1707 results about "Search engine" patented technology

A search engine system displays the results of a multiple-category search according to levels of relevance of the categories to a user's search query. A query server receives a search query from a user and identifies, within each of multiple item categories, a set of items that satisfy the query. The sets of items are used to generate, for each of the multiple categories, a score that reflects a level significance or relevance of the category to the search. The scores may be based, for example, on the number of hits within each category relative to the total number of items in that category, the popularity levels of items that satisfy the query, a personal profile of the user, or a combination thereof. The categories are then presented to the user, together with the most relevant items within each category, in the order of highest to lowest category relevance.

A content-indexing search system and method provides search results consistent with content filtering and blocking policies. The search system comprises a content-indexing search engine including a database coupled to an information network. A user provides search queries to the search engine through a gateway serving as a proxy server and cache and blocking engine. The blocking engine implements content filtering and blocking policies with respect to the search results. Alternative embodiments provide consistency between the results of the user content searches and the content filtering / blocking policies. One embodiment modifies the search engine to implement the same content blocking policy as the caching and filtering engine. Another embodiment modifies the search engine to build an indexing database by searching the caching and engine content. A third embodiment modifies the search engine to go through the cache and filter engine as the search engine builds its indexing database. A fourth embodiment modifies a search engine to go through a caching and filtering engine as it builds an indexing database.

An apparatus, program product, and method rely on user interaction in the ordering search results returned by a search engine. Each of a plurality of records in a database is associated with a user feedback parameter that is used in ordering the records identified in a result set generated in response to a search request. The user feedback parameter for a given record may be selectively updated in response to detecting multiple accesses thereto by a user and / or in response to detecting that the record is the most recently accessed record in the result set. In addition, the user feedback parameter for a given record may be configured with a plurality of weights that are respectively associated with particular keywords, such that ordering of the records in a result set can utilize only those weights that are associated with keywords that match a particular search request. Furthermore, a search request data structure may be utilized to store a plurality of search request records, each including a search request identifier identifying a unique combination of keywords, and a result set identifier identifying a subset of a plurality of records in a database that match the unique combination of keywords. The search request data structure may be accessed in response to a search request to locate a search request record including a search request identifier that matches the keywords provided in the search request, with a result set generated that identifies the subset of records identified in the result set identifier in the located search request record.

A method and system for distributing electronic coupons offered by businesses via the wireless devices operated by potential customers in a region. The invention includes a wireless communication device and a central server capable of communicating via a wireless communication network The central server is connected to a search engine, a business database containing the names and locations of businesses located in the region offering discounted coupons for goods and services to its potential customers. Connected to the central server is a discount coupon database and a map database that contains coupon information, a graphic file of the coupon, and the businesses location information. When the potential customer desires a discount coupon for a particular service or goods in the region, the potential customer contacts the central server, which instructs the search engine to conduct a search based on the criteria submitted by the potential customer. The search engine produces a list of businesses currently offering discount coupons that is then transmitted to the potential customer.

Disclosed is a method for linguistic pattern recognition of information. Initially, textual information is retrieved from a data source utilizing a network. The textual information is then segmented into a plurality of phrases, which are then scanned for patterns of interest. For each pattern of interest found a corresponding event structure is built. Event structures that provide information about essentially the same incident are then merged.

A search engine process predicts the correct spellings of search terms within multiple-term search queries. In one embodiment, when a user submits a multiple-term search query that includes a non-matching term and at least one matching term, a table is accessed to look up a set of terms that are “related” to the matching term or terms. A spelling comparison function is then used to determine whether any of these related terms is sufficiently similar in spelling to the non-matching term to be deemed a candidate correctly-spelled replacement. A candidate replacement term may automatically be substituted for the non-matching term, or may be suggested to the user as a replacement. The invention also includes a process for identifying terms that are related to each other based on the relatively high frequencies with which they co-occur within search queries of users, database records, and / or specific database fields.

Records in databases or unstructured files are enriched with metadata and are indexed for retrieval by a search engine. In response to a search request, a graphical user interface (GUI) control based on the metadata associated with the search hits is constructed and displayed with the search results in a standard view. Selection of a metadata value via the GUI control filters the previously matched records down to those matching the value selected via the GUI control. The metadata in the search results is arranged in a tabular view which is embedded in the display of search results and rendered invisible until selected by the user. Reports can be constructed from an identifier each returned record set for presenting, analyzing and modifying the data, and for generating further reports.

