Providing results to parameterless search queries

• US 9,212,915 B2
• Filed: 08/05/2013
• Issued: 12/15/2015
• 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 Jeanglaude, Gertrude
• Application Number:
  US13/959,680
• Publication Number:
  US 20130325307A1
• Time in Patent Office: 862 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:

receiving, by a computing system, from a mobile computing device, a parameterless search request for information determined to be relevant to a user of the mobile computing device;

responsive to receiving the parameterless search request, identifying, by the computing system, based at least in part on a context of the mobile computing device, one or more results determined to be relevant to the user of the mobile computing device, wherein the context includes prior location information for the mobile computing device, and wherein the one or more results include traffic condition information associated with a route to a location determined based on the prior location information; and

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

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to receiving the parameterless search request, determining, by the computing system, the context of the mobile computing device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the context includes a current geographic location of the mobile computing device.

4. The method of claim 3, 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.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the current context includes a current rate of speed at which the mobile computing device is travelling.

6. The method of claim 5, 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, the traffic condition information for the route.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the context includes one or more calendar appointments associated with the user.

8. The method of claim 7, 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.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the current context includes recent activity of the user on the mobile computing device.

10. The method of claim 9, 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.

11. 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.

12. The method of claim 11, 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.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more result categories include at least one of:

a travel category, a travel category, a geographic proximity category, an environment category, a recent updated information category, and a personal information category.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

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

selecting a portion of the retrieved second 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 second data.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing system received the 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.

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

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

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameterless search request comprises an indication that a user shook the mobile computing device.

19. A computing system comprising:

an input subsystem that receives a parameterless search request for information determined to be relevant to a user of a mobile computing device;

a result identification unit that, in response to the input subsystem receiving the parameterless search request, identifies, based at least in part on a context of the mobile computing device, one or more results that are determined to be relevant to the user of the mobile computing device, wherein the context includes prior location information for the mobile computing device, and wherein the one or more results include traffic condition information associated with a route to a location determined based on the prior location information; and

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

20. A computer-readable storage medium encoded with instructions for causing one or more processors of a computing system to:

receive from a mobile computing device, a parameterless search request for information determined to be relevant to a user of the mobile computing device;

responsive to receiving the parameterless search request, identify, based at least in part on a context of the mobile computing device, one or more results determined to be relevant to the user of the mobile computing device, wherein the context includes prior location information for the mobile computing device, and wherein the one or more results include traffic condition information associated with a route to a location determined based on the prior location information; and

send, to the mobile computing device, the one or more results.