In-context searching

• US 8,868,549 B1
• Filed: 06/06/2011
• Issued: 10/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Hoelzle, Urs, Henzinger, Monika H., Desjardins, David
• Primary Examiner(s): PYO, MONICA M
• Application Number:
  US13/154,050
• Time in Patent Office: 1,233 Days
• Field of Search: 707/999.003, 707/692, 707/713, 707/723, 707/728, 707/729
• US Class Current: 707/723
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/245 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/285 Clustering or classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

Abstract

A system limits search results based on context information. The system obtains the context information and a search query, and obtains a set of references to documents in response to the search query. The system then filters the set of references based on the context information and presents the filtered set of references to a user.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

one or more computer devices configured to;

obtain a set of one or more addresses,

each address, in the set of one or more addresses, corresponding to a respective first document,

the set of one or more addresses being selected or identified by a user;

receive, after obtaining the set of one or more addresses, a search query from the user;

obtain a set of references to second documents based on the search query,

where each address, in the set of one or more addresses, is obtained independently of the set of references to the second documents and independently of the search query;

determine whether a second document, of the second documents, is similar to the respective first document, corresponding to an address in the set of one or more addresses, based on;

whether text from a body of the second document corresponds to a same topic as text associated with a body of the respective first document;

include one of the references, corresponding to the second document, in a filtered set of references upon determining that the second document is similar to the respective first document; and

present the filtered set of references to the user.

2. The system of claim 1, where, when obtaining the set of one or more addresses, the one or more computer devices are configured to include an address, associated with a document accessed by the user prior to the search query being received, in the set of one or more addresses.

3. The system of claim 1, where, when obtaining the set of one or more addresses, the one or more computer devices are configured to identify the set of one or more addresses from addresses associated with a favorites list created by the user,

where the favorites list includes addresses associated with web pages recorded, by a web browser, based on an instruction from the user.

4. The system of claim 1, where, when obtaining the set of one or more addresses, the one or more computer devices are configured to:

add a first address, corresponding to a particular document that is on-topic relative to a topic of the search query, to a positive preferences list, and

add a second address, corresponding to another particular document that is off-topic relative to the topic of the search query, to a negative preferences list.

5. The system of claim 4, where, when including the one of the references in the filtered set of references, the one or more computer devices are configured further to:

include, in the filtered set of references, a first one of the references corresponding to the first address in the positive preferences list, and

exclude, from the filtered set of references, a second one of the references corresponding to the second address in the negative preferences list.

6. The system of claim 1, where, when obtaining the set of one or more addresses, the one or more computer devices are configured to:

present a hierarchical directory of category listings to the user,

each of the category listings including an associated list of addresses,

receive one or more selections of the category listings from the user, and

include the associated list of addresses, corresponding to each of the one or more selections of the category listings, in the set of one or more addresses.

7. The system of claim 6, where, when receiving the one or more selections of the category listings, the one or more computer devices are configured to:

receive an instruction to add a first one of the category listings, corresponding to first subject matter that is on-topic relative to a topic of the search query, to a positive preferences list, and

receive an instruction to add a second one of the category listings, corresponding to second subject matter that is off-topic relative to the topic of the search query, to a negative preferences list.

8. The system of claim 7, where, when including the one of the references in the filtered set of references, the one or more computer devices are configured further to:

include, in the filtered set of references, one of the references, corresponding to the first one of the category listings, from the positive preferences list, and

exclude, from the filtered set of references, one of the references, corresponding to the second one of the category listings, from the negative preferences list.

9. The system of claim 1, where, when obtaining the set of references, the one or more computer devices are configured to:

send the search query to a search engine, and

receive the set of references from the search engine based on sending the search query.

