System and method for performing a search and a browse on a query

• US 6,978,264 B2
• Filed: 01/03/2002
• Issued: 12/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Chandrasekar, Raman, Finger, James Charles II, Salas, Sally K., Watson, Eric Benjamin
• Primary Examiner(s): Ali, Mohammad
• Assistant Examiner(s): PANNALA, SATHYANARAYA R
• Application Number:
  US10/037,993
• Publication Number:
  US 20030126235A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,447 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1- 5, 707100-1041, 709/202, 705/1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9532 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A search and a browse on a single user query is performed. A refined query is selected from the results of the first user query. Thereafter, a list of concepts from a first directory associated with the refined query is obtained. The concepts are defined in a hierarchical relationship with concepts having broader scope being higher in the hierarchy and concepts having a narrower scope being lower in the hierarchy. Additionally, a list of web sites associated with the search concept is obtained from a second directory.

Claims

1. A system for locating web sites in a network, comprising:

a server computer having a directory of nodes wherein at least one node contains a plurality of web sites related to a first concept and a category related to the first concept and wherein the nodes are arranged in a hierarchical order such that a node having a concept narrower than the first concept is lower in the hierarchy and a node having a concept broader than the first concepts is higher in the hierarchy;

and wherein at least one other node contains a plurality of web sites related to a second concept and a category related to the second concept and wherein the nodes are arranged in a hierarchical order such that a node having a concept narrower than the first concept is lower in the hierarchy and a node having a concept broader than the first concepts is higher in the hierarchy wherein the first and second concepts are related by a search term;

a client computer in communication with the server computer wherein when the client computer communicates the search term related to the at least one node and the at least one other node so that the client computer receives the plurality of web pages and the categories related to the at least one node and the at least one other node whereby the client computer displays a first group comprising a link to the corresponding at least one node and a link corresponding to the at least one other node and a second group comprising a plurality of web sites matching the search term.

2. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the network is an intranet.

3. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the network is an Internet.

4. The system as recited in claim 1 comprising a second node wherein the second node is broader in concept than the at least one node.

5. The system as recited in claim 1 comprising a second node wherein the second node is narrower in concept that the at least one node.

6. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the hierarchical order is in the form of a directed graph.