System for facilitating search over a network

• US 8,073,868 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2006
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SortFix Ltd.
• Original Assignee: SortFix Ltd.
• Inventors: Lavi, Amir
• Primary Examiner(s): PANNALA, SATHYANARAYA R
• Application Number:
  US11/611,550
• Publication Number:
  US 20070266019A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,817 Days
• Field of Search: 707/5, 707/779, 707/999.003, 707/999.005, 707/999.101
• US Class Current: 707/779
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9532 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation

Abstract

This invention provides the data network user with an interactive search engine environment that helps him focus on the object of his search. Through a powerful graphical user interface (GUI), the user is provided with terms closely related to what he is looking for, even when he has no prior knowledge of the subject or its terminology. The user is also provided with suggested terms that should be excluded from the search because of the high probability of interfering with the search. The contribution of each term to the search progress is explained to the user. The invention then enables the user to build complex queries combining the related terms in a visual and simple way that facilitates the search process and saves time. This invention allows the user to create a detailed, precise, and longer search query then is customarily executed today.

Claims

1. A system for generating search queries using visual manipulation of search terms to facilitate a search process over a data network, comprising:

a computer connected to said data network;

a related terms generator scans over said data network from said computer to obtain at least a list of terms related to an initial search query, wherein the related terms generator further obtains relationships involving said related terms and data entities at different locations in said data network, and organizes said related terms, said relationships, and said data entities in at least one data structure that represents said relationships in said data network, wherein the data structure is organized, based on at least one of data network analysis and expert knowledge, wherein the data entities in said data network are analyzed in accordance with statistical correlations of word frequencies, location, and dates within the data network;

a graphical user interface (GUI) at said computer for receiving the initial search query, providing a user with said related terms, wherein said related terms being provided as graphical icons, wherein said GUI further allows visual manipulating of said initial search query by visually placing graphical icons respective of one or more of said related terms to be included in a new refined search query in a plurality of graphical operators controlled by said GUI, each of said plurality of graphical operators applies a different operation on related terms placed therein, wherein said visual manipulation of said initial search query results in a new visual representation of said graphical icons respective of said one or more related terms and interrelationships of said graphical icons with said plurality of graphical operators; and

a query generator for generating said new refined search query by applying said plurality of graphical operators on said one or more of related terms, thereby modifying said initial search query according to said visual manipulation.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of graphical operators include any type of Boolean operators, proximity operators, and statistic operators.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the related terms generator provides the user with suggestions for at least one of:

additional related terms, removal of unrelated terms, and applying any of the graphical operators on the related terms.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said GUI includes the capabilities of at least one of visual confining, drag-and-drop, visual positioning, and graphics marking for enabling the visual placing of said graphical icons in said plurality of graphical operators.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said capabilities further enable visually placing of said plurality of graphical operators over said graphical icons associated with search terms to be included in said new refined search query.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the relationships between data entities in said data network are analyzed in accordance with statistical correlations of word frequencies from prior searches history.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein said related terms may include one of the following:

synonyms, context, statistics.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the GUI further enables the user to request and receive collected information on at least one of related terms and search terms included in the initial search query within the data network.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the GUI further enables the visual manipulation of said initial search query by visually placing search terms included in said initial search query in said plurality of graphical operators.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the related terms generator is further configured for scanning a database for terms and relationships involving said terms and data entities in said data network, thereby providing additional related terms.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the query generator is configured to carry out a search based on said new refined search query.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of graphical operators include at least a graphical operator to add at least one search term to said new refined search query and a graphical operator to exclude at least one search term from a refined search performed using said new refined search query.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein said plurality of graphical operators further include a graphical operator to create phrases from at least two search terms to be included in said new refined search query.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of graphical operators is graphically displayed as a separate frame.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the GUI to combine, in serial and in parallel, several graphical operators, thus creating a composite operator, wherein the combining includes visually placing a frame of one graphical operator within a frame of another operator.

8. A computer implemented method for generating search queries using visual manipulation of search terms to facilitate a search process over a data network, comprising:

receiving an initial search query as a visual representation, said visual representation includes at least one search term as an initial graphical icon;

scanning over said network and, based on said scan, providing at least a list of related terms associated with said initial search query, wherein said related terms are being provided as additional graphical icons, wherein the scanning includes obtaining relationships involving said related terms and data entities at different locations in said data network, and organizing said related terms, said relationships, and said data entities in at least one data structure that represents said relationships in said data network, wherein the data structure is organized, based on at least one of data network analysis and expert knowledge, wherein the data entities in said data network are analyzed in accordance with statistical correlations of word frequencies, location, and dates within the data network;

enabling a user to visually manipulate said initial search query by visually placing one or more of said initial graphical icon and said additional graphical icons respective of one or more related terms to be included in a new refined search query in a plurality of graphical operators, each of said plurality of graphical operators applies a different operation on related terms placed therein, wherein said visual manipulation results in a new visual representation of graphical icons respective of said one or more related terms and interrelationships of said graphical icons with said plurality of graphical operators; and

generating said new refined search query by applying said plurality of graphical operators on said one or more of related terms, thereby modifying said initial search query according to said visual manipulation.

17. The system of claim 8, wherein the data structure further includes a term ranking method that represents the importance of each search term.

18. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

scanning said data network using said new refined search query.

19. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

providing the user with suggestions for at least one of;

additional related terms removing unrelated terms, and excluding related terms based on scanned results.

20. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

obtaining relationships involving said related terms and data entities at different locations in said data network, and organizing said related terms, said relationships, and said data entities in at least one data structure that represents said relationships in said data network, wherein the data structure is organized based on at least one of data network analysis and expert knowledge.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the relationships between data entities in said data network are analyzed in accordance with statistical correlations of word frequencies, locations, and dates within the data network.

22. The method of claim 8, wherein the graphical operators include any type of Boolean operators, proximity operators, and statistic operators.

23. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

providing the user with collected information including one of the following;

synonyms, context, statistics.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the collected information includes term ranking values that represent the importance of each search term.

25. The method of claim 8, wherein said plurality of graphical operators include at least a graphical operator to add at least one search term to said new refined search query and a graphical operator to exclude at least one search term from a refined search performed by said new refined search query.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein said plurality of graphical operators further include a graphical operator to create phrases from at least two search terms to be included in said new refined search query.

27. The method of claim 8, wherein each of said plurality of graphical operators is graphically displayed as a separate frame.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

enabling the user to combine, in serial and in parallel, several graphical operators, thus creating a composite operator, wherein the combining includes visually placing a frame of one graphical operator within a frame of another operator.

29. The method of claim 8, wherein said visual placing of said graphical icons in said plurality of graphical operators includes at least one of:

visual confining, dragging-and-dropping, visual positioning, and graphics marking of said graphical icons.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

visually placing said plurality of graphical operators over said graphical icons associated with search terms to be included in said new refined search query.