Providing results to parameterless search queries

• US 9,146,964 B2
• Filed: 05/06/2014
• Issued: 09/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Agarwal, Sumit, Gundotra, Vivek Paul, Nicolaou, Alexander
• Primary Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUD, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US14/270,902
• Publication Number:
  US 20140244683A1
• Time in Patent Office: 511 Days
• Field of Search: 701/414, 701/417, 701/418, 701/424, 340/995.17
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3691 Retrieval, searching and output of information related to real-time traffic, weather, or environmental conditions arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions G08G1/09
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2457 with adaptation to user needs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24575 using context
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/903 Querying for retrieval from the web G06F16/953
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results

Abstract

In one implementation, a computer-implemented method includes receiving a parameterless search request, which was provided to a mobile computing device, for information that is relevant to a user of the mobile computing device. The method also includes, in response to the received parameterless search request, identifying with a digital computer system one or more results that are determined to be relevant to the user of the mobile computing device based upon a current context of the mobile computing device. The method further includes providing the results for display to a user of the mobile computing device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining, by a computing system and based at least in part on information included in one or more emails associated with a user of a mobile computing device, a context of the mobile computing device;

responsive to determining the context, executing, by a computing system, based at least in part on the context of the mobile computing device, a parameterless search query to identify one or more results determined to be relevant to the user of the mobile computing device; and

sending, by the computing system, to the mobile computing device, the one or more results.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the context of the mobile computing device is responsive to receiving a parameterless search request.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the context is determined based at least in part on a current geographic location of the mobile computing device, and wherein the one or more results include information regarding one or more entities located within a threshold distance of the current geographic location of the mobile computing device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the current context includes a current rate of speed at which the mobile computing device is traveling, the method further comprising:

responsive to determining that the current rate of speed is determined to exceed a threshold rate of speed, identifying, by the computing system, traffic condition information for the route.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the context includes one or more calendar appointments associated with the user, the method further comprising:

responsive to determining that at least one of the one or more calendar appointments occur within a threshold period of time of a current time of day and a current date, identifying, by the computing system, information regarding the at least one of the one or more calendar appointments, where the one or more results include the information regarding the at least one of the one or more calendar appointments.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the current context includes a recent activity of the user on the mobile computing device, the method further comprising:

responsive to determining that information associated with at least a portion of the recent activity of the user has been updated since the user last engaged in the portion of the recent activity, identifying, by the computing system, the information associated with at least the portion of the recent activity of the user, wherein the one or more results includes the information associated with at least the portion of the recent activity of the user.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, by the computing system, based at least in part on the current context of the mobile computing device, one or more result categories likely to be relevant to the user of the mobile computing device, wherein the one or more results are associated with the one or more result categories, the method further comprising;

receiving, by the computing system, an indication of whether the user considered the one or more result categories to be relevant;

selecting, by the computing system, a portion of the one or more results associated with previous contexts of the mobile computing device, the previous contexts being determined to have a threshold degree of similarity to the context of the mobile computing device; and

identifying, by the computing system, based at least in part on the portion of the one or more results associated with the previous contexts, the one or more result categories.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving data that indicates whether the user considered previously identified results to be relevant, the data being associated with previous contexts of the mobile computing device; and

selecting a portion of the retrieved data associated with a portion of the previous contexts of the mobile device determined to have a threshold degree of similarity to the context of the mobile computing device,

wherein the one or more results are identified based on the selected portion of the retrieved data.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing system received a parameterless search request from the mobile computing device in response to the mobile computing device receiving an input, the method further comprising:

selecting, by the computing system, based at least in part on a manner in which the input was received by the mobile computing device, a subsystem of the mobile computing device to use for providing the one or more results to the user, wherein the one or more results are provided using the selected subsystem of the mobile computing device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing system is remote from the mobile computing device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing system comprises the mobile computing device.

12. A computing system comprising:

an input subsystem that receives a request for a parameterless search query;

a context determination unit that, responsive to receiving the request for the parameterless search query, determines, based on information about one or more emails associated with a user of a mobile computing device, a context of the mobile computing device;

a result identification unit that, in response to the context determination unit determining the context, executes, based at least in part on the context of the mobile computing device, the parameterless search query to identify one or more results determined to be relevant to the user of the mobile computing device; and

an output subsystem that provides the one or more results to the mobile computing device.

