Framework reactive search facility

• US 7,827,175 B2
• Filed: 06/10/2004
• Issued: 11/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kraft, Reiner, Pourmirzaie, Farrokh E., Plow, Gregory M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Vital; Pierre M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Raab; Christopher J
• Application Number:
  US10/866,295
• Publication Number:
  US 20050278312A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,336 Days
• Field of Search: 707/3, 707/4, 707/5
• US Class Current: 707/728
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results

Abstract

A search request from a user is received wherein the search request comprises a search framework profile and at least one search term. An accumulated result set of identifiers is generated wherein each identifier within the set of identifiers facilitates access to a corresponding unit of information in a data store, and wherein the corresponding unit of information comprises the at least one search term. The identifiers of the accumulated result set are ranked in accordance with the degree of affinity of each of the corresponding units of information to the search framework profile to form a final result set. The final result set is then delivered to the user.

Claims

1. A method for delivering search results responsive to a user search request, comprising:

receiving a search request from a user by way of a processor wherein said search request comprises a search framework profile and at least one search term wherein the search framework profile directs a search facility using one or more user-selected non-topical search characteristics, the non-topical search characteristics selected from a set of predefined non-topical search characteristics to generate the search framework profile;

generating an accumulated result set of identifiers wherein each identifier within said set of identifiers facilitates access to a corresponding unit of information in a data store, and wherein said corresponding unit of information comprises said at least one search term;

utilizing search framework metadata associated with said accumulated result set to rank the identifiers of said accumulated result set in accordance with a degree of affinity of each of said corresponding units of information to said search framework profile to form a final result set, wherein said degree of affinity is based at least partially on a unit level composite relative strength value associated with said corresponding unit of information, the search framework metadata for each corresponding unit of information comprising one or more stored predefined relative strength values, each relative strength value corresponding directly and respectively to each of the one or more user-selected non-topical search characteristics in the search framework profile; and

delivering said final result set to said user.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said corresponding unit of information comprises a web page.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said data store comprises a computing network.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said computing network comprises a World Wide Web.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said data store comprises a computer.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said ranking further comprises deleting at least one identifier from said set of identifiers when said degree of affinity is below a threshold value.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said search framework profile comprises a plurality of search framework profiles.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said receiving comprises:

receiving a search framework identifier; and

retrieving said search framework profile from a repository utilizing said search framework identifier.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said repository is a computer file.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein said repository is a relational database and said search framework profile is in the form of a database table.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

selecting a search engine to at least partially generate said accumulated result set wherein said search engine selection is based at least partially on said search framework profile.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said search engine is a plurality of search engines.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein said unit level composite relative strength value is less than an average relative strength value if at least one threshold for a relative strength value associated with a search framework profile characteristic for said corresponding unit of information is not achieved.

14. A method for creating a search framework profile for use with a framework reactive search facility, comprising:

activating by way of a processor a Search Framework Profile (“

SFP”

) Wizard responsive to a user request;

receiving user input responsive to data displayed by said SFP Wizard to define a search framework profile, the search framework profile comprising one or more user-selected non-topical search characteristics, the non-topical search characteristics selected from a set of predefined non-topical search characteristics;

saving said user input in a repository wherein said search framework profile comprises said user input wherein the SFP directs a search facility using the one or more user-selected non-topical search characteristics; and

wherein the SFP is usable by a search facility to retrieve search results comprising units of information, each unit of information having corresponding search framework metadata, which is used to rank the search results in accordance with a degree of affinity, wherein said degree of affinity is based at least partially on a unit level composite relative strength value associated with said corresponding unit of information, comprising one or more stored predefined relative strength values, each relative strength value corresponding directly and respectively to one or more of the user-selected non-topical search characteristics in the search framework profile.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein said search framework profile is a plurality of search framework profiles.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein said search framework profile has a framework identifier wherein said framework identifier is formed from said user input.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said framework identifier is a search framework profile name.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein said search framework profile comprises at least one characteristic of a searcher.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein said search framework profile further comprises at least one specification of a search objective.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein said search framework profile further comprises at least one specification of a search domain.

