Methods and apparatus for selecting a search engine to which to provide a search query
AssigneeNuance Communications, Inc.
InventorsVladimir Sejnoha, William F. Ganong, III, Paul J. Vozila, Nathan M. Bodenstab, Yik-Cheung Tam
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Abstract
Some embodiments relate to a method of performing a search for content on the Internet, in which a user may issue a search query, and the search engine or engines to which that query is provided may be determined dynamically based on any of a variety of factors. For example, in some embodiments, the search engine or engines to which the query is provided may be determined based on the content of the search query, this historical access patterns of the user that issued the query, or the historical access patterns of other users.
Claims51
A method, implemented at least in part via at least one hardware computer processor, of performing a search for content via the Internet, the method comprising:
- receiving a first search query;
- generating at least one second search query based on the content of the first search query;
- selecting a plurality of search engines to which the at least one second search query is to be provided, wherein at least one of the plurality of search engines is selected based, at least in part, on the content of the first search query.
At least one computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by at least one hardware computer processor, perform a method of performing a search for content via the Internet, the method comprising:
- receiving a first search query;
- generating at least one second search query based on the content of the first search query;
- selecting a plurality of search engines to which the at least one second search query is to be provided, wherein at least one of the plurality of search engines is selected based, at least in part, on the content of the first search query.
A system comprising:
- at least one tangible memory that stores processor-executable instructions for performing a search for content via the Internet;
- and
- at least one hardware computer processor, coupled to the at least one tangible memory, that executes the processor-executable instructions to:
- receive a first search query;
- generate at least one second search query based on the content of the first search query;
- select a plurality of search engines to which the at least one second search query is to be provided, wherein at least one of the plurality of search engines is selected based, at least in part, on the content of the first search query.
A method, implemented at least in part via at least one hardware computer processor, of performing a search for content via the Internet, the method comprising:
- receiving a first search query from a user;
- generating at least one second search query based on the content of the first search query;
- selecting a plurality of search engines to which the at least one second search query is to be provided, wherein at least one of the plurality of search engines is selected based, at least in part, on historical information indicative of frequency of use of particular search engines by the user.
At least one computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by at least one hardware computer processor, perform a method of performing a search for content via the Internet, the method comprising:
- receiving a first search query from a user;
- generating at least one second search query based on the content of the first search query;
- selecting a plurality of search engines to which the at least one second search query is to be provided, wherein at least one of the plurality of search engines is selected based, at least in part, on historical information indicative of frequency of use of particular search engines by the user.
A system comprising:
- at least one tangible memory that stores processor-executable instructions for performing a search for content via the Internet;
- and
- at least one hardware computer processor, coupled to the at least one tangible memory, that executes the processor-executable instructions to:
- receive a first search query from a user;
- generate at least one second search query based on the content of the first search query;
- select a plurality of search engines to which the at least one second search query is to be provided, wherein at least one of the plurality of search engines is selected based, at least in part, on historical information indicative of frequency of use of particular search engines by the user.
A method, implemented at least in part via at least one hardware computer processor, of performing a search for content on the Internet, the method comprising:
- receiving a first search query from a first user;
- generating at least one second search query based on the content of the first search query;
- selecting a plurality of search engines to which the at least one second search query is to be provided, wherein at least one of the plurality of search engines is selected based, at least in part, on historical information indicative of frequency of use of particular search engines by at least one second user, different from the first user.
At least one computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by at least one hardware computer processor, perform a method of performing a search for content via the Internet, the method comprising:
- receiving a first search query from a first user;
- generating at least one second search query based on the content of the first search query;
- selecting a plurality of search engines to which the at least one second search query is to be provided, wherein at least one of the plurality of search engines is selected based, at least in part, on historical information indicative of frequency of use of particular search engines by at least one second user, different from the first user.
A system comprising:
- at least one tangible memory that stores processor-executable instructions for performing a search for content via the Internet;
- and
- at least one hardware computer processor, coupled to the at least one tangible memory, that executes the processor-executable instructions to:
- receive a first search query from a first user;
- generate at least one second search query based on the content of the first search query;
- select a plurality of search engines to which the at least one second search query is to be provided, wherein at least one of the plurality of search engines is selected based, at least in part, on historical information indicative of frequency of use of particular search engines by at least one second user, different from the first user.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.