Apparatus and method for selecting records from a computer database by repeatedly displaying search terms from multiple list identifiers before either a list identifier or a search term is selected

• US 5,768,581 A
• Filed: 05/07/1996
• Issued: 06/16/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nancy Pauline Cochran
• Original Assignee: Nancy Pauline Cochran
• Inventors: Cochran, Nancy Pauline
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEWIS, CHERYL RENEA
• Application Number:
  US08/643,942
• Time in Patent Office: 770 Days
• Field of Search: 395/604, 395/603, 395/614, 395/615, 395/601, 395/610, 395/611, 395/613, 395/200.36
• US Class Current: 707/741
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/959 Network
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A method for managing the presentation of search terms on a computer terminal or other display device so that large computer databases can be searched efficiently. Multiple lists of search terms, such as words, symbols or phrases, are displayed adjacent to list-identifiers (also referred to as index names or indexes). The search terms contained in the lists are only those terms that are actually available in the database. A search of the database is conducted based upon selected search terms from at least one of the multiple lists. The subset of records identified by the search is used to form new lists of search terms that are then displayed on the display device. The user may examine the new subset of search terms and either view one or all of the records located, further limit the search, or reset all or part of the search. The present invention saves computer resources, especially on-line transmission resources, and makes searching more accurate and user-friendly.

Claims

1. A non-hierarchal method for retrieving information from records stored in a computer via a display device and a manually operable input device for inputting commands to access, retrieve, and display the information, the computer including a database for storing the records and a processor for accessing the records in accordance with a set of program instructions, the method comprising the steps of:

creating a plurality of list-identifiers, each list-identifier identifying a category of information;

creating a plurality of lists of search terms formed from words, symbols, or phrases, each search term list corresponding to one of said list-identifiers;

continuously displaying, on the display device, said plurality of list-identifiers;

selecting, through the input device, a list-identifier displayed on the display device;

displaying, simultaneously on said display device, the list of search terms associated with said selected list-identifier;

enabling a user to vacate the display of the list of search terms associated with said selected list-identifier, to select a different list-identifier, and to display the list of search terms associated with said different list-identifier;

selecting, through the input device, one of said search terms from the list of displayed search terms associated with said selected or different list-identifier;

searching for records in the database corresponding to said selected search term;

forming a subset of records responsive to said selected search term, said subset being the current set of records for the purpose of further searches or retrieval;

creating a new plurality of lists of search terms in accordance with said subset of records;

selecting, through the input device, a new list-identifier from the plurality of list-identifiers displayed on the display device from which a search term was not previously searched;

displaying, simultaneously on said display device, the list of search terms associated with said selected new list-identifier;

enabling a user to vacate the display of search terms associated with said selected new list-identifier, to select a different new list-identifier, and to display the list of search terms associated with said different new list-identifier;

selecting one of said search terms from the list of displayed search terms associated with said selected new or different new list-identifier;

searching said subset of records for records corresponding to the selected search term associated with said selected new or different new list-identifier;

forming a further subset of records responsive to said search of said subset of records, said further subset being the current set of records for the purpose of further searches or retrieval;

retrieving the current set of records from the database at any time following a searching of records; and

, displaying at least one of said retrieved records on said display device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of simultaneously displaying the list of search terms comprises displaying the list of search terms within a pick box.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the entire list of search terms within a pick box can be scrolled forward and backward within the pick box.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the display device and input device is remote from the computer, and wherein the computer is accessed over a communications network.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of displaying the list of search terms comprises displaying the list of search terms in a pick box that expands to display a variable number of search terms.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the entire list of search terms within a pick box can be scrolled forward and backward within the pick box.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting a particular list-identifier comprises the step of selecting a list of search terms to be displayed associated with a particular list-identifier.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the method for retrieving information from records stored in a computer comprises retrieving information from records stored in a computer located at a remote location.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the method for retrieving information from records stored in a computer comprises retrieving information from records stored in a computer via the Internet.