21. A method for information interchange between a plurality of search engines, comprising:

storing by way of a processor information, related to processing by a first search engine, in a first area associated with a search framework profile wherein the search framework profile directs a search facility using one or more user selected non-topical search characteristics, the non-topical search characteristics selected from a set of predefined non-topical search characteristics to generate the search framework profile;

retrieving at least a subset of said information from said first area by a second search engine, the subset of said information comprising search framework metadata used by the second search engine for ranking identifiers of an accumulated results set returned by the second search engine, the identifiers of the accumulated results set ranked in accordance with a degree of affinity of each of a unit of information corresponding to said identifiers; and

wherein the search framework profile is usable by a search facility to retrieve search results comprising units of information, each unit of information having corresponding search framework metadata, which is used to rank the search results in accordance with a degree of affinity, wherein said degree of affinity is based at least partially on a unit level composite relative strength value associated with said corresponding unit of information, comprising one or more stored predefined relative strength values, each relative strength value corresponding directly and respectively to one or more of the user-selected non-topical search characteristics in the search framework profile.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising utilizing said first area at least in part to exclude said first search engine from a plurality of search engines eligible for use by a framework reactive search facility to perform a user requested search operation.

23. A method for performing a computerized search, comprising:

requesting a search operation by way of a processor wherein said search operation request comprises a search framework profile and at least one search term, and wherein said search framework profile comprises one or more non-topical search characteristics, the non-topical search characteristics selected from a set of predefined non-topical search characteristics to generate the search framework profile;

receiving from a framework reactive search facility, responsive to said requested search operation, a final result set comprising identifiers wherein each identifier within said final result set of identifiers facilitates access to a corresponding unit of information and wherein said corresponding unit of information comprises said search term and each unit of information having corresponding search framework metadata, which is used to rank the search results in accordance with a degree of affinity, wherein said degree of affinity is based at least partially on a unit level composite relative strength value associated with said corresponding unit of information, comprising one or more stored predefined relative strength values, each relative strength value corresponding directly and respectively to one or more of the user-selected non-topical search characteristics in the search framework profile, and wherein said final result set of identifiers are ranked in accordance with the degree of affinity of each of said corresponding units of information to said non-topical search characteristic; and

making available said final result set to a user initiating the search operation.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein said search framework profile comprises user input captured by a search framework profile wizard.

25. A method for delivering search results responsive to a user search request, comprising:

receiving a search request by way of a processor from a user wherein said search request comprises a search objective and at least one search term, the search objective selected from a set of predefined search objectives to generate a search framework profile;

generating a set of identifiers wherein each identifier within said set of identifiers facilitates access to a corresponding unit of information in a data store, and wherein said corresponding unit of information comprises said at least one search term;

utilizing search framework metadata associated with said accumulated result set to rank the identifiers of said accumulated result set in accordance with a degree of affinity of each of said corresponding units of information to said search objective to form a final result set, wherein said degree of affinity is based at least partially on a unit level composite relative strength value associated with said corresponding unit of information, the search framework metadata for each corresponding unit of information comprising one or more stored predefined relative strength values, each relative strength value corresponding directly and respectively to each of the search objectives in the set of predefined search objectives; and

delivering said ranked set of identifiers to said user.

26. A method for making a computer implemented process to enable delivering search results responsive to a user search request, said method comprising:

encoding a first set of computer instructions onto a computer readable medium, said first instructions configured to receive a search request from a user wherein said search request comprises a search framework profile and at least one search term wherein the search framework profile directs a search facility using one or more user-selected non-topical search characteristics, the non-topical search characteristics selected from a set of predefined non-topical search characteristics to generate the search framework profile;

encoding a second set of computer instructions onto a computer readable medium, said second instructions configured to generate an accumulated result set of identifiers wherein each identifier within said set of identifiers facilitates access to a corresponding unit of information in a data store, and wherein said corresponding unit of information comprises said at least one search term;

encoding a third set of computer instructions onto a computer readable medium said,

third instructions configured to utilize search framework metadata associated with said accumulated result set to rank the identifiers of said accumulated result set in accordance with a degree of affinity of each of said corresponding units of information to said search framework profile to form a final result set, wherein said degree of affinity is based at least partially on a unit level composite relative strength value associated with said corresponding unit of information, the search framework metadata for each corresponding unit of information comprising one or more stored predefined relative strength values, each relative strength value corresponding directly and respectively to each of the one or more user-selected non-topical search characteristics in the search framework profile; and

encoding a fourth set of computer instructions onto a computer readable medium, said fourth first instructions configured to deliver said final result set to said user.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein said corresponding unit of information comprises a web page.

28. The method of claim 26 wherein said data store comprises a computing network.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein said computing network comprises a World Wide Web.

