Direct manipulation interface for Boolean information retrieval
First Claim
1. A method for graphically displaying and manipulating a Boolean query stored in a memory of a data processing system, the Boolean query including a plurality of terms, and the method including the steps, performed by the data processing system, of:
- organizing the query as a plurality of graphic display tiles, each tile deemed an active tile corresponding to a different term in the Boolean query;
displaying the plurality of tiles in a two-dimensional configuration that represents the Boolean query;
receiving information representing changes to the two-dimensional configuration of the displayed tiles, said changes corresponding to changes in the Boolean query;
manipulating the two-dimensional configuration of the displayed tiles in response to the received information to represent the corresponding changes to the Boolean query; and
generating a new Boolean query in the memory of the data processor to reflect the manipulated configuration.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus that translates a natural language query into a Boolean expression to be used to search a database. The Boolean expression is displayed on a screen so that the user can alter the Boolean expression using a mouse or similar input device and re-execute the search. The manipulations performed by the user include moving terms of the query, changing the order in which query terms are evaluated, adding terms, deleting terms, and selecting alternate versions of terms.
286 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A method for graphically displaying and manipulating a Boolean query stored in a memory of a data processing system, the Boolean query including a plurality of terms, and the method including the steps, performed by the data processing system, of:
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organizing the query as a plurality of graphic display tiles, each tile deemed an active tile corresponding to a different term in the Boolean query; displaying the plurality of tiles in a two-dimensional configuration that represents the Boolean query; receiving information representing changes to the two-dimensional configuration of the displayed tiles, said changes corresponding to changes in the Boolean query; manipulating the two-dimensional configuration of the displayed tiles in response to the received information to represent the corresponding changes to the Boolean query; and generating a new Boolean query in the memory of the data processor to reflect the manipulated configuration. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for automatically accessing a database using a Boolean query, the database including a plurality of elements stored in a data processing system, including the steps, performed by the data processing system, of:
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receiving a query string, the query string specifying desired elements of the database; reformulating the query string into a plurality of terms; displaying a plurality of graphic display tiles, each of the tiles corresponding to a different term in the plurality of terms, in a two-dimensional configuration that represents the Boolean query, wherein tiles deemed active tiles correspond to terms of a Boolean query and tiles deemed inactive do not correspond to terms of the Boolean query; receiving information representing changes to the two-dimensional configuration of the displayed tiles; manipulating the two-dimensional configuration of the displayed tiles to represent changes to the Boolean query; and generating a new Boolean query in the memory of the data processor to reflect the manipulated configuration. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. An apparatus for graphically displaying and manipulating a Boolean query stored in a memory, the Boolean query including a plurality of terms, the apparatus comprising:
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means for organizing the query as a plurality of graphic display tiles, each tile deemed an active tile corresponding to a different term in the Boolean query; means for displaying the plurality of tiles in a two-dimensional configuration that represents the Boolean query; means for receiving information representing changes to the two-dimensional configuration of the displayed tiles, said changes corresponding to changes in the Boolean query desired by a user; means for manipulating the two-dimensional configuration of the displayed tiles in response to the received information to represent the corresponding changes to the Boolean query; and means for generating a new Boolean query in the memory of the data processor to reflect the manipulated configuration.
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37. An apparatus for automatically accessing a database using a Boolean query, the database including a plurality of elements, the apparatus comprising:
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means for receiving a query string, the query string specifying desired elements of the database; means for reformulating the query string into a plurality of terms; means for displaying a plurality of graphic display tiles, each of the tiles corresponding to a different term in the plurality of terms, in a two-dimensional configuration that represents the Boolean query, wherein tiles deemed active tiles correspond to terms of a Boolean query and tiles deemed inactive do not correspond to terms of the Boolean query; means for receiving information representing changes to the two-dimensional configuration of the displayed tiles; means for manipulating the two-dimensional configuration of the displayed tiles to represent changes to the Boolean query; and means for generating a new Boolean query in the memory of the data processor to reflect the manipulated configuration.
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Specification