Visualization of Internet search information
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system for generating, within a predetermined display space, a visual representation of a plurality of Web pages accessible from a plurality of Web sites on the Internet, said system comprising:
- means for receiving information relating to the addresses of said plurality of Web pages, means for determining the cross-connectivity between the plurality of Web pages, means for generating a relevancy rating for each of said Web pages, means for generating within the predetermined display space a visual representation showing the relevancy of each of said plurality of Web pages, including;
means for mapping within the display space a visual representation of each of said plurality of Web pages at a position within the display space dependent upon the relevancy rating of each of said plurality of Web pages.
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Abstract
A method and system for presenting a visual representation of search results relating to information on a computer network. A complex relevance rating scheme for generating a relevance rating for each match of the search results. The display space is defined with a display space relevance profile. A visual representation of the matches is determined and positioned within the display space according to the match relevance rating and the display space relevance profile.
395 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for generating, within a predetermined display space, a visual representation of a plurality of Web pages accessible from a plurality of Web sites on the Internet, said system comprising:
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means for receiving information relating to the addresses of said plurality of Web pages, means for determining the cross-connectivity between the plurality of Web pages, means for generating a relevancy rating for each of said Web pages, means for generating within the predetermined display space a visual representation showing the relevancy of each of said plurality of Web pages, including;
means for mapping within the display space a visual representation of each of said plurality of Web pages at a position within the display space dependent upon the relevancy rating of each of said plurality of Web pages. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
for each pair of Web pages for which a cross-connectivity is determined, means for generating a visual representation of the cross-connectivity relationship between each of said pairs of Web pages.
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3. The system of claim 1 further comprising:
means for defining a relevance profile for determining the relevancy rating of each of said plurality of Web pages based upon a plurality of factors.
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4. The system of claim 3 further comprising means for generating a visual representation of the direction of the cross-connectivity relationship between each pair of Web pages.
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5. The system of claim 3 further comprising means for modifying the relevance profile and for generating a different visual representation of said plurality of Web pages according to said modified relevance profile.
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6. The system of claim 1 wherein said means for determining a relevancy rating for each of said Web pages determines the relevancy rating based upon at least one factor selected from the group consisting of:
- (a) extent of cross connectivity (b) type of Web site, (c) a keyword, and (d) a theme.
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7. The system of claim 1 wherein said means for receiving information relating to the addresses of said plurality of Web pages comprises at least one Internet search engine and said means for determining a relevancy rating for each of said Web pages determines the relevancy rating based upon at least one factor selected from the group consisting of:
- (a) extent of cross connectivity, (b) number of times the Web page is located by said at least one search engine, (c) a relevancy ranking provided by said at least one search engine, (d) the type of Web site, (e) a keyword, (f) a theme, and (g) the number of said search engines locating the Web page.
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8. The system of claim 1 further comprising means for interactive browsing of at least one of said Web pages.
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9. The system of claim 1 wherein said visual representation of said plurality of Web pages is provided according to at least one representation selected from the group consisting of:
(a) a micro view representation, (b) a macro view representation.
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10. The system of claim 1 further comprising means for modifying the plurality of Web pages and the visual representation of said plurality of Web pages by performing at least one task selected from the group consisting of:
- (a) adding at least one more Web page, (b) deleting at least one Web page, (c) varying the intensity of the visual representation of said Web pages, (d) varying the color of the visual representation of said Web pages, (e) changing the position within the display space of the visual representation of at least one Web page, and (f) presenting additional information associated with at least one Web page, (g) grouping together at least two Web pages.
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11. A method for generating a visual representation of a plurality of information units representing a subset of information units from a universe of information units, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) conducting a search of said universe of information units to determine said plurality of information units, (b) analyzing said plurality of information units to determine a relevancy rating of each of said information units, and (c) generating a visual representation of said information units within a predetermined display space wherein said visual representation is organized at least in part in accordance with the relevancy rating of each of said information units. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
(a) a micro view representation, and (b) a macro view representation.
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20. The method of claim 11 wherein said step of analyzing said information units is carried out using a different set of criteria for determining a relevancy rating for each of said information units, and wherein a different visual representation is generating by said step of generating a visual representation using a said different set of relevancy ratings for each of said information units.
Specification