Custom local search

• US 8,583,620 B2
• Filed: 07/24/2012
• Issued: 11/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Govindachetty, Narendranath Datha, Joshi, Tanuja Abhay, Joy, Joseph, Sengar, Vibhuti Singh
• Primary Examiner(s): THAI, HANH B
• Application Number:
  US13/556,253
• Publication Number:
  US 20120290617A1
• Time in Patent Office: 476 Days
• Field of Search: 707/706, 707/708, 707/769, 707/771
• US Class Current: 707/706
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries

Abstract

A method described herein includes receiving a query that is configured by an issuer of the query to be utilized to retrieve a portion of local search content, wherein the local search content comprises a first dataset and a second data set, wherein the first dataset comprises a first entity and the second dataset comprises a second entity, and wherein the query comprises a first token and a second token. The method also includes parsing the query such that the first token of the query is mapped to the first entity in the first dataset and the second token of the query is mapped to the second entity in the second dataset. The method also includes returning search results based at least in part upon the parsing of the query.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a query comprising a first token and a second token, wherein the first token is associated with a geographic region and wherein the second token is associated with an entity located in the geographic region;

responsive to receiving the query, parsing the query to identify the first token and the second token;

executing a search over a first dataset that comprises geographic information and a second dataset that comprises entity information, wherein the search is based, at least in part, on the first token and the second token, wherein the first token identifies the geographic region;

and wherein the second token identifies the entity located in the geographic region; and

generating a map for display on a computing device, the map comprising the geographic region and the entity located in the geographic region.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the geographic region is one of a state, a city, a street, or an intersection of streets.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the entity comprises at least one of a shape and an attribute that describes the entity, the shape being indicative of a portion of the geographic region in which the entity is located.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the shape comprises at least one geometric primitive and coordinates of the at least one geometric primitive in a coordinate system.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the attribute is a category descriptor.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the attribute is a name of the entity.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the query comprises at least one misspelled word.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the query is a free-form query.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the entity is representative of one of an object or a service located in the geographic region.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting the second dataset from a plurality of datasets based at least in part upon content of the query.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein executing the search over the second dataset comprises utilizing spatial processing.

12. A system that facilitates performing a local search, the system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory that comprises a plurality of components that are executed by the processor, the plurality of components comprising;

a receiver component that receives a query, wherein the query comprises a first token associated with a geographic region and a second token associated with an entity located within the geographic region; and

an interpreter component that parses the query such that the first token is mapped to a first dataset and the second token is mapped to a second dataset, the first dataset comprising geographic data, the second dataset comprising a plurality of entities pertaining to the second token, and wherein the interpreter component outputs a map of the geographic region with a graphical indicator thereon that is indicative of the location of the entity in the geographic region.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of entities in the second dataset are received by user input.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein each entity in the plurality of entities comprises at least one of a respective shape, a respective attribute, and a respective unique identifier, the respective shape comprises a geometric primitive and coordinates of the entity in a geographic coordinate system, the respective attribute being descriptive of a respective entity.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the respective attribute is a name of the respective entity.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the respective attribute is a respective category of the respective entity.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the interpreter component selects the second dataset from a plurality of other datasets based at least in part upon content of the query.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the interpreter component comprises a query interpreter component that outputs multiple partial interpretations of the query, wherein each partial interpretation comprises a list of mappings between subsequences of tokens of the query and sets of entities in the first dataset and the second dataset and an approximate region of interest pertaining to the partial query interpretation.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the interpreter component further comprises a refinement component that refines at least one of the partial interpretations, wherein the refinement component modifies the approximate region of interest pertaining to the partial query interpretation when refining the at least one of the partial interpretations.

20. A computer-readable data storage device comprising computer executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving a query comprising a first token and a second token;

parsing the query such that the first token is mapped to a first dataset and the second token is mapped to a second dataset, wherein the first dataset comprises geographic data and wherein the second dataset comprises entity data;

executing a search over the first dataset and the second dataset based at least in part on the first token and the second token, wherein executing the search results in identifying a geographic region corresponding to the first token and wherein executing the search results in identifying the entity; and

causing a map of the geographic region to be displayed on a display screen of a computing device, the map of the geographic region comprising graphical data that identifies the entity and indicates a position of the entity in the geographic region.