Methods and apparatus for retrieving and/or processing retrieved information as a function of a user's estimated knowledge
First Claim
1. A method of retrieving information for a user, the method, comprising the steps of:
- generating a set of search results including a plurality of entries, at least some of said entries not being known to the user; and
arranging the set of search results for presentation to the user from top to bottom, using estimates of the probability that the entries are known to the user, the step of arranging being performed so that entries having a higher probability of being known to the user are less likely to be placed at the top of the arranged set of search results then entries which have a lower probability of being known to the user.
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Abstract
Information retrieval methods and apparatus which involve: 1) the generation of estimates regarding the probability that items included in search results are already known to the user and 2) the use of such knowledge probability estimates to influence the ranking of search results, are described. By discounting the ranking, or adjusting ranking values generated by a known search engine as a function of the knowledge probability estimates, the present invention reduces or eliminates the risk of locating known information near the top of a list of search results. This is advantageous since known information is generally of little interest to a user. In various embodiments the popularity of an item is used to estimate the probability that the item is already known to a user. In addition, in various embodiments one or more user controllable parameters are used in the generation of the knowledge probability estimates and/or the ranking of the search results to give the user an opportunity to have the ranking of the search results accurately reflect the user'"'"'s knowledge. The present invention is particularly well suited to collaborative filtering based search systems. This is because collaborative filters make recommendations to a user based on historical information relating to, e.g., the popularity of items being considered for recommendation. This same popularity information can be used to estimate a users knowledge of a database item. Such items may include television shows, music, Internet sites, etc.
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Citations
47 Claims
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1. A method of retrieving information for a user, the method, comprising the steps of:
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generating a set of search results including a plurality of entries, at least some of said entries not being known to the user; and arranging the set of search results for presentation to the user from top to bottom, using estimates of the probability that the entries are known to the user, the step of arranging being performed so that entries having a higher probability of being known to the user are less likely to be placed at the top of the arranged set of search results then entries which have a lower probability of being known to the user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An information retrieval system comprising:
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a user input device for receiving database search requests from a user; a database including a plurality of entries; means for generating knowledge probability estimates representing the probability that individual database entries are known to the user; and a search engine coupled to the user input device, the database, and the means for generating knowledge probability estimates, the search engine including means for ranking the search results as a function of the generated knowledge probability estimates, a database entry included in the search results having a first probability of being known to the user being weighted in favor of receiving a higher ranking than database entrees having a probability of being known to the user which is greater than the first probability; eliminating from the set of search results the entry having the highest estimated probability of being known to the user.
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27. A processing apparatus for processing ranked search results, comprising:
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a knowledge probability estimator for estimating the probability that one or more entries included in the database being searched are known to the user; and a search result adjuster coupled to the knowledge probability estimator for re-ordering the search results as a function of the estimated probability that one or more entries included in the search results are known to the user, the search result adjuster including means for re-ranking the search results to reflect a diminution in the relative rank of search results which are estimated to already be known to the user.
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28. A method of retrieving information for a user, the method, comprising the steps of:
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generating a set of search results including a plurality of entries, at least some of said entries not being known to the user, the step of generating the set of search results including the step of ranking the entries in the set of search results; and arranging the set of search results for presentation to the user from top to bottom, using estimates of the probability that the entries are known to the user, the step of arranging the set of search results, including the step of; adjusting the ranking of the entries in the set of search results, the rank of each particular entry being adjusted as a function of the ranking of the particular entry and the estimated probability that the particular entry is known to the user. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A processing apparatus for re-ordering a set of information items ordered for presentation to a user, the set of information items including at least one information item not known to the user, the apparatus comprising:
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a knowledge probability estimator for estimating the probability that one or more entries included in the set of information items are known to the user; and an order adjusting device for re-ordering the search results as a function of the estimated probability that one or more entries included in the database being searched are known to the user to decrease the probability that information items already known to the user will be located at the top of the ordered set of information items. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39)
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40. An information retrieval system for searching a database including a plurality of entries, the system comprising:
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a search engine coupled to the database; a knowledge probability estimator coupled to the search engine for estimating the probability that entries in the database are known to a user of the information retrieval system; and a retrieval result adjusting module coupled to the search engine for receiving therefrom search results including database entries and for ranking the received search results as a function of the estimated probability that the entries included in the search results are known to the user, the retrieval result adjusting module favoring for a higher ranking for database entries which are less likely to be known to the user than entries which are more likely to be known to a user. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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Specification