Search result sub-topic identification system and method

• US 8,214,347 B2
• Filed: 01/22/2008
• Issued: 07/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Squiz Pty Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Funnelback Pty., Ltd. (Squiz Pty Ltd.)
• Inventors: Matson, Brett Charles
• Primary Examiner(s): Al Hashemi, Sana
• Application Number:
  US12/525,439
• Publication Number:
  US 20100005092A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,624 Days
• Field of Search: 707706-708, 707/723, 707/735, 707/726
• US Class Current: 707/706
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3325 Reformulation based on results of preceding query

Abstract

A method and apparatus for sub-topic identification from a search result that matches a query, said method including the steps of receiving a search result, extracting snippets from said search result that contain said query, truncating snippets on an instance of a boundary token, identifying phrases within said snippets that include the query, comparing all said phrases to determine optimal phrases, and presenting said optimal phrases. The apparatus for sub-topic identification from a search result that matches a query may include a dedicated server or a proxy for processing the search and sub-topic query.

Claims

1. A method of operating a computer system environment for the processing of search results which match a search query to provide for sub-topic identification of the search results, the method comprising:

receiving a search result;

extracting snippets from said search result that contain said query;

truncating snippets on an instance of a boundary token;

identifying phrases within said snippets that include the query;

comparing all said phrases to determine optimal phrases; and

presenting said optimal phrases;

wherein said comparing all said phrases comprises comparisons between a first phrase and a second phrase, wherein said comparisons between combinations of two phrases comprises;

skipping comparisons where said first phrase starts with the query term and said second phrase ends with the query term;

eliminating a first phrase that is a superstring of said second phrase if said first phrase has a lower frequency of occurrence than said second phrase; and

eliminating said first phrase that is a substring of said second phrase if said first phrase has the same frequency of occurrence as said second phrase.

2. A sub-topic identification apparatus comprising:

a client module configured to receive a search query, said client module configured to output a search and sub-topic identification query, said client module further configured to receive a first part of said search result and display a search result; and

a processing module coupled to said client module, said processing module configured to input said search and sub-topic identification query;

said processing module further configured to perform a method of sub-topic identification according to claim 1 and produce said first part of said search result and transmit said first part of said result to said client module.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein said search result comprises one or more search result elements.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein said boundary token comprises one or more characters or expressions selected from a set comprising:

‘

,’

(comma);

‘

.’

(full stop);

‘

|’

(vertical bar);

‘

. . . ’

(ellipsis); and

‘

-’

(hyphen with white space on both sides).

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein said identifying phrases within said snippets that include the query comprise scanning said snippets and identifying said phrases ranging in length from two terms up to a predefined maximum number of terms that contain said query.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein said comparing of phrases comprises comparing frequency of occurrence for eliminating phrases with lower frequencies.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein said comparing all said phrases comprises one or more steps selected from the set of steps comprising:

eliminating phrases that contain more than one instance of the query term;

eliminating phrases that contain nothing but the query term; and

eliminating phrases that stem to nothing but the query term.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein said comparing all said phrases further comprises:

eliminating phrases that start or end in a stop word.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein said comparing all said phrases comprises the eliminating from further processing all phrases that contain greater then a predefined number of terms.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein said method further comprises:

applying a stemming algorithm to the non-query terms present in said identifying phrases, for reducing duplicate sub-topics that have the same meaning but different stem.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein said method further comprises:

eliminating query terms from extracted phrases for enabling a broader set of phrases to be identified as substrings for the purpose of duplicate elimination.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein said method comprises:

eliminating extracted phrases that contain one or more terms or expressions that are included in a predefined list of eliminator words and expressions.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein said presenting the optimal phrases comprises:

selecting a subset of said optimal phrases; and

presenting said subset of optimal phrases as sub-topics.

14. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said processing module is a dedicated sub-topic identification server.

15. A method according to claim 3, wherein said search result further comprises additional information, wherein said additional information is associated with one or more said search result elements.

16. A method according to claim 10, wherein said stemming algorithm comprises the Porter Stemming Algorithm.

17. A method according to claim 13, wherein said selecting a subset of said optimal phrases comprises selecting a predefined number of said optimal phrases, selected in order of greatest frequency of occurrence.

18. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said client module is configured to send said search and said sub-topic identification query to said dedicated sub-topic identification server over a transmission medium.

19. A method according to claim 15, wherein said additional information comprises one or more selected from a set comprising:

a result title;

metadata;

a query-biased snippet;

structured content; and

unstructured content.

20. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said first part of said search result includes all information associated with said search result.

21. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said first part of said search result includes said search result.

22. An apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said client module further processes said first part of said search result to produce said search result.