Subject matter context search engine

• US 9,311,410 B2
• Filed: 08/01/2014
• Issued: 04/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Green, Edward A., Markey, Kevin L., Kreider, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoang, Son T
• Application Number:
  US14/449,827
• Publication Number:
  US 20150032712A1
• Time in Patent Office: 620 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/285 Clustering or classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3322 using system suggestions G06F16/3325 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results

Abstract

A search system associates contextual metadata with search terms and/or stored terms to facilitate identification of relevant information. In one implementation, a search term is identified (4304) from a received search request. The search term is then rewritten (4306) in standard form and the standard form term is then set (4308) as the current search parameter. A source database is then searched (4310) using the current search parameter. If any results are obtained (4312) these results may be output (4320) to the user. If no results are obtained, a parent classification of the search term is set (4316) as the current search parameter and the process is repeated. The invention thereby provides the ease of use of term searching with the comprehensiveness of category searching.

Claims

1. A method utilizing at least one computing device for searching stored data, comprising steps of:

providing a list of potential search terms pertaining to a subject matter of interest, wherein the list of potential search terms is generated independent of the stored data;

identifying source terms in a source form from the stored data;

establishing a set of rules for transforming the potential search terms from a first form to a standardized form and for transforming the source terms in the source form to the standardized form, wherein the standardized form differs from both the first form and the source form with respect to at least one of linguistics and syntax;

transforming, using the set of rules, a given term of the potential search terms, thereby providing a transformed potential search term in the standardized form, wherein at least two separate terms from the list of potential search terms in the first form correspond to a first single term in the standardized form;

transforming, using the set of rules, a given term of the source terms, thereby providing a transformed source term in the standardized form, wherein two separate terms from the source terms correspond to a second single term in the standardized form;

associating the transformed potential search term and the transformed source term with a common classification structure;

receiving a search request comprising one term of the list of potential search terms; and

using the transformed potential search term corresponding to the one term of the potential search terms of the search request relative to the common classification structure having the transformed source term to search the stored data in response to the search request;

wherein the transforming steps and the associating step occur prior to the receiving of the search request.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the given term of the potential search terms is identical to the given term of the source terms of the stored data.

3. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the steps of transforming, using the set of rules, each comprises converting the corresponding given term to the standardized form and then translating the standardized form.

4. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the steps of transforming, using the set of rules, each comprises associating contextual metadata with the corresponding given term, wherein the contextual metadata assists in searching the stored data.

5. A searchable data system, comprising:

a controller comprising a hardware processor for processing a search request;

a first storage structure for storing a first knowledge base for transforming potential search terms from a first form to a standardized form, wherein at least two separate potential search terms in the first form correspond to a single standardized term in the standardized form;

an input port for receiving the search request including a search term, wherein the input port is in operative communication with the controller;

a second storage structure for storing a second knowledge base for relating the transformed potential search terms in the standardized form to a defined classification structure of a subject matter of the searchable data system, wherein the defined classification structure includes at least one classification having a parent and child relationship, wherein a child classification corresponds to a subset of an associated parent classification in relation to the subject matter;

logic, executed by the controller for

processing the search request, for transforming the search term of the search request into the standardized form using said first knowledge base and

identifying the standardized search term, using the second knowledge base, to relate the standardized search term to a determined classification of the defined classification structure, and using the determined classification to relate the standardized search term to at least one term of the potential search terms to access the first storage structure to obtain data responsive to the search request, wherein the controller attempts to relate the at least one potential search term to the child classification prior to attempting to relate the at least one potential search term to the associated parent classification in the event the responsive data is unavailable using the child classification; and

an output port for outputting the responsive data from the controller.

6. The system as set forth in claim 5, wherein the defined classification structure includes multiple classifications having parent and child relationships.

7. The method as set forth in claim 6, wherein a given child classification is associated with a plurality of parent classifications.