appendage being the first limb of the person, the depiction of the appendage indicating the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person;

circuitry for recognizing a literal expression of a time signifying when a specific time interval begins, the literal expression of the time signifying when the specific time interval begins being a component of the search result relating to the first informational element and partly based on the first auditory data from the vicinity of the person and partly based on the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the facial region of the person and to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person; and

circuitry for causing the first search term and a second search term to be transmitted to a mobile device after initiating a first search using the first search term and after initiating a second search using the second search term, the first search term being the first informational element, the first device being the mobile device.

2-4. -4. (canceled)

32. A method comprising:

recognizing a position of a first limb of a person in relation to a facial region of the person and to a three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person, the three-dimensional region including a first informational element; and

invoking circuitry for transmitting a search result relating to the first informational element and partly based on first auditory data from a vicinity of the person and partly based on the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the facial region of the person and to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person.

33-59. -59. (canceled)

60. A system comprising:

means for recognizing a position of a first limb of a person in relation to a facial region of the person and to a three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person, the three-dimensional region including a first informational element; and

means for transmitting a search result relating to the first informational element and partly based on first auditory data from a vicinity of the person and partly based on the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the facial region of the person and to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person.

61-87. -87. (canceled)

88. An article of manufacture comprising:

one or more physical media configured to bear a device-detectable implementation of a method including at least

recognizing a position of a first limb of a person in relation to a facial region of the person and to a three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person, the three-dimensional region including a first informational element; and

transmitting a search result relating to the first informational element and partly based on first auditory data from a vicinity of the person and partly based on the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the facial region of the person and to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person.

89-115. -115. (canceled)

116. An article of manufacture comprising:

one or more physical media bearing a device-detectable outcome indicating an occurrence of

recognizing a position of a first limb of a person in relation to a facial region of the person and to a three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person, the three-dimensional region including a first informational element; and

transmitting a search result relating to the first informational element and partly based on first auditory data from a vicinity of the person and partly based on the position of the first limb of the person in relation to the facial region of the person and to the three-dimensional region indicated by the first limb of the person.

117-143. -143. (canceled)