Accurate search results while honoring content limitations

• US 8,694,604 B2
• Filed: 08/25/2011
• Issued: 04/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Cummins, Charles E., Hamilton, Justin, Ma, Yue, Ding, Hua, Sheng, Xiaowei, Lang, Bing, Wu, Kun
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, KIM T
• Application Number:
  US13/217,549
• Publication Number:
  US 20130054572A1
• Time in Patent Office: 957 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/225
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results

Abstract

Accurate search results are provided while still honoring content limitations. Content responsive to search, whose presentation is prevented by content limitations is presented in an obscured manner, notifying the user of the existence of the content, while not enabling discerning of details, thereby honoring the content limitations. Attempted user interaction with obscured content acts as an entry point to changing the content limitations, including presenting user notifications of the content limitations and presenting an option to change the content limitations to allow for the unobscured presentation of the obscured content. Graphical content can be obscured by applying graphical modifications to generate new, obscured content that provides only a vague resemblance to the original, including jittering pixels, or other subcomponents, the applying of Gaussian blurs, and pixelization.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable memory storage media comprising computer-executable instructions for generating search results while honoring content limitations, the computer-executable instructions directed to steps comprising:

receiving a search query and the content limitations;

identifying a first responsive content, hosted by a first remote computing device, as being responsive to the search query, the identified first responsive content being content which the content limitations proscribe from presenting in response to the search query;

identifying a second responsive content, hosted by a second remote computing device, as being responsive to the search query, the identified second responsive content being content which the content limitations allow to be presented in response to the search query;

generating an obscured version of a first thumbnail image representing the identified first responsive content, the generated obscured version of the first thumbnail image lacking those aspects of the identified first responsive content that are restricted by the content limitations; and

providing a, in response to the search query, the response comprising;

the generated obscured version of the first thumbnail image, a first link to the first responsive content on the first remote computing device, a second thumbnail image representing the second responsive content, and a second link to the second responsive content on the second remote computing device, and a textual indication of a third responsive content, responsive to the search query, the textual indication comprising a link to a third remote computing device hosting the responsive content and a selected textual portion of the third responsive content, the response causing simultaneous presentation of both the first and second thumbnail images, the response causing the first thumbnail image to be presented in a delineated visual area that is separate and apart from the textual indication of the third responsive content;

wherein the first thumbnail image is associated with the first link such that user action directed to the first thumbnail image initiates a request for the first responsive content as identified by the first link; and

wherein the second thumbnail image is associated with the second link such that user action directed to the second thumbnail image initiates a request for the second responsive content as identified by the second link.

2. The computer-readable memory storage media of claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions for generating the obscured version comprise computer-executable instructions for eliminating graphical details so as to render unrecognizable those aspects of the first responsive content represented in the first thumbnail image that cause the first responsive content to be restricted by the content limitations.

3. The computer-readable memory storage media of claim 2, wherein the computer-executable instructions for eliminating graphical details comprise computer-executable instructions for either:

adjusting an alpha value of pixels of the first thumbnail image to modify the first thumbnail image such that it appears as if the first thumbnail image is being viewed through glass;

or randomly changing positions of the pixels of the first thumbnail such that it appears as if the first thumbnail image is being viewed through frosted glass.

4. The computer-readable memory storage media of claim 1, comprising further computer-executable instructions for providing, in response to the search query, computer-executable instructions for presenting a notification if a user action is directed to the generated obscured version of the first thumbnail image, the notification comprising an indication that the content limitations proscribe presentation of an unobscured version of the first responsive content.

5. The computer-readable memory storage media of claim 4, wherein the notification further comprises a user-selectable option to change the content limitations so as to allow presentation of the unobscured version of the first responsive content.

6. The computer-readable memory storage media of claim 1, comprising further computer-executable instructions for assigning a value to the received search query, the assigned value quantifying an extent to which the received search query is directed to restricted content which the content limitations proscribe from presenting in response to the search query.

7. The computer-readable memory storage media of claim 6, wherein the identifying the first responsive content comprises searching a restricted content store only if the value assigned to the search query is above a threshold indicating that there is a restricted content aspect to the search query;

wherein the restricted content store comprises content which the content limitations proscribe from presenting in response to the search query.

