Apparatus and method for organizing and/or presenting data

• US 6,961,731 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2001
• Issued: 11/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Callahan Cellular LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Kooltorch LLC
• Inventors: Holbrook, David M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ali, Mohammad
• Application Number:
  US10/002,793
• Publication Number:
  US 20020152222A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,447 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1- 10, 707100-1041, 707200-205, 715700-713, 345/853, 345/849, 345/810
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9038 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/904 Browsing; Visualisation therefor for navigating the web G06F16/954; browsing optimisation for the web G06F16/957
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99937 Sorting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for organizing and/or presenting data includes displaying a graphical representation of categories for data elements, wherein the data elements appear within their respective categories. In some embodiments, search results from a search conducted in a hierarchical data set are graphically presented in the context of at least two categories included in their respective category paths.

Claims

1. A method, for use in a user computer system including a pointing device and a visual display unit, for providing a graphical user interface to a computer program for displaying search results from a search conducted in a hierarchical data set, the method comprising:

receiving search results from a search query of a hierarchical data set;

displaying on a user screen, a graphical representation of search results and parent categories for such search results, wherein individually graphically displayed search results appear in distinct groups within their respective individually graphically displayed parent categories; and

from the user screen, selecting a distinct group of displayed search results and

displaying on the user screen the search results displayed in the selected group in the context of such search results'"'"' respective first uncommon level of subcategories, each such subcategory being individually graphically represented, wherein such search results are individually graphically displayed within their respective individually graphically displayed first uncommon level of subcategories.

2. A computer-implemented method of presenting search results, the method comprising:

receiving search results from a database;

organizing at least fifty of the received search results by category; and

graphically displaying such search results within at least one category icon, each at least one category icon representing a category to which search results belong;

representing the search results displayed within the least one category icon as category member icons;

distinguishing between categories to which the displayed category member icons belong by at least one of shape, color and sound;

selecting a category member icon, and upon selecting the category member icon, generating a perceptible excerpt relating to the search result represented by the selected category member icon, the perceptible excerpt including at least one of textual, aural, imagery or video data; and

drilling out from a selected category member icon to directly access the search result represented by the selected category member icon.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

representing the search results as a number appearing within the at least one category icon, the number representing the quantity of data elements from the search results that fall within the category represented by the category icon.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the search results includes a plurality of data elements, the method further comprising:

representing on the user screen, all data elements included within the search results.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the search results includes a plurality of data elements, further comprising:

providing a simple API comprising a category path and a URL for each data element.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein the search results includes a plurality of data elements, further comprising:

displaying explicit hierarchical downward path information of a selected data element.

7. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

changing the appearance of a category member icon after the at least one data element represented by the category member icon has beers accessed.

8. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

drilling down from a selected category icon to display at least two category icons for subcategories of the search results displayed within the selected category icon, and displaying such search results within the category icons of the subcategories.

9. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

zooming in to the displayed category member icons;

enlarging the display space larger than the user display; and

scanning category member icons across the user screen.

10. The method of claim 4, wherein the size of the at least one category icon is proportional to the number of search results within the category represented by the at least one category icon.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

accessing a category icon;

changing the appearance of the accessed category icon to indicate the accessed category icon has been accessed.

12. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

deriving the numerical relevance rank for a search result from the search result'"'"'s position within a search results list; and

displaying the search result'"'"'s numerical relevance rank within the category member icon representing the search result.

13. A computer-implemented method of presenting search results, comprising:

receiving search results from a database, each search result having a category path, the category path of each search result including a parent category and at least one lower level category;

organizing the search results by category;

graphically displaying the search results within at least one parent category icon, the at least one parent category icon representing the parent category of search results having such parent category in their respective category paths;

representing each search result displayed within the at least one parent category icon as a category member icon;

distinguishing between categories to which the displayed category member icons belong by at least one of shape, color and sound;

from a parent category icon, providing access to at least two lower level category icons, wherein each category member icon displayed within the parent category icon is graphically displayed within a lower level category icon; and

from a lower level category icon, providing access to at least two further lower level category icons, wherein each category member icon displayed within the lower level category icon is graphically displayed within a further lower level category icon.

14. A computer-implemented method of presenting search results, comprising:

receiving search results from a database;

organizing the search results by category;

graphically displaying the search results within at least one category icon, the category icon representing a category to which search results belong;

representing the search results displayed within the category icon as individual category member icons;

distinguishing between categories which displayed category member icons belong by at least one of shape, color and sound.

upon pointing to a category icon, providing information about the search results that are members of the category represented by the category icon;

upon pointing to an individual category member icon, providing information about the search result represented thereby; and

drilling out from a selected individual category member icon to directly access the search result represented by the selected individual category member icon.

15. A computer-implemented method of requesting the display of search results based on the category paths of the search results, the method comprising:

under control of a client system, displaying a search request window, and in response to the entry and selection of a search request, sending the search request to a server system;

under control of the server system, receiving the search request,

having a search conducted by a search engine,

writing GUI script software capable of generating every potential arrangement of matching web sites in the context of their respective parent category and subcategories, and

downloading the GUI script software to browser software on the client system; and

under control of the client system, independently graphically displaying matching search results in the context of their respective parent categories, each such parent category being independently graphically displayed, and upon the user selecting, with a selection device, the graphical representation of a parent category, displaying the matching search results of the selected parent category in the context of their respective first uncommon level of subcategories, each such first uncommon level of subcategory being independently graphically displayed, and upon the user selecting, with a selection device, the graphical representation of a first uncommon level of subcategory, displaying the matching search results of the selected subcategory in the context of their respective next uncommon level of subcategories, each such next uncommon level of subcategory being independently graphically displayed.