30. The method of claim 26 wherein said data store comprises a computer.

31. The method of claim 26 wherein said ranking further comprises encoding a fifth set of computer instructions onto a computer readable medium, said fifth instructions configured to delete at least one identifier from said set of identifiers when said degree of affinity is below a threshold value.

32. The method of claim 26 wherein said search framework profile comprises a plurality of search framework profiles.

33. The method of claim 26 wherein said first set of computer instructions comprises:

manipulating the computer readable medium to direct a computer to receive a search framework identifier; and

manipulating the computer readable medium to direct a computer to retrieve said search framework profile from a repository utilizing said search framework identifier.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein said repository is a computer file.

35. The method of claim 33 wherein said repository is a relational database and said search framework profile is in the form of a database table.

36. The method of claim 26 further comprising:

encoding a sixth set of computer instructions onto a computer readable medium, said sixth instructions configured to select a search engine to at least partially generate said accumulated result set wherein said search engine selection is based at least partially on said search framework profile.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein said search engine is a plurality of search engines.

38. The method of claim 26 wherein said unit level composite relative strength value is less than an average relative strength value if at least one threshold for a relative strength value associated with a search framework profile characteristic for said corresponding unit of information is not achieved.

39. A system for delivering search results responsive to a user search request, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory storing instructions that;

receive a search request from a user wherein said search request comprises a search framework profile and at least one search term wherein the search framework profile directs a search facility using one or more user-selected non-topical search characteristics, the non-topical search characteristics selected from a set of predefined non-topical search characteristics to generate the search framework profile;

generate an accumulated result set of identifiers wherein each identifier within said set of identifiers facilitates access to a corresponding unit of information in a data store, and wherein said corresponding unit of information comprises said at least one search term;

rank the identifiers of said accumulated result set in accordance with a degree of affinity of each of said corresponding units of information to said search framework profile to form a final result set, wherein said degree of affinity is based at least partially on a unit level composite relative strength value associated with said corresponding unit of information, the search framework metadata for each corresponding unit of information comprising one or more stored predefined relative strength values, each relative strength value corresponding directly and respectively to one or more of the user-selected non-topical search characteristics in the search framework profile; and

deliver said final result set to said user.

40. The system of claim 39 wherein said corresponding unit of information comprises a web page.

41. The system of claim 39 wherein said data store comprises a computing network.

42. The system of claim 41 wherein said computing network comprises a World Wide Web.

43. The system of claim 39 wherein said data store comprises a computer.

44. The system of claim 39 wherein said ranking further comprises deleting at least one identifier from said set of identifiers when said degree of affinity is below a threshold value.

45. The system of claim 39 wherein said search framework profile comprises a plurality of search framework profiles.

46. The system of claim 39 wherein said receiving comprises:

receiving a search framework identifier; and

retrieving said search framework profile from a repository utilizing said search framework identifier.

47. The system of claim 46 wherein said repository is a computer file.

48. The system of claim 46 wherein said repository is a relational database and said search framework profile is in the form of a database table.

49. The system of claim 39 wherein said memory further stores instructions that:

select a search engine to at least partially generate said accumulated result set wherein said search engine selection is based at least partially on said search framework profile.

50. The system of claim 49 wherein said search engine is a plurality of search engines.

51. The system of claim 39 wherein said unit level composite relative strength value is less than an average relative strength value if at least one threshold for a relative strength value associated with a search framework profile characteristic for said corresponding unit of information is not achieved.

52. A system for creating a search framework profile for use with a framework reactive search facility, comprising

a processor;

and

a memory storing instructions that;

activate a Search Framework Profile (“

SFP”

) Wizard responsive to a user request, wherein the SFP directs a search facility using one or more user-selected non-topical search characteristics, the non-topical search characteristics selected from a set of predefined non-topical search characteristics to generate the search framework profile;

receive user input responsive to data displayed by said SFP Wizard;

save said user input in a repository wherein said search framework profile comprises said user input; and

wherein the SFP is usable by a search facility to retrieve search results comprising units of information, each unit of information having corresponding search framework metadata, which is used to rank the search results in accordance with a degree of affinity, wherein said degree of affinity is based at least partially on a unit level composite relative strength value associated with said corresponding unit of information, comprising one or more stored predefined relative strength values, each relative strength value corresponding directly and respectively to one or more of the user-selected non-topical search characteristics in the search framework profile.

53. The system of claim 52 wherein said search framework profile is a plurality of search framework profiles.

54. The system of claim 52 wherein said search framework profile has a framework identifier wherein said framework identifier is formed from said user input.

