US 7,062,483 B2Granted

Hierarchical data-driven search and navigation system and method for information retrieval

AssigneeEndeca Technologies, Inc.

InventorsAdam J. Ferrari, David J. Gourley, Keith A. Johnson, Frederick C. Knabe, Vinay B. Mohta, Daniel Tunkelang, John S. Walter

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Abstract

A data-driven, hierarchical information search and navigation system and method enable search and navigation of sets of documents or other materials by certain common attributes that characterize the materials. The invention includes several aspects of a data-driven, hierarchical search and navigation system that employs this search and navigation mode. The search and navigation system of the present invention includes features of an navigation interface, a search interface, a knowledge base and a taxonomy definition process and a classification process for generating the knowledge base, a graph-based navigable data structure and method for generating the data structure, World Wide Web-based applications of the system, and methods of implementing the system. Users are able to search or browse a particular collection of documents by selecting desired values for the attributes or by searching the attribute-value pairs. A data-driven, hierarchical information search and navigation system and method enable this navigation mode by associating terms with the materials, defining a set of hierarchical relationships among the terms, providing a guided navigation mechanism based on the relationship between the terms, and providing a search mechanism that can respond to free-text queries with single-term or multi-term interpretations. In another aspect of the invention, implementations of the invention may be scalable through parallel or distributed computation.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A computer-implemented method for retrieving information associated with a set of materials, the method comprising:

storing in a data structure a plurality of attribute-value pairs associated with the materials, wherein each of a plurality of values has an association with one of a plurality of attributes characterizing the materials;
computing dynamically at run time a plurality of navigation states using the data structure, each navigation state corresponding to a particular set of attribute-value pairs and to a particular subset of the materials, the plurality of navigation states including a first navigation state and a second navigation state;
accepting a free-text query directed at the materials and received from a search interface including a free-text search tool for accepting free-text queries;
retrieving, in response to the free-text query, information derived from one of the first navigation state and the second navigation state;
outputting the retrieved information;
and wherein:
the first navigation state corresponds to a first expression that includes a multi-term interpretation of the free-text query, the first expression including a conjunction of a first attribute-value pair having a first attribute and a second attribute-value pair having a second attribute;
the particular subset of the materials corresponding to the first navigation state includes a first collection of the materials, wherein each of the materials in the first collection of the materials is described by the first attribute-value pair and is described by the second attribute-value pair;
the second navigation state corresponds to a second expression that includes the first attribute-value pair and a third attribute-value pair, the second navigation state being different from the first navigation state;
the particular subset of the materials corresponding to the second navigation state includes a second collection of the materials, wherein each of the materials in the second collection of the materials is described by the first attribute-value pair;
the first attribute characterizes a first subset of the materials and the first attribute-value pair does not describe all the materials in the first subset of the materials;
the second attribute characterizes a second subset of the materials and the second attribute-value pair does not describe all the materials in the second subset of the materials;
and
the first attribute-value pair and the second attribute-value pair are mutually incomparable.

11 more elements

A computer program product, residing on a computer-readable medium, for use in retrieving information associated with a set of materials, the computer program product comprising instructions for causing a computer to:

provide a search interface including a free-text search tool for accepting free-text queries;
compute dynamically at run time a plurality of navigation states including a first navigation state and a second navigation state, each navigation state corresponding to a particular set of attribute-value pairs and to a particular subset of the materials, wherein each of a plurality of values has an association with one of a plurality of attributes characterizing the materials, and wherein the attribute-value pairs are accessed from a data structure;
accept a first free-text query directed at the materials;
retrieve, in response to the free-text query, information derived from one of the first navigation state and the second navigation state;
output the retrieved information;
and wherein:
the first navigation state corresponds to a first expression that includes a multi-term interpretation of the first free-text query and includes a conjunction of a first attribute-value pair having a first attribute and a second attribute-value pair having a second attribute;
the particular subset of the materials corresponding to the first navigation state includes a first collection of the materials, wherein each of the materials in the first collection of the materials is described by the first attribute-value pair and is described by the second attribute-value pair;
the second navigation state includes the first attribute-value pair and a third attribute-value pair, the second navigation state being different from the first navigation state;
the first attribute characterizes a first subset of the materials and the first attribute-value pair does not describe all the materials in the first subset of the materials;
the second attribute characterizes a second subset of the materials and the second attribute-value pair does not describe all the materials in the second subset of the materials;
and
the first attribute-value pair and the second attribute-value pair are mutually incomparable.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/998,682Filed 31 Oct 2001 · continuation in part
Priority: 18 May 2000
Published: US 2002/0051020 A127 Jun 2002
Granted: 13 Jun 2006
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

G06F 16/954
Retrieval from the web: navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
Y10S 707/99933
Database or file accessing: query processing, i.e. searching
Y10S 707/99934
Query processing, i.e. searching: query formulation, input preparation, or translation
Y10S 707/99935
Query processing, i.e. searching: query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access

Family

Application09/573,305Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 18 May 2000
Application09/961,131Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 21 Sep 2001
US 2002/0083039 A1Pre-grant publication · published 27 Jun 2002
US 2002/0051020 A1Published application
US 7,035,864 B1Related patent
US 7,617,184 B2Related patent
US 7,062,483 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.