Method for displaying internet search results

• US 6,377,961 B1
• Filed: 01/21/1999
• Issued: 04/23/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Ryu, Yeon-Seung
• Primary Examiner(s): Follansbee, John A.
• Application Number:
  US09/234,370
• Time in Patent Office: 1,188 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701/300, 709/217, 707/3.7
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99937 Sorting

Abstract

A method starts with submitting an internet protocol address to a web search engine so that the location of a user can be determined. Then, a user inputs one or more keywords that can be used by the web search engine to compare with all of its generated indexes. After searching various indexes, the web search engine may find multiple uniform resource locators that identify various servers that contain information that may be relevant to the user'"'"'s search. Then, the web search engine uses an internet protocol mapping table, that is generated by the web search engine along with other data regarding various uniform resource locators prior to performing the requested search, to correlate the uniform resource locators with the geographical address of the server. Afterwards, the web search engine is able to sort the results of the search using the distance between the uniform resource locators and the user. Once the user has this information it is much simpler to determine which uniform resource locator may correlate with an easy to travel to business. This feature will enhance existing web search engines and thus, further increase the expanding popularity of using the internet to gather useful information.

Claims

1. A method for sorting internet search results, comprising the steps of:

submitting an internet protocol address of a user to a web search engine;

inputting at least one keyword that said web search engine uses to perform a search;

searching a plurality of indexes utilizing said at least one keyword by said web search engine to find as a result any uniform resource locator that correlates to said at least one keyword;

comparing said internet protocol address of said user with each internet protocol address that respectively corresponds to a uniform resource locator found in said searching step that correlates to said at least one keyword;

sorting in an order of relative distance from the user each said internet protocol address determined in said comparing step that respectively corresponds to a uniform resource locator found in said searching step that correlates to said at least one keyword to generate a sorted result; and

transmitting said sorted result to said user.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprised of said sorting step comprising the additional steps of:

referring to an internet protocol mapping table for each said internet protocol address; and

sorting from said internet protocol mapping table in an order of geographic distance between each said uniform resource locator, found in said searching step that correlates to said at least one keyword and that corresponds to an internet protocol address in said internet protocol mapping table, and said user, said sorted result providing an order of each said uniform resource locator starting with a uniform resource locator corresponding to a nearest internet protocol address to said user to a uniform resource locator corresponding to a farthest internet protocol address from said user.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprised of said internet protocol mapping table correlating each said internet protocol address with a corresponding geographical location.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprised of said sorting step further comprised of determining and comparing a distance between said user and each said uniform resource locator found in said searching step that correlates to said at least one keyword.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprised of said internet protocol mapping table being generated prior to a search performed by said web search engine.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprised of a step of determining a geographical location of said user from said internet protocol address of said user in said sorting step.

7. A method for displaying internet search results, comprising the steps of:

submitting an internet protocol address of a user to a web search engine;

inputting at least one keyword that said web search engine uses to perform a search;

searching a plurality of indexes utilizing said at least one keyword by said web search engine to find as a result any uniform resource locator that correlates to said at least one keyword;

comparing said internet protocol address of said user with each internet protocol address that respectively corresponds to a uniform resource locator found in said searching step that correlates to said at least one keyword;

sorting to generate a sorted result by ordering each said uniform resource locator found in said searching step that correlates to said at least one keyword in an order of distance between said internet protocol address of said user and each said internet protocol address determined in said comparing step that respectively corresponds to a uniform resource locator found in said searching step that correlates to said at least one keyword; and

transmitting said sorted result for display to said user.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprised of said sorting step comprising the additional steps of:

referring to an internet protocol mapping table for each said internet protocol address; and

sorting from said internet protocol mapping table in an order of geographic distance between each said uniform resource locator, found in said searching step that correlates to said at least one keyword and that corresponds to an internet protocol address in said internet protocol mapping table, and said user, said sorted result providing for display each said uniform resource locator found in said searching step that correlates to said at least one keyword starting with a uniform resource locator corresponding to a nearest internet protocol address to said user to a uniform resource locator corresponding to a farthest internet protocol address from said user.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprised of said internet protocol mapping table correlating each said internet protocol address with a corresponding geographical location.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprised of said sorting step further comprised of determining and comparing a distance between said user and each said uniform resource locator found in said searching step that correlates to said at least one keyword.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprised of said internet protocol mapping table being generated prior to a search performed by said web search engine.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprised of a step of determining a geographical location of said user from said internet protocol address of said user in said sorting step.

13. A method for sorting internet search results, comprising the steps of:

submitting an internet protocol address of a user to a web search engine;

inputting at least one keyword that said web search engine uses to perform a search;

searching a plurality of indexes utilizing said at least one keyword by said web search engine to find as a result any uniform resource locator that correlates to said at least one keyword;

checking an internet protocol mapping table to correlate each said uniform resource locator, found in said searching step that correlates to said at least one keyword, to a corresponding internet protocol address, said internet protocol mapping table correlating each said internet protocol address with a corresponding geographical location, said internet protocol mapping table being generated simultaneously while generating said plurality of indexes;

comparing said internet protocol address of said user with each said internet protocol address in said internet protocol mapping table that respectively corresponds to a uniform resource locator found in said searching step that correlates to said at least one keyword;

sorting to generate a sorted result by ordering each said uniform resource locator found in said searching step that correlates to said at least one keyword in an order of distance between said internet protocol address of said user and each said internet protocol address in said internet protocol mapping table that respectively corresponds to a uniform resource locator found in said searching step that correlates to said at least one keyword; and

transmitting said sorted result to said user.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprised of said sorting step comprising the additional step of sorting from said internet protocol mapping table in an order of geographic distance between each said uniform resource locator, found in said searching step that correlates to said at least one keyword and that corresponds to an internet protocol address in said internet protocol mapping table, and said user, said sorted result providing an order of each said uniform resource locator starting with a uniform resource locator corresponding to a nearest internet protocol address to said user to a uniform resource locator corresponding to a farthest internet protocol address from said user.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprised of said sorting step further comprised of determining and comparing a distance between said user and each said uniform resource locator found in said searching step that correlates to said at least one keyword.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprised of a step of determining a geographical location of said user from said internet protocol address of said user in said sorting step.