10. A computer system for non-hierarchal retrieving of records stored in a computer and for transferring the retrieved records to a user terminal, including a display screen and a manually-operable input unit, in response to commands receivable by the computer system from the user terminal, the system comprising:

a computer including a database memory for storing a plurality of records and a computer processor for accessing the records in accordance with a set of computer program instructions and in response to commands received from the user terminal, said computer program instructions including;

means for creating a plurality of list-identifiers, each list-identifier identifying a particular category of information;

means for creating a plurality of lists of search terms derived from available records stored in the database memory, each search term list corresponding to one of said list-identifiers;

means responsive to a command from the user terminal for transferring the plurality of list-identifiers to the display screen for simultaneous display of each of said list-identifiers;

means for transferring the lists of search terms to the user terminal;

means for enabling the user terminal to simultaneously display each of said list-identifiers on the display screen;

means for enabling the user terminal to determine if a list-identifier has been selected and, if selected, to display the search terms corresponding to the selected list-identifier on the display screen for simultaneous display of all of the search terms within the list that may be displayable on the display screen;

means for enabling the user terminal, in response to a command from the input device, to remove the displayed search terms corresponding to the selected list-identifier from the display screen and for enabling the selection of a different list-identifier and for displaying the list of search terms corresponding to the different list-identifier;

means for enabling the user terminal, in response to a command from the input device, to select a search term from the displayed list of search terms corresponding to the selected or different list-identifier;

means for searching the available records of the database for records responsive to the selected search term, for creating an updated plurality of lists of search terms from the responsive records, and for transferring the entire updated plurality of lists of search terms to the user terminal; and

,

means responsive to a command from an input device for transferring responsive records to the display screen.

11. The computer system of claim 10 wherein said means for enabling the user terminal to determine if a list-identifier has been selected and, if selected, to display the search terms corresponding to the selected list-identifier on the display screen for simultaneous display of all of the search terms within the list that may be displayable on the display screen includes means for enabling simultaneous display of the search terms within an expanded pick box and for enabling the entire list of search terms to be scrolled in a forward and backward direction within the expanded pick box if the entire list of search terms cannot be displayed within the confines of the expanded pick box.

12. The computer system of claim 10 further comprising means for enabling the user terminal, following the transferring of the entire updated plurality of lists of search terms to the user terminal, to select a list-identifier, and to display updated lists of search terms corresponding to the selected list-identifier, from those list-identifiers that were not previously selected and searched.

13. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the means for enabling the user terminal to determine if a list-identifier has been selected comprises means for enabling the user terminal to determine if a search term associated with a particular list-identifier has been selected.

14. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the computer is located at a remote location from the user terminal.

15. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the user terminal accesses the computer via the Internet.

16. A method for non-hierarchal searching of records of information stored in a computer database via a display device and an input device, the method comprising the steps of:

creating a plurality of lists of search terms formed from words, symbols, or phrases, each search term list corresponding to one of a plurality of categories of information in the computer database;

enabling a user to display simultaneously, on said display device, multiple search terms of at least one of said plurality of lists of search terms;

enabling a user to vacate the display of search terms and to display simultaneously on said display device, multiple search terms of a different at least one of said plurality of lists of search terms;

selecting, through the input device, one of said search terms from any of the lists of displayed search terms;

searching all of the available records in the database to identify records responsive to said selected search term;

creating at least one new list of search terms corresponding to at least one of the categories of information in response to said searching of records; and

,

displaying simultaneously, on said display device, multiple search terms associated with at least one of the at least one new list of search terms.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of displaying simultaneously multiple search terms comprises displaying simultaneously multiple search terms within a pick box.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the entire list of search terms within a pick box can be scrolled forward and backward within the pick box.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of displaying simultaneously multiple search terms comprises displaying simultaneously the multiple search terms in a pick box that expands to display a variable number of search terms.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the entire list of search terms within a pick box can be scrolled forward and backward within the pick box.

21. A computer system for non-hierarchal searching of records of information stored in a computer database, the system comprising:

means for creating a plurality of lists of search terms formed from words, symbols, or phrases, each search term list corresponding to one of a plurality of categories of information in the computer database;

means for enabling a user to simultaneously display multiple search terms of at least one of said plurality of lists of search terms;

means for enabling a user to vacate the display of search terms and to simultaneously display multiple search terms of a different at least one of said plurality of lists of search terms;

means for selecting one of said search terms from any of the lists of displayed search terms;

means for searching all of the available records in the database to identify records responsive to said selected search term;

means for creating at least one new list of search terms, corresponding to at least one of the categories of information, in response to said searching of records; and

,

means for simultaneously displaying multiple search terms associated with at least one of the at least one new list of search terms.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the means for displaying simultaneously multiple search terms comprises means for displaying simultaneously multiple search terms within a pick box.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the entire list of search terms within a pick box can be scrolled forward and backward within the pick box.

