Content insertion elements to combine search results

• US 8,832,056 B2
• Filed: 04/21/2011
• Issued: 09/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Smyth, Samuel Gavin, Taylor, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoang, Son T
• Application Number:
  US13/091,594
• Publication Number:
  US 20120271807A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,237 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/706
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results

Abstract

Content insertion elements to combine search results, for example, enable a user to search the internet and obtain relevant intranet search results integrated into the results page from the internet source. In embodiments enterprise search results, desktop search results, or paid for search results are combined with internet search results. For example, a public internet search engine maintains mapping data indicating which users or user computers are authorized to access content from a second source. In an embodiment, an internet search engine receives a query from a web browser and returns results together with a content insertion element only if mapping data requirements are met. A content insertion element may hold an address of a second content source, a query and optional parameters. A web browser is able to render a web page displaying results from more than one content source using the content insertion element.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of combining search results from a plurality of search engines comprising:

at a first search engine;

receiving a search query from a web browser associated with an identifier;

generating a content insertion element, when the identifier meets an access criterion, the content insertion element configured to be executed by the web browser and holding at least the search query and an address of a second search engine;

retrieving first search engine search results using the search query;

sending the first search engine search results and the content insertion element to the web browser such that, in response, the web browser;

executes the content insertion element to send the search query, using the held address, to the second search engine to obtain second search engine search results, and

renders a results page comprising at least some of the first search engine search results and the second search engine search results, wherein the sending the first search engine search results including specifying a plurality of insertion points within the first search engine search results and sending instructions associated with the content insertion element, the instructions, when executed, causing different portions of the second search engine results to be inserted into different positions associated with the plurality of insertion points.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising generating a plurality of content insertion elements, when the identifier meets the access criterion, each content insertion element holding at least the search query and an address of a search engine, the search engine being the second search engine or another search engine.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising sending all of the plurality of content insertion elements to the web browser.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising generating the plurality of content insertion elements such that the search query held by at least some of the plurality of content insertion elements is modified.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the content insertion element is selected from at least one of:

a hyper text mark up language (HTML) element, multi-media platform instructions, or rich internet application framework instructions.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first search engine is an Internet search engine and the second search engine is an intranet search engine.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second search engine is a desktop search engine associated with a client machine comprising the web browser and wherein the generating the content insertion element comprises forming a browser hosted software component defined in a programming language independent manner.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising checking whether the identifier meets the access criterion by using a look up table that comprises ranges of identifiers which meet the access criterion.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the content insertion element comprises one or more further content insertion elements.

10. A computer-implemented method of combining search results from a plurality of search engines comprising:

at a first search engine;

receiving a search query from a web browser associated with an identifier;

generating a plurality of content insertion elements, when the identifier meets an access criterion, each content insertion element configured to be executed by the web browser and holding at least the search query and an address of another search engine such that the plurality of content insertion elements hold the search query and addresses of a plurality of other search engines;

retrieving first search engine search results using the search query;

sending the first search engine search results and the plurality of content insertion elements to the web browser such that, in response, the web browser;

executes the plurality of content insertion elements to send the search query, using the corresponding held addresses, to the plurality of other search engines to obtain results from the plurality of other search engines and

renders a results page comprising at least some of the first search engine search results and the results from the plurality of other search engines, wherein the sending the first search engine search results including specifying a plurality of insertion points within the first search engine search results and sending instructions associated with a first content insertion element of the plurality of content insertion elements, the instructions, when executed, causing different portions of a first result of the results from the plurality of other search engine results, the first result being associated with the first content insertion element, to be inserted into different locations associated with of the plurality of insertion points.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising using nested content insertion elements.

12. The method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising checking whether the identifier meets the access criterion by using a look up table that comprises ranges of identifiers which meet the access criterion.

13. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first search engine is an Internet search engine and the plurality of other search engines are intranet search engines.

14. A computer-implemented method of combining search results from a plurality of search engines comprising:

at a first search engine which is an Internet search engine;

receiving a search query from a web browser associated with an identifier, the web browser being provided at a client device located in an intranet connected to the Internet by at least one firewall;

generating a content insertion element, when the identifier meets an access criterion, the content insertion element configured to be executed by the web browser and holding at least the search query and an address of a second search engine located in the intranet;

retrieving first search engine search results using the search query;

sending the first search engine search results and the content insertion element to the web browser such that, in response, the web browser;

executes the content insertion element to send the search query, using the held address, to the second search engine to obtain second search engine search results, and

renders a results page comprising at least some of the first search engine search results and the second search engine search results, wherein the sending the first search engine search results including specifying a plurality of insertion points within the first search engine search results and sending instructions associated with the content insertion element, the instructions, when executed, causing different portions of the second search engine results to be inserted into different locations associated with the plurality of insertion points.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising:

generating a plurality of content insertion elements, when the identifier meets the access criterion, each content insertion element holding at least the search query and an address of a search engine, such that the plurality of content insertion elements hold the search query and addresses of a plurality of other search engines; and

sending all the content insertion elements to the web browser.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, further comprising generating the plurality of content insertion elements such that the search query held by at least some of the plurality of content insertion elements is modified.

17. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the content insertion element is selected from at least one of:

a hyper text mark up language (HTML) element, multi-media platform instructions, or rich internet application framework instructions.

18. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the second search engine is a desktop search engine of the client device and wherein the generating the content insertion element further comprises forming a browser hosted reusable software component defined in a programming language independent manner.

19. The method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising checking whether the identifier meets the access criterion by using a look up table that comprises ranges of identifiers which are addresses of client devices in the intranet.

20. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the generating the content insertion element further comprises generating a first content insertion element which holds one or more further content insertion elements.