Non-language-based object search

• US 9,208,174 B1
• Filed: 11/19/2007
• Issued: 12/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Disney Enterprises Incorporated (The Walt Disney Company)
• Original Assignee: Disney Enterprises Incorporated (The Walt Disney Company)
• Inventors: Ballagh, Jonathan B., Fischaber, Thomas E., Milne, Roger B., Marks, Krista M., Stroomer, Theodore J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ng, Amy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wong, William
• Application Number:
  US11/942,484
• Time in Patent Office: 2,941 Days
• Field of Search: 715810-845, 715853-855, 707/731, 707/749, 707/778
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/51 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/532 Query formulation, e.g. graphical querying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/5866 using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, manually generated location and time information

Abstract

Disclosed are various approaches for searching for electronic information. In one embodiment, a first plurality of objects is presenting for user selection. The first plurality of objects is a first subset of a second plurality of objects that is organized by a plurality of containment categories in a data structure. A plurality of associations is stored, and each association defines a relationship between one of, two different ones of the plurality of categories, or two objects in two different ones of the plurality of containment categories. In response to user selection of one of the first plurality of objects, a second subset of the second plurality of objects is selected. Selection of the objects in the second subset is in part a function of respective weighted relevance values for associations of the selected object to each of the second plurality of objects. The second subset of objects is output.

Claims

1. A processor-based method for searching for electronic information, comprising:

presenting, for selection by a user and along a background scene, a first plurality of objects corresponding to the background scene, wherein the first plurality of objects is a first subset of a second plurality of objects organized by a plurality of containment categories in a data structure, wherein the data structure includes a plurality of associations defining relationships between two different ones of the plurality of containment categories and two objects in two different ones of the plurality of containment categories;

receiving a selection of one object of the first plurality of objects by the user and a placement of the one object of the first plurality of objects in first background scene by the user;

in response to receiving the selection and the placement of the one object of the first plurality of objects in the background scene by the user, selecting a second subset of the second plurality of objects in part as a function of (a) respective weighted relevance values for associations of the one object of the first plurality of objects to each of the second plurality of objects, and (b) respective weighted relevance values for associations of each of the second plurality of objects to the background scene, wherein the respective weighted relevance values for associations of the one object of the first plurality of objects to each of the second plurality of objects is determined based on (x) a number of containment categories shared between the one object and each of the second plurality of objects, and (y) a number of objects in each of the containment categories shared between the one object and each of the second plurality of objects; and

presenting, for selection by the user and along the background scene, the second subset of the second plurality of objects.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the presenting includes displaying an object in a form selected from the group consisting of an image, an icon, a photograph, a sketch, and a cartoon rendering.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the function further includes a degree of randomness.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data structure includes least one associative hub, wherein each associative hub defines at least one of, an associative relationship between two or more of the plurality of containment categories, or an associative relationship between at least two objects in different ones of the plurality of containment categories, wherein each weighted relevance value is further a function of the at least one associative relationship of the at least one associative hub to the one object of the first plurality of objects.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the weighted relevance values for associations of the one object of the first plurality of objects to each of the second plurality of objects is in part a function of a setting in which the user selection of the one object of the first plurality of objects was made.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the data structure further includes data about previous object selections by a user made prior to selection of the one object of the first plurality of objects, wherein selection of the second subset is in part a function of the stored data about the previous object selections.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting of the second subset of the second plurality of objects is in part a function of third-party advertisement interests in selection of objects in the second subset.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the function is further based on (c) previous object selections by one or more other users, and (d) previous object selections by the user.

9. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a non-transitory medium readable by a processing unit, the non-transitory medium having processor-executable instructions for searching for electronic information by;

presenting, for selection by a user and along a background scene, a first plurality of objects corresponding to the background scene, wherein the first plurality of objects is a first subset of a second plurality of objects organized by a plurality of containment categories in a data structure, wherein the data structure includes a plurality of associations defining relationships between two different ones of the plurality of containment categories and two objects in two different ones of the plurality of containment categories;

receiving a selection of one object of the first plurality of objects by the user and a placement of the one object of the first plurality of objects in first background scene by the user;

in response to receiving the selection and the placement of the one object of the first plurality of objects in the background scene by the user, selecting a second subset of the second plurality of objects in part as a function of (a) respective weighted relevance values for associations of the one object of the first plurality of objects to each of the second plurality of objects, (b) respective weighted relevance values for associations of each of the second plurality of objects to the background scene, wherein the respective weighted relevance values for associations of the one object of the first plurality of objects to each of the second plurality of objects is determined based on (x) a number of containment categories shared between the one object and each of the second plurality of objects, and (y) a number of objects in each of the containment categories shared between the one object and each of the second plurality of objects; and

presenting, for selection by the user and along the background scene, the second subset of the second plurality of objects.

10. The article of manufacture of claim 9, wherein the presenting includes displaying an object in a form selected from the group consisting of an image, an icon, a photograph, a sketch, and a cartoon rendering.

11. The article of manufacture of claim 9, wherein the function further includes a degree of randomness.

12. The article of manufacture of claim 9, wherein the data structure includes at least one associative hub, wherein each associative hub defines at least one of, an associative relationship between two or more of the plurality of containment categories, or an associative relationship between at least two objects in different ones of the plurality of containment categories, wherein each weighted relevance value is further a function of the at least one associative relationship of the at least one associative hub to the one object of the first plurality of objects.

13. The article of manufacture of claim 9, wherein one or more of the weighted relevance values for associations of the one object of the first plurality of objects to each of the second plurality of objects is in part a function of a setting in which the user selection of the one object of the first plurality of objects was made.

14. The article of manufacture of claim 9, wherein the data structure includes data about previous object selections by a user made prior to selection of the one object of the first plurality of objects, wherein selection of the second subset is in part a function of the stored data about the previous object selections.

15. The article of manufacture of claim 9, wherein the selecting of the second subset of the second plurality of objects is in part a function of third-party advertisement interests in selection of objects in the second subset.

16. The article of manufacture of claim 9, wherein the function is further based on (c) previous object selections by one or more other users, and (d) previous object selections by the user.

17. An apparatus for searching for electronic information, comprising:

a memory having processor-executable instructions; and

a processing unit executing the processor-executable instructions to;

present, for selection by a user and along a background scene, a first plurality of objects corresponding to the background scene, wherein the first plurality of objects is a first subset of a second plurality of objects organized by a plurality of containment categories in a data structure, wherein the data structure includes a plurality of associations defining relationships between two different ones of the plurality of containment categories and two objects in two different ones of the plurality of containment categories;

receive a selection of one object of the first plurality of objects by the user and a placement of the one object of the first plurality of objects in first background scene by the user;

in response to receiving the selection and the placement of the one object of the first plurality of objects in the background scene by the user, select a second subset of the second plurality of objects in part as a function of (a) respective weighted relevance values for associations of the one object of the first plurality of objects to each of the second plurality of objects, (b) respective weighted relevance values for associations of each of the second plurality of objects to the background scene, wherein the respective weighted relevance values for associations of the one object of the first plurality of objects to each of the second plurality of objects is determined based on (x) a number of containment categories shared between the one object and each of the second plurality of objects, and (y) a number of objects in each of the containment categories shared between the one object and each of the second plurality of objects; and

present, for selection by the user and along the background scene, the second subset of the second plurality of objects.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the selecting of the second subset of the second plurality of objects is in part a function of third-party advertisement interests in selection of objects in the second subset.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the function further includes a degree of randomness.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the function is further based on (c) previous object selections by one or more other users, and (d) previous object selections by the user.