Dynamic definitive image service
First Claim
1. A computer system providing a dynamic definitive image service, the system having a processor and a memory, the memory having components executing on the processor and comprising:
- an image request component that receives a query from a user for a definitive image that is representative of a topic of the query;
an image mapping component that maps one or more terms of the query to one or more images stored in an image data store for those of the one or more images that are related to the one or more terms;
an image ranking component that ranks the one or more images according to a relative likelihood of being the definitive image for the topic of the query, the image ranking component outputting a ranked definitive image;
an editorial override component that allows a human editor to replace the ranked definitive image selected by the image ranking component with an editor-chosen definitive image;
an image selection component providing as output the definitive image selected from the ranked definitive image and the editor-chosen definitive image;
a retrieval component that retrieves an image binary associated with the definitive image selected by the image selection component; and
an image response component that responds to the query with the retrieved image binary.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A representative image system is described herein that provides a representative image for any given search query. Upon receiving a search for a term (or terms), the system accesses an inverted index to identify images associated with that term. The system then receives a ranked list of images. The ranked list includes image identifiers, and once an item in the list is selected the system can use the associated image identifier to retrieve the image from a thumbnail or other server. If an editor has overridden the default image for the present search query, then the system returns the image identifier for the overridden image, which can be used to access the image from the thumbnail or other server. Thus, the representative image system provides a reliable and universal mechanism for retrieving representative images for any given topic dynamically in real time.
18 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A computer system providing a dynamic definitive image service, the system having a processor and a memory, the memory having components executing on the processor and comprising:
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an image request component that receives a query from a user for a definitive image that is representative of a topic of the query; an image mapping component that maps one or more terms of the query to one or more images stored in an image data store for those of the one or more images that are related to the one or more terms; an image ranking component that ranks the one or more images according to a relative likelihood of being the definitive image for the topic of the query, the image ranking component outputting a ranked definitive image; an editorial override component that allows a human editor to replace the ranked definitive image selected by the image ranking component with an editor-chosen definitive image; an image selection component providing as output the definitive image selected from the ranked definitive image and the editor-chosen definitive image; a retrieval component that retrieves an image binary associated with the definitive image selected by the image selection component; and an image response component that responds to the query with the retrieved image binary. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A computer-implemented method comprising each of the following as implemented by a processor of a computer:
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storing data regarding a plurality of images in an image data store; receiving, from a user, a query for a definitive image representative of a topic of the query; identifying one or more of the plurality of images that are related to the topic from the data regarding the plurality of images in the image data store; ranking each of the one or more of the plurality of images with a relative likelihood score of being the definitive image; supplying an editorial override allowing a human editor the ability to designate the definitive image irrespective of the ranking; selecting the definitive image according to the relative likelihood score of the one or more of the plurality of images and according to the editorial override; retrieving an image binary associated with the selected definitive image; and sending the retrieved image binary to the user in response to the query. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. Computer readable media encoded with computer readable instructions which, when executed by a processor on a computing system, carry out a method for providing a definitive image, the method comprising:
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storing data regarding a plurality of images in an image data store; receiving a request during a query for the definitive image that is representative of a topic of the query; identifying one or more of the plurality of images that are related to the topic of the query from the data regarding the one or more of the plurality of images in the image data store; ranking each of the one or more of the plurality of images with a relative likelihood score of being the definitive image; supplying an editorial override allowing a human editor the ability to designate the definitive image irrespective of the ranking; selecting the definitive image according to the relative likelihood score of the one or more of the plurality of images and according to the editorial override; retrieving an image binary associated with the selected definitive image; and sending the retrieved image binary in response to the request. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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Specification