A method of thematically classifying documents, in particular for making up or updating thematic databases (42) for a search engine, includes the steps of selecting documents representative of each theme, identifying within the selected documents, elements that are characteristic of each theme, allocating a coefficient (R) to each identified element, said coefficient being representative of the relevance of said element relative to the corresponding theme, and for each document (50) for classification, identifying said elements characteristic of each theme contained in the document and, for each theme corresponding thereto, using the coefficients allocated to said elements to calculate the value of a characteristic representative of the relevance of the theme for the document (50), in order to decide whether or not the document relates to the theme.

A network-enabled workflow system is used in conjunction with a rules-based search engine to provide an easy-to-use interface to build workflow processes that facilitate the support for electronic business applications as well as business-to-business relationships. The system allows workflow services to be rendered to external organizations such as partners, suppliers, distributors and customers. Workflow services are preferably represented by roles that can be used to represent workflow actors in the workflow routing rules. These roles are preferably evaluated at run-time to best match recipients (via the MORSE algorithm) depending on the organization context from which the routing request is made. Furthermore, the network-enabled workflow system provides for the analysis of workflow processes in real time.

The present invention provides a method and system for providing native language query service for Internet users by using a plurality of search engines. The method of the present invention includes the steps of: (a) receiving at a site an original query request from one user; (b) selecting a suitable search engine; (c) translating said query words of native language into query words of dedicated language of said selected search engine; (d) constructing a new query request directing to said search engine; (e) sending said new query request and receiving a returned query result; (f) sending said query result back to said user as a query result in relation to said original query request.

The present invention is directed to methods of and systems for ranking results returned by a search engine. A method in accordance with the invention comprises determining a formula having variables and parameters, wherein the formula is for computing a relevance score for a document and a search query; and ranking the document based on the relevance score. Preferably, determining the formula comprises tuning the parameters based on user input. Preferably, the parameters are determined using a machine learning technique, such as one that includes a form of statistical classification.

A user of a meta-search engine submits a query formulated with operators defining relationships between keywords. Information sources are selected for interrogation by the user or by the meta-search engine. If necessary, the query is translated for each selected source to adapt the operators of the query to a form accepted by that source. The query is submitted to each selected source and answers are retrieved from each source as a summary of each document found that satisfies the query. The answers are post-filtered from each source to determine if the answers satisfy the originally formulated query. Answers that satisfy the query are displayed as a list of selectable document summaries. The analysis includes computing a subsumption ratio of filtered answers to answers received that satisfy a translated query. The subsumption ratio is used to improve the accuracy of subsequent queries submitted by the user to the meta-search engine.

A system and related techniques accepts user search or query terms over of the Internet or other network or connection. In addition to presenting regularly generated search results, according to embodiments of the invention the search engine and related logic may examine the search string for suggested refinements or improvements to the search terms, to attempt to derive improved results or results closer to the user's search intent. According to embodiments of the invention in one regard, the alternative search logic may attempt to extract related or more meaningful search terms from sources including past usage patterns by users, and other data. That alternative search logic may thus examine the user's search terms to determine a substring match to prior searches, for instance stored by the search host for all users. In embodiments, the alternative search logic may likewise present user search extensions or refinement paths selected by prior users running the same search, as an indicator of likely content or source relevance. In further embodiments, the alternative search logic may perform a reverse query lookup to trace queries which resulted in the same Web site or other hit, as the present search and present those other queries as possible alternatives for the user to pursue. These and other search refinements may be performed, taking advantage of usage patterns and other information to improve search quality beyond straightforward spelling-type correction.

A method and search engine for classifying a source publishing a document on a portion of a network, includes steps of electronically receiving a document, based on the document, determining a source which published the document, and assigning a code to the document based on whether data associated with the document published by the source matches with data contained in a database. An intelligent geographic- and business topic-specific resource discovery system facilitates local commerce on the World-Wide Web and also reduces search time by accurately isolating information for end-users. Distinguishing and classifying business pages on the Web by business categories using Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes is achieved through an automatic iterative process.

