Gesture-based search

• US 10,444,979 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2012
• Issued: 10/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Huang, Xuedong David, Shen, Samuel Y., Zhang, Hongjiang, Rui, Yong
• Primary Examiner(s): Peng, Huawen A
• Application Number:
  US13/609,729
• Publication Number:
  US 20130006957A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,590 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

Computer-readable media, computer systems, and computing devices for initiating a search function, such as presentation of a search box or initiation of a search, is provided. In one embodiment, the method includes detecting movement of a selector from within a display area to an edge of the display area. Such a selector can be controlled by an input device coupled to a user device. In response to detecting movement of the selector from within the display area to the edge of the display area, a search-query input area associated with a search engine is presented within a display screen view.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of initiating a search function, the method comprising:

receiving a control input selecting a content displayed within an application window, the application window being displayed on a display screen of a client device;

detecting a search gesture, the search gesture comprising dragging the selected content from an interior portion of the display screen across an area on one of a plurality of outer edges of the display screen, the plurality of outer edges bounding the interior portion;

in response to said detecting the search gesture, determining a display location for a search-query input area that is adjacent to the area on the one of the plurality of outer edges across which the content was dragged;

in response to said detecting the search gesture, outputting for display at the display location the search-query input area associated with a search engine, wherein the search-query input area is at least one of removed, hidden, or minimized after a predetermined period of time elapses without user interaction with the search-query input area; and

automatically generating a search query based on the selected content and providing a visual indication of the search query at the search-query input area.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of outer edges comprises a top edge, a right-side edge, a bottom edge, and a left-side edge.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the display location for the search-query input area comprises identifying the one of the plurality of outer edges of the display screen across which the selected content is dragged.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating contextual signals related to the selected content for use by the search engine.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the search-query input area overlays the content at a top portion of a display screen view.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the search-query input area comprises a text box in which a user can provide text used to search for content relevant thereto.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the search gesture further comprises detecting a velocity of a selector associated with the search gesture.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein detecting the search gesture further comprises determining that the velocity of the selector is above a threshold velocity.

9. One or more computer-readable storage media storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, configure the processor to perform acts comprising:

receiving a control input selecting a content displayed within an application window, the application window being displayed on a display screen of a client device;

detecting a search gesture, the search gesture comprising dragging the content from an inner portion of the display screen across an area on an outer edge of the display screen, a selector moving the content being controlled by an input device coupled to a user device;

in response to detecting the search gesture, determining a display location for a search-query input area that is adjacent to the area of the outer edge of the display screen across which the content was dragged, and automatically generating a search query at the display location, wherein the search query is based on the selected content associated with the selector, and wherein the search-query input area is at least one of removed, hidden, or minimized after a predetermined period of time elapses without user interaction with the search-query input area;

initiating a search to be performed using the search query; and

presenting one or more search results of the search, placement of the one or more search results corresponding to the display location.

10. The media of claim 9, wherein the presenting one or more search results of the search comprises overlaying the one or more search results over the content.

11. The media of claim 9, wherein the search query further comprises context information providing signals usable to improve relevance of one or more search results.

12. The media of claim 11, wherein the context information comprises one or more of:

additional content proximate to the content;

a paragraph having a portion thereof within the content;

a sentence having a portion thereof within the content;

a title of a document having a portion of the document within the content;

a uniform resource locator where the content is located;

an application identifier of an application used to display the content;

or

metadata associated with the content.

13. The media of claim 9, wherein the content is already selected at a time the search gesture is performed.

14. The media of claim 9, wherein detecting the search gesture further comprises determining that a velocity of the selector is above a threshold velocity.

15. A computer system comprising:

one or more processors; and

computer storage memory having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the one or more processors, are configured to implement a method comprising;

receiving an input at a display area, the display area comprising an interior portion within a set of edges, the input comprising (1) a selection of content in the interior portion and (2) a performance of a dragging gesture from the interior portion across an edge of the set of edges;

in response to receiving the input, providing for presentation a search query area at a location adjacent to the edge across which the dragging gesture was performed, the search query area comprising a query input area and a results area, wherein the search query area is at least one of removed, hidden, or minimized after a predetermined period of time elapses without user interaction with the search query area;

determining a search query based on the selected content;

initiating a search based on the search query and receiving results from the search; and

providing the results for presentation at the results area.

16. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the search query is further based on context information associated with the selected content, the context information comprising a title of a document in which the selected content is included.

17. The computer system of claim 16, wherein the context information further comprises a uniform resource locator for the selected content.

18. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the search query area is provided for presentation in response to a velocity at which the dragging gesture is performed satisfying a threshold velocity.

19. The computer system of claim 15, wherein a visual representation of the input is provided for presentation at the display area, and wherein a scope of the search is altered based on a resizing of the visual representation of the input.

20. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the query input area comprises a plurality of potential search queries, and wherein the search is initiated in response to a selection of one of the plurality of potential search queries.