Universal interface for retrieval of information in a computer system
DC CAFCFirst Claim
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1. A method for locating information in a computer system, comprising the steps of:
- inputting an information identifier;
providing said information identifier to a plurality of plug-in modules each using a different heuristic to locate information which matches said identifier;
providing at least one candidate item of information from said modules; and
displaying a representation of said candidate item of information.
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Abstract
The present invention provides convenient access to items of information that are related to various descriptors input by a user, by means of a unitary interface which is capable of accessing information in a variety of locations, through a number of different techniques. Using a plurality of heuristic algorithms to operate upon information descriptors input by the user, the present invention locates and displays candidate items of information for selection and/or retrieval. Thus, the advantages of a search engine can be exploited, while listing only relevant object candidate items of information.
368 Citations
49 Claims
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1. A method for locating information in a computer system, comprising the steps of:
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inputting an information identifier;
providing said information identifier to a plurality of plug-in modules each using a different heuristic to locate information which matches said identifier;
providing at least one candidate item of information from said modules; and
displaying a representation of said candidate item of information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for locating information from a plurality of locations in a computer system, comprising the steps of:
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inputting an information identifier;
providing said information identifier to a plurality of heuristics to locate information in a plurality of locations which include the Internet and local storage media;
determining at least one candidate item of information based upon the plurality of heuristics; and
displaying a representation of said candidate item of information. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A computer readable medium for locating information from a plurality of locations containing program instructions to:
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receive an information identifier;
provide said information identifier to a plurality of heuristics to locate information in the plurality of locations which include the Internet and local storage media;
determine at least one candidate item of information based upon the plurality of heuristics; and
display a representation of said candidate item of information. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. An apparatus that locates information from a plurality of locations within a computer system, comprising:
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means for inputting an information identifier;
means for providing said information identifier to a plurality of heuristics to locate information in the plurality of locations which comprise the Internet and local storage media;
means for determining at least one candidate item of information based upon the plurality of heuristics; and
means for displaying a representation of said candidate item of information. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method for displaying information in a computer system, comprising the steps of:
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inputting an information identifier;
selectively providing the information identifier to a plurality of heuristics in accordance with a global heuristic, wherein the information identifier is matched to information based upon the plurality of heuristics;
receiving at least one candidate item of information based upon the information provided to the heuristics in accordance with the global heuristic; and
displaying a representation of the candidate items of information. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37)
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38. An apparatus for displaying information in a computer system, comprising:
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means for inputting an information identifier;
means for selectively providing the information identifier to a plurality of heuristics in accordance with a global heuristic, wherein the information identifier is matched to information based upon the plurality of heuristics;
means for receiving at least one candidate item of information based upon the information provided to the heuristics in accordance with the global heuristic; and
means for displaying a representation of the candidate items of information. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41)
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42. A method for displaying information in a computer system, comprising the steps of:
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inputting an information identifier;
providing the information identifier to a plurality of plug-in modules in accordance with a global heuristic, wherein the information identifier is matched to information by the plug-in modules based upon the plurality of heuristics;
receiving at least one candidate item of information based upon the information provided to the heuristics in accordance with the global heuristic; and
displaying a representation of the candidate items of information. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45)
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46. An apparatus for displaying information in a computer system, comprising:
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means for inputting an information identifier;
means for providing the information identifier to a plurality of plug-in modules in accordance with a global heuristic, wherein the information identifier is matched to information by the plug-in modules based upon a plurality of heuristics;
means for receiving at least one candidate item of information based upon the information provided to the heuristics in accordance with the global heuristic; and
means for displaying a representation of the candidate items of information. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49)
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Specification