55. The system of claim 54 wherein said framework identifier is a search framework profile name.

56. The system of claim 52 wherein said search framework profile comprises at least one characteristic of a searcher.

57. The system of claim 56 wherein said search framework profile further comprises at least one specification of a search objective.

58. The system of claim 52 wherein said search framework profile further comprises at least one specification of a search domain.

59. A system for information interchange between a plurality of search engines, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory storing instructions that;

store information, related to processing by a first search engine, in a first area associated with a search framework profile wherein the search framework profile directs a search facility using one or more user-selected non-topical search characteristics, the non-topical search characteristics selected from a set of predefined non-topical search characteristics to generate the search framework profile; and

retrieve at least a subset of said information from said first area by a second search engine, the subset of said information comprising search framework metadata used by the second search engine for ranking identifiers of an accumulated results set returned by the second search engine; and

wherein the search framework profile is usable by a search facility to retrieve search results comprising units of information, each unit of information having corresponding search framework metadata, which is used to rank the search results in accordance with a degree of affinity, wherein said degree of affinity is based at least partially on a unit level composite relative strength value associated with said corresponding unit of information, comprising one or more stored predefined relative strength values, each relative strength value corresponding directly and respectively to one or more of the user-selected non-topical search characteristics in the search framework profile.

60. The system of claim 59 wherein said memory further stores instructions that utilize said first area at least in part to exclude said first search engine from a plurality of search engines eligible for use by a framework reactive search facility to perform a user requested search operation.

61. A system for delivering search results responsive to a user search request, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory storing instructions that;

receive a search request from a user wherein said search request comprises a search objective and at least one search term, the search objective selected from a set of predefined search objectives to generate a search framework profile;

generate a set of identifiers wherein each identifier within said set of identifiers facilitates access to a corresponding unit of information in a data store, and wherein said corresponding unit of information comprises said at least one search term;

rank the identifiers of said set of identifiers in accordance with the degree of affinity of each of said corresponding units of information to said search objective to form a ranked set of identifiers, each unit of information having corresponding search framework metadata, which is used to rank the search results in accordance with a degree of affinity, wherein said degree of affinity is based at least partially on a unit level composite relative strength value associated with said corresponding unit of information, comprising one or more stored predefined relative strength values, each relative strength value corresponding directly and respectively to one or more of the user-selected non-topical search characteristics in the search framework profile; and

deliver said ranked set of identifiers to said user.

62. An article of manufacture for use in a computer system tangibly embodying computer instructions on a computer readable storage medium executable by said computer system to perform process steps for delivering search results responsive to a user search request, said process steps comprising:

receiving a search request from a user wherein said search request comprises a search framework profile and at least one search term wherein the search framework profile directs a search facility using one or more user-selected non-topical search characteristics, the non-topical search characteristics selected from a set of predefined non-topical search characteristics to generate the search framework profile;

generating an accumulated result set of identifiers wherein each identifier within said set of identifiers facilitates access to a corresponding unit of information in a data store, and wherein said corresponding unit of information comprises said at least one search term;

ranking the identifiers of said accumulated result set in accordance with the degree of affinity of each of said corresponding units of information to said search framework profile to form a final result set, wherein said degree of affinity is based at least partially on a unit level composite relative strength value associated with said corresponding unit of information, each unit of information having corresponding search framework metadata comprising one or more stored predefined relative strength values, each relative strength value corresponding directly and respectively to one or more of the user-selected non-topical search characteristics in the search framework profile; and

delivering said final result set to said user.

63. The article of manufacture of claim 62 wherein said corresponding unit of information comprises a web page.

64. The article of manufacture of claim 62 wherein said data store comprises a computing network.

65. The article of manufacture of claim 64 wherein said computing network comprises a World Wide Web.

66. The article of manufacture of claim 62 wherein said data store comprises a computer.

67. The article of manufacture of claim 62 wherein said ranking further comprises deleting at least one identifier from said set of identifiers when said degree of affinity is below a threshold value.

68. The article of manufacture of claim 62 wherein said search framework profile comprises a plurality of search framework profiles.

69. The article of manufacture of claim 62 wherein said receiving comprises:

receiving a search framework identifier; and

retrieving said search framework profile from a repository utilizing said search framework identifier.

70. The article of manufacture of claim 69 wherein said repository is a computer file.

71. The article of manufacture of claim 69 wherein said repository is a relational database and said search framework profile is in the form of a database table.

