Graphic Query Suggestion Apparatus and Program Product

• US 20120278369A1
• Filed: 04/28/2011
• Published: 11/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kritt, Barry A., Rakshit, Sarbajit K.
• Granted Patent: US 8,407,199 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/805
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3323 using document space presentation or visualization, e.g. category, hierarchy or range presentation and selection

Abstract

An apparatus and a program product which generates at a user'"'"'s computer system a display which graphically shows the relationships among a core query and one or more suggested related queries in a search conducted through an online search engine. The display preferably is a set of partially overlapping geometric figures such as circles, with the size of each circle indicating the number of resources found by the search queries and the overlap indicating commonality between a core query and a suggested related query.

Claims

1-9. -9. (canceled)

10. Apparatus comprising:

a computer system having a processor and memory;

computer instructions stored in said memory accessibly to said processor and effective when executing on said processor to;

respond to entry of a core search query into a search program by a computer system user by displaying to the user a plurality of geometric figures including a core figure representing a number of results delivered by the search program for the core search query and a secondary figure representing a number of results delivered for a suggested related query;

display the displayed figures in varying relative sizes determined by the number of results delivered by the search program for the core search query and the number of results delivered by the search program for the suggested query, with a larger sized display indicating a larger number of results; and

respond to the system user pointing a screen cursor to a displayed figure by displaying the results delivered by the search program for whichever of the queries is represented by the figure to which the cursor points.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the displayed geometric figures are circles.

12. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the displayed figures define areas of overlap within which the results delivered are for the core search query and the suggested query.

13. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the response to entry of the search query includes displaying a plurality of secondary figures representing a plurality of suggested related queries.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13 wherein the displayed figures define a plurality of areas of overlap within each of which the results delivered are for the core search query and a suggested query.

15. Apparatus according to claim 14 further comprising said instructions when executing on said processor being effective to respond to the system user pointing a screen cursor to an area of overlap by displaying results delivered by the search program for the queries represented by the area to which the cursor points.

16. Apparatus according to claim 14 further comprising said instructions when executing on said processor being effective to respond to the system user pointing a screen cursor to a plurality of selected areas of overlap by displaying results delivered by the search program for the alternative queries represented by the areas selected.

17. Apparatus according to claim 14 further comprising said instructions when executing on said processor being effective to respond to the system user pointing a screen cursor to an area of overlap outside of the core query figure by displaying results delivered by the search program which exclude the core query.

18. Apparatus according to claim 10 further comprising said instructions when executing on said processor enabling the system user to identify search query results as recommendations to social networking programs.

19. A computer program product for displaying search results, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transistory, tangible computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to;

respond to entry of a core search query into a search program by a computer system user by displaying to the user a plurality of geometric figures including a core figure representing a number of results delivered by the search program for the core search query and a secondary figure representing a number of results delivered for a suggested related query;

display the displayed figures in varying relative sizes determined by the number of results delivered by the search program for the core search query and the number of results delivered by the search program for the suggested query, with a larger sized display indicating a larger number of results; and

respond to the system user pointing a screen cursor to a displayed figure by displaying the results delivered by the search program for whichever of the queries is represented by the figure to which the cursor points.

20. A computer program product according to claim 19 wherein the response to entry of the search query includes displaying a plurality of secondary figures representing a plurality of suggested related queries.

21. A computer program product according to claim 20 wherein the displayed figures define a plurality of areas of overlap within each of which the results delivered are for the core search query and a suggested query.

22. A computer program product according to claim 21 wherein the response to the system user pointing a screen cursor to an area of overlap includes displaying results delivered by the search program for the queries represented by the area to which the cursor points.

23. A computer program product according to claim 21 wherein the response to the system user pointing a screen cursor to a plurality of selected areas of overlap includes displaying results delivered by the search program for the alternative queries represented by the areas selected.

24. A computer program product according to claim 21 wherein the response to the system user pointing a screen cursor to an area of overlap outside of the core query figure includes displaying results delivered by the search program which exclude the core query.

25. A computer program product according to claim 19 wherein the displayed geometric figures are circles.

26. A computer program product according to claim 25 wherein the displayed figures define areas of overlap within which the results delivered are for the core search query and the suggested query.