Method and system for triggering a search request

• US 9,037,560 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2009
• Issued: 05/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ChaCha Search, Inc.
• Original Assignee: ChaCha Search, Inc.
• Inventors: Jones, Scott A., Cooper, Thomas E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ehichioya, Fred I
• Assistant Examiner(s): MACKES, KRIS E
• Application Number:
  US12/398,454
• Publication Number:
  US 20090228464A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,266 Days
• Field of Search: 707/705
• US Class Current: 707/705
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2457 with adaptation to user needs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/10 Services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/18 Commands or executable codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/222 using geographical location information, e.g. messages transmitted or received in proximity of a certain spot or area

Abstract

A method and system providing a response to an unrestricted request for information responsive to an unrestricted triggering condition. A request is associated with a condition which initiates an information search. A result associated with a request and a condition may be provided to a user via any or all communication services and/or devices associated with the user. A response may be delivered according to instructions from a user.

Claims

1. A method for providing access to information, comprising:

obtaining a request of a user;

selecting, by a hardware system, a human assistant other than the user based on content of the request;

selecting a resource based on a keyword of the request;

providing the request and an indication of the resource to the human assistant;

directing an indication of historical information of requests and responses of human assistants to the requests to the human assistant;

including information provided by the resource responsive to historical requests with the indication;

defining a trigger based on a response of the selected human assistant to the indication; and

performing an action determined based on the response when the trigger occurs.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the human assistant defines at least in part the action.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the resource is selected based on a keyword used to direct the request to a human guide.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the request is based at least in part on a message received from the user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the action includes transmitting a message including a search result obtained by submitting the request to a destination selected by a human guide other than the user and the destination is selected by the human guide before the trigger occurs.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the action is determined based on a communication service chosen by the user.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the resource is provided to the human assistant based on a ranking of the resource based on at least one of a keyword, a category or a profile associated with the request and the resource provides the trigger.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising:

defining the action at least in part by the human assistant;

defining the trigger at least in part by the human assistant;

providing historical information of a plurality of human assistants of the user and the resource to the human assistant;

selecting the historical information based on one of a keyword, a category and a profile associated with the request;

qualifying by the human assistant the request;

determining by the human assistant whether the trigger has occurred based on information provided by the resource while the trigger is pending; and

transmitting a message including a response of the human assistant to a device of the user responsive to the trigger.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein the request is selected by the human assistant from a plurality of previous requests to which human assistants responded.

10. The method of claim 1, comprising:

determining whether a condition has occurred; and

defining by the human assistant the action based on the request and the condition.

11. A system, comprising:

a user device submitting a request defined by a user; and

a search service device receiving the request, selecting a human guide other than the user to respond to the request, defining a trigger which requires a condition to occur, determining whether the trigger occurs based on an action of the human guide responsive to an indicator provided to the human guide when the condition occurs, presenting the indicator comprising historical information of requests and responses of human guides to the requests to the human guide when the condition occurs, selecting the resource and the historical information based on a keyword of the request, obtaining a response by submitting the request to a destination selected by a human assistant based on historical information of requests of the user, defining the trigger based on the destination and providing the response to the user responsive to an occurrence of the trigger.

12. The system of claim 11 comprising;

a guide device defining at least in part the trigger or the request; and

a database storing information pertaining to at least the request, the trigger or the user.

13. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing therein an instruction causing a computer to execute an operation including providing access to information, comprising:

receiving a request of a user;

selecting a human guide other than the user to respond to the request;

selecting a resource based on a keyword of the request;

providing to the human guide an indicator including information delivered by the resource comprising historical information of requests and responses of human guides to the requests;

formulating a trigger for the request based on a response of the human guide to the indicator; and

responding to the request by performing an action determined based on the response and the resource when determining that the trigger occurs.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the response to the request is information obtained by a human searcher selected by the trigger.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the request is received based on historical information of a person other than the user and the human guide.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the human guide formulates the trigger by choosing a future status of the resource as a portion of the trigger.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the human guide formulates a query and a different trigger based on the request and the query and the different trigger are used to respond to subsequent requests.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein an advertisement is transmitted subsequent to the formulating, and the responding includes transmitting at least one advertisement.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the formulating, and the determining are assisted by the human guide.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 19 comprising:

providing at least a portion of the request, the resource, and a notification of an occurrence of a criterion preceding the trigger to the human guide;

selecting by the human guide a qualified query, the resource, an answer and an advertisement; and

the responding comprising providing the answer and the advertisement.