Context-sensitive query enrichment

• US 8,959,082 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2011
• Issued: 02/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Davis, Marc E., Dyor, Matthew G., Gates, William, Huang, Xuedong, Hyde, Roderick A., Jung, Edward K. Y., Kare, Jordin T., Levien, Royce A., Lu, Qi, Malamud, Mark A., Myhrvold, Nathan P., Nadella, Satya, Reed, Daniel, Shum, Harry, Tegreene, Clarence T., Wood, Lowell L. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Saeed, Usmaan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zhao, Yu
• Application Number:
  US13/373,825
• Publication Number:
  US 20130106685A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,175 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/723
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/434 using image data, e.g. images, photos, pictures taken by a user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/436 using biological or physiological data of a human being, e.g. blood pressure, facial expression, gestures

Abstract

Structures and protocols are presented for facilitating a search partly based on a movement status of a search-capable device or on a position of a person'"'"'s limb or on an association with another search-capable device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

obtaining a movement status indicating whether or not a speed of a first interface device is above a threshold;

obtaining first content that includes a text string including at least a time-of-day indication pattern and second content that does not include any text string comprising the time-of-day indication pattern; and

causing the first interface device, if the movement status indicates the speed of the first interface device being above the threshold, to present the first content that includes the text string including at least the time-of-day indication pattern ranked above the second content that does not include any text string comprising the time-of-day indication pattern, and if the movement status does not indicate the speed of the first interface device being above the threshold, to present the first content that includes the text string including at least the time-of-day indication pattern ranked below the second content that does not include any text string comprising the time-of-day indication pattern.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining from optical data whether a user has apparently corroborated a configuration feature via the optical data, the configuration feature being a search criterion, the first and second content each satisfying the search criterion.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating a first device used by a first user with a second device used by a second user in response to an association request from the first user, the first interface device being either one of the first and second devices.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responding to an indication of a symbol adjacent an edge of a region of an image by adjusting a size of the region of the image, an instance of the symbol being in at least one of the first or second content.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

highlighting an areal portion of an image selectively in response to a position of a depiction of an appendage in the image, the areal portion of the image including an informational element, an instance of the informational element being in at least one of the first or second content.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing an image modification upon a first region of a photographic image without performing the image modification upon a remainder of the photographic image, the first region having a location that depends upon whether the photographic image includes a semblance of an appendage, the remainder of the photographic image including an informational element, the informational element being a component of the first content or of the second content.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

causing a first search term and a second search term to be transmitted to a mobile device after initiating a first search using the first search term and after initiating a second search using the second search term, the mobile device being the first interface device, the first content being a result of the first search, the second content being a result of a second search.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a first coordinate and a second coordinate that jointly characterize a position of a portion of an appendage of a user, a preference either for the first content or for the second content being partly based on the first and second coordinates that jointly characterize the position of the portion of the appendage of the user.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

initiating a search using a character obtained from a photograph, the first and second content each including an instance of the character obtained from the photograph.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a search expression that includes a character sequence obtained from a photograph, the character sequence being a component of the first content or of the second content.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

triggering an anticipatory search task by transmitting a search expression to a remote search engine in response to detecting a component of the search expression in a component of a visual image without first detecting a confirmation of the search expression, the search expression indicating at least one of the first content or the second content.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responding to a depiction of an appendage in a data file representative of a graphic image by discarding a first informational element in the data file without discarding a second informational element in the data file, the second informational element being a component of the first content or of the second content.

13. An article of manufacture comprising:

one or more non-transitory physical media including a device-detectable outcome indicating an occurrence of

obtaining a movement status indicating whether or not a speed of a first interface device is above a threshold;

obtaining first content that includes a text string including at least a time-of-day indication pattern and second content that does not include any text string comprising the time-of-day indication pattern; and

causing the first interface device, if the movement status indicates the speed of the first interface device being above the threshold, to present the first content that includes the text string including at least the time-of-day indication pattern ranked above the second content that does not include any text string comprising the time-of-day indication pattern, and if the movement status does not indicate the speed of the first interface device being above the threshold, to present the first content that includes the text string including at least the time-of-day indication pattern ranked below the second content that does not include any text string comprising the time-of-day indication pattern.

14. The article of manufacture of claim 13 in which a portion of the one or more physical media comprises:

a device-detectable outcome indicating an occurrence of determining from optical data whether a user has apparently corroborated a configuration feature via the optical data, the configuration feature being a search criterion, the first and second content each satisfying the search criterion.

15. The article of manufacture of claim 13 in which a portion of the one or more physical media comprises:

a device-detectable outcome indicating an occurrence of associating a first device used by a first user with a second device used by a second user in response to an association request from the first user, the first interface device being either one of the first and second devices.

