RESTAURANT REVIEW SEARCH SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FINDING LINKS TO RELEVANT REVIEWS OF SELECTED RESTAURANTS THROUGH THE INTERNET BY USE OF AN AUTOMATICALLY CONFIGURED, SOPHISTICATED SEARCH ALGORITHM

• US 20080104059A1
• Filed: 01/30/2007
• Published: 05/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Dininginfo, LLC
• Original Assignee: Dininginfo, LLC
• Inventors: Segel, Joseph M.
• Application Number:
  US11/668,836
• Publication Number:
  US 20080104059A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9532 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation

Abstract

A system and method for providing a user with an automatic and highly efficient method to find links to relevant reviews of restaurants in a given location by use of an automatically configured, sophisticated search algorithm, The system generates a webpage arranged to receive inquiries from a user and utilizes an algorithm to automatically generate a sophisticated search string of specialized criteria upon receipt of minimal input information from the user in the form of only the name and approximate location of the particular restaurant for which reviews are desired. The search string is automatically provided to a customized Internet search engine, which conducts the search and returns the results for automatic display on the webpage.

Claims

1. A system for automatically providing a user with links to relevant reviews of restaurants in or near a given location by use of the Internet, said system comprising webpage generating means and search generating means, said webpage generating means being arranged for generating a webpage through the Internet, said webpage displaying names of various restaurants in or near a selected location, said webpage generating means also being arranged to receive inquiries from users seeking such restaurant reviews, said search generating means utilizing an algorithm to automatically generate a sophisticated search string of predetermined criteria to be used by said system upon receipt of minimal input information from a user, said input information being only the name and approximate location of the particular restaurant for which reviews are desired, said search generating means being arranged to automatically generate said search string to eliminate listings related to that restaurant that are not likely to be reviews and for automatically transmitting said search string to a customized Internet search engine that limits the search to a pre-selected group of web domains known to carry restaurant reviews, said search generating means being arranged for receiving the results of said search from the search engine and automatically displaying the results of the search on said webpage.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the location of the restaurant constitutes the metropolitan area of a city.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said search criteria comprises:

(A) the name of the restaurant, not in quotes and modified in the following manner, unless one of the words in the name of the restaurant is a single alphabetical character or a number, in which case the full name of the restaurant should be used and enclosed in quotes;

(a) if the name includes any descriptive word or words all such words are automatically omitted,

(b) if the name includes any common word or words or symbol all such words and symbols are automatically omitted,

(c) if the name includes any punctuation mark or marks all such punctuation marks are automatically omitted, and

(d) if the remaining part of the name consists of more than two words, only the first two words are used;

(B) the first word of the name of the city in which the restaurant is located conjoined with an “

OR”

operator followed by the ZIP code applicable to the restaurant'"'"'s address, except that;

(a) if the city name includes any common city name prefix, common word or abbreviation of such word all such words and abbreviations are automatically omitted,

(b) if the city name includes any punctuation marks such punctuation marks are automatically omitted;

(C) the last seven digits of the restaurant'"'"'s phone number conjoined with an “

OR”

operator followed by the first word, be it alphabetical or numerical, of the restaurant address, except that;

(a) if the address includes any type of street name or directional word or abbreviation of such a word all such words and abbreviations are automatically omitted,

(b) if the address includes any common word or words or symbol all such common words and symbols are automatically omitted,

(c) if the address includes any punctuation mark or marks all such punctuation marks are automatically omitted;

(D) the words “

Restaurant”

“

Cafe”

“

Bistro”

“

Ristorante” and

“

Brasserie”

, not in quotes, conjoined with a series of “

OR”

operators;

(E) the words “

review”

“

rating”

“

guide”

“

dining” and

“

dine”

, not in quotes, conjoined with a series of “

OR”

operators;

(F) an “

intitle”

statement followed by the first word of the restaurant name, modified in the same manner as set forth above, conjoined with a series of “

OR”

operators to a series of “

include URL”

statements, to identify URLs that are known to provide restaurant reviews in the selected geographic region but which do not include the name of the restaurant in the page title of said reviews.

4. A method for automatically providing a user with links to relevant reviews of restaurants in a given area by use of the Internet, said method comprising:

generating a webpage on the Internet to receive inquiries from users seeking such restaurant reviews,

displaying names of various restaurants located in various cities or metropolitan areas of such cities on said webpage;

utilizing an algorithm for automatically generating a sophisticated search string of predetermined criteria upon receipt of minimal input information from a user, said input information being only the name and approximate location of the particular restaurant for which reviews are desired, said search string being designed to eliminate links to webpages related to that restaurant that are not likely to be reviews;

receiving from the user said input information;

automatically providing said search string to a customized Internet search engine that limits the search to a pre-selected group of web domains known to carry restaurant reviews;

receiving the results of said search from said search engine; and

automatically displaying the results of said search on said webpage.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the location of the restaurant constitutes the metropolitan area of a city.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said search criteria comprises:

(A) the name of the restaurant, not in quotes and modified in the following manner unless one of the words in the name of the restaurant is a single alphabetical character or a number, in which case the full name of the restaurant is used and enclosed in quotes;

(a) if the name includes any descriptive word or words all such words are automatically omitted,

(b) if the name includes any common word or words or symbol all such words and symbols are automatically omitted,

(c) if the name includes any punctuation mark or marks all such punctuation marks are automatically omitted, and

(d) if the remaining part of the name consists of more than two words, only the first two words are used;

(B) the first word of the name of the city in which the restaurant is located conjoined with an “

OR”

operator followed by the ZIP code applicable to the restaurant'"'"'s address, except that;

(a) if the city name includes any common city name prefix, common word or abbreviation of such word all such words and abbreviations are automatically omitted,

(b) if the city name includes any punctuation marks such punctuation marks are automatically omitted;

(C) the last seven digits of the restaurant'"'"'s phone number conjoined with an “

OR”

operator followed by the first word, be it alphabetical or numerical, of the restaurant address, except that;

(a) if the address includes any type of street name or directional word or abbreviation of such a word all such words and abbreviations are automatically omitted,

(b) if the address includes any common word or words or symbol all such common words and symbols are automatically omitted,

(c) if the address includes any punctuation mark or marks all such punctuation marks are automatically omitted;

(D) the words “

Restaurant”

“

Cafe”

“

Bistro”

“

Ristorante” and

“

Bistro”

, not in quotes, conjoined with a series of “

OR”

operators;

(E) the words “

review”

“

rating”

“

guide”

“

dining” and

“

dine”

, not in quotes, conjoined with a series of “

OR”

operators;

(F) an “

intitle”

statement followed by the first word of the restaurant name, modified in the same manner as set forth above, conjoined with a series of “

OR”

operators to a series of “

include URL”

statements, to identify URLs that are known to provide restaurant reviews in the selected geographic region, but which do not include the name of the restaurant in the page title of said reviews.