A system and method for aggregating rankings from a plurality of ranking sources to generate a maximally consistent ranking by minimizing a distance measure. The ranking sources may be search engines executing queries on web pages that have been deliberately modified to cause an incorrect estimate of their relevance. The invention supports combining partial rankings.

A federated search engine groups search results from information sources using attributes of the search results. In grouping the search results, a first set and a second set of attributes are extracted from content in each set of search results received using information source wrappers. The first set of attributes defines a main clustering strategy, and the second set of attributes defines a sub-clustering strategy. A main grouping of the sets of search results received from the information sources is generated using the first set of attributes. The main grouping of search results includes a plurality of labeled groups with a plurality of search results in each group. A sub-grouping of search results is generated for each labeled group of search results in the main grouping of search results using the second set of attributes.

A system and method for automating the web service selection based on reputation information, to help negotiate a contractual web service binding between a client and a server. Reputation information may be schematized into behavioral attributes such as web service responsiveness, web service latency, web service uptime, cost data, business solvency and other trustworthiness and business-related data. Some of the reputation data may be empirically determined, and provided by an independent or other trusted auditor. In one implementation, a client queries a search engine, which returns a ranked list of web services, with the ranking based on reputation scores computed for each web service as collected by an auditor. Clients may provide computational data to weigh the attributes separately. A corporate internet can maintain reputation data for web services to act as an auditor, and a web service server can also execute trusted code to act as an auditor.

A method for assisting a user to develop a query in a natural language includes receiving a user's query in a natural language and, while the user's query is being entered, presenting a subset of ranked query suggestions from a collection of ranked query suggestions to the user as candidates for user queries. The subset is based on that portion of the user's query already entered. The query suggestions in the subset of query suggestions are presented according to their respective rankings in the collection. Each of the query suggestions in the collection is formulated to retrieve at least one responsive instance in the knowledge base. The rankings of the query suggestions in the collection are based at least in part on stored logs of prior user sessions in which user queries were input to a search engine for retrieving responsive instances from the knowledge base.

Methods, systems, and computer program products for combining conjoint analysis with customer relationship management software, search engine software, and auction software are disclosed. According to one method, conjoint analysis is used to facilitate user interaction with a search engine. According to the method, search keywords are received as a user and treated as attributes by a conjoint analysis application. The conjoint analysis application presents the user with paired trade-off questions regarding the search keywords. Conjoint analysis is performed based on user responses to the questions. Based on the user's responses to the questions, relative importance weightings are computed for keywords. The keywords and the relative importance weightings are input to a search engine. The search is performed using the keywords. Results to be output to the user are selected based on occurrences of the keywords in the search results and the relative importance weightings.

A system for creating rich content displayable on a webpage. The system includes content files stored on a server and an editor displayed by a client in a Rich Internet Application (‘RIA’). The editor has a region into which content objects may be inserted to create a rich content item. At least a portion of the content objects are linked to content files stored on the server. The system generates a code segment operable to generate a display on a webpage based on the rich content item that does not use the RIA. The display is substantially equivalent to the rich content item displayed in the editing region using the RIA. The code segment is configured to be search engine friendly. The system may broadcast a common Rich Content item between a Broadcaster and a viewer both of whom may edit the Rich Content item at the same time.

Methods and apparatus for facilitating a process of designing, selecting, and / or customizing lighting effects or lighting shows. A library of indexed (tagged) predefined lighting effects or shows is searched by a search engine, based upon information provided by a user / designer, to identify a set of effects or shows having attributes that are in some way related to the information provided by the user. The user is then presented with search results, i.e., a manageable subset of intelligently chosen lighting effects or shows, which may be ranked in terms of relevance, any one or more of which may be readily selected by the user. The user may select one or more effects or shows from the search results “as is” for execution by a lighting system, may combine one or more effects or shows from the search results, or may modify one or more effects or shows from the search results to refine some aspect of the effect(s) / show(s) in accordance with user preferences. In one exemplary implementation, the library of lighting effects / shows and / or the search engine may be hosted by a web site and accessible via the Internet.