16. The article of manufacture of claim 13 in which a portion of the one or more physical media comprises:

a device-detectable outcome indicating an occurrence of responding to an indication of a symbol adjacent an edge of a region of an image by adjusting a size of the region of the image, an instance of the symbol being in at least one of the first or second content.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 13 in which a portion of the one or more physical media comprises:

a device-detectable outcome indicating an occurrence of performing an image modification upon a first region of a photographic image without performing the image modification upon a remainder of the photographic image, the first region having a location that depends upon whether the photographic image includes a semblance of an appendage, the remainder of the photographic image including an informational element, the informational element being a component of the first content or of the second content.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 13 in which a portion of the one or more physical media comprises:

a device-detectable outcome indicating an occurrence of causing a first search term and a second search term to be transmitted to a mobile device after initiating a first search using the first search term and after initiating a second search using the second search term, the mobile device being the first interface device, the first content being a result of the first search, the second content being a result of a second search.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 13 in which a portion of the one or more physical media comprises:

a device-detectable outcome indicating an occurrence of initiating a search using a character obtained from a photograph, the first and second content each including an instance of the character obtained from the photograph.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 13 in which a portion of the one or more physical media comprises:

a device-detectable outcome indicating an occurrence of displaying a search expression that includes a character sequence obtained from a photograph, the character sequence being a component of the first content or of the second content.

21. The article of manufacture of claim 13 in which a portion of the one or more physical media comprises:

a device-detectable outcome indicating an occurrence of triggering an anticipatory search task by transmitting a search expression to a remote search engine in response to detecting a component of the search expression in a component of a visual image without first detecting a confirmation of the search expression, the search expression indicating at least one of the first content or the second content.

22. The article of manufacture of claim 13 in which a portion of the one or more physical media comprises:

a device-detectable outcome indicating an occurrence of highlighting a first portion of an image without highlighting a remainder of the image, the first portion having a location that depends upon whether the image depicts an appendage of a user, the first portion of the image including an informational element, the first content and the second content each including an instance of the informational element.

23. The article of manufacture of claim 13 in which a portion of the one or more physical media comprises:

a device-detectable outcome indicating an occurrence of responding to a depiction of an appendage in a data file representative of a graphic image by discarding a first informational element in the data file without discarding a second informational element in the data file, the second informational element being a component of the first content or of the second content.

24. An article of manufacture comprising:

one or more non-transitory physical media including a device-detectable implementation of a method including at least

obtaining a movement status indicating whether or not a speed of a first interface device is above a threshold;

obtaining first content that includes a text string including at least a time-of-day indication pattern and second content that does not include any text string comprising the time-of-day indication pattern; and

causing the first interface device, if the movement status indicates the speed of the first interface device being above the threshold, to present the first content that includes the text string including at least the time-of-day indication pattern ranked above the second content that does not include any text string comprising the time-of-day indication pattern, and if the movement status does not indicate the speed of the first interface device being above the threshold, to present the first content that includes the text string including at least the time-of-day indication pattern ranked below the second content that does not include any text string comprising the time-of-day indication pattern.

25. The article of manufacture of claim 24 in which a portion of the one or more non-transitory physical media comprises:

a device-detectable implementation of a method including at least associating a first device used by a first user with a second device used by a second user in response to an association request from the first user, the first interface device being either one of the first and second devices.

26. The article of manufacture of claim 24 in which a portion of the one or more non-transitory physical media comprises:

a device-detectable implementation of a method including at least associating a first device with a second device by recording an identification of the first device in a memory of the second device, the first interface device being either one of the first and second devices.

27. The article of manufacture of claim 24 in which a portion of the one or more non-transitory physical media comprises:

a device-detectable implementation of a method including at least responding to an indication of a symbol adjacent an edge of a region of an image by adjusting a size of the region of the image, the first and second content each including an instance of the symbol.

28. The article of manufacture of claim 24 in which a portion of the one or more non-transitory physical media comprises:

a device-detectable implementation of a method including at least highlighting an areal portion of an image selectively in response to a position of a depiction of an appendage in the image, the areal portion of the image including an informational element, the first content and the second content each including an instance of the informational element.

29. The article of manufacture of claim 24 in which a portion of the one or more non-transitory physical media comprises:

a device-detectable implementation of a method including at least causing a first search term and a second search term to be transmitted to a mobile device after initiating a first search using the first search term and after initiating a second search using the second search term, the mobile device being the first interface device, the first content being a result of the first search, the second content being a result of a second search.

30. The article of manufacture of claim 24 in which a portion of the one or more non-transitory physical media comprises:

a device-detectable implementation of a method including at least determining from key press input from a user whether the user has apparently corroborated a configuration feature via the key press input, the configuration feature being a search criterion, the first and second content each satisfying the search criterion.

31. The article of manufacture of claim 24 in which a portion of the one or more non-transitory physical media comprises:

a device-detectable implementation of a method including at least displaying a search expression that includes a character sequence obtained from a photograph, the first and second content each including an instance of the character sequence.

32. The article of manufacture of claim 24 in which a portion of the one or more non-transitory physical media comprises:

a device-detectable implementation of a method including at least expressing a search term at a first interface that includes a character sequence obtained from a second interface, the first interface device including the first interface, the character sequence being a component of the first content and being a component of the second content.