10. The system of claim 1, where, when obtaining the set of references, the one or more computer devices are configured to:

perform a search to locate documents relating to the search query, and

include links, to the located documents, in the set of references.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable memory device storing instructions, the instructions comprising:

one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more computer devices, cause the one or more computer devices to obtain a set of one or more addresses,

each address, in the set of one or more addresses, corresponding to a respective first document,

the set of one or more addresses being identified or selected by a user;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more computer devices, cause the one or more computer devices to receive, from the user, a search query after obtaining the set of one or more addresses;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more computer devices, cause the one or more computer devices to obtain a set of references to second documents based on the search query,

where each address, in the set of one or more addresses obtained prior to receiving the search query, is obtained independently of the set of references to the second documents and independently of the search query;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more computer devices, cause the one or more computer devices to determine whether a second document, of the second documents, is similar to the respective first document, corresponding to an address in the set of one or more addresses, based on;

whether text from a body of the second document corresponds to a same topic as text associated with a body of the respective first document;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more computer devices, cause the one or more computer devices to include one of the references, corresponding to the second document, in a filtered set of references upon determining that the second document is similar to the respective first document; and

one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more computer devices, cause the one or more computer devices to present the filtered set of references to the user.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 11, where the one or more instructions to obtain the set of one or more addresses include one or more instructions to include an address, associated with a document accessed by the user, in the set of one or more addresses.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 11, where the one or more instructions to obtain the set of one or more addresses include one or more instructions to identify the set of one or more addresses from addresses associated with a favorites list created by the user,

where the favorites list includes addresses associated with web pages recorded, by a web browser, based on an instruction from the user.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 11, where the one or more instructions to obtain the set of one or more addresses include:

one or more instructions to add a first address, corresponding to a particular document that is on-topic relative to a topic of the search query, to a positive preferences list, and

one or more instructions to add a second address, corresponding to another particular document that is off-topic relative to the topic of the search query, to a negative preferences list.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 14, where the one or more instructions to include the one of the references in the filtered set of references include:

one or more instructions to include, in the filtered set of references, a first one of the references corresponding to the first address in the positive preferences list, and

one or more instructions to exclude, from the filtered set of references, a second one of the references corresponding to the second address in the negative preferences list.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 11, where the one or more instructions to obtain the set of one or more addresses include:

one or more instructions to present a hierarchical directory of category listings to the user,

each of the category listings including an associated list of addresses,

one or more instructions to receive one or more selections of the category listings from the user, and

one or more instructions to include the associated list of addresses, corresponding to each of the one or more selections of the category listings, in the set of one or more addresses.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 16, where the one or more instructions to receive the one or more selections of the category listings include:

one or more instructions to add a first one of the category listings, corresponding to first subject matter that is on-topic relative to a topic of the search query, to a positive preferences list, and

one or more instructions to add a second one of the category listings, corresponding to second subject matter that is off-topic relative to the topic of the search query, to a negative preferences list.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 17, where the one or more instructions to include the one of the references in the filtered set of references include:

one or more instructions to include, in the filtered set of references, one of the references, corresponding to the first one of the category listings, from the positive preferences list, and

one or more instructions to exclude, from the filtered set of references, one of the references, corresponding to the second one of the category listings, from the negative preferences list.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 11, where the one or more instructions to obtain the set of references include:

one or more instructions to send the search query to a search engine, and

one or more instructions to receive the set of references from the search engine based on sending the search query to the search engine.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 11, where the one or more instructions to obtain the set of references include:

one or more instructions to perform a search to locate documents relating to the search query, and

one or more instructions to include links, to the located documents, in the set of references.

21. A method performed by one or more computer devices, the method comprising:

obtaining, by at least one of the one or more computer devices, a set of one or more addresses,

each address, in the set of one or more addresses, corresponding to a respective first document,

the set of one or more addresses being selected or identified by a user,

receiving, by at least one of the one or more computer devices, a search query from the user after obtaining the set of one or more addresses;

obtaining, by at least one of the one or more computer devices, a list of links to second documents based on the search query,

where each address, in the set of one or more addresses, is obtained independently of the list of links and independently of the search query;

filtering, by at least one of the one or more computer devices, the list of links, using the set of one or more addresses, to identify a subset of the links in the list of links,

where the subset of the links includes fewer than all of the links in the list of links, filtering the list of links including;

determining whether text associated with a body of a second document, corresponding to one of the links in the list of links, corresponds to a same topic as text associated with a body of the respective first document corresponding to an address in the set of one or more addresses, and

including, in the subset of the links, the one of the links when the text associated with the body of the second document corresponds to the same topic as the text associated with the body of the respective first document; and

providing, by at least one of the one or more computer devices, information regarding the subset of the links to the user.

