System and method for providing graphical representations of search results in multiple related histograms

• US 9,454,601 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2007
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Oral, Tolga, Newbold, David L., Wattenberg, Martin M., Bolin, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Saeed, Usmaan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kim, Paul
• Application Number:
  US11/950,753
• Publication Number:
  US 20080082513A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,219 Days
• Field of Search: 707/711, 707/741, 707/751, 707/748, 707/752, 1/1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

Abstract

A system and method are provided for enabling a user to search for documents that the user has previously viewed on its local machine. The system includes three main components: the desktop integration module, the index module, and the graphical user interface module. The desktop integration module is an application which monitors documents with which the user interacts for predetermined events, and obtains content data and metadata from the monitored documents. The index module indexes the content data and metadata received from the desktop integration module. The graphical user interface module then permits a user to utilize the desktop integration module and index module by allowing a user to search for a document.

Claims

1. A computer implemented system of providing a histogram displaying one or more documents that a user has previously accessed, comprising:

a first central processing unit hardware component configured to receive a search query to perform a search of an index of one or more documents that a user has previously accessed, said search query including one or more keywords; and

a second central processing unit hardware component configured to present a chronological histogram characterizing one or more documents matching said search query, wherein said chronological histogram includes;

a first axis providing a timeline for indicating a date when individual ones of said one or more matching documents were accessed by the user; and

a second axis providing two or more variables simultaneously characterizing individual ones of said one or more matching documents, wherein said two or more variables include

(1) a relevance variable indicating relevance to the search query of individual ones of said one or more matching documents, and

(2) a duration variable indicating a duration for which individual ones of said one or more matching documents were used by the user.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said histogram displays a data and a time of access for individual ones of said one or more matching documents said user has previously accessed and a duration for which individual ones of said one or more matching documents said user has previously accessed was used by the user.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said index includes parameters determined from metadata and content data extracted from documents being monitored for predetermined events while they are accessed by the user, thereby enabling the documents to be searched later.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein said metadata includes at least one of:

date and time a document was created, opened, closed, modified, or accessed;

amount of time spend on document;

number of times a document has been viewed or accessed;

or whether or not a document was printed or emailed.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein said content data includes at least one of:

words found in a document;

keywords stored with a document;

title of a document;

author of a document;

document type;

or document size.

6. The system of claim 3 wherein said predetermined events include at least one of:

opening a document;

closing a document;

printing a document;

or emailing a document.