Providing relevance-ordered categories of information

• US 7,966,309 B2
• Filed: 01/17/2007
• Issued: 06/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Rechis, Leland, Shacham, Yael, Wolosin, Gabriel, Jenson, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Robinson; Greta L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wilcox; James J
• Application Number:
  US11/624,175
• Publication Number:
  US 20080172362A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,616 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/708
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/35 Clustering; Classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques

Abstract

A computer-implemented method is disclosed. The method includes receiving from a remote device a search query, generating a plurality of different category-directed result sets for the search query, determining an order for the plurality of category-directed result sets based on the search query, and transmitting the plurality of category-directed result sets to the remote device, in a manner that the result sets are to be displayed in the remote device in the determined order.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving from a remote device a search query at a computer server system;

generating, by the computer server system for the search query, a plurality of different internal queries generating a plurality of different category-directed result sets that each include a plurality of search results that are responsive to the search query and that are each provided from a search corpus of items that corresponds to a defined category of information that is different from a category corresponding to the other category-related result sets;

determining an order in which the plurality of category-directed result sets are to be displayed to a user based on the search query, wherein determining the order comprises

calculating for each category-directed result set a likelihood value that represents a likelihood that the corresponding category-directed result set is responsive to the received search query, wherein calculating the likelihood value comprises retrieving data that is associated with other search queries received from other remote devices, the other search queries being substantially similar to the received search query, and

ordering the category-directed result sets based on the calculated likelihood values; and

transmitting, from the computer server system to the remote device, code for generating a display of the plurality of category-directed result sets in a manner so that the result sets are to be displayed on the remote device in the determined order.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising formatting the plurality of category-directed results to be displayed in a tabbed array in order of decreasing correlation between each category-directed result set and the search query.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein calculating the likelihood value comprises:

retrieving a profile that is associated with the remote device and that includes a distribution of previously determined correlations between other search queries received from the remote device and one or more different categories of information; and

factoring a portion of the distribution into the calculated likelihood.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the data that is associated with other search queries includes a distribution of previously determined correlations between the other substantially similar search queries and one or more different categories of information; and

calculating the likelihood value further comprises factoring a portion of the distribution into the calculated likelihood.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the distribution includes multiple sub-distributions, each sub-distribution being related to any one or more of a classification of device from which the query was received, a model or model group of device from which the query was received, a geographic area from which the query was received, and an approximate time of day at which the query was received.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein calculating the likelihood value comprises:

retrieving a profile that is associated with the remote device and performing a first calculation to obtain a first result based on a portion of the retrieved profile;

retrieving data that is associated with the search query and performing a second calculation to obtain a second result based on a portion of the retrieved data; and

performing a third calculation based on a weighted contribution of the first result and the second result.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining an order of display of search results in each of the category-related result sets.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the different categories include three or more categories selected from the group consisting of location-based results, web results, images, video, shopping, blogs, maps, and books.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising formatting the at least one of the plurality of category-directed result sets in a web document to be displayed with an array of selectable controls in a graphical user interface on the remote device, with each of the selectable controls corresponding to a different category of information.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 9, further comprising generating code to display a scroll arrow that, when selected, causes the array of selectable controls to scroll.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the order of the plurality of category-related result sets is determined based on a correlation between the search query and aggregated prior user activity relating to the search query or related search queries, and categories for the result sets.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein:

a first of the plurality of different internal queries corresponds to news information;

a second of the plurality of different internal queries corresponds to image information;

a first of the plurality of category-directed result sets is a set of news search results; and

a second of the plurality of category-directed result sets is a set of image search results.

12. A system for generating ordered search result sets, comprising:

a digital computer server system including;

a search query processor configured to receive and process a search request from a remote device to the digital computer server system to generate a plurality of different internal queries for the search request;

a search engine that receives the plurality of different internal queries generated by the processing of the search request and generates a plurality of category-related search result sets, wherein each of the different search result sets is generated using a different internal query; and

a results ranker that orders categories of the category-related search result sets, wherein ordering the categories includes

calculating for each category a likelihood value that represents a likelihood that the corresponding category-related search result set is responsive to the search request, wherein calculating the likelihood values comprises retrieving data that is associated with other search requests received from other remote devices, the other search requests being substantially similar to the search request received and processed by the search query processor, and

ordering the categories of the category-directed result sets based on the calculated likelihood values,

wherein each of the search result sets is generated from a search corpus that is different from a search corpus from which the search result sets of other categories is generated.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a profile database that stores profiles associated with specific remote devices for use by the results ranker in ordering the categories.