Systems and methods are provided for improved web searching. In one implementation, suggested search queries are provided based on previous search queries and click data. A weighted bi-partite graph or index may be used to identify related search queries based on overlapping clicked URLs. According to a method, query-click log data of a search engine is processed to generate sets of suggested search queries, data corresponding to each suggested search query, and a set of clicked URLs related to each suggested search query. Additionally, or independently, methods may be provided for contextually correcting spelling errors within sets of suggested search queries using a contextual algorithm, and / or identifying and discarding sets of suggested search queries and URLs that lead to restricted material, such as restricted content and related URLs.

a system 100 that facilitates determining a user's intent given a user search query comprises a search engine that is employed to search over a collection of objects within a data store to retrieve a user search result set. The objects within the result set are associated with queries that were previously utilized to locate such objects. A level of relatedness between the previous queries and the user search query is determined, and previous queries that are associated with a result set that is novel and related to the user search result set are returned to the user.

A query is received and parsed to generate a set of query terms. Statistical information is identified regarding each of the query terms and different permutations of the query terms. Additionally, lexical affinities associated with the permutations of query terms are identified. Next, the query is classified into a query category and a set of ranking parameters and routing information (associated with the query category) are identified. The query is then issued to a search engine by applying the identified ranking parameters and routing information, whereupon the search engine executes the query and forwards search results that can be accessed by an application using an API (e.g., the results can be viewed via a browser).

Embodiments include generating data models that may give semantic meaning for unstructured or structured data that may include data generated and / or received by search engines, including a time series engine. A method includes generating a data model for data stored in a repository. Generating the data model includes generating an initial query string, executing the initial query string on the data, generating an initial result set based on the initial query string being executed on the data, determining one or more candidate fields from one or results of the initial result set, generating a candidate data model based on the one or more candidate fields, iteratively modifying the candidate data model until the candidate data model models the data, and using the candidate data model as the data model.

System and method for operating reputation-based communication or content service. Method includes obtaining metric related to first user contributor reputation; identifying communication or content having association with first user contributor; and processing communication or content to generate processed communication or content based on the obtained objective contributor reputation. Service is broadly defined and may be selected from bulletin board, message board, chat room, forum, information provision service, content delivery service, email service, information provision service, search engine service, content delivery service, communication or content screening service, communication or content screening service, or other. System for providing reputation processed based on-line communication or content. Communication or content provided or generated by the inventive system or method. Business method for operating a communications or content provision service. Computer program and computer program product stored either on a tangible media or in an electronically accessible and readable form to implement method.

The instant disclosure is a continuation in part of this inventor's previously disclosed US and PCT patent applications that claim operating systems, apparatuses and mobile phone devices for live event and common carrier electronic ticketing, event interaction and the end-to-end production, editing, authenticated distribution and management of event-associated Recordings. It now adds placement of at least one of a logo, message, icon, ad or public service announcement on an electronic ticket, entry pass, admission / placed bet or other receipt and on event-related Recordings as a technological production solution for global brands and program sponsors that is independent of placing ads on search engine Websites and their links.

A system and method for maintaining consistency between translational look-aside buffers (TLB) and page tables. A TLB has a TLB table for storing a list of virtual memory address-to-physical memory address translations, or page table entries (PTES) and a hardware-based controller for invalidating a translation that is stored in the TLB table when a corresponding page table entry changes. The TLB table includes a virtual memory (VM) page tag and a page table entry address tag for indexing the list of translations The VM page tag can be searched for VM pages that are referenced by a process. If a referenced VM page is found, an associated physical address is retrieved for use by the processor. The TLB controller includes a snooping controller for snooping a cache-memory interconnect for activity that affects PTEs. The page table entry address tag can be searched by a search engine in the TLB controller for snooped page table entry addresses. The TLB controller includes an updating module for invalidating or updating translations associated with snooped page table entry addresses. Translations in TLBs are thus updated or invalidated through hardware when an operating system changes a PTE, without intervention by an operating system or other software.

A real-time financial search engine retrieves financial updates in real-time. A condensation memory in the real-time financial search engine stores financial data in a compacted space that allows computation of a smaller set of numbers. Real-time feed is converted into a two-dimensional (X, Y) location code for placement on a linear location code array of a security symbol. A single number of a location code efficiently represents (time, price) or (time, volume) in a 2D coordinate plane for real-time search of financial data.