System and method for searching for a query

• US 9,400,838 B2
• Filed: 04/11/2006
• Issued: 07/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TextDigger, Inc.
• Original Assignee: TextDigger, Inc.
• Inventors: Musgrove, Timothy A., Walsh, Robin H.
• Primary Examiner(s): HASAN, SYED HAROON
• Application Number:
  US11/401,448
• Publication Number:
  US 20070011154A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,759 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3338 Query expansion
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/247 Thesauruses; Synonyms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/30 Semantic analysis

Abstract

A search system for searching for electronic documents, and providing a search result in response to a search query is provided. The search system includes a processor, a user interface module adapted to receive a search query from a user, the search query having at least one search query term, and a query processing module that analyzes the search query term to identify candidate synonym words. The query processing module also determines which of the candidate synonym words are equivalent terms to the search query term, and in a same sense as the search query term. In addition, the search system includes a search engine that executes a search based on the search query term and the equivalent terms.

Claims

1. A search system for searching for electronic documents, and providing a search result in response to a search query, comprising:

a processor;

a user interface module adapted to receive a search query from a user, said search query having at least two original search query terms;

a query processing module that analyzes at least one original search query term of the at least two original search query terms to identify candidate synonym words for said at least one original search query term, and determines which of said candidate synonym words are equivalent terms to said at least one original search query term, wherein equivalent terms are candidate synonym words that are used in a same sense as said at least one original search query term is used in said search query;

wherein said query processing module substitutes at least one of said candidate synonym words into said search query in place of said at least one original query search term to generate a modified search query, and a search engine executes a search using said modified search query, and

wherein said query processing module determines which of said candidate synonym words are equivalent terms to said at least one original search query term based at least partially on which of said candidate synonym words are located together with at least one of the other at least two original search query terms in semantically continuous segments retrieved by said search engine using said modified search query.

2. The search system of claim 1, wherein said query processing module determines which of said candidate synonym words that are equivalent terms to said at least one search query term based at least partially on how many documents in which said candidate synonym words are found together in semantically contiguous segments.

3. The search system of claim 1, further including a query pre-processing module which determines co-occurring words in popular queries and stores the determined co-occurring words in at least one word set list, wherein said pre-processing module determines equivalent terms to said co-occurring query words of said at least one word set list.

4. The search system of claim 3, wherein said query pre-processing module retrieves said determined equivalent terms in response to co-occurring query words being submitted as a search query.

5. The search system of claim 4, wherein said query pre-processing module retrieves an intersection of said determined equivalent terms if a plurality of co-occurring query words are submitted as a search query.

6. The search system of claim 1, wherein said use interface module is adapted to display said candidate synonym words that are determined to be equivalent terms to said at least one original search query term.

7. The search system of claim 6, wherein said user interface module is adapted to allow at least one of said equivalent terms to be suppressed from being used by said search engine.

8. The search system of claim 1, wherein said use interface module is adapted to display a user selectable alternative sense for said at least one original search query term.

9. The search system of claim 1, further including a filtering module adapted to analyze said search query to determine whether said search query is directed to pornography, and block pornographic electronic documents if said search query is determined to be not directed to pornography.

10. A computer implemented method for searching electronic documents, and providing a search result in response to a search query, comprising:

receiving a search query from a user, said search query having at least two search query terms;

analyzing at least one search query term of said at least two search query terms to identify candidate synonym words for said at least one search query term;

substituting at least one of said candidate synonym words into said search query in place of said at least one query search term to generate a modified search query;

executing a first search using said modified search query;

determining which of said candidate synonym words are equivalent terms to said at least one search query term, wherein equivalent terms are candidate synonym words that are used in a same sense as said at least one search query term is used in said search query based at least partially on which of said candidate synonym words are located together with at least one of the other search query terms in semantically continuous segments retrieved by said search engine using said modified search query in said first search; and

executing a second search using said at least one search query term and said equivalent terms.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein executing the search using said at least one search query term and said candidate synonym words comprises executing the search using said modified search query.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein said determination of which of said candidate synonym words are equivalent terms to said at least one search query term is based at least partially on how many documents in which said candidate synonym words are found together in semantically contiguous segments.

