Query rewriting with entity detection

• US 8,112,432 B2
• Filed: 04/08/2009
• Issued: 02/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Zhou, Hong, Bharat, Krishna, Schmitt, Michael, Curtiss, Michael, Mayer, Marissa
• Primary Examiner(s): Corrielus, Jean M
• Application Number:
  US12/420,696
• Publication Number:
  US 20090204592A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,035 Days
• Field of Search: 707/748, 707/749, 707/759, 707/768, 707/999.004, 707/999.005, 707/999.104, 715/206
• US Class Current: 707/768
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/90335 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• 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 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A system receives a search query, determines whether the received search query includes an entity name, and determines whether the entity name is associated with a common word or phrase. When the entity name is associated with a common word or phrase, the system generates a link to a rewritten query, performs a search based on the received search query to obtain first search results, and provides the first search results and the link to the rewritten query. When the entity name is not associated with a common word or phrase, the system rewrites the received search query to include a restrict identifier associated with the entity name, generates a link to the received search query, performs a search based on the rewritten search query to obtain second search results, and provides the second search results and the link to the received search query.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

one or more devices configured to;

receive a first search query;

determine that the first search query includes a first entity name and that the first entity name does not correspond to one of a plurality of common words or phrases;

rewrite the first search query to include a first restrict identifier that restricts a search, based on the rewritten first search query, to a first domain associated with the first entity name, in response to determining that the first search query includes a first entity name and that the first entity name does not correspond to one of the plurality of common words or phrases;

perform a search, based on the rewritten first search query, to obtain first search results; and

present the first search results.

2. The system of claim 1, where, when determining that the first search query includes a first entity name, at least one of the one or more devices is to:

determine, based on entity names, that the first search query includes a first entity name of the entity names, where each entity name, of the entity names, is a name associated with a source of documents.

3. The system of claim 1, where, when determining that the first search query includes a first entity name, at least one of the one or more devices is to:

determine, based on variations of a plurality of entity names, that the first search query includes a first entity name of the variations of the plurality of entity names, where each entity name, of the variations of the plurality of entity names, is a name associated with a news source, and

where the first domain corresponds to a domain associated with the news source.

4. The system of claim 1, where, when determining that the first search query includes a first entity name, at least one of the one or more devices is to:

determine, based on variations of one or more entity names, that the first search query includes a first entity name, of the variations of the entity names, where each entity name, of the variations of the names, is a name associated with a store.

5. The system of claim 1, where, when determining that the first search query includes a first entity name, at least one of the one or more devices is to:

match one or more terms of the first search query to data identifying entity names.

6. The system of claim 5, where the data identifying entity names associates each entity name, in the data, with a respective domain, and

where the data associates the first entity name with the first domain in the data.

7. The system of claim 5, where, when matching one or more terms of the first search query, at least one of the one or more devices is to:

compare at least one of a term at a left-most position of the first search query or a term at a right-most position of the first search query to the data identifying entity names.

8. The system of claim 1, where at least one of the one or more devices is further to:

obtain entity names from one or more of an online directory, a group posting, or a corpus of documents, and

where, when determining that the first search query includes a first entity name, at least one of the one or more devices is to;

determine that the first search query includes a first entity name based on the obtained entity names.

9. The system of claim 1, where at least one of the one or more devices is further to:

determine that a word, adjacent to the first entity name in the first search query, forms a common phrase with the first entity name.

10. The system of claim 1, where the rewritten search query restricts the search to search results associated with a single source.

11. The system of claim 1, where at least one of the one or more devices is further to:

receive a second search query;

determine that the second search query includes a second entity name and that the second entity name corresponds to one of a second plurality of common words or phrases;

perform, in response to determining that the second search query includes the second entity name and that the second entity name corresponds to one of the second plurality of common words or phrases, a search, based on the second search query, to obtain second search results; and

present the second search results.

12. The system of claim 11, where at least one of the one or more devices is further to:

rewrite the second search query to include a second restrict identifier that restricts a search, based on the rewritten second search query, to a second domain associated with the second entity name;

provide a link to the rewritten second search query;

receive a selection of the link to the rewritten second search query; and

perform a search based on the rewritten second search query in response to the selection of the link.

13. A method comprising:

receiving, by a device, a search query;

determining, by the device, that the search query includes an entity name and whether the entity name corresponds to one of a plurality of common words or phrases;

rewriting, by the device and based on determining that the search query includes an entity name and that the entity name does not correspond to one of a plurality of common words or phrases, the search query to include a restrict identifier that restricts a search, based on the rewritten search query, to a domain associated with the entity name;

performing, by the device, a search, based on the rewritten search query, to obtain search results; and

providing, by the device, the obtained search results.

14. The method of claim 13, where determining that the search query includes an entity name comprises:

identifying a plurality of entity names, where each entity name, of the plurality of entity names, corresponds to a name associated with a source of documents; and

determining that the search query includes one of the plurality of entity names,

where the restrict identifier restricts the search to the source of documents.

15. The method of claim 13, where the entity name is a name associated with one of a news source or a store, and

where the restrict identifier restricts the search, based on the rewritten search query, to a domain associated with the one of the news source or the store.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving a second search query;

determining that the second search query includes a second entity name and whether the second entity name corresponds to one of a second plurality of common words or phrases;

in response to determining that the second search query includes the second entity name and that the second entity name corresponds to the one of the second plurality of common words or phrases, performing a search, based on the second query, to obtain second search results; and

presenting the obtained second search results.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

rewriting the second search query to include a second restrict identifier that restricts a search, based on the rewritten second search query, to a second domain associated with the second entity name;

providing a link to the rewritten second search query;

receiving selection of the link to the rewritten second search query;

performing, in response to the selection of the link, a search based on the rewritten second search query to obtain third search results; and

providing the obtained third search results.

18. A device, comprising:

a memory to store instructions; and

a processor to execute the instructions in the memory to;

receive a search query,

determine that the search query includes an entity name and whether the entity name corresponds to one of a plurality of common words or phrases,

rewrite the received search query to include a restrict identifier that restricts a search, based on the rewritten search query, to a domain associated with the entity name,

perform a search, based on the rewritten search query, to obtain a search result when the entity name does not correspond to one of the plurality of common words or phrases, and

provide the obtained search result.

19. The device of claim 18, where, when the entity name corresponds to one of the plurality of common words or phrases, the processor is further to:

perform a search, based on the received search query, to obtain a second search result,

provide the obtained second search result, and

provide a link to the rewritten search query.

20. The device of claim 18, where the processor is further to:

obtain information identifying entity names from one or more of an online directory, a group posting, or a corpus of documents, and

where, when determining that the search query includes an entity name, the processor is further to;

compare at least one of a term at a left-most position of the received search query or a term at a right-most position of the received search query to the information identifying the entity names.