Query rewriting with entity detection

• US 8,452,799 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2012
• Issued: 05/28/2013
• 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:
  US13/367,114
• Publication Number:
  US 20120136885A1
• Time in Patent Office: 477 Days
• Field of Search: 707/768, 707/765, 707/752, 707/737
• 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 method comprising:

receiving, by one or more devices, a first search query that includes a particular search query term;

determining, by the one or more devices, that the particular search query term does not correspond to one of a plurality of words or phrases stored in a data structure;

based on determining that the particular search query term does not correspond to one of the plurality of words or phrases, modifying, by the one or more devices, the first search query to obtain a second search query,

the second search query being different than the first search query, and

the second search query including information that restricts a search, performed based on the second search query, to a particular domain; and

causing, by the one or more devices, a search to be performed based on the second search query.

2. The method of claim 1, where the first search query is received from another device that is different than the one or more devices,

the method further comprising:

providing one or more search results, responsive to the second search query, to the other device.

3. The method of claim 1, where the particular domain is associated with the particular search query term.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a third search query that includes another search query term;

determining that the other search query term corresponds to one of the plurality of words or phrases;

based on determining that the other search query term corresponds to one of the plurality of words or phrases;

generating a link to a fourth search query that is different than the third search query,

the fourth search query including information that restricts a search, performed based on the fourth search query, to a domain associated with the other search term; and

providing the link for display.

5. The method of claim 1, where the particular search query term is associated with one of a news source, a store, a product, a brand, a manufacturer, or a place, and

where the particular domain is associated with the one of the news source, the store, the product, the brand, the manufacturer, or the place.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

comparing the particular search query term to information that includes a plurality of search terms and identifies a plurality of domains, each of the plurality of domains being associated with one or more of the plurality of search terms;

determining that the particular search query term is included in the plurality of search terms based on comparing the particular search term to the information,

a domain, of the plurality of domains, corresponding to the particular domain, the domain being associated with the particular search query term; and

determining that the particular search query term does not correspond to one of the plurality of words or phrases after determining that the particular search query term is included in the plurality of search terms.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a link to the first search query; and

providing the link for display.

8. A system, comprising:

one or more computers to;

receive a first search query;

determine that a particular search query term, included in the first search query, does not correspond to one of a plurality of words or phrases stored in a data structure;

based on determining that the particular search query term does not correspond to one of the plurality of words or phrases, modify the first search query to obtain a second search query,

the second search query being different than the first search query, and

the second search query including information that restricts a search, performed based on the second search query, to a particular corpus of documents; and

cause a search to be performed based on the second search query.

9. The system of claim 8, where the particular corpus of documents is associated with the particular search query term.

10. The system of claim 8, where the first search query is received from another device that is different than the one or more computers, and

where the one or more computers are further to:

provide one or more search results, responsive to the second search query, to the other device for display.

11. The system of claim 8, where the particular search query term is associated with one of a news source, a store, a product, a brand, a manufacturer, or a place, and

where the particular corpus of documents is associated with the one of the news source, the store, the product, the brand, the manufacturer, or the place.

12. A computer-readable memory device storing instructions, the instructions comprising:

a plurality of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of one or more devices, cause the one or more processors to;

receive a first search query;

determine that a particular search query term, included in the first search query, does not correspond to one of a plurality of words or phrases;

modify the first search query to obtain a second search query based on determining that the particular search query term does not correspond to one of the plurality of words or phrases,

the second search query being different than the first search query, and

the second search query including information that restricts a search, performed based on the second search query, to a particular corpus of documents; and

cause a search to be performed based on the second search query.

13. The computer-readable memory device of claim 12, where the particular corpus of documents is associated with the particular search query term and corresponds to documents associated with a single domain.

14. The computer-readable memory device of claim 12, the instructions further comprising a plurality of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of one or more devices, cause the one or more processors to:

compare the particular search query term to information that includes a plurality of search terms and identifies a plurality of domains,

each of the plurality of domains being associated with one or more of the plurality of search terms;

determine that the particular search query term is included in the plurality of search terms based on comparing the particular search query term to the information,

the particular corpus of documents corresponding to a particular domain of the plurality of domains, the particular domain being associated with the particular search query term; and

determine that the particular search query term does not correspond to one of the plurality of words or phrases after determining that the particular search query term is included in the plurality of search terms.

15. The computer-readable memory device of claim 14, the instructions further comprising one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

obtain the information from a plurality of sources that include at least one of an online directory, a group posting, or a corpus of documents.

16. The computer-readable memory device of claim 12, where the first search query is received from another device that is different than the one or more devices, the instructions further comprising one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

provide one or more search results, responsive to the second search query, to the other device.

17. The computer-readable memory device of claim 12, the instructions further comprising a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

generate a link to the first search query;

provide the link for display;

detect selection of the link; and

cause a search to be performed based on the first search query, based on the detected selection of the link,

the search, performed based on the first search query, not being restricted to the particular corpus of documents.

18. The computer-readable memory device of claim 12, where the particular search query term is associated with one of a news source, a store, a product, a brand, a manufacturer, or a place, and

where the particular corpus of documents is associated with the one of the news source, the store, the product, the brand, the manufacture, or the place.

19. The computer-readable memory device of claim 12, the instructions further comprising a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

receive a third search query that includes another search query term;

determine that the other search query term corresponds to one of the plurality of words or phrases; and

cause a search to be performed based on the third search query based on determining that the other search query term corresponds to one of the plurality of words or phrases.

20. The computer-readable memory device of claim 19, the instructions further comprising a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors:

generate a link to a fourth search query that is different than the third search query, based on determining that the other search query term corresponds to one of the plurality of words or phrases, the fourth search query including information that restricts a search, performed based on the fourth search query, to a domain associated with the other search term; and

provide the link for display with one or more search results responsive to the third search query.