72. The article of manufacture of claim 62 further comprising:

selecting a search engine to at least partially generate said accumulated result set wherein said search engine selection is based at least partially on said search framework profile.

73. The article of manufacture of claim 72 wherein said search engine is a plurality of search engines.

74. The article of manufacture of claim 62 wherein said unit level composite relative strength value is less than an average relative strength value if at least one threshold for a relative strength value associated with a search framework profile characteristic for said corresponding unit of information is not achieved.

75. An article of manufacture for use in a computer system tangibly embodying computer instructions on a computer readable storage medium executable by said computer system to perform process steps for creating a search framework profile for use with a framework reactive search facility, said process steps comprising:

activating a Search Framework Profile (“

SFP”

) Wizard responsive to a user request;

receiving user input responsive to data displayed by said SFP Wizard; and

saving said user input in a repository wherein said search framework profile

comprises said user input wherein the search framework profile directs a search facility using one or more user-selected non-topical search characteristics, the non-topical search characteristics selected from a set of predefined non-topical search characteristics to generate the search framework profile; and

wherein the SFP is usable by the search facility to retrieve search results comprising units of information, each unit of information having corresponding search framework metadata, which is used to rank the search results in accordance with a degree of affinity, wherein said degree of affinity is based at least partially on a unit level composite relative strength value associated with said corresponding unit of information, comprising one or more stored predefined relative strength values, each relative strength value corresponding directly and respectively to one or more of the user-selected non-topical search characteristics in the search framework profile.

76. The article of manufacture of claim 75 wherein said search framework profile is a plurality of search framework profiles.

77. The article of manufacture of claim 75 wherein said search framework profile has a framework identifier wherein said framework identifier is formed from said user input.

78. The article of manufacture of claim 77 wherein said framework identifier is a search framework profile name.

79. The article of manufacture of claim 75 wherein said search framework profile comprises at least one characteristic of a searcher.

80. The article of manufacture of claim 79 wherein said search framework profile further comprises at least one specification of a search objective.

81. The article of manufacture of claim 80 wherein said search framework profile further comprises at least one specification of a search domain.

82. An article of manufacture for use in a computer system tangibly embodying computer instructions on a computer readable storage medium executable by said computer system to perform process steps for information interchange between a plurality of search engines, said process steps comprising:

storing information, related to processing by a first search engine, in a first area associated with a search framework profile wherein the search framework profile directs a search facility using one or more user-selected non-topical search characteristics, the non-topical search characteristics selected from a set of predefined non-topical search characteristics to generate the search framework profile; and

retrieving at least a subset of said information from said first area by a second search engine, the subset of said information comprising search framework metadata used by the second search engine for ranking identifiers of an accumulated results set returned by the second search engine, the identifiers of the accumulated results set ranked in accordance with a degree of affinity of each of a unit of information corresponding to said identifiers;

wherein the search framework profile is usable by a search facility to retrieve search results comprising units of information, each unit of information having corresponding search framework metadata, which is used to rank the search results in accordance with a degree of affinity, wherein said degree of affinity is based at least partially on a unit level composite relative strength value associated with said corresponding unit of information, comprising one or more stored predefined relative strength values, each relative strength value corresponding directly and respectively to one or more of the user-selected non-topical search characteristics in the search framework profile.

83. The article of manufacture of claim 82 further comprising utilizing said first area at least in part to exclude said first search engine from a plurality of search engines eligible for use by a framework reactive search facility to perform a user requested search operation.

84. An article of manufacture for use in a computer system tangibly embodying computer instructions on a computer readable storage medium executable by said computer system to perform process steps for delivering search results responsive to a user search request, said process steps comprising:

receiving a search request from a user wherein said search request comprises a search objective and at least one search term, the search objective selected from a set of predefined search objectives to generate a search framework profile;

generating a set of identifiers wherein each identifier within said set of identifiers facilitates access to a corresponding unit of information in a data store, and wherein said corresponding unit of information comprises said at least one search term;

ranking the identifiers of said set of identifiers in accordance with the degree of affinity of each of said corresponding units of information to said search objective to form a ranked set of identifiers, each unit of information having corresponding search framework metadata, which is used to rank the search results in accordance with a degree of affinity, wherein said degree of affinity is based at least partially on a unit level composite relative strength value associated with said corresponding unit of information, comprising one or more stored predefined relative strength values, each relative strength value corresponding directly and respectively to one or more of the user-selected non-topical search characteristics in the search framework profile; and

delivering said ranked set of identifiers to said user.