RESTRICTED WEB SEARCH METHOD AND SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A method performed by a computer processor to identify web pages accessible on a computer network that are relevant to a query entered by a user, each web page having a source being a website identified by a website domain name, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) receiving an exclusion specification, the exclusion specification comprising a specification of a characteristic of sources, wherein the characteristic of sources does not include an identifier of a particular web page or entity, domain name or company name and the characteristic relates to the source per se and is shared by a plurality of sources;
(b) receiving the query from the user;
(c) creating a list of identifiers of web pages relevant to the query, the web pages being accessible on the computer network from sources that are not excluded by the exclusion specification and creating a list of sources that were excluded by the exclusion specification;
(d) displaying a portion of the list of identifiers of web pages relevant to the query;
(e) displaying a portion of the list of sources that were excluded by the exclusion specification;
(1) receiving from the user an indication that one of the sources in the list of excluded sources should not be excluded;
(g) updating the list of identifiers of web pages relevant to the query to include web pages from the source that the user indicated should not be excluded; and
(h) displaying a portion of the updated list of identifiers of web pages relevant to the query.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is a method and system for searching for items on a computer network, such as the internet, based on a query and an exclusion specification comprising a specification of a characteristic of sources of the items, to create a list of identifiers of items relevant to the query that are not excluded by the exclusion specification. Such characteristics include measures of popularity of the sources of the items so that items from sources having popularity greater than the specified popularity may be excluded from the list.
6 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method performed by a computer processor to identify web pages accessible on a computer network that are relevant to a query entered by a user, each web page having a source being a website identified by a website domain name, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) receiving an exclusion specification, the exclusion specification comprising a specification of a characteristic of sources, wherein the characteristic of sources does not include an identifier of a particular web page or entity, domain name or company name and the characteristic relates to the source per se and is shared by a plurality of sources; (b) receiving the query from the user; (c) creating a list of identifiers of web pages relevant to the query, the web pages being accessible on the computer network from sources that are not excluded by the exclusion specification and creating a list of sources that were excluded by the exclusion specification; (d) displaying a portion of the list of identifiers of web pages relevant to the query; (e) displaying a portion of the list of sources that were excluded by the exclusion specification; (1) receiving from the user an indication that one of the sources in the list of excluded sources should not be excluded; (g) updating the list of identifiers of web pages relevant to the query to include web pages from the source that the user indicated should not be excluded; and (h) displaying a portion of the updated list of identifiers of web pages relevant to the query. - View Dependent Claims (2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 20)
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3. (canceled)
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10. (canceled)
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12. (canceled)
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15. A system comprising a programmable computer processor, the processor running software adapted to:
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(a) receive an exclusion specification, the exclusion specification comprising a specification of a characteristic of sources, a source being a website identified by a website domain name, wherein the characteristic of sources does not include an identifier of a particular web page or entity, domain name or company name and the characteristic relates to the source per se and is shared by a plurality of sources; (b) receive a query from a user; (c) create a list of identifiers of web pages relevant to the query, the web pages being accessible on a computer network from sources that are not excluded by the exclusion specification and create a list of sources that were excluded by the exclusion specification; (d) display a portion of the list of identifiers of web pages relevant to the query starting with the first web page in the list, the first web page being the most relevant web page; (e) display a portion of the list of sources that were excluded by the exclusion specification; (f) receive from the user an indication that one of the sources in the list of excluded sources should not be excluded; (g) update the list of identifiers of web pages relevant to the query to include web pages from the source that the user indicated should not be excluded; and (h) display a portion of the updated list of identifiers of web pages relevant to the query. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 21)
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16. (canceled)
Specification