Temporal ranking of search results

• US 7,849,079 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2006
• Issued: 12/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Chandrasekar, Raman, Forney, Michael K., Slawson, Dean A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jalil; Neveen Abel
• Assistant Examiner(s): MINCEY, JERMAINE A
• Application Number:
  US11/461,383
• Publication Number:
  US 20080027921A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,590 Days
• Field of Search: 707/4
• US Class Current: 707/723
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries

Abstract

An information dissemination system ranks the search results based on a temporal weight assigned to each search result. The temporal weight is an indication of the importance to a user that varies with time. For each search result, the information dissemination system calculates a temporal weight that is based on the temporal proximity of the event that is related to the search result. The temporal weight may be used to re-rank the search results.

Claims

1. A method performed by a computer having a memory and a processor for calculating a temporal weight for a search result, the method comprising:

providing indications of user events, each user event having an event time period defined by an event start time, an event end time, and an event duration, each user event pertaining to an activity scheduled for the user by a calendaring application;

providing a query;

identifying web pages relating to the provided query, each web page corresponding to a search result;

determining a current time;

for each identified web page,

identifying a user event corresponding to the identified web page,

determining a start time for the identified user event,

determining an end time for the identified user event,

when the current time is before the determined start time, determining a temporal weight for the identified web page based at least in part on the difference between the current time and the determined start time,

when the current time is between the determined start time and determined end time, determining a temporal weight for the identified web page based at least in part on the average of the determined start time and the determined end time wherein the temporal weight peaks at a time half way through the duration of the identified user event, and

when the current time is after the determined end time, determining a temporal weight for the identified web page based at least in part on the difference between the current time and the determined end time; and

ranking the identified web pages based at least in part on the determined temporal weights for the identified web pages

wherein the providing, identifying, determining, and ranking are performed by the processor executing instructions stored in the memory.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the temporal weight varies with time.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the temporal weight increases as the current time approaches the event start time.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the increase is exponential.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the temporal weight is constant during the event duration.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the temporal weight during the event duration is at least the temporal weight at the event start time.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the temporal weight decreases as the current time moves away from the event end time.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the decrease is exponential.

9. A computer-readable storage medium containing instructions for controlling a computer system to rank search results, by a method comprising:

for each of a plurality of search results, wherein the search results are not a set of events,

identifying a user event associated with the search result, the user event being identified from appointments of the user maintained by a calendaring application,

determining a static weight for the search result,

determining a temporal weight for the search result based on a temporal proximity of the identified user event to a current time wherein the temporal weight peaks at a time half way through the identified user event,

determining an adaptive weight for the search result, and

determining a total weight for the search result based at least in part on the determined static weight, determined temporal weight, and determined adaptive weight; and

ranking the search results based on the determined total weights.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the temporal weight of the search result is also based on a weight factor.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the weight factor is based on duration of the user event.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the weight factor is based on importance of the user event.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the weight factor varies from prior to the user event, during the user event, and after the user event.

14. A computer system having a processor and a memory for calculating a temporal weight for a search result that is not a user event, comprising:

a component that identifies a plurality of search results that are not events;

a component that identifies for each of a plurality of search results, a user event corresponding to the search result, the user event having an event start time, an event end time, and an event duration;

a component that determines a temporal weight for each search result based on a temporal proximity of the user event identified for the search result to a current time wherein the temporal weight peaks at a time half way through the duration of the user event; and

a component that displays an indication of the search results ordered at least in part based on the temporal weights of the search results

wherein each component is invoked by executing on the processor instructions stored in the memory.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the temporal weight of the search result is also based on duration of the user event.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the temporal weight of the search result is also based on importance of the user event.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the temporal weight of the search result exponentially increases as a current time approaches a start time of the user event.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the temporal weight of the search result exponentially decreases as a current time moves away from an end time of the user event.