Query processing based on associated industry codes

• US 6,157,923 A
• Filed: 05/26/1998
• Issued: 12/05/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: WHCB Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ensera, Inc. (Mitchell International Holding, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ivler, J. M., Rubin, Frank
• Primary Examiner(s): HOMERE, JEAN RAYMOND
• Application Number:
  US09/084,810
• Time in Patent Office: 924 Days
• Field of Search: 707/3, 707/1, 707/4, 707/10, 707/524, 395/600, 395/161
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/90328 using search space presentation or visualization, e.g. category or range presentation and selection
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

Abstract

A user query is processed to determine a first industry code corresponding to information requested in the query. One or more stored non-keyword-based associations are then used to determine at least one additional industry code which is not a subset or superset of the first industry code. The first and additional industry codes may be in different industry code hierarchies, or in otherwise unrelated portions of the same hierarchy. Information corresponding to the first and additional industry codes is then displayed to the user in response to the query. The display of information for particular industry codes may be based at least in part on a set of weights which indicate relative importance of the corresponding stored associations to users of the system. The weights may be established and maintained by monitoring actual user selections made from previous displays. The displayed information may include a list of companies or other sources for one or more of the industry codes, and a feature may be provided which permits the sources to bid for a particular position in the list.

Claims

1. A method of processing a user query in a computer system, the method comprising the steps of:

determining a first industry code based on the query; and

displaying to the user information corresponding to the first industry code, in conjunction with information corresponding to at least one additional industry code which is not a subset or superset of the first industry code, does not share a common keyword with the first industry code and is not specified by the query, wherein the first and additional industry codes are related by a non-keyword-based association which is determined at least in part based on a result of processing a previous query and stored in the computer system.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and additional industry codes are located in different industry code hierarchies.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and additional industry codes are located in different portions of the same industry code hierarchy.

4. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of:

storing a plurality of non-keyword-based associations;

maintaining a set of weights indicating relative importance of the associations to users of the system, wherein the weights are determined by monitoring user selections; and

displaying information to the user such that display of information corresponding to a particular industry code is determined at least in part based on one or more of the weights.

5. The method of claim 1 further including the step of displaying a plurality of sources for at least one of the first and the additional industry codes.

6. The method of claim 5 further including the step of establishing a position of a given one of the sources in a list of the sources displayed to the user based on results of bids received from the sources.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the processing and displaying steps are implemented in at least one software program running on at least one computer in the computer system.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the association between the first and additional industry codes is established based on information obtained from previous user queries.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the association is stored in a database associated with a server which processes the user query.

10. An apparatus for processing a user query in a computer system, the apparatus comprising:

a processor for processing a first industry code determined based on the query; and

a memory coupled to the processor for storing a non-keyword-based association between the first industry code and at least one additional industry code which is not a subset or superset of the first industry code, wherein the second industry code does not share a common keyword with the first industry code and is not specified by the query the non-keyword-based association being determined at least in part based on a result of processing a previous query, and wherein information corresponding to the first industry code is displayed to the user in conjunction with information corresponding to the additional industry code.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the first and additional industry codes are located in different industry code hierarchies.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the first and additional industry codes are located in different portions of the same industry code hierarchy.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the processor is further operative to store a plurality of non-keyword-based associations, to maintain a set of weights indicating relative importance of the associations to users of the system, wherein the weights are determined by monitoring user selections, and to display information to the user such that display of information corresponding to a particular industry code is determined at least in part based on one or more of the weights.

14. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the processor is further operative to establish a position of a given one of a plurality of sources in a list of sources displayed to the user based on results of bids received from the sources.

15. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the processor is associated with a server which communicates with a client at which the user query is generated.

16. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the memory is associated with a server which communicates with a client at which the user query is generated.

17. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the processor is further operative to establish the association between the first and additional industry codes based on information obtained from previous user queries.

18. An article of manufacture comprising a computer readable medium having computer readable code means embodied thereon, said computer readable code means comprising:

a step to determine a first industry code based on the query; and

a step to display to the user information corresponding to the first industry code, in conjunction with information corresponding to at least one additional industry code which is not a subset or superset of the first industry code, does not share a common keyword with the first industry code and is not specified by the query, wherein the first and additional industry codes are related by a non-keyword-based stored association which is determined at least in part based on a result of processing a previous query.

19. A method of processing a user query in a computer system, the method comprising the steps of:

determining a first industry code based on the query, wherein the first industry code is in a first hierarchy; and

displaying to the user information corresponding to the first industry code, in conjunction with information corresponding to at least one additional industry code, wherein the additional industry code is in a separate hierarchy distinct from the first hierarchy, does not share a common keyword with the first industry code and is not specified by the query, and the first and additional industry codes are related by a non-keyword-based stored association which is determined at least in part based on a result of processing a previous query.

20. A method of processing a user query in a computer system, the method comprising the steps of:

processing the user query to obtain first and second industry codes, wherein the first and second industry codes are related by a non-keyword-based association and are located in different parent-child hierarchies, and wherein the second industry code does not share a common keyword with the first industry code and is not specified by the user query the non-keyword-based association being determined at least in part based on a result of processing a previous query; and

displaying to the user which generated the user query information corresponding to the first and second industry codes.