System and method for general search parameters having quantized relevance values that are associated with a user

• US 7,739,408 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2008
• Issued: 06/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Harrison, Bradley Chase, Fish, Edmund J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Quang N.
• Application Number:
  US12/334,401
• Publication Number:
  US 20090144275A1
• Time in Patent Office: 550 Days
• Field of Search: 715/866, 707/3, 707/5, 707/7, 707/104.1, 709/203, 709/218, 709/219, 709/224, 709/228, 709/246
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3338 Query expansion
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation

Abstract

The system and method comprises enhancement of results for a search engine, wherein the results from the search engine are refined or reorganized, based upon information from an identified secondary source. The results obtained using a conventional search are compared against the identified secondary source, e.g. a ratings service, and are filtered and/or sorted appropriately. In some embodiments, identification of the secondary source, such as a ratings service comprising information which may supplement the subject of a search query, is based upon information entered by the user. In alternate embodiments, the secondary source is associated with a user, as part of general user-specified search parameters, wherein one or more parameters are consulted automatically for searches for appropriate subject matter.

Claims

1. A method for search enhancement implemented on a network, comprising the steps of:

transmitting to a user an interface for explicitly entering at least one quantized relevance value by the user in association with at least one general search parameter in regard to at least one presented subject matter, the interface comprising at least one general parameter value entry window for entering a general search parameter, at least one presented subject matter category, and at least one entry field for entering a quantized relevance value by the user to be associated with one of the presented subject matter categories and an entered general search parameter;

receiving through the interface a general search parameter entered by the user, and a quantized relevance value entered by the user in association with one of the presented subject matter categories and the entered general search parameter;

associating the received entered quantized relevance value and the received entered general search parameter with the user;

storing the associated entered quantized relevance value and the associated entered general search parameter at a location that is accessible across the network;

receiving a search query from the user over the network;

retrieving the stored associated entered quantized relevance value and the associated entered general search parameter;

categorizing the received search query within one of the presented subject matter categories;

determining the relevance of the associated entered general search parameter within the presented subject matter category, based on the associated entered quantized relevance value;

in response to the steps of categorizing the received search query and determining the relevance, creating a set of search parameters based on the received search query, the associated entered quantized relevance value and the associated entered general search parameter; and

performing a search based on the set of created search parameters, wherein the step of performing the search based on the set of created search parameters comprises any of;

using the associated entered general search parameter in conjunction with the received search query to perform the search if the associated entered general search parameter is determined to be relevant;

performing the search with the received search query and subsequently refining search results with the associated entered general search parameter if the associated entered general search parameter is determined to be relevant; and

performing the search with the received search query and subsequently providing any of organizing and storing of the search results with the associated entered general search parameter if the associated entered general search parameter is determined to be relevant.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the associated entered quantized relevance value and the associated entered general search parameter are stored at any of a user terminal, a search application module, a service provider, and a personal web site.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the associated entered quantized relevance value and the associated entered general search parameter are stored at one or more locations throughout the network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the quantized relevance values comprise any of an applicability and a validity of at least one of the entered general search parameters in regard to at least one of the presented subject matter categories.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one entry field for entering a quantized relevance value is selectable to comprise any of yes or no, one or more divisions between 0% and 100%, a numeric value of 1 to 5, and a rating value scale.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a query initiated by the user;

accessing the associated quantized relevance value and the associated general search parameter from the storage location across the network;

determining if the associated entered general search parameter is relevant to the query initiated by the user, based on the quantized relevance value; and

integrating the accessed general search parameter with the query initiated by the user to perform a search, based on the relevance determination.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

sending the results of the refined search to the user.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

sending the results of the refined search to a recipient other than the user.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the recipient is any of selected by the user and determined based on any of the results of the refined search and information input by users.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the recipient is any of a selected peer, a friend, a family relative, a student, a neighbor, any of a person or entity within a zip code region, and a member of a network of people associated in some manner with the user.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving information from a recipient other than the user; and

selectively sending results of the refined search to the recipient based upon any of the received information from the recipient and a selection of the recipient by the user.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the received information comprises any of a characteristic of the recipient and an interest in the results of the refined search by the recipient.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the subject matter of the received search query comprises any of explicit indication by the user and inferential determination based upon user input or action.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

obtaining from the user at least one parameter after receipt of the query at the time of the search.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving at least one source selection from the user; and

modifying the search query based upon information from the selected source.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining the general search parameters from the user occurs any of before and after a particularized search.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the entered general search parameter comprises any of the user'"'"'s address and the user'"'"'s health insurance carrier.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein user inputs through the interface are any of solicited and explicitly entered.

19. A system for search enhancement implemented across a network, comprising:

an interface for explicitly entering at least one quantized relevance value by the user in association with at least one general search parameter entered by the user in regard to at least one presented subject matter, the interface comprising at least one general parameter value entry window for entering a general search parameter by the user, at least one presented subject matter category, and at least one entry field for entering a quantized relevance value by the user to be associated with one of the presented subject matter categories and an entered general search parameter;

an application module comprises;

means for receiving through the interface a general search parameter entered by the user, and a quantized relevance value entered by the user in association with one of the presented subject matter categories and the entered general search parameter;

means for associating the received entered quantized relevance value and

the received entered general search parameter with the user; and

a storage for storing the associated entered quantized relevance value and the associated entered general search parameter at a location that is accessible across the network;

the application module further comprises;

means for receiving a search query from the user over the network;

means for retrieving the stored associated entered quantized relevance value and the associated entered general search parameter;

means for categorizing the received search query within one of the presented subject matter categories;

means for determining the relevance of the associated entered general search parameter within the presented subject matter category, based on the associated entered quantized relevance value;

means for creating a set of search parameters based on the received search query, the associated entered quantized relevance value and the associated entered general search parameter in response to a categorization of the received search query and a determination of the relevance of the associated entered general search parameter within the presented subject matter category; and

means for performing a search based on the set of created search parameters, wherein the step of performing the search based on the set of created search parameters comprises any of;

means for using the associated entered general search parameter in conjunction with the received search query to perform the search if the associated entered general search parameter is determined to be relevant;

means for performing the search with the received search query and subsequently refining search results with the associated entered general search parameter if the associated entered general search parameter is determined to be relevant; and

means for performing the search with the received search query and subsequently providing any of organizing and storing of the search results with the associated entered general search parameter if the associated entered general search parameter is determined to be relevant.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the associated quantized relevance value and the associated entered general search parameter are stored at any of a user terminal, a search application module, a service provider, and a personal web site.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the associated quantized relevance value and the associated entered general search parameter are stored at one or more locations throughout the network.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the quantized relevance values comprise any of an applicability and a validity of at least one of the obtained general search parameters in regard to at least one of the presented subject matter categories.

23. The system of claim 19, wherein the at least one entry field for entering a quantized relevance value is selectable to comprise any of yes or no, one or more divisions between 0% and 100%, a numeric value of 1 to 5, and a rating value scale.

24. The system of claim 19, further comprising:

means for receiving a query initiated by the user;

means for accessing the associated quantized relevance value and the associated general search parameter from the storage location across the network;

means for determining if the associated entered general search parameter is relevant to the query initiated by the user, based on the quantized relevance value; and

means for integrating the accessed the accessed general search parameter the query initiated by the user to perform a search, based on the relevance determination.

25. The system of claim 19, further comprising:

a transmission of the results of the refined search to the user.

26. The system of claim 19, further comprising:

a transmission of the results of the refined search to a recipient other than the user.