24. The system of claim 21, wherein the means for displaying simultaneously multiple search terms comprises means for displaying simultaneously the multiple search terms in a pick box that expands to display a variable number of search terms.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the entire list of search terms within a pick box can be scrolled forward and backward within the pick box.

26. A non-hierarchal method for searching information from records stored in a computer database via a display device and a manually operable input device for inputting commands to access, retrieve, and display the information, the method comprising the steps of:

creating a plurality of list-identifiers, each list-identifier identifying a category of information;

creating a plurality of lists of search terms formed from words, symbols, or phrases, each search term list corresponding to one of said list-identifiers;

displaying, on the display device, said plurality of list-identifiers;

displaying simultaneously, on said display device, a list of multiple search terms associated with each of the list-identifiers;

enabling the selection of one of said search terms from any of the lists of displayed search terms;

searching all of the available records in the database to identify records corresponding to said selected search term;

creating at least one new list of search terms in accordance with said searching for records;

displaying, on said display device, said at least one new list of search terms, said at least one new list of search terms associated with at least one of said list-identifiers;

selecting one of the search terms from said at least one new list of displayed search terms; and

,

searching for records in the database corresponding to the selected search term from the new list of displayed search terms.

27. A computer system for non-hierarchal searching of records stored in a computer database and for transferring the retrieved records to a user terminal, including a display screen and a manually-operable input unit, in response to commands receivable by the computer system from the user terminal, the system comprising:

a computer including a database memory for storing a plurality of records and a computer processor for accessing the records in accordance with a set of computer program instructions and in response to commands received from the user terminal, said computer program instructions including;

(a) means for creating a plurality of list-identifiers, each list-identifier identifying a particular category of information;

(b) means for creating a plurality of lists of search terms derived from available records stored in the database memory, each search term list corresponding to one of said list-identifiers;

(c) means responsive to a command from the user terminal for transferring the plurality of list-identifiers, from means (a), and the lists of search terms, from means (b), to the user terminal;

(d) means for enabling the user terminal to simultaneously display each of said list-identifiers, transferred by means (c), on the display screen and to simultaneously display a list of multiple search terms associated with each of the list-identifiers, transferred by means (c), on the display screen;

(e) means for enabling the user terminal, in response to a command from the input device, to select a search term from any of the lists of search terms displayed on the display screen by means (d); and

,

(f) means, responsive to means (e), for determining if a search term has been selected by the user terminal and, if selected, for searching the available records of the database for records responsive to the selected search term, for creating an updated plurality of lists of search terms from the responsive records, and for transferring the updated plurality of lists of search terms to the user terminal.

28. A non-hierarchal method for searching information from records stored in a computer database via a display device and a manually operable input device for inputting commands to access, retrieve, and display the information, the method comprising the steps of:

creating a plurality of lists of search terms formed from words, symbols, or phrases, each search term list corresponding to one of a plurality of categories of information in the computer database;

displaying simultaneously, on said display device, search terms associated with each of the plurality of categories;

enabling the selection of one of said search terms from any of the lists of displayed search terms;

searching all of the available records in the database to identify records corresponding to said selected search term;

creating at least one new list of search terms from the identified records in response to said searching of records;

displaying simultaneously, on said display device, search terms associated with said at least one new list of search terms.

29. A computer system for non-hierarchal searching of records stored in a computer database and for transferring the retrieved records to a user terminal, including a display screen and a manually-operable input unit, in response to commands receivable by the computer system from the user terminal, the system comprising:

a computer including a database memory for storing a plurality of records and a computer processor for accessing the records in accordance with a set of computer program instructions and in response to commands received from the user terminal, said computer program instructions including;

(a) means for creating a plurality of lists of search terms formed from words, symbols or phrases, each search term list corresponding to one of a plurality of categories of information in the computer database;

(b) means responsive to a command from the user terminal for transferring the plurality of search term lists created by means (a) to the user terminal;

(c) means for enabling the user terminal to simultaneously display on the display screen a list of multiple search terms, transferred by means (b), associated with each of the plurality of categories;

(d) means for enabling the user terminal, in response to a command from the input device, to select a search term from any of the lists of search terms displayed on the display screen by means (c); and

,

(e) means, responsive to means (d), for determining if a search term has been selected by the user terminal and, if selected, for searching all of the available records in the database to identify records responsive to the selected search term, for creating an updated plurality of lists of search terms from the responsive records, and for transferring the updated plurality of lists of search terms to the user terminal.