Evolutionary content determination and management

• US 8,631,029 B1
• Filed: 03/26/2010
• Issued: 01/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: A9.com Incorporated (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: A9.com Incorporated (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Amacker, Matthew W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Spieler, William
• Application Number:
  US12/748,125
• Time in Patent Office: 1,390 Days
• Field of Search: 707765-768, 715/243, 715/244, 715/246, 715/252, 715/273, 715/275
• US Class Current: 707/766
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/26 Visual data mining; Browsing structured data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/438 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/50 of still image data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/54 Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/5866 using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, manually generated location and time information
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0625 Directed, with specific intent or strategy
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers

Abstract

A visual refinement interface enables users to adjust and/or refine search results by selecting results that match a user'"'"'s interest, and displaying subsequent results that are closer to the selected items. Multiple result sets can be displayed concurrently such that the user can maintain context for the results. Further, the user can quickly go back to modify an earlier selection without having to navigate to a previous page, for example, and a single modification can cause several subsequent result sets to automatically change such that the user can quickly view dozens of new results, for example, simply by selecting at least one different result from a displayed result set. Prior result sets can be modified, such as by reducing the size or adjusting the placement of the sets, such that the user can easily determine the current set and the relatedness to previous results sets.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

under control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions,

receiving a search query from a user device;

causing an initial set of search result images to be displayed on the user device, the initial set of search result images matching at least a portion of the search query;

in response to receiving information indicative of a selection of at least one search result image of the initial set of search result images to yield a selected search result image, identifying a second set of search result images relating to the selected search result image;

causing the second set of search result images to be displayed on the user device concurrently with the initial set of search result images, the initial set of search result images being displayed on the user device at least one of reduced in image size or adjusted in position;

displaying additional information about the selected search result image on the user device;

receiving information indicative of subsequent selections of search result images displayed on the user device, wherein the search result images are members of a respective previously-generated set of search result images;

when information indicative of subsequent selections is received, causing a respective subsequently-generated set of search result images corresponding to each subsequent selection to be displayed based at least in part upon the subsequent selection of at least one search result image in a previously-generated set of search result images, each search result image of the respective subsequently-generated set being related to the selected search result image of the previously-generated set; and

causing a plurality of images from each of the previously-generated sets of search result images to be displayed concurrently in a hierarchical view with the respective subsequently-generated set of search result images such that at least a portion of each of the previously-generated sets of search result images are displayed, as at least one of reduced in image size or adjusted in position, less prominently than at least a portion of each of the respective subsequently-generated set of search result images, wherein each selected search result image is displayed with an indicator signifying a search path.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of reducing the image size or adjusting the position of each previously-generated set of search result images is performed using an animated motion.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein each search result image corresponds to an item offered for consumption through an electronic marketplace, and wherein each subsequently-generated set of search result images is based at least in part upon a product related to at least one search result image selected from a previously-generated set of search result images.

4. A computer-implemented method comprising:

under control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions,

generating for display a set of search results corresponding to at least one criterion;

in response to receiving information indicative of a selection of at least one of the search results, generating for display an associated set of search results corresponding at least in part to the selected at least one search result;

causing a most recently-generated set of search results to be displayed more prominently than any previously-generated set of search results, at least a portion of the previously-generated search results being displayed concurrently in a hierarchical view with the most recently-generated set of search results, wherein each selected search result image is displayed with an indicator signifying a search path; and

when information indicative of subsequent selections of search results is received, generating multiple sets of search results to be displayed concurrently such that a more recently-generated set of search results corresponds to at least one search result of the previously-generated set of search results, wherein the multiple sets of search results are generated until at least one desired search result is obtained.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising:

in response to receiving information indicative of a selection of a respective search result from any of the multiple sets of search results other than the most recently-generated set of search results, updating the search results of any subsequently-generated set of search results and displaying the updated search results.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the at least one criterion corresponds to at least one keyword of a query.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the at least one criterion corresponds to items added to a container.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving information corresponding to items, from multiple sources, added to the container.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving information associated with a selection of multiple search results from the multiple sets of search results;

responsive to the selection of multiple search results, causing a subsequently-generated set of search results, based at least in part upon information for the multiple results, to be displayed.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving information associated with an exclusion of at least one search result from each set of search results;

responsive to receiving information associated with the exclusion of at least one search result, causing a subsequently-generated set of search results, based at least in part upon information for each excluded search result, to be displayed.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising:

displaying a path between at least some of the multiple sets of search results, the path indicating the selected result of a corresponding set of search results.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising:

storing information for the selected results for subsequent retrieval of updated results matching the stored information.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising:

recommending results to other users based at least upon the stored information.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein previously-generated sets of search results are displayed less prominently than the most recently-generated set by adjusting at least one of a size or position, color, color depth, transparency, or rendering of the previously-generated result sets.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the previously-generated sets of search results are displayed less prominently than the most recently-generated set using an animated motion.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the associated set of search results corresponds at least in part to items purchased or viewed by other users viewing the selected at least one search result.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the associated set of search results corresponds at least in part to items with similar attributes to the selected at least one search result.

18. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory device including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

generate for display a set of search results corresponding to at least one criterion;

in response to receiving information indicative of a selection of at least one of the search results, generate for display an associated set of search results corresponding at least in part to the selected at least one search result;

cause a most recently-generated set of search results to be displayed more prominently than any previously-generated set of search results, at least a portion of the previously-generated search results being displayed concurrently in a hierarchical view with the most recently-generated set of search results, wherein each selected search result image is displayed with an indicator signifying a search path; and

when information indicative of subsequent selections of search results is received, generate multiple sets of search results to be displayed concurrently more recently-generated set of search results corresponds to at least one search result of the previously-generated set of search results, wherein the multiple sets of search results are generated until at least one desired search result is obtained.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the instructions when executed further cause the processor to:

in response to receiving a selection of a search result from any set of search results other than the most recently-generated set of search results, update the search results of any subsequently-generated set of search results and displaying the updated search results.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the at least one criterion corresponds to at least one keyword submitted by the user or items added to a user container.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein the instructions when executed further cause the processor to:

receiving information associated with an exclusion of one or more results from each set of search results; and

generating a subsequent set of search results based at least in part upon one or more excluded result.

22. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

generate for display a set of search results corresponding to at least one criterion;

in response to receiving information indicative of a selection of at least one of the search results, generate for display an associated set of search results corresponding at least in part to the selected at least one search result;

cause a most recently-generated set of search results to be displayed more prominently than any previously-generated set of search results, at least a portion of the previously-generated search results being displayed concurrently in a hierarchical view with the most recently-generated set of search results, wherein each selected search result image is displayed with an indicator signifying a search path; and

when information indicative of subsequent selections of search results is received, generate multiple sets of search results to be displayed concurrently such that a more recently-generated set of search results corresponds to at least one search result of the previously-generated set of search results, wherein the multiple sets of search results are generated until at least one desired search result is obtained.

23. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the instructions when executed further cause the processor to:

in response to receiving a selection of a search result from any set of search results other than the most recently-generated set of search results, update the search results of any subsequently-generated set of search results and displaying the updated search results.

24. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the at least one criterion corresponds to at least one keyword submitted by the user or items added to a user container.

25. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the instructions when executed further cause the processor to:

receiving information associated with an exclusion of one or more results from each set of search results; and

generating a subsequent set of search results based at least in part upon one or more excluded result.