13. The computing system of claim 12, further comprising:

a data repository that stores user behavior data,

wherein the result identification unit retrieves, from the data repository, data that indicates whether the user considered previously identified results identified to be relevant, the data being associated with previous contexts of the mobile computing device, and selects a portion of the retrieved data associated with a portion of the previous contexts of the mobile device determined to have a threshold degree of similarity to the context of the mobile computing device,

wherein the one or more results are identified based on the selected portion of the retrieved data.

14. The computing system of claim 12,

wherein the context determination unit receives a current geographic location of the mobile computing device and determines, based at least in part on the current geographic location of the mobile computing device, the context, and

wherein the one or more results include information regarding one or more entities located within a threshold distance of the current geographic location of the mobile computing device.

15. The computing system of claim 12, wherein the context determination unit receives an indication of a route currently being traveled by the mobile computing device and a current speed at which the computing device is traveling and, responsive to determining that the current rate of speed is determined to exceed a threshold rate of speed, identifies traffic condition information for the route.

16. The computing system of claim 12, wherein the context determination unit receives an indication of one or more calendar appointments associated with the user and, responsive to determining that at least one of the one or more calendar appointments occur within a threshold period of time of a current time of day and a current date, identifies information regarding the at least one of the one or more calendar appointments, where the one or more results include the information regarding the at least one of the one or more calendar appointments.

17. The computing system of claim 12, wherein the context determination unit receives an indication of a recent activity of the user on the mobile computing device, and, responsive to determining that information associated with at least a portion of the recent activity of the user has been updated since the user last engaged in the portion of the recent activity, identifies the information associated with at least the portion of the recent activity of the user, wherein the one or more results includes the information associated with at least the portion of the recent activity of the user.

18. A mobile computing device comprising:

a global positioning unit that provides geographic location information of the mobile computing device;

a context determination unit that determines, based on the current geographic location information of the mobile computing device, a context of the mobile computing device; and

a network interface that sends the context of the mobile computing device to a remote server system and receives, from the remote server system, one or more results of a parameterless search query, the one or more results being determined to be relevant to a user of the mobile computing device and being identified based at least in part on the context of the mobile computing device and information included in one or more emails associated with a user of the mobile computing device.

19. The mobile computing device of claim 18, further comprising:

an activity monitor unit that provides at least one of an indication of recent user activity on the mobile computing device or habitual user activity on the mobile computing device,

wherein the context determination unit determines, based at least in part on the indication of the recent user activity on the mobile computing device or the indication of the habitual user activity on the mobile computing device, the context of the mobile computing device.

20. The mobile computing device of claim 18, further comprising:

a calendar unit that provides an indication of appointments for a user of the mobile computing device;

wherein the context determination unit determines, based at least in part on the indication of the appointments for the user, the context of the mobile computing device.

21. The mobile computing device of claim 18, further comprising:

a user behavior data repository that stores data that indicates whether the user considered previously identified results to be relevant, the data being associated with previous contexts of the mobile computing device; and

a result identification unit that selects a portion of the retrieved data associated with a portion of the previous contexts of the mobile device determined to have a threshold degree of similarity to the context of the mobile computing device,

wherein the network interface sends an indication of the selected portion of the retrieved data to the remote server system, and

wherein the one or more results are identified based on the indication of the selected portion of the retrieved data.

22. The mobile computing device of claim 18, further comprising:

a user behavior data repository that stores data that indicates whether the user considered previously identified results to be relevant, the data being associated with previous contexts of the mobile computing device; and

a category identification unit that identifies, based on the data, one or more categories of information determined to be relevant to the user, wherein the one or more categories of information are associated with a portion of the previous contexts of the mobile device determined to have a threshold degree of similarity to the context of the mobile computing device,

wherein the network interface sends an indication of the one or more categories of information to the remote server system, and

wherein the one or more results are identified based at least in part on the indication of the one or more categories of information.