Interactive intelligent searching with executable suggestions

• US 8,219,516 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2011
• Issued: 07/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Byteweavr, LLC (Ascend Innovation Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Archeron Ltd LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Foulger, Michael G., Gaul, Matthew J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gaffin, Jeffrey A
• Assistant Examiner(s): BUSS, BENJAMIN J
• Application Number:
  US13/243,815
• Publication Number:
  US 20120023121A1
• Time in Patent Office: 291 Days
• Field of Search: 706/12, 706/14, 706/45, 706/46, 706/50, 706/934, 707765-768
• US Class Current: 706/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3322 using system suggestions G06F16/3325 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 706/934 Information retrieval or Information management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A method, system, and computer program product for interactive searching with executable suggestions provides a search engine and data management technology that determine what a user is looking for, analyze the data in a database, and present immediately useful suggestions for finding the right information. Executable suggestions are presented that enable a user to further narrow or broaden a search intelligently and adaptively in real-time. Each executable suggestion describes a search and corresponding search criteria and provides information on the actual search results a user will obtain according to this search criteria. In one embodiment of the present invention, a system has a suggestion engine and one or more suggestion spaces.

Claims

1. A database interface, comprising:

a user interface device including at least one processor configured to form a representation of a first query of a database in response to an input, to transmit the first query of the database, to receive a result of the first query, to receive a recommendation to change the first query, to present for display a representation of the result of the first query, to output a representation of the recommendation to change the first query, to transmit a second query of the database in response to another input, to receive a result of the second query, and to output a representation of the result of the second query;

wherein the first query has a parameter that corresponds to an object in a set, wherein the object relates to a location, and wherein the recommendation to change the first query includes at least one child of the object and at least one parent of the object, and the second query corresponds to a child of the object or parent of the object selected from the recommendation to change the first query.

2. The database interface of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor further is configured to transmit data configured to display the representation of the recommendation to change the first query in at least one of a written form and a graphic form and to transmit the second query to the database in response to an input that interacts with the at least one of the written form and the graphic form of the recommendation to change the first query.

3. The database interface of claim 2, wherein the representation of the recommendation to change the first query comprises at least one of a written hyperlink and a graphic hyperlink.

4. The database interface of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to convert the first query into a form that differentiates a first parameter from a second parameter.

5. The database interface of claim 1, wherein the database is a contract resources database including travel related contract resources.

6. A computer-readable storage device having stored thereon computer executable instructions, execution of which by a computing device causes the computing device to perform operations for interfacing with a database, the operations comprising:

forming a representation of a first query of the database at a database interface processing device in response to an input, wherein the first query includes a parameter that corresponds to an object in a set, wherein the object corresponds to a location;

transmitting the first query to the database;

receiving at the database interface processing device a result of the first query and a recommendation to change the first query, wherein the recommendation to change the first query includes at least one child of the object and at least one parent of the object;

displaying, at the database interface processing device, a representation of the result of the first query and a representation of the recommendation to change the first query;

transmitting from the database interface processing device a second query of the database, wherein the second query corresponds to a child of the object or a parent of the object selected from the recommendation to change the first query;

receiving at the database interface processing device a result of the second query; and

outputting, from the database interface processing device, a representation of the result of the second query.

7. The computer-readable storage device of claim 6, wherein the operation of outputting the representation of the recommendation to change the first query comprises transmitting data configured to display the representation of the recommendation in at least one of a written form and a graphic form, and wherein the operation of transmitting the second query comprises receiving an input at the database interface processing device that interacts with the at least one of the written form and the graphic form.

8. The computer-readable storage device of claim 7, wherein the representation of the recommendation to change the first query comprises at least one of a written hyperlink and a graphic hyperlink.

9. The computer-readable storage device of claim 6, wherein the operations further comprise converting the first query into a form that differentiates a first parameter from a second parameter.

