System and method for providing service for searching web site addresses

• US 7,383,299 B1
• Filed: 05/05/2000
• Issued: 06/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Yu, Philip S., Hailpern, Brent
• Primary Examiner(s): Duong; Oanh
• Application Number:
  US09/565,395
• Time in Patent Office: 2,951 Days
• Field of Search: 709/229, 709/203, 709/206, 709/227, 709/238, 709/217, 709/219, 709223-224, 709/226, 709/245, 707/1, 707 3- 7, 707/10, 707/503, 707/533, 707/501.1, 711/1
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/301 Name conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99937 Sorting

Abstract

A method for searching for a partially specified Uniform Resource Locator (URL) addresses includes receiving a user request, from a user, including a partially specified URL address. A URL search request handler is invoked to search for the partially specified URL address within an inverted index of web site URLs. A web search request handler is invoked to rank the search results of the search for the partially specified URL address based on one or more keywords specified in the user request, a list of recently accessed URLs, and a user profile. Search results are returned to the user comprising a list of URL addresses based on the search for the partially specified URL and ranked based on the user search data.

Claims

1. A method for searching for a partially specified Uniform Resource Locator (URL) address, comprising:

receiving a user request, from a user, comprising the partially specified URL address;

invoking a URL search request handler to search for the partially specified URL address within an inverted index of web site URLs;

invoking a web search request handler to rank search results of the search for the partially specified URL address based on one or more keywords specified in the user request, a list of recently accessed URLs, and a user profile; and

returning the search results to the user comprising a list of URL addresses based on the search for the partially specified URL and ranked based on the one or more keywords specified in the user request, the list of recently accessed URLs, and the user profile.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the inverted index of web site URLs is indexed from a database of web site URLs.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the inverted index of web site URLs comprises a list of partially specified URL address and an associated list of web site URLs that is represented by the partially specified URL address.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the partially specified URL address is an incomplete URL address including a wildcard.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein ranking the search results comprises filtering the search results.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the partially specified URL address is a misspelled URL address.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the inverted index of web site URLs indexes URL addresses against single characters and strings of characters that appear in the text of the URL address.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving a user request further comprises receiving one or more search terms from the user, wherein the search terms are used by the web search request handler as user search data.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of invoking a web search request handler further comprises comparing the search terms against meta information of web sites.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising, retrieving the user search data from a user profile database of demographic information relating to the user that the user has previously provided during a registration process, prior to invoking the web search request handler.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the user search data is clustered within the user profile database according to one or more user peer group where information learned from one user in the user peer group is applied to each of the other users in the peer group.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the user search data comprises data collected by a proxy server that the user has recently used to access web sites.

13. A system for searching for a partially specified Uniform Resource Locator (URL) address, comprising:

a server node to receive a user request, from a user, comprising the partially specified URL address;

a URL search request handler to search for the partially specified URL address within an inverted index of web site URLs;

a web search request handler to rank search results of the search for the partially specified URL address based on one or more keywords specified in the user request, a list of recently accessed URLs, and a user profile; and

a client station to display the search results to the user, the search results comprising a list of URL addresses based on the search for the partially specified URL and ranked based on the one or more keywords specified in the user request, the list of recently accessed URLs, and the user profile.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the inverted index of web site URLs is indexed from a database of web site URLs.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the inverted index of web site URLs comprises a list of partially specified URL address and an associated list of web site URLs that may be represented by the partially specified URL address.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the partially specified URL address is an incomplete URL address including a wildcard.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the ranked search results are filtered search results.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the partially specified URL address is a misspelled URL address.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein the inverted index of web site URLs indexes URL addresses against single characters and strings of characters that appear in the text of the URL address.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein the user request additionally comprises one or more search terms and the search terms are used by the web search request handler as user search data.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the search terms are used by the web search request handler are compared against meta information of web sites.

22. The system of claim 13, wherein the user search data is retrieved from a user profile database of demographic information relating to the user that the user has previously provided during a registration process.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the user search data is clustered or partitioned within the user profile database according to one or more user peer group where information learned from one user in the user peer group is applied to each of the other users in the peer group.

24. The system of claim 13, wherein the user search data comprises data collected by a proxy server that the user has recently used to access web sites.

25. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform the method steps of:

receiving a user request, from a user, comprising a partially specified Uniform Resource Locator (URL) address;

invoking a URL search request handler to search for the partially specified URL address within an inverted index of web site URLs;

invoking a web search request handler to rank search results of the search for the partially specified URL address based on one or more keywords specified in the user request, a list of recently accessed URLs, and a user profile; and

returning the search results to the user comprising a list of URL addresses based on the search for the partially specified URL and ranked based on the one or more keywords specified in the user request, the list of recently accessed URLs, and the user profile.

26. The program storage device of claim 25, wherein the inverted index of web site URLs comprises a list of partially specified URL address and an associated list of web site URLs that may be represented by the partially specified URL address.

27. The program storage device of claim 25, wherein the partially specified URL address is an incomplete URL address including a wildcard.