Associative search engine

• US 8,977,614 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2012
• Issued: 03/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: RPX Clearinghouse LLC (RPX Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Rockstar Consortium US LP (Rockstar Consortium Inc.)
• Inventors: Skillen, Richard Prescott, Livermore, Frederick Caldwell
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Hung Q
• Application Number:
  US13/724,076
• Publication Number:
  US 20130117115A1
• Time in Patent Office: 809 Days
• US Class Current: 707/732
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/245 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0257 User requested
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/959 Network
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

This invention relates to an advertisement machine which provides advertisements to a user searching for desired information within a data network. The machine receives, from a user, a search request including a search argument corresponding to the desired information and searches, based upon the received search argument, a first database having data network related information to generate search results. It also correlates the received search argument to a particular advertisement in a second database having advertisement related information. The search results together with the particular advertisement are provided by the machine to the user.

Claims

1. A method of providing search results and advertisements to a user, the method comprising:

maintaining a user profile associated with the user;

receiving a search request comprising a search argument from the user;

searching at least one contextual database based on the search argument to produce at least one search result;

selecting at least one advertisement from an advertisement database based on the user profile and the search argument;

providing the at least one search result and the at least one advertisement to the user;

receiving search refinement input from the user;

producing at least one modified search result based on at least the search refinement input;

updating the at least one advertisement selected from the advertisement database based on the user profile and the search refinement input; and

providing at least one of the at least one modified search result and the updated at least one advertisement to the user.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising modifying the user profile associated with the user based on the search argument.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein producing the at least one modified search result comprises producing the at least one modified search result based at least in part on the modified user profile.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein updating the at least one selected advertisement comprises updating the at least one selected advertisement based at least in part on the modified user profile.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising modifying the user profile associated with the user based on the search refinement input.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein producing the at least one modified search result comprises producing the at least one modified search result based at least in part on the modified user profile.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein updating the at least one selected advertisement comprises updating the at least one selected advertisement based at least in part on the modified user profile.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the search refinement input is based on selection by the user of at least one of the at least one search result and the at least one advertisement provided to the user.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the search refinement input comprises at least one additional search argument.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the user profile comprises prior purchasing information associated with the user.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the user profile comprises information based on prior searching history associated with the user.

12. The method of claim 1, comprising maintaining the user profile from at least one of past search sessions of the user and historical data gathered on buying habits of the user.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein maintaining the user profile associated with the user comprises storing the user profile.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the user profile comprises information based on interests associated with the user, the interests being at least one of social interests, family interests, political interests, technological interests, geographical interests, environmental interests and educational interests.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the user profile comprises user preferences.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the user profile associated with the user is stored on a device associated with the user.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein updating the at least one advertisement selected from the advertisement database based on the user profile and the search refinement input comprises processing at least one of user profile information, the search argument, and the search refinement input using at least one rule-based algorithm to update the at least one advertisement.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein updating the at least one advertisement selected from the advertisement database based on the user profile and the search refinement input comprises applying at least one non-precise technique to at least one of user profile information, the search argument, and the search refinement input using at least one rule-based algorithm to update the at least one selected advertisement.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the at least one non-precise technique comprises application of fuzzy logic.

20. The method of claim 1, comprising customizing, based on the user profile, at least one of the at least one modified search result and the updated at least one advertisement for receipt by the user.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein customizing, based on the user profile, the at least one of the at least one modified search result and the updated at least one advertisement comprises at least one of aurally enhancing the at least one of the at least one modified search result and the updated at least one advertisement, visually enhancing the at least one of the at least one modified search result and the updated at least one advertisement, textually enhancing the at least one of the at least one modified search result and the updated at least one advertisement, anecdotally enhancing the at least one of the at least one modified search result and the updated at least one advertisement, and logically enhancing the at least one of the at least one modified search result and the updated at least one advertisement.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein updating the at least one advertisement selected from the advertisement database based on the user profile and the search refinement input comprises selecting at least one other advertisement from the advertisement database for provision to the user.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein producing the at least one modified search result based on at least the search refinement input comprises producing at least one modified search result based on the search refinement input and the search argument.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein producing the at least one modified search result based on at least the search refinement input comprises producing at least one modified search result based on the search refinement input, the search argument and the user profile.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the updating the at least one advertisement based on the user profile and the search refinement input comprises updating the at least one advertisement based on the search refinement input, the search argument and the user profile.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein:

searching of the at least one contextual database is performed by a database search engine; and

selecting of the at least one advertisement from the advertisement database is performed by an associative search engine.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein:

producing the at least one modified search result is performed by the database search engine; and

updating the at least one advertisement is performed by the associative search engine.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the at least one search result and the at least one advertisement to the user comprises providing the at least one search result to the user together with the at least one advertisement.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein providing at least one of the at least one modified search result and the updated at least one advertisement to the user comprises providing the modified search result to the user together with the updated at least one advertisement.

30. A method of providing search results and advertisements to a user, the method comprising:

maintaining a user profile associated with the user, the user profile comprising at least one previous search argument from a previous search performed by the user;

receiving a search request comprising a new search argument from the user;

searching at least one contextual database based on the new search argument to produce at least one search result;

selecting, using non-precise techniques, at least one advertisement from an advertisement database based on the user profile and the new search argument;

providing the at least one search result and the at least one advertisement to the user;

modifying the user profile based on the new search argument received from the user;

receiving search refinement input from the user;

producing at least one modified search result based on at least the search refinement input;

updating the at least one advertisement selected from the advertisement database based on the modified user profile and the search refinement input; and

providing at least one of the at least one modified search result and the updated at least one advertisement to the user.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein producing the at least one modified search result based on at least the search refinement input comprises producing at least one modified search result based on the search refinement input and the new search argument.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein producing the at least one modified search result based on at least the search refinement input comprises producing at least one modified search result based on the search refinement input, the new search argument and the user profile.

33. The method of claim 30, wherein:

searching of the at least one contextual database is performed by a database search engine; and

selecting of the at least one advertisement from the advertisement database is performed by an associative search engine.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein:

producing the at least one modified search result is performed by the database search engine; and

updating the at least one advertisement is performed by the associative search engine.