10. A computer-readable storage device having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, execution of which by a computing device causes the computing device to perform operations for analyzing a database, the operations comprising:

receiving from an interface device a first query of the database, wherein the first query has a parameter that corresponds to an object in a set, wherein the object relates to a location;

searching the database for the object;

analyzing a number of search result elements in the object, for each candidate value of the parameter, to determine a value corresponding to the result of the first query, wherein the value of the parameter corresponding to the result of the first query has a baseline number of search result elements;

constructing a recommendation to change the first query, wherein the recommendation to change the first query includes at least one parent of the object, wherein the number of search result elements of the object for the candidate value of the parameter is more than the baseline number of search result elements, and at least one child of the object, wherein the number of search result elements of the object for the candidate value of the parameter is less than the baseline number of search result elements;

transmitting a result of the first query to the interface device;

transmitting to the interface device the recommendation to change the first query;

receiving from the interface device a second query of the database, wherein the second query corresponds to a child of the object or a parent of the object selected from the recommendation to change the first query transmitted to the interface device; and

transmitting to the interface device a result of the second query.

11. A database interfacing system, comprising:

means for forming a representation of a first query of a database, wherein the first query has a parameter that corresponds to an object in a set, wherein the object relates to a location;

means for transmitting the first query to the database;

means for receiving a result of the first query and a recommendation to change the first query, wherein the recommendation to change the first query includes at least one child of the object and at least one parent of the object;

means for transmitting data configured to display a representation of the result of the first query and a display representation of the recommendation to change the first query;

means for transmitting a second query of the database, wherein the second query corresponds to a child of the object or a parent of the object selected from the recommendation to change the first query;

means for receiving a result of the second query; and

means for transmitting data configured to display a representation of the result of the second query.

12. A method for interfacing with a database, comprising:

forming a representation of a first query of the database at a database interface processing device, including at least one processor, in response to an input, wherein the first query includes a parameter that corresponds to an object in a set, wherein the object corresponds to a location;

transmitting the first query to the database;

receiving at the database interface processing device a result of the first query and a recommendation to change the first query, wherein the recommendation to change the first query includes at least one child of the object and at least one parent of the object;

displaying, at the database interface processing device, a representation of the result of the first query and a representation of the recommendation to change the first query;

transmitting from the database interface processing device a second query of the database, wherein the second query corresponds to a child of the object or a parent of the object selected from the recommendation to change the first query;

receiving at the database interface processing device a result of the second query; and

outputting, from the database interface processing device, a representation of the result of the second query.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the outputting the representation of the recommendation to change the first query comprises transmitting data configured to display the representation of the recommendation in at least one of a written form and a graphic form, and wherein the transmitting the second query comprises receiving an input at the database interface processing device that interacts with the at least one of the written form and the graphic form.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the representation of the recommendation to change the first query comprises at least one of a written hyperlink and a graphic hyperlink.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising converting the first query into a form that differentiates a first parameter from a second parameter.

16. A method for analyzing a database, comprising:

receiving from an interface device, including at least one processor, a first query of the database, wherein the first query has a parameter that corresponds to an object in a set, wherein the object relates to a location;

searching the database for the object;

analyzing a number of search result elements in the object, for each candidate value of the parameter, to determine a value corresponding to the result of the first query, wherein the value of the parameter corresponding to the result of the first query has a baseline number of search result elements;

constructing a recommendation to change the first query, wherein the recommendation to change the first query includes at least one parent of the object, wherein the number of search result elements of the object for the candidate value of the parameter is more than the baseline number of search result elements, and at least one child of the object, wherein the number of search result elements of the object for the candidate value of the parameter is less than the baseline number of search result elements;

transmitting a result of the first query to the interface device;

transmitting to the interface device the recommendation to change the first query;

receiving from the interface device a second query of the database, wherein the second query corresponds to a child of the object or a parent of the object selected from the recommendation to change the first query transmitted to the interface device; and

transmitting to the interface device a result of the second query.