14. The system of claim 12, further comprising a relevance filter that stores the data about other search queries received from other remote devices, the data including distributions of previously determined correlations between the other search queries and one or more different categories of information.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein a displayed result set wholly obscures others of the result sets when it is visible to a user of the remote device.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the results ranker is configured to order categories based on a) a profile associated with the remote device and b) relevance data correlating the other search requests received from other remote devices and one or more different categories of information.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of category-related search result sets includes result sets in three or more categories selected from the group consisting of location-based results, web results, images, video, shopping, blogs, maps, and books.

18. The system of claim 12, further comprising a results formatter that formats at least one of the plurality of category-related search result sets in a web document to be displayed in a graphical user interface on the remote device with an array of selectable controls, each of the selectable controls corresponding to a different category of information.

27. The system of claim 12, wherein:

a first of the plurality of different internal queries corresponds to news information;

a second of the plurality of different internal queries corresponds to image information;

a first of the plurality of category-directed result sets is a set of news search results; and

a second of the plurality of category-directed result sets is a set of image search results.

19. A computer-implemented system for generating ordered search result sets, comprising:

a computer server system having one or more computers and including;

a search query processor configured to receive and process a search request from a remote device;

a search engine that receives the processed search request and generates a plurality of different internal queries for the search request, and generates, using the plurality of different internal queries, a plurality of category-related search results arranged in category-related result sets and that are directed to a style of search result, wherein each of the category-related result sets includes a plurality of search results arranged as a result set from a search corpus that is different from a search corpus from which the search result sets of other categories is generated; and

means for ordering the category-related search result sets of search results, wherein ordering the category-related search result sets includes

calculating for each category-related search result set a likelihood value that represents a likelihood that the category-related search result set is responsive to the search request, wherein calculating the likelihood values comprises retrieving data that is associated with other search requests received from other remote devices, the other search requests being substantially similar to the search request received and processed by the search query processor, and

ordering the categories of the category-directed result sets based on the calculated likelihood values.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising a relevance filter that stores relevance data, wherein the relevance data includes distributions of previously determined correlations between the other search requests received from other remote devices and one or more different categories of information.

21. The system of claim 19, further comprising a results formatter that formats at least one of the plurality of category-related search result sets in a web document to be displayed in a graphical user interface on the remote device with an array of selectable tabs, each of the selectable tabs corresponding to a different category of information.

28. The system of claim 19, wherein:

a first of the plurality of different internal queries corresponds to news information;

a second of the plurality of different internal queries corresponds to image information;

a first of the plurality of category-directed result sets is a set of news search results; and

a second of the plurality of category-directed result sets is a set of image search results.

22. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, at a computer server system, a search query from an electronic device associated with a user;

generating, using the computer server system for the search query, a first internal query corresponding to a first category of information;

generating, using the computer server system for the search query, a second internal query corresponding to a second category of information, wherein the first internal query differs from the second internal query and the first category differs from the second category;

searching, using the computer server system, one or more indices of available content using the first internal query to generate a first result set of search results, wherein the search results in the first result set belong to the first category;

searching, using the computer server system, the one or more indices of available content using the second internal query to generate a second result set of search results, wherein the search results in the second result set belong to the second category;

determining, using the computer server system, an order for the first result set and the second result set that reflects a likely relevance of the first result set and the second result set to the user;

formatting, using the computer server system, the first and second result sets for display in the order that reflects the likely relevance to the user; and

transmitting the formatted first and second result sets from the computer server system to the electronic device associated with the user.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

receiving, at the computer server system, the search query from a second electronic device associated with a second user;

generating, using the computer server system, the first internal query corresponding to the first category of information;

generating, using the computer server system, the second internal query corresponding to the second category of information;

searching, using the computer server system, the one or more indices of available content using the first internal query to generate the first result set of search results;

searching, using the computer server system, the one or more indices of available content using the second internal query to generate the second result set of search results;

determining, using the computer server system, an order for the first result set and the second result set that reflects a likely relevance of the first result set and the second result set to the second user,

wherein the order that reflects the likely relevance to the second user differs from the order that reflects the likely relevance to the user.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein:

searching using the first internal query to generate the first result set comprises searching a first index;

searching using the second internal query to generate the second result set comprises searching a second index; and

the first index differs from the second index.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein:

the first internal query corresponds to news information;

the second internal query corresponds to image information;

the first result set is a set of news search results responsive to the query received from the electronic device; and

the second result set is a set of image search results responsive to the query received from the electronic device.