System and method of grouping search results using information representations

• US 8,527,874 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2006
• Issued: 09/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Friedman, Nathaniel Dourif
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Linh K
• Application Number:
  US11/366,584
• Publication Number:
  US 20070033169A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,741 Days
• Field of Search: 715/703, 715/789, 715/811, 715/764, 715/769, 707/703, 707/765, 707/752, 707/803, 707/705, 707/769
• US Class Current: 715/703
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2477 Temporal data queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/438 Presentation of query results

Abstract

The invention is directed to a system and method of organizing search results. The invention may leverage a chronological timeline of user action information to infer relationships between objects in a search result. The search may be iterative. Search results may be graphically represented as tiles. In one embodiment, the tiles may provide a graphical representation of users associated with an object. The tiles may be updated dynamically upon user action that occurs subsequent to the search. In an alternative embodiment, search results are organized by object type and each tile represents an object within a particular object type. A default action may be associated with an object type.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of grouping search results using information representations, the method comprising:

receiving an input for selecting an object having a first object type;

displaying, by a server computer, on a graphical user interface, at least one tile that graphically represents at least one user associated with the selected object;

determining a chronological timeline that represents a plurality of actions performed by the at least one user, wherein the plurality of actions performed by at least one user have a plurality of chronological positions in the chronological timeline;

inferring one or more relationships between the selected object and one or more other objects associated with the at least one user from the plurality of actions represented in the chronological timeline, wherein inferring the one or more relationships includes;

identifying one or more of the plurality of actions that are related to the selected object from the plurality of chronological positions that the plurality of actions have in the chronological timeline, wherein the at least one user performed the identified one or more actions on the one or more other objects, and wherein the one or more other objects have a second object type different from the first object type; and

determining that the one or more other objects are related to the selected object from a strength of the one or more inferred relationships, wherein the strength of the one or more inferred relationships is derived from the chronological positions that the identified one or more actions have in the chronological timeline,

generating one or more additional tiles that graphically represent the one or more other objects related to the selected object and performed by the at least one user in response to a selection of the at least one tile that graphically represents the at least one user; and

simultaneously displaying, on the graphical user interface, the one or more additional tiles that graphically represent the one or more other objects related to the selected object and performed by the at least one user, wherein the graphical user interface further organizes the at least one tile and the one or more additional tiles based on the first object type for the selected object and the second object type for the one or more other objects.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising dynamically updating one or more of the at least one tile or the one or more additional tiles in response to the at least one user initiating one or more additional actions subsequent to the selection of the at least one tile that graphically represents the at least one user.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating an application object in response to receiving a drag and drop selection of at least one of the one or more other objects graphically represented in the one or more additional tiles displayed on the graphical user interface.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface organizes the one or more additional tiles in a predetermined arrangement providing one or more icons that illustrate the second object type for the one or more other objects, one or more titles that include descriptive content for the one or more other objects, one or more dates when the one or more other objects were created, and one or more available actions for interacting with the one or more other objects.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more available actions for interacting with the one or more other objects include one or more hyperlinks that initiate the one or more available actions for interacting with the one or more other objects.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising launching an application that runs at least one of the one or more other objects in response to receiving a selection of one of the hyperlinks associated with one of the one or more other objects.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more relationships between the selected object and the one or more other objects are inferred only from the chronological positions that the identified one or more actions have in the chronological timeline and without considering content of the selected object or the one or more other objects.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the strength of the one or more inferred relationships are further derived from content of the selected object, content of the one or more other objects, or a combination of both.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the strength of the inferred relationships includes one or more relevancy values derived from temporal proximities between a time when the at least one user interacted with the selected object and the chronological positions that the identified one or more actions have in the chronological timeline.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more relationships between the selected object and the one or more other objects are inferred in response to the one or more relevancy values meeting or exceeding a threshold value.

11. A system for grouping search results using information representations, the system comprising:

a server computer having a processor, memory, and a graphical user interface for displaying at least one tile that graphically represents at least one user in response to an input for selecting an object associated with the at least one user, wherein the selected object has a first object type;

the server computer configured to perform operations for;

a correlation determining system, the operations performed by the server computer for the correlation determining system including;

determining a chronological timeline that represents a plurality of actions performed by the at least one user wherein the plurality of actions performed by the at least one user have a plurality of chronological positions in the chronological timeline; and

inferring one or more relationships between the selected object and one or more other objects associated with the at least one user from the plurality of actions represented in the chronological timeline, wherein inferring the one or more relationships comprises;

identifies identifying one or more of the plurality of actions that are related to the selected object from the plurality of chronological positions that the plurality of actions have in the chronological timeline, wherein the at least one user performed the identified one or more actions on the one or more other objects, and wherein the one or more other objects have a second object type different from the first object type; and

determining that the one or more other objects are related to the selected object from a strength of the one or more inferred relationships, wherein the strength of the one or more inferred relationships is derived from the chronological positions that the identified one or more actions have in the chronological timeline; and

a tile generator, the operations performed by the server computer for the tile generator including;

generating one or more additional tiles that graphically represent the one or more other objects related to the selected object and performed by the at least one user in response to a selection of the at least one tile that graphically represents the at least one user; and

causing the graphical user interface to simultaneously display the one or more additional tiles that graphically represent the one or more other objects related to the selected object and performed by the at least one user, wherein the graphical user interface further organizes the at least one tile and the one or more additional tiles based on the first object type for the selected object and the second object type for the one or more other objects.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the operations performed by the server computer for the tile generator further include:

dynamically updating one or more of the at least one tile or the one or more additional tiles in response to the at least one user initiating one or more additional actions subsequent to the selection of the at least one tile that graphically represents the at least one user.

13. The system of claim 11, further comprising a client terminal that creates an application object in response to receiving a drag and drop selection of at least one of the one or more other objects graphically represented in the one or more additional tiles displayed on the graphical user interface.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the graphical user interface organizes the one or more additional tiles in a predetermined arrangement providing one or more icons that illustrate the second object type for the one or more other objects, one or more titles that include descriptive content for the one or more other objects, one or more dates when the one or more other objects were created, and one or more available actions for interacting with the one or more other objects.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the one or more available actions for interacting with the one or more other objects include one or more hyperlinks that initiate the one or more available actions for interacting with the one or more other objects.

16. The system of claim. 15, the server computer further configured to perform operations for:

an application that runs at least one of the one or more other objects in response to a selection of one of the hyperlinks associated with one of the one or more other objects.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein inferring the one or more relationships between the selected object and one or more other objects associated with the at least one user from the plurality of actions represented in the chronological timeline comprises:

inferring the one or more relationships between the selected object and the one or more other objects only from the chronological positions that the identified one or more actions have in the chronological timeline and without considering content of the user selected object or the one or more other objects.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the operations performed by the server computer for the correlation determining system further include:

deriving the strength of the one or more inferred relationships based on content of the selected object, content of the one or more other objects, or a combination of both.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the strength of the inferred relationships includes one or more relevancy values derived from temporal proximities between a time when the at least one user interacted with the selected object and the chronological positions that the identified one or more actions have in the chronological timeline.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein the operations performed by the server computer for the correlation determining system further include:

inferring the one or more relationships between the selected object and the one or more other objects in response to the one or more relevancy values meeting or exceeding a threshold value.