US6691108B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Focused search engine and method
Assignee: NEC Corp
•
Filing: 2000-12-12
•
Granted: 2004-02-10
•
Expires: 2020-12-12
Abstract
Abstract A focused search engine and method are directed to crawling vast search spaces comprising markup language documents, for example. Both topic distillation and site distillation methodologies are incorporated into an integrated topic-focused search strategy. Categorization of search results may be initiated by the search engine itself; alternatively, topic categories of interest may be specified in conjunction with the original request for information.
Inventors
- 👤 Wen-Syan Li
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 12:23
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/90; G06F16/95; G06F16/951; G06F16/953; G06F16/9538; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99931; Y10S707/99933; Y10S707/99935
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 77
Claim 1
Independent Claim
71 words
A method of searching a search space comprising a plurality of pages; said method comprising: responsive to a request for information, determining a set of pages wherein each page in said set of pages is relevant to said request; performing topic distillation using said set of pages to determine a set of important keywords; and performing site distillation using said set of important keywords to determine a set of important pages.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
71 words
A method of searching a search space comprising a plurality of pages; said method comprising: responsive to a request for information, determining a set of pages wherein each page in said set of pages is relevant to said request; performing topic distillation using said set of pages to determine a set of important keywords; and performing site distillation using said set of important keywords to determine a set of important pages.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method according to claim 1 wherein said determining comprises locating said at least one of said plurality of keywords in a selected part of the structure of each page in said set of pages.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method according to claim 1 wherein said performing topic distillation comprises keyword extraction.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method according to claim 1 wherein said performing topic distillation comprises keyword propagation.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method according to claim 4 wherein said keyword propagation is weighted.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method according to claim 1 wherein said performing topic distillation enables implicit query expansion.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method according to claim 1 further comprising selectively repeating said performing topic distillation and said performing site distillation.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method according to claim 1 wherein said request for information further comprises a selected topic category.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method according to claim 1 further comprising displaying results of said performing topic distillation.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method according to claim 1 further comprising displaying results of said performing site distillation.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
82 words
A computer-based system for searching a search space, the search space comprising a plurality of pages; said system comprising: means for receiving a request for information; and a focused search engine determining a set of pages wherein each page in said set of pages is relevant to said request, performing topic distillation using said set of pages to determine a set of important keywords, and further performing site distillation using said set of important keywords to determine a set of important pages.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
82 words
A computer-based system for searching a search space, the search space comprising a plurality of pages; said system comprising: means for receiving a request for information; and a focused search engine determining a set of pages wherein each page in said set of pages is relevant to said request, performing topic distillation using said set of pages to determine a set of important keywords, and further performing site distillation using said set of important keywords to determine a set of important pages.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
37 words
The computer-based system according to claim 11 wherein said focused search engine locates said at least one of said plurality of keywords in a selected part of the structure of each page in said set of pages.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
15 words
The computer-based system according to claim 11 wherein said topic distillation comprises implicit query expansion.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
14 words
The computer-based system according to claim 11 wherein said topic distillation comprises keyword extraction.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
14 words
The computer-based system according to claim 11 wherein said topic distillation comprises keyword propagation.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
13 words
The computer-based system according to claim 15 wherein said keyword propagation is weighted.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
21 words
The computer-based system according to claim 11 wherein said focused search engine selectively repeats said topic distillation and said site distillation.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
18 words
The computer-based system according to claim 11 wherein said request for information further comprises a selected topic category.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
18 words
The computer-based system according to claim 11 further comprising a display for displaying results of said topic distillation.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
18 words
The computer-based system according to claim 11 further comprising a display for displaying results of said site distillation.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
96 words
A method of searching a search space comprising a plurality of pages; said method comprising: responsive to a request for information comprising a plurality of keywords and a one or more topic categories, determining a set of pages within the search space wherein each page in said set of pages contains at least one of said plurality of keywords and further contains information relevant to said one or more topic categories; performing topic distillation using said set of pages to determine a set of important keywords; and performing site distillation using said set of important keywords.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
96 words
A method of searching a search space comprising a plurality of pages; said method comprising: responsive to a request for information comprising a plurality of keywords and a one or more topic categories, determining a set of pages within the search space wherein each page in said set of pages contains at least one of said plurality of keywords and further contains information relevant to said one or more topic categories; performing topic distillation using said set of pages to determine a set of important keywords; and performing site distillation using said set of important keywords.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method according to claim 21 wherein said determining comprises locating said at least one of said plurality of keywords in a selected part of the structure of each page in said set of pages.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method according to claim 21 wherein said performing topic distillation comprises keyword extraction.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method according to claim 21 wherein said performing topic distillation comprises keyword propagation.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method according to claim 24 wherein said keyword propagation is weighted.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method according to claim 21 wherein said performing topic distillation comprises implicit query expansion.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method according to claim 21 further comprising selectively repeating said performing topic distillation and said performing site distillation.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method according to claim 21 wherein the request for information is a keyword query.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method according to claim 21 further comprising displaying results of said performing topic distillation.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method according to claim 21 further comprising displaying results of said performing site distillation.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
108 words
A method of processing a query of a search space; said query comprising a plurality of keywords and said search space comprising a plurality of pages; said method comprising: responsive to said query, determining a set of pages within the search space wherein each page in said set of pages contains at least one of said plurality of keywords; assigning a score to each page in said set of pages in accordance with relevance to said query; and distributing said score of each page in said set of pages to neighboring pages in said set of pages in accordance with relevance to each of said plurality of keywords.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
108 words
A method of processing a query of a search space; said query comprising a plurality of keywords and said search space comprising a plurality of pages; said method comprising: responsive to said query, determining a set of pages within the search space wherein each page in said set of pages contains at least one of said plurality of keywords; assigning a score to each page in said set of pages in accordance with relevance to said query; and distributing said score of each page in said set of pages to neighboring pages in said set of pages in accordance with relevance to each of said plurality of keywords.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method according to claim 31 further comprising selectively repeating said assigning and said distributing.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method according to claim 31 wherein said determining comprises extracting keywords from each page within the search space to identify at least one topic category.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method according to claim 33 wherein said distributing comprises keyword propagation.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method according to claim 34 wherein said keyword propagation is weighted.