13. The method of claim 12, further including calculating and assigning prior probability scores to said candidate synonym words which reflects a likelihood of each candidate synonym word being used in an equivalent manner to said at least one search query term, wherein said determination of which of said candidate synonym words are equivalent terms to said at least one search query term is further based on said prior probability scores.

14. The method of claim 10, further including determining co-occurring query words in popular queries, storing the determined co-occurring words in at least one word set list, and determining equivalent terms to said co-occurring query words of said at least one word set list.

15. The method of claim 14, further including retrieving said determined equivalent terms in response to co-occurring query words being submitted as a search query.

16. The method of claim 15, further including retrieving an intersection of said determined equivalent terms if a plurality of co-occurring query words are submitted as a search query.

17. The method of claim 10, further including displaying for the user, said candidate synonym words that are determined to be equivalent terms to said at least one search query term.

18. The method of claim 17, further including suppressing at least one of said equivalent terms from being used by said search engine.

19. The method of claim 10, further including displaying a user selectable alternative sense for said at least one search query term.

20. The method of claim 10, further including analyzing said search query to determine whether said search query is directed to pornography, and blocking pornographic electronic documents if said search query is determined to be not directed to pornography.

21. Computer readable media with executable instructions physically stored thereon which cause a computer system to carry out a method when executed, the method comprising:

receiving a search query from a user, said search query having at least two search query terms;

analyzing said at least two search query terms to identify candidate synonym words for at least one of said at least two search query terms;

substituting at least one of said candidate synonym words into said search query in place of said at least one query search term to generate a modified search query;

executing a first search using said at least one search query term and said modified search query;

determining which of said candidate synonym words are equivalent terms to said at least one search query term, wherein equivalent terms are candidate synonym words that are used in a same sense as said at least one search query term is used in said search query based at least partially on which of said candidate synonym words is found together with at least one of the other search query terms in semantically continuous segments retrieved by said search engine using the modified search query in said first search;

executing a second search using said at least one search query term and said equivalent terms.

22. The computer readable media of claim 21, further comprising substituting each of said candidate synonym words into said search query in place of said at least one query search term to generate modified search queries, and wherein executing the search using said at least one search query term and said candidate synonym words comprises executing searches using said modified search queries.

23. The computer readable media of claim 21, further comprising determining which of said candidate synonym words are equivalent terms to said at least one search query term based at least partially on how many documents in which said candidate synonym words are found together with said at least one search query term in semantically contiguous segments.

24. The computer readable media of claim 23, further comprising calculating and assigning prior probability scores to said candidate synonym words which reflects a likelihood of each candidate synonym word being used in an equivalent manner to said at least one search query term, and determining which of said candidate synonym words are equivalent terms to said at least one search query term based on said prior probability scores.

25. The computer readable media of claim 21, further comprising determining co-occurring query words in popular queries, storing the determined co-occurring words in at least one word set list, and determining equivalent terms to said co-occurring query words of said at least one word set list.

26. The computer readable media of claim 25, further comprising retrieving said determined equivalent terms in response to co-occurring query words being submitted as a search query.

27. The computer readable media of claim 26, further comprising retrieving an intersection of said determined equivalent terms if a plurality of co-occurring query words are submitted as a search query.

28. The computer readable media of claim 21, further comprising displaying for the user, said candidate synonym words that are determined to be equivalent terms to said at least one search query term.

29. The computer readable media of claim 28, further comprising suppressing at least one of said equivalent terms from being used by said search engine.

30. The computer readable media of claim 21, further comprising displaying a user selectable alternative sense for said at least one search query term.

31. The computer readable media of claim 21, further comprising analyzing said search query to determine whether said search query is directed to pornography, and instructions for blocking pornographic electronic documents if said search query is determined to be not directed to pornography.