Interactive intelligent searching with executable suggestions

• US 7,069,254 B2
• Filed: 06/09/2003
• Issued: 06/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Byteweavr, LLC (Ascend Innovation Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Icplanet Corporation
• Inventors: Foulger, Michael G., Gaul, Matthew J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hirl, Joseph P.
• Application Number:
  US10/456,955
• Publication Number:
  US 20040010484A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,114 Days
• Field of Search: 706/14, 706/12, 706/50, 707/3
• US Class Current: 706/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3322 using system suggestions G06F16/3325 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• 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: Y10S 706/934 Information retrieval or Information management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A method, system, and computer program product for interactive searching with executable suggestions are provided. The present invention provides a search engine and data management technology that can understand what users are looking for, understand the data in a database, and present immediately useful suggestions for finding the right information. Executable suggestions are presented that enable a user to further narrow or broaden a search intelligently and adaptively in real-time. Each executable suggestion describes a search and corresponding search criteria and provides information on the actual search results a user will obtain according to this search criteria. In one embodiment of the present invention, a system has a suggestion engine and one or more suggestion spaces.

Claims

1. A smart data system for interacting with a knowledge base, comprising:

a smart domain module for receiving a search value and a scope change criteria drawn from a search query, said smart domain module including

a suggestion space having a search dimension, and

an agent for traversing said suggestion space,

wherein said smart domain module suggests changes to the search query based on said search value and said scope change criteria and outputs actual search result information corresponding to the suggested changes to the search query; and

a tip formatter that generates executable suggestions that describe the suggested changes to the search query and the corresponding actual search result information.

2. The system of claim 1, further including:

a suggestion engine;

a plurality of said smart domain modules; and

an interface for communication between said smart domain modules and the suggestion engine.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said suggestion engine includes a smart domain register for directing said search query to at least one of said plurality of smart domain modules.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said interface defines a set of methods implemented by each of said smart domain modules, thereby allowing dynamic addition of further smart domains to said smart domain register.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said suggestion space has a plurality of dimensions.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said changes to said search query include widening a scope of said search query, narrowing a scope of said search query, or suggesting an alternate dimension for said search query.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said executable suggestions further comprise hyperlinks that can be selected by a user of a browser to launch searches according to the suggested changes to the search query.

8. A method for interactive searching using a smart domain module, comprising the steps of:

receiving a search value and a scope change criteria from a suggestion engine via a interface;

locating a suggestion space within the smart domain module, said suggestion space having at least one search dimension;

traversing said suggestion space for related values in a manner depending on said scope change criteria;

determining which of said related values provides an appropriate change in search results based on said scope change criteria;

determining actual search result information corresponding to searches at said appropriate related values; and

returning said appropriate related values and said actual search result information to said suggestion engine.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said scope change criteria indicates whether a broader or narrower search is to be generated.

10. An apparatus for interactive, intelligent searching of data elements in a knowledge base, the knowledge base including data elements in multiple search dimensions, comprising:

means for receiving a search query;

means for identifying at least one parameter in the search query that corresponds to a dimension in a suggestion space;

means for interrogating the suggestion space to determine scope change search results, said scope change search results including a suggested change to the received search query and corresponding actual search result information for the suggested change; and

means for creating a smart tip that represents the scope change search results.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the scope change search results can be broader or narrower than a set of results corresponding to the received search query.