System and method for generating refinement categories for a set of search results
First Claim
1. A method executed by a computer for generating a set of categories in response to a search query, comprising:
- generating a plurality of search results in response to a query;
identifying at least one category from a hierarchy of categories for each search result;
rank-ordering each identified category in descending order based on a number of times the category was identified for the plurality of search results;
selecting an initial set of refinement categories based on the rank-ordering of the identified categories, wherein the initial set of refinement categories contains a plurality of categories, and wherein the number of categories in the initial set of refinement categories is less than the total number of categories identified in the identifying step;
eliminating all categories from the initial set of refinement categories that meet an elimination criterion, wherein the eliminating generates a resulting set of refinement categories, wherein the eliminating further includes eliminating all categories from the initial set of refinement categories that have a hierarchical ancestor in the initial set of refinement categories, wherein, after the eliminating step, generating a final set of refinement categories by adding a new category for each category eliminated during the eliminating step to the resulting set of refinement categories, and wherein the new category is a next highest-ranking category in the rank-ordering of the identified categories that was not in the initial set of refinement categories based on the rank-ordering of the identified categories;
appending a supplementary category to the final set of refinement categories, wherein the supplementary category provides access to identified categories not in the final set of refinement categories, and wherein selection of the supplementary category causes a new search to be executed using the same search query but with the final set of refinement categories and their children and grandchildren excluded and removing all the children and grandchildren from a current category list; and
displaying the final set of refinement categories and the supplementary category.
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Abstract
A system for enhancing search results generated in response to a search query. The system comprises: a category identifier system that analyzes each search result and identifies at least one category from a hierarchy of categories for each search result, thereby providing a list of identified categories; a ranking system that ranks each category in the list of identified categories; and a selection system that selects a predetermined number of the highest ranking categories from the list of identified categories to generate the set of refinement categories, wherein the selection system eliminates categories from the set of refinement categories if the category has a parent in the set of refinement categories.
55 Citations
8 Claims
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1. A method executed by a computer for generating a set of categories in response to a search query, comprising:
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generating a plurality of search results in response to a query; identifying at least one category from a hierarchy of categories for each search result; rank-ordering each identified category in descending order based on a number of times the category was identified for the plurality of search results; selecting an initial set of refinement categories based on the rank-ordering of the identified categories, wherein the initial set of refinement categories contains a plurality of categories, and wherein the number of categories in the initial set of refinement categories is less than the total number of categories identified in the identifying step; eliminating all categories from the initial set of refinement categories that meet an elimination criterion, wherein the eliminating generates a resulting set of refinement categories, wherein the eliminating further includes eliminating all categories from the initial set of refinement categories that have a hierarchical ancestor in the initial set of refinement categories, wherein, after the eliminating step, generating a final set of refinement categories by adding a new category for each category eliminated during the eliminating step to the resulting set of refinement categories, and wherein the new category is a next highest-ranking category in the rank-ordering of the identified categories that was not in the initial set of refinement categories based on the rank-ordering of the identified categories; appending a supplementary category to the final set of refinement categories, wherein the supplementary category provides access to identified categories not in the final set of refinement categories, and wherein selection of the supplementary category causes a new search to be executed using the same search query but with the final set of refinement categories and their children and grandchildren excluded and removing all the children and grandchildren from a current category list; and displaying the final set of refinement categories and the supplementary category. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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Specification