Methods and systems for federation of results from search indexing

• US 9,659,058 B2
• Filed: 03/07/2014
• Issued: 05/23/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: X1 Discovery, Inc.
• Original Assignee: X1 Discovery, Inc.
• Inventors: Colwell, Steven Lee, Schmidt, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Chbouki, Tarek
• Application Number:
  US14/201,623
• Publication Number:
  US 20140289223A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,173 Days
• Field of Search: 707722
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2455 Query execution

Abstract

Systems and methods enable federation of search results. An identification of a first data source associated with a first schema is received by the system, the first data source comprising data of a first type. An identification of a second data source associated with a second schema is received, the second data source comprising data of a second type, the second type different than the first type. An identification of a plurality of fields for a results set user interface, a mapping of the data of the first type to a first field of the results set user interface, and a mapping of the data of the second type to the first field of the results set user interface, are accessed. Data of the first type and data of the second type are merged and provided for display in the first field on a user terminal.

Claims

1. A method of federating search results, the method comprising:

receiving an identification of a first data source associated with a first schema comprising a first plurality of data fields, the first data source comprising data of a first type;

receiving an identification of a second data source associated with a second schema comprising a second plurality of data fields comprising different data fields than data fields in the first plurality of data fields, the second data source comprising data of a second type, the second type different than the first type;

accessing an identification of a plurality of columns for a results set user interface, the plurality of columns comprising at least a first column and a second column;

accessing a mapping of a first field in the first plurality of data fields to the first column of the results set user interface, wherein the first field in the first plurality of data fields corresponds to a first type of data;

accessing a mapping of a first field in the second plurality of data fields to the first column of the results set user interface, wherein the first field in the second plurality of data fields corresponds to a second type of data different than the first type of data;

generating a first inverted index for the first type of data of the first data source;

generating a second inverted index for the second type of data of the second data source;

causing, at least in part, data of the first type of data from the first data source and data of the second type of data from the second data source to be merged and displayed in the first column of the results set user interface on a user terminal wherein

the results set user interface;

displays at the same time at least the first column and the second column, the first column including the first type of data of the first data source and the second type of data of the second data source, and

displays at the same time a first search field associated with the first column and a second search field associated with the second column, the first search field configured to receive a textual search query and enabling a user to conduct a search, using the textual search query, restricted to the first column of the plurality of columns of the results set user interface;

in response to receiving a textual search query from the user via the first search field associated with the first column, conducting a search restricted to the first column, the search comprising;

searching the first inverted index for the first type of data of the first data source and identifying data of the first type of data of the first data source that correspond to the textual search query,

searching the second inverted index for the second type of data of the second data source and identifying data of the second type of data of the second data source that correspond to the textual search query,

causing identified data of the first type of data that corresponds to the textual search query and identified data of the second type of data that corresponds to the textual search query to be displayed at the same time in the same first column, wherein the first column is a single column.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, the method further comprising:

accessing a mapping of a second field in the first plurality of data fields associated with the first data source to the second column of the results set user interface, wherein the second field in the first plurality of data fields corresponds to a third type of data;

accessing a mapping of a second field in the second plurality of data fields associated with the second data source to the second field of the results set user interface, wherein the second field in the second plurality of data fields corresponds to a fourth type of data, and the fourth type of data is different than the third type of data;

causing, at least in part, the third type of data from the first data source and the fourth type of data from the second data source to be merged and displayed in the second column on a user terminal, at substantially the same time as causing, at least in part, the first type of data from the first data source and the second type of data from the second data source to be merged and displayed in the first column on the user terminal; and

wherein the second search field associated with the second column enables a user to conduct a search restricted to the second column of the plurality of columns of the results set user interface.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, the method further comprising:

providing for display on the user terminal a menu of data sources;

enabling the user to select a plurality of data sources to be included in the results set;

receiving and storing a user selection of a first plurality of data sources to be included in the results set;

enabling the user to specify a mapping of a plurality of different data types from at least a portion of the first plurality of data sources to at least one results set column;

receiving and storing a user mapping of a first plurality of different data types to a results set field; and

based at least in part on the user mapping, causing at least in part the first plurality of different data types to be displayed in the results set field specified in the user mapping.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein:

the first data source is an email data source;

the first type of data is subject;

the second data source is a document data source; and

the second type of data is name,

wherein the email subject data associated with the first data source and the document name data associated with the second data source are merged and displayed in the first column of the results set user interface.

5. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein:

the first data source is an email data source;

the first type of data indicates date received;

the second data source is a document data source; and

the second type of data indicates date last edited,

wherein the email date received data associated with the first data source and the date last edited data associated with the second data source are merged and displayed in the first column of the results set user interface.

6. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first type of data is string and the second type of data is number or date.

7. The method as defined in claim 1, the method further comprising:

receiving via the first search field a search query from a user comprising a plurality of characters;

as the user enters the plurality of characters, incrementally filtering the merged data in the first column, including the data of the first type from the first data source and the data of the second type from the second data source; and

causing the incrementally filtered merged data to be displayed in the first column.

8. The method as defined in claim 1, the method further comprising:

receiving a sort instruction from the user;

sorting at least a portion of the merged data of the first type of data and the second type of data, wherein the data of the first type is a string, number or date, and the data of the second type is different than the data of the first type;

providing the sorted portion of the merged data of the first type and the second type for display in the first column of the results set user interface.

9. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first data source comprises a calendar data source, an email data source, an email attachments data source, a tasks data source, a contacts data source, a files data source, and/or a documents data source.

10. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first column corresponds to a name field, a document type field, a date field, a from field, a to field, a subject field, a path field, a source type field, a status field, an attachment field, a size field, an event start time field, an event end time field, or an event location field.

11. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of columns of the results set user interface comprises a search field configured to receive query text for searching only the data in the respective column, and a search field is provided configured to receive query text for searching across all of the plurality of columns.

12. A search federation system, comprising:

a computing system comprising hardware;

a non-transitory computer storage medium having stored thereon executable instructions that direct the computing system to perform operations comprising;

receiving an identification of a first data source associated with a first schema comprising a first plurality of data fields, the first data source comprising data of a first type;

receiving an identification of a second data source associated with a second schema comprising a second plurality of data fields comprising different data fields than data fields in the first plurality of data fields, the second data source comprising data of a second type, the second type different than the first type;

accessing an identification of a plurality of fields for a results set user interface, the plurality of results set user interface fields comprising at least a first results set user interface field and a second results set user interface field;

accessing a mapping of a first field in the first plurality of data fields associated with the first data source to the first field of the results set user interface, wherein the first field in the first plurality of data fields associated with the first data source corresponds to a first type of data;

accessing a mapping of a first field in the second plurality of data fields associated with the second data source to the first field of the results set user interface, wherein the first field in the second plurality of data fields corresponds to a second type of data different than the first type of data;

generating a first inverted index for the first type of data of the first data source;

generating a second inverted index for the second type of data of the second data source;

causing, at least in part, data of the first type of data from the first data source and data of the second type of data from the second data source to be merged and displayed in the first field of the results set user interface on a user terminal;

wherein the results set user interface;

displays at the same time at least the first field and the second field of the results set user interface, the first field of the results set user interface including the first type of data of the first data source and the second type of data of the second data source, and

displays at the same time a first search field associated with the first field of the results set user interface and a second search field associated with the second field of the results set user interface, the first search field configured to receive a textual search query and enabling a user to conduct a search, using the textual search query, restricted to the first field of the plurality of fields of the results set user interface;

in response to receiving a textual search query from the user via the first search field associated with the first field of the results set user interface, conducting a search restricted to the first field of the results set user interface, the search comprising;

searching the first inverted index for the first type of data of the first data source and identifying data of the first type of data of the first data source that correspond to the textual search query,

searching the second inverted index for the second type of data of the second data source and identifying data of the second type of data of the second data source that correspond to the textual search query,

causing identified data of the first type of data that corresponds to the textual search query and identified data of the second type of data that corresponds to the textual search query to be displayed at the same time in the same first field of the results set user interface.

13. The system as defined in claim 12, the operations further comprising:

accessing a mapping of a second field in the first plurality of data fields associated with the first data source to the second field of the results set user interface, wherein the second field in the first plurality of data fields associated with the first data source corresponds to a third type of data;

accessing a mapping of a second field in the second plurality of data fields associated with the second data source to the second field of the results set user interface, wherein the second field in the second plurality of data fields corresponds to a fourth type of data, and the fourth type of data is different than the third type of data;

causing, at least in part, the third type of data from the first data source and the fourth type of data from the second data source to be merged and displayed in the second field of the results set user interface on a user terminal, at substantially the same time as causing, at least in part, the first type of data from the first data source and the second type of data from the second data source to be merged and displayed in the second field on the user terminal;

wherein the second search field associated with the second field of the results set user interface enables a user to conduct a search restricted to the second field of the results set user interface.

