Interactive Intelligent Searching with Executable Suggestions

• US 20100223275A1
• Filed: 05/10/2010
• Published: 09/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Byteweavr, LLC (Ascend Innovation Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Archeron Ltd LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Foulger, Michael G., Gaul, Matthew J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,055,605 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/767
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3322 using system suggestions G06F16/3325 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 706/934 Information retrieval or Information management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A method, system, and computer program product for interactive searching with executable suggestions provides a search engine and data management technology that determine what a user is looking for, analyze the data in a database, and present immediately useful suggestions for finding the right information. Executable suggestions are presented that enable a user to further narrow or broaden a search intelligently and adaptively in real-time. Each executable suggestion describes a search and corresponding search criteria and provides information on the actual search results a user will obtain according to this search criteria. In one embodiment of the present invention, a system has a suggestion engine and one or more suggestion spaces.

Claims

1. A method for interactive searching, comprising:

receiving, by a computing device, a search query;

identifying, by the computing device, in the received search query at least one parameter that corresponds to a location dimension in a suggestion space;

interrogating, by the computing device, the suggestion space to determine scope change search results based on a scope change search criteria;

creating, by the computing device, a smart tip that represents the scope change search results; and

outputting, by the computing device, an executable suggestion based on the smart tip.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the search query is associated with a contract resource.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the contract resource is a travel-related contract resource.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the scope change search criteria indicates whether to create a smart tip for a broader or narrower search, and wherein said interrogating the suggestion space comprises searching for broader or narrower search results in accordance with a value of the scope change search criteria.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said outputting an executable suggestion comprises transmitting data configured to display the executable suggestion.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the location dimension comprises an origination location.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the location dimension comprises a destination location.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying in the received search query at least one parameter that corresponds to a time dimension in the suggestion space.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the time dimension comprises a start time.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the time dimension comprises a completion time.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the time dimension comprises a duration.

12. A system for interactive, intelligent searching of data elements in a knowledge base, the knowledge base including data elements in multiple search dimensions, comprising:

a suggestion engine executing on a processing device; and

a suggestion space, coupled to the suggestion engine, the suggestion space having at least one data structure representative of relationships between data elements in the knowledge base;

wherein the multiple search dimensions include a location dimension;

wherein the suggestion engine interrogates the suggestion space based on received scope change search criteria to obtain scope change search results and returns a smart tip that represents the scope change search results; and

wherein the suggestion engine outputs an executable suggestion based on the smart tip.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the data elements in the knowledge base comprise data elements associated with contract resources.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the contract resources are travel-related contract resources.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the location dimension comprises an origination location.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the location dimension comprises a destination location.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the multiple search dimensions comprise a time dimension.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the time dimension comprises a start time.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the time dimension comprises a completion time.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the time dimension comprises a duration.

21. The system of claim 14, wherein the travel-related contract resources comprise lodging contract resources.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the multiple search dimensions comprise an amenity dimension.

23. The system of claim 12, wherein the scope change search criteria indicates whether to create a smart tip for a broader or narrower search, and wherein the suggestion engine interrogates the suggestion space searching for broader or narrower search results in accordance with a value of the received scope change search criteria.

24. The system of claim 12, wherein the smart tip includes scope change search criteria, node, and search results information, and wherein the executable suggestion is configured to receive input indicating whether to execute a broader or narrower search based on the node and search results information included in the smart tip.

25. The system of claim 12, wherein the suggestion space includes suggestion tables.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the suggestion tables comprise at least one taxonomy.

27. The system of claim 12, wherein the suggestion space includes suggestion tables stored in the knowledge base and an in-memory suggestion space stored in memory, the in-memory suggestion space representing a copy of at least a portion of the suggestion tables.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the suggestion space includes:

a suggestion space populator and a suggestion space updater, the suggestion space populator and the suggestion space updater each being coupled between the suggestion tables and the in-memory suggestion space.

29. The system of claim 24, further comprising a suggestion structure builder coupled between the knowledge base and the suggestion tables, the suggestion structure builder receiving an input from a knowledge expert and generating an output to modify the suggestion tables in accordance with the received input.

30. The system of claim 24, further comprising a knowledge base suggestion mapper coupled between the knowledge base and the suggestion tables and configured to map data in the knowledge base to a corresponding location in the suggestion tables.

31. The system of claim 12, further comprising:

a query builder, coupled to the suggestion engine;

a tip formatter;

a tip interface, coupled between the tip formatter and the suggestion engine;

a smart domain module; and

a searchable interface coupled between the suggestion engine and the smart domain module.

