Interactive interface for viewing retrieval results

• US 6,297,824 B1
• Filed: 11/25/1998
• Issued: 10/02/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Karadi, Chandu A., Hearst, Marti A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Ba
• Application Number:
  US09/199,755
• Time in Patent Office: 1,042 Days
• Field of Search: 345/335, 345/339, 345/348, 345/352, 345/353, 345/354, 345/355, 345/356, 345/357, 345/901, 345/968, 707/1-3, 707/102, 707/103, 707/104, 707/514
• US Class Current: 715/848
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 345/901 Electronic book with display
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/968 interface for database querying and retrieval

Abstract

An interactive interface for visualizing results from a search of a corpus of machine-readable documents, each of which is associated with at least one category of a category hierarchy. The interactive interface includes a page object generation component, a book generation component, a page turning component, a cone tree generation component, and a cone tree rotation component. The page object generation component generates for each document of the results a link page and a content page. The link page of each document includes at least a link to categories of a category cone tree, which visually represents the category hierarchy. The content page of each document includes a portion of the document. The book generation component generates a visual representation of the pages for the documents of the results as a book. The book includes a first area for displaying a first link page of a first document of the results and a second area for displaying a first content page of the first document. The page turning component responds to a cursor control device by causing a second link page of a second document of the results to be displayed in the first area and a second content page of the second document of the results to be displayed in the second area. The cone tree generation component generates and displays the cone tree, which is perceptible as three dimensional and which represents a portion of the category hierarchy. The cone tree represents each category as a node and has a primary display position for displaying first category nodes associated with a first document. The cone tree rotation component responds to the page turning component by causing second category nodes associated with the second document to be displayed in the primary viewing position.

Claims

1. An interactive interface for visualizing results from a search of a corpus of machine-readable documents, each document being associated with at least one category of a category hierarchy, the interactive interface operating on a computer system including a display, a processor coupled to a cursor control device and a memory storing instructions for the processor, the search returning results including at least one document of the corpus, the interactive interface comprising:

a) a page object generation component coupled to the memory, the page object generation component generating for each document of the results a link page and a content page, the link page of each document including at least one link to at least one category of the category cone tree associated with the results, the content page of each document including a portion of the document;

b) a book generation component coupled to the page object generation component, the book generation component generating and displaying on the display a representation of the pages for the documents of the results as a book, the book including a first area for displaying a first link page of a first document of the results and a second area for displaying a first content page of the first document;

c) a page turning component responsive to the cursor control device, the page turning component causing a second link page of a second document of the results to be displayed in the first area and a second content page of the second document of the results to be displayed in the second area;

d) a cone tree generation component coupled to the memory, the cone tree generation component generating and displaying the cone tree, the cone tree being perceptible as three dimensional and representing a portion of the category hierarchy, each category being represented as a node, the cone tree having a primary display position for displaying first category nodes associated with a first document; and

e) a cone tree rotation component responsive to the page turning component, the cone tree rotation component causing second category nodes associated with the second document to be displayed in the primary viewing position.

2. In a computer system including a display, a cursor control device, and a processor executing instructions stored in a memory, a method of browsing results from a search of a corpus of machine-readable documents, each document of the corpus being associated with at least one category of a category hierarchy, the results including a multiplicity of documents of the corpus, the method comprising:

a) generating and displaying on the display a cone tree perceptible as three dimensional, the cone tree representing a portion of the category hierarchy associated with the results, the cone tree having a primary display position for displaying a first category node associated with a first document;

b) generating a link page object and a content page object for each document of the results, the link page of each document including at least one link to at least one category of the cone tree associated with the document, each content page of each document including a portion of the document;

c) organizing the link page objects and the content page objects in a computer displayable representation of a book, the book having a first display area and a second display area;

d) displaying in the first display area the link page of the first document and the content page of the first document; and

e) responding to a request via the cursor control device to turn a page of the book by displaying in the first area the link page of a second document and the content page of the second document.