14. The system as defined in claim 12, the operations further comprising:

providing for display on the user terminal a menu of data sources;

enabling the user to select a plurality of data sources to be included in the results set;

receiving and storing a user selection of a first plurality of data sources to be included in the results set;

enabling the user to specify a mapping of a plurality of different data types from at least a portion of the first plurality of data sources to at least one results set field;

receiving and storing a user mapping of a first plurality of different data types to a results set field; and

based at least in part on the user mapping, causing at least in part the first plurality of different data types to be displayed in the results set field specified in the user mapping.

15. The system as defined in claim 12, wherein:

the first data source is an email data source;

the first type of data is subject;

the second data source is a document data source; and

the second type of data is name,

wherein the email subject data associated with the first data source and the document name data associated with the second data source are merged and displayed in the first field of the results set user interface.

16. The system as defined in claim 12, wherein:

the first data source is an email data source;

the first type of data indicates date received;

the second data source is a document data source; and

the second type of data indicates date last edited,

wherein the email date received data associated with the first data source and the date last edited data associated with the second data source are merged and displayed in the first field of the results set user interface.

17. The system as defined in claim 12, wherein the first type of data is string and the second type of data is number or date.

18. The system as defined in claim 12, wherein the first field comprises a column.

19. The system as defined in claim 12, the operations further comprising:

receiving via the first search field a search query from a user comprising a plurality of characters;

as the user enters the plurality of characters, incrementally filtering the merged data in the first field of the results set user interface, including the data of the first type from the first data source and data of the second type from the second data source; and

causing the incrementally filtered merged data to be displayed in the first field.

20. The system as defined in claim 12, the operations further comprising:

receiving a sort instruction from the user;

sorting at least a portion of the merged data of the first type and of the second type, wherein the data of the first type is a string, number or date, and the data of the second type is different than the data of the first type;

providing the sorted portion of the merged data of the first type and the second type for display in the first field of the results set user interface.

21. The system as defined in claim 12, wherein the first field of the results set user interface corresponds to a name field, a document type field, a date field, a from field, a to field, a subject field, a path field, a source type field, a status field, an attachment field, a size field, an event start time field, an event end time field, or an event location field.

22. The system as defined in claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of fields of the results set user interface comprises a user interface configured to receive query text for searching only the data in the respective field of the results set user interface, and a search user interface is provided configured to receive query text for searching across all of the plurality of fields of the results set user interface.

23. A non-transitory computer storage medium having stored thereon executable instructions that when executed by a computer system direct the computing system to perform operations comprising:

receiving an identification of a first data source associated with a first schema comprising a first plurality of data fields, the first data source comprising data of a first type;

receiving an identification of a second data source associated with a second schema comprising a second plurality of data fields comprising different data fields than data fields in the first plurality of data fields, the second data source comprising data of a second type, the second type different than the first type;

accessing an identification of a plurality of fields for a results set user interface, the plurality of results set user interface fields comprising at least a first results set user interface field and a second results set user interface field;

accessing a mapping a first field in the first plurality of data fields associated with the first data source to the first field of the results set user interface, wherein the first field in the first plurality of data fields associated with the first data source corresponds to a first type of data;

accessing a mapping of a first field in the second plurality of data fields associated with the second data source to the first field of the results set user interface, wherein the first field in the second plurality of data fields corresponds to a second type of data different than the first type of data;

generating a first inverted index for the first type of data of the first data source;

generating a second inverted index for the second type of data of the second data source;

causing, at least in part, data of the first type of data from the first data source and data of the second type of data from the second data source to be merged and displayed in the first field of the results set user interface on a user terminal;

wherein the results set user interface;

displays at the same time at least the first field and the second field, the first field including the first type of data of the first data source and the second type of data of the second data source, and

displays at the same time a first search field associated with the first field and a second search field associated with the second field, the first search field configured to receive a textual search query and enabling a user to conduct a search, using the textual search query, restricted to the first field of the plurality of fields of the results set user interface;

in response to receiving a textual search query from the user via the first search field associated with the first field of the results set user interface, conducting a search restricted to the first field of the results set user interface, the search comprising;

searching the first inverted index for the first type of data of the first data source and identifying data of the first type of data of the first data source that correspond to the textual search query,

searching the second inverted index for the second type of data of the second data source and identifying data of the second type of data of the second data source that correspond to the textual search query,

causing identified data of the first type of data that corresponds to the textual search query and identified data of the second type of data that corresponds to the textual search query to be displayed at the same time in the same first field of the results set user interface.

24. The non-transitory computer storage medium as defined in claim 23, wherein each of the plurality of fields of the results set user interface comprises a user interface configured to receive query text for searching only the data in the respective field of the results set user interface, and a search user interface is provided configured to receive query text for searching across all of the plurality of fields of the results set user interface.