32. A database interface, comprising:

a user interface device including at least one processor configured to form a representation of a first query of a database in response to an input, to transmit the first query of the database, to receive a result of the first query, to receive a recommendation to change the first query, to present for display a representation of the result of the first query, to output a representation of the recommendation to change the first query, to transmit a second query of the database in response to another input, to receive a result of the second query, and to output a representation of the result of the second query;

wherein the first query has a parameter that corresponds to an object in a set, wherein the object relates to a location, and wherein the recommendation to change the first query includes at least one child of the object and at least one parent of the object, and the second query corresponds to a child of the object or parent of the object selected from the recommendation to change the first query.

33. The database interface of claim 32, wherein the at least one processor further is configured to transmit data configured to display the representation of the recommendation to change the first query in at least one of a written form and a graphic faun and to transmit the second query to the database in response to an input that interacts with the at least one of the written form and the graphic form of the recommendation to change the first query.

34. The database interface of claim 33, wherein the representation of the recommendation to change the first query comprises at least one of a written hyperlink and a graphic hyperlink.

35. The database interface of claim 32, wherein the at least one processor is configured to convert the first query into a faun that differentiates a first parameter from a second parameter.

36. The database interface of claim 32, wherein the database is a contract resources database including travel related contract resources.

37. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions, execution of which by a computing device causes the computing device to perform operations for interfacing with a database, the operations comprising:

forming a representation of a first query of the database at a database interface processing device in response to an input, wherein the first query includes a parameter that corresponds to an object in a set, wherein the object corresponds to a location;

transmitting the first query to the database;

receiving at the database interface processing device a result of the first query and a recommendation to change the first query, wherein the recommendation to change the first query includes at least one child of the object and at least one parent of the object;

displaying, at the database interface processing device, a representation of the result of the first query and a representation of the recommendation to change the first query;

transmitting from the database interface processing device a second query of the database, wherein the second query corresponds to a child of the object or a parent of the object selected from the recommendation to change the first query;

receiving at the database interface processing device a result of the second query; and

outputting, from the database interface processing device, a representation of the result of the second query.

38. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 37, wherein the operation of outputting the representation of the recommendation to change the first query comprises transmitting data configured to display the representation of the recommendation in at least one of a written form and a graphic form, and wherein the operation of transmitting the second query comprises receiving an input at the database interface processing device that interacts with the at least one of the written faun and the graphic farm.

39. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 38, wherein the representation of the recommendation to change the first query comprises at least one of a written hyperlink and a graphic hyperlink.

40. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 37, wherein the operations further comprise converting the first query into a form that differentiates a first parameter from a second parameter.

41. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, execution of which by a computing device causes the computing device to perform operations for analyzing a database, the operations comprising:

receiving from an interface device a first query of the database, wherein the first query has a parameter that corresponds to an object in a set, wherein the object relates to a location;

searching the database for the object;

analyzing a number of search result elements in the object, for each candidate value of the parameter, to determine a value corresponding to the result of the first query, wherein the value of the parameter corresponding to the result of the first query has a baseline number of search result elements;

constructing a recommendation to change the first query, wherein the recommendation to change the first query includes at least one parent of the object, wherein the number of search result elements of the object for the candidate value of the parameter is more than the baseline number of search result elements, and at least one child of the object, wherein the number of search result elements of the object for the candidate value of the parameter is less than the baseline number of search result elements;

transmitting a result of the first query to the interface device;

transmitting to the interface device the recommendation to change the first query;

receiving from the interface device a second query of the database, wherein the second query corresponds to a child of the object or a parent of the object selected from the recommendation to change the first query transmitted to the interface device; and

transmitting to the interface device a result of the second query.

42. A database interfacing system, comprising:

means for forming a representation of a first query of a database, wherein the first query has a parameter that corresponds to an object in a set, wherein the object relates to a location;

means for transmitting the first query to the database;

means for receiving a result of the first query and a recommendation to change the first query, wherein the recommendation to change the first query includes at least one child of the object and at least one parent of the object;

means for transmitting data configured to display a representation of the result of the first query and a display representation of the recommendation to change the first query;

means for transmitting a second query of the database, wherein the second query corresponds to a child of the object or a parent of the object selected from the recommendation to change the first query;

means for receiving a result of the second query; and

means for transmitting data configured to display a representation of the result of the second query.