8. A method for providing search results while honoring content limitations, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a search query and the content limitations;

identifying a first responsive content, hosted by a first remote computing devices, as being responsive to the search query, the identified first responsive content being content which the content limitations proscribe from presenting in response to the search query;

identifying a second responsive content, hosted by a second remote computing device, as being responsive to the search query, the identified second responsive content being content which the content limitations allow to be presented in response to the search query;

generating an obscured version of a first thumbnail image representing the identified first responsive restricted content, the generated obscured version of the first thumbnail image lacking those aspects of the identified first responsive content that are restricted by the content limitations; and

providing a, in response to the search query, the response comprising;

the generated obscured version of the first thumbnail image, a first link to the first responsive content on the first remote computing device, a second thumbnail image representing the second responsive content, and a second link to the second responsive content on the second remote computing device, and a textual indication of a third responsive content, responsive to the search query, the textual indication comprising a link to a third remote computing device hosting the responsive content and a selected textual portion of the third responsive content, the response causing simultaneous presentation of both the first and second thumbnail images, the response causing the first thumbnail image to be presented in a delineated visual area that is separate and apart from the textual indication of the third responsive content;

wherein the first thumbnail image is associated with the first link such that user action directed to the first thumbnail image initiates a request for the first responsive content as identified by the first link; and

wherein the second thumbnail image is associated with the second link such that user action directed to the second thumbnail image initiates a request for the second responsive content as identified by the second link.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the generating the obscured versions comprises eliminating graphical details so as to render unrecognizable those aspects of the first responsive content represented in the first thumbnail image that cause the first responsive content to be restricted by the content limitations.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the eliminating graphical details comprises either:

adjusting an alpha value of pixels of the first thumbnail image to modify the first thumbnail image such that it appears as if the first thumbnail image is being viewed through glass;

or randomly changing positions of the pixels of the first thumbnail image such that it appears as if the first thumbnail image is being viewed through frosted glass.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

providing, in response to the search query, computer-executable instructions for presenting a notification if a user action is directed to the generated obscured version of the first thumbnail image, the notification comprising an indication that the content limitations proscribe presentation of an unobscured version of the first responsive content.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the notification further comprises a user-selectable option to change the content limitations so as to allow presentation of the unobscured version of the first responsive content.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

assigning a value to the received search query, the assigned value quantifying an extent to which the received search query is directed to restricted content which the content limitations proscribe from presenting in response to the search query.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the identifying the first responsive content comprises searching a restricted content store only if the value assigned to the search query is above a threshold indicating that there is a restricted content aspect to the search query;

wherein the restricted content store comprises content which the content limitations proscribe from presenting in response to the search query.

15. A graphical user interface system comprising a display device communicationally coupled to a computing device, the display device having generated thereon a graphical user interface providing a user with search results while honoring content limitations, the user interface comprising:

a user-entered search query;

a second thumbnail image, presented in the user interface simultaneously with the second thumbnail image, the first thumbnail image representing a second responsive content, responsive to the search query, that is not restricted by the content limitations, the second responsive content being hosted by a second remote computing device; and

a first thumbnail image representing a first responsive content, the first responsive content being responsive to the search query, but also being restricted by the content limitations, the first thumbnail image being an obscured version of at least a portion of the first responsive content, the obscuring causing the first thumbnail image to lack those aspects of the first responsive content that are restricted by the content limitations, the first responsive content being hosted by a first remote computing device; and

a textual indication of a third responsive content, responsive to the search query, the textual indication comprising a link to a third remote computing device hosting the responsive content and a selected textual portion of the third responsive content;

wherein the first thumbnail image is presented in a delineated visual area of the user interface that is separate and apart from the textual indication of the third responsive content;

wherein the first thumbnail image is associated with a first link to the first responsive content such that user action directed to the first thumbnail image initiates a request for the first responsive content as identified by the first link; and

wherein the second thumbnail image is associated with a second link to the second responsive content such that user action directed to the second thumbnail image initiates a request for the second responsive content as identified by the second link.

16. The graphical user interface system of claim 15, wherein the obscuring causes the first thumbnail image to lack graphical details such that those aspects of the first responsive content represented in the first thumbnail image that cause the first responsive content to be restricted by the content limitations are unrecognizable.

17. The graphical user interface system of claim 15, further comprising:

a notification comprising;

an indication that the content limitations proscribe presentation of the first responsive content; and

a user-selectable option to change the content limitations so as to allow presentation of the first responsive content.

18. The graphical user interface system of claim 15, wherein the first thumbnail image comprises either:

pixels with modified alpha values so that that it appears as if the representation of the first responsive content is being viewed through glass;

or

pixels with randomly changed positions so that that it appears as if the representation of the first responsive content is being viewed through frosted glass.