Methods and systems for Web-based incremental searches

• US 7,424,510 B2
• Filed: 09/03/2003
• Issued: 09/09/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Future Search Holdings Incorporated
• Original Assignee: X1 Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Gross, William, Colwell, Steven Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): Bates, Kevin
• Application Number:
  US10/654,596
• Publication Number:
  US 20040143564A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,833 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/218, 709/219, 707/4, 707/5, 715/781, 715/783, 715/784
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2428 Query predicate definition using graphical user interfaces, including menus and forms G06F16/2423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/332 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• 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 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

The present invention provides for quick and efficient searches over a network. In one embodiment, program and formatting code is transmitted to a client having a browser, the code generates in the browser a search mode interface including a search field, a list area for displaying a list of search result items, a view area for displaying contents of a selected search result item. The code detects changes search field changes, transmit change information to a remote search system, displays in the list area search results, including a plurality of search result items, received from the remote search system, and displays at least a portion of a first retrieved document in the view area in response to a selection of a corresponding item.

Claims

1. A server based search system, comprising:

a Web server in communication with a client browser via one or more networks;

script code, which when executed by the client browser, that is configured to;

generate in a browser display area a search mode interface including a search field, a list area for displaying a list of search result items, and a view area for displaying the contents of a selected search result item;

detect characters entered into the search field;

detect deletions of characters from the search field;

transmit information to the Web server related to entered characters and deleted characters each time a character is entered to the search field or deleted from the search field;

display search results received from the Web server;

automatically retrieve Web pages corresponding to at least a portion of the search results;

display at least a first retrieved Web page in the view area at least partly in response to a selection of an item in the search results; and

detect when a user has scrolled to a second item in the list area and to display in the view area at least a portion of a Web page corresponding to the second item, wherein the Web page corresponding to the second item was automatically retrieved by the client browser from a remote Web site prior to the user scrolling to the second item;

a search module configured to incrementally search for content based on the information transmitted by the browser and to generate search results including at least a first item; and

wherein, the Web server is configured to transmit the script code embedded in HTML code and to transmit search results to the browser.

2. The server based search system as defined in claim 1, wherein the search system further comprises the content that is incrementally searched by the search module.

3. The server based search system as defined in claim 1, wherein the script code is JavaScript code.

4. The server based search system as defined in claim 1, further comprising an index module configured to index the content.

5. The server based search system as defined in claim 1, wherein the script code uses in line frames to selectively display the content in the browser.

6. The server based search system as defined in claim 1, wherein the script code is further configured to:

detect when the user has scrolled past a search list displayed in the search area;

transmit information to the server based search system indicating that the user has scrolled past the search list;

receive and display additional search results in the list area; and

automatically retrieve Web pages corresponding to at least a portion of the additional search results.

7. The server based search system as defined in claim 1, further configured to determine how many lines of search results the browser can display at one time so that the server based system can determine how many search results are to be sent to the browser for display.

8. The server based search system as defined in claim 1, wherein the Web server generates the script code.

9. A search apparatus including program code stored on a computer readable medium, the program code intended to be embedded as part of a Web page for transmission to and execution by a browser, the program code comprising:

a first instruction configured to generate in a browser display a search mode interface including a search field, a list area for displaying a list of search result items, and a view area for displaying contents of a selected search result item;

a second instruction configured to detect changes made in the search field;

a third instruction configured to automatically transmit information to a remote search system when a character is entered into the search field and when a character is deleted from the search field, the information identifying entered characters and deleted characters;

a fourth instruction configured to cause the display in the list area of search results, including a plurality of search result items, received from the remote search system;

a fifth instruction configured to automatically retrieve documents corresponding to at least a portion of the search result items; and

a sixth instruction configured to display at least a portion of a first retrieved document in the view area in response to a selection of a corresponding item in the search results;

a seventh instruction configured to detect when a user has scrolled to a second search result item in the list area and to display in the view area at least a portion of a document previously retrieved from a remote networked site and stored in local memory, the document corresponding to the second search item;

wherein at least some of the instructions are configured to be executed by a computing device.

10. The search apparatus as defined in claim 9, further comprising a seventh instruction configured to generate a plurality of attribute search fields as part of the search mode interface.

11. The search apparatus as defined in claim 9, further comprising a server that hosts the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth instructions.

12. The search apparatus as defined in claim 9, further comprising the browser.

13. The search apparatus as defined in claim 9, further comprising the browser and a computing device that hosts the browser.

14. The search apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein the search apparatus further comprises the documents corresponding to at least a portion of the search result items.

15. The search apparatus as defined in claim 9, further comprising in-line frames used to display the retrieved documents in the browser.

16. The search apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein at least a portion of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth instructions are JavaScript.

17. The search apparatus as defined in claim 9, further comprising:

a search module configured to search for content based on the information transmitted by the browser to the remote search system and to generate search results; and

a Web server configured to transmit search results and at least a portion of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth instructions embedded in HTML code to the browser.

18. A method of providing a search system interface, comprising:

transmitting program code and formatting code to a client having a browser, the program and formatting code configured to;

generate in the browser a search mode interface including a search field, a list area for displaying a list of search result items, and a view area for displaying contents of a selected search result item;

detect changes made in the search field;

transmit information to a remote search system when a character is entered into the search field and when a character is deleted from the search field, the information related to entered characters and deleted characters;

display in the list area search results, including a plurality of search result items, received from the remote search system; and

detect when a user has scrolled to a first search result item in the list area;

in response to the detecting, automatically retrieve documents corresponding to at least a second search result item so that when the user scrolls to the second search result item the document corresponding to the second search result item has already been transmitted to the client.

19. The method as defined in claim 18, wherein the program code is transmitted over a network from a server to the browser.

20. The method as defined in claim 18, wherein the program code is JavaSript.

21. The method as defined in claim 18, wherein the formatting code is HTML.

22. The method as defined in claim 18, wherein the documents include at least a Web page.

23. The method as defined in claim 18, further comprising transmitting code configured to generate a plurality of attribute search fields as part of the search mode interface.

24. The method as defined in claim 18, further comprising transmitting code configured to generate a plurality of attribute search fields as part of the search mode interface including a URL field, a title field, and a links field.

25. The method as defined in claim 18, further comprising:

searching for documents based at least in part on the information transmitted by the browser to the remote search system;

generating search results; and

transmitting search results over the network to the browser.