22. The method of claim 21, where filtering the list of links further includes:

determining whether text from a body of the second document, corresponding to the one of the links in the list of links, is similar to text from a body of the respective first document corresponding to the address in the set of one or more addresses, and

including the one of the links in the subset of the links when the text from the body of the second document is similar to the text from the body of the respective first document.

23. The method of claim 21, where obtaining the set of one or more addresses includes:

including an address, associated with a document accessed by the user prior to the search query being received, in the set of one or more addresses.

24. The method of claim 21, where obtaining the set of one or more addresses includes:

identifying the set of one or more addresses from addresses associated with a list created by the user.

25. A system, comprising:

one or more computer devices configured to;

obtain a set of one or more addresses,

each address, in the set of one or more addresses, corresponding to a respective first document, and

the set of one or more addresses being selected or identified by a user,

receive, after obtaining the set of one or more addresses, a search query from the user;

obtain a list of links to second documents based on the search query,

where each address, in the set of one or more addresses, is obtained independently of the list of links and independently of the search query;

filter the list of links, using the set of one or more addresses, to identify a subset of the links in the list of links,

where the subset of the links includes fewer than all of the links in the list of links,

when filtering the list of links, the one or more computer devices are configured to;

determine whether text associated with a body of a second document, corresponding to one of the links in the list of links, corresponds to a same topic as text associated with a body of the respective first document corresponding to an address in the set of one or more addresses, and

include, in the subset of the links, the one of the links when the text associated with the body of the second document corresponds to the same topic as the text associated with the body of the respective first document; and

provide information regarding the subset of the links to the user.

26. The system of claim 25, where, when filtering the list of links, the one or more computer devices are further configured to:

determine whether text from a body of another second document, corresponding to another one of the links in the list of links, is similar to text from a body of the respective first document corresponding to another address in the set of one or more addresses, and

include the other one of the links in the subset of the links when the text from the body of the other second document is similar to the text from the body of the respective first document corresponding to the other address.

27. The system of claim 25, where, when obtaining the set of one or more addresses, the one or more computer devices are configured to include an address, associated with a document accessed by the user, in the set of one or more addresses.

28. The system of claim 25, where, when obtaining the set of one or more addresses, the one or more computer devices are configured to identify the set of one or more addresses from addresses associated with a list created by the user.

29. A non-transitory computer-readable memory device that stores instructions, the instructions comprising:

one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more computer devices, cause the one or more computer devices to obtain a set of one or more addresses,

each address, in the set of one or more addresses, corresponding to a respective first document,

the set of one or more addresses being selected or identified by a user;

one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more computer devices, cause the one or more computer devices to receive a search query from the user after obtaining the set of one or more addresses;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more computer devices, cause the one or more computer devices to obtain a list of links to second documents based on the search query,

where each address, in the set of one or more addresses, is obtained independently of the list of links to the second documents and independently of the search query;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more computer devices, cause the one or more computer devices to filter the list of links, using the set of one or more addresses, to identify a subset of the links in the list of links,

where the subset of the links includes fewer than all of the links in the list of links, the one or more instructions to filter the list of links including;

one or more instructions to determine whether text associated with a body of a second document, corresponding to one of the links in the list of links, corresponds to a same topic as text associated with a body of the respective first document, corresponding to an address in the set of one or more addresses, and

one or more instructions to include, in the subset of the links, the one of the links when the text associated with the body of the second document corresponds to the same topic as the text associated with the body of the respective first document; and

one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more computer devices, cause the one or more computer devices to provide information regarding the subset of the links to the user.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 29, where the one or more instructions to filter the list of links further include:

one or more instructions to determine whether text from a body of another second document, corresponding to another one of the links in the list of links, is similar to text from a body of the respective first document, corresponding to another address in the set of one or more addresses, and

one or more instructions to include the other one of the links in the subset of the links when the text from the body of the other second document is similar to the text from the body of the respective first document corresponding to the other address.

31. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 29, where the one or more instructions to obtain the set of one or more addresses include one or more instructions to include an address, associated with a document accessed by the user, in the set of one or more addresses.

32. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 29, where the one or more instructions to obtain the set of one or more addresses include one or more instructions to identify the set of one or more addresses from addresses associated with a list created by the user.