Claim 40
Independent Claim
147 words
A method of processing a query of a search space; said query comprising a plurality of keywords and at least one topic category associated with at least one of said plurality of keywords; said search space comprising a plurality of pages; said method comprising: responsive to said query, determining a set of pages within the search space wherein each page in said set of pages contains at least one of said plurality of keywords and further contains information relevant to said at least one topic category; assigning a score to each page in said set of pages in accordance with relevance to said query; and distributing said score of each page in said set of pages to neighboring pages in said set of pages in accordance with relevance to each of said plurality of keywords and in accordance with relevance to said at least one topic category.
Claim 41
Independent Claim
147 words
A method of processing a query of a search space; said query comprising a plurality of keywords and at least one topic category associated with at least one of said plurality of keywords; said search space comprising a plurality of pages; said method comprising: responsive to said query, determining a set of pages within the search space wherein each page in said set of pages contains at least one of said plurality of keywords and further contains information relevant to said at least one topic category; assigning a score to each page in said set of pages in accordance with relevance to said query; and distributing said score of each page in said set of pages to neighboring pages in said set of pages in accordance with relevance to each of said plurality of keywords and in accordance with relevance to said at least one topic category.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method according to claim 36 wherein said determining comprises extracting keywords from said set of pages to identify category-specific keywords associated with said at least one topic category.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method according to claim 37 wherein said distributing comprises keyword propagation.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method according to claim 38 wherein said keyword propagation is weighted.
Claim 45
Independent Claim
99 words
A method of focused crawling of a search space comprising a plurality of pages; said method comprising: responsive to a request for information, determining a set of pages within the search space wherein each page in said set of pages contains information relevant to said request; performing site distillation using said set of pages to determine a set of important pages; and examining said set of important pages to determine a set of keywords; scoring each keyword in said set of keywords in accordance with relevance to said request; and selectively repeating said performing, said examining, and said scoring.
Claim 46
Independent Claim
99 words
A method of focused crawling of a search space comprising a plurality of pages; said method comprising: responsive to a request for information, determining a set of pages within the search space wherein each page in said set of pages contains information relevant to said request; performing site distillation using said set of pages to determine a set of important pages; and examining said set of important pages to determine a set of keywords; scoring each keyword in said set of keywords in accordance with relevance to said request; and selectively repeating said performing, said examining, and said scoring.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method according to claim 40 wherein said determining comprises extracting keywords from said set of pages to identify at least one topic category relevant to said request.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method according to claim 41 wherein said determining comprises keyword propagation.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method according to claim 42 wherein said keyword propagation is weighted.
Claim 50
Independent Claim
119 words
A method of focused crawling of a search space comprising a plurality of pages; said method comprising: responsive to a request for information, determining a set of pages within the search space wherein each page in said set of pages contains information relevant to said request; performing site distillation using said set of pages to determine a set of important pages, including assigning a relevance score to each page in said set of important pages in accordance with relevance to said request; examining said set of important pages to determine a set of keywords; scoring each keyword in said set of keywords in accordance with relevance to said request; and selectively repeating said performing, said examining, and said scoring.
Claim 51
Independent Claim
119 words
A method of focused crawling of a search space comprising a plurality of pages; said method comprising: responsive to a request for information, determining a set of pages within the search space wherein each page in said set of pages contains information relevant to said request; performing site distillation using said set of pages to determine a set of important pages, including assigning a relevance score to each page in said set of important pages in accordance with relevance to said request; examining said set of important pages to determine a set of keywords; scoring each keyword in said set of keywords in accordance with relevance to said request; and selectively repeating said performing, said examining, and said scoring.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method according to claim 44 wherein said determining comprises extracting keywords from said set of pages to identify at least one topic category relevant to said request.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method according to claim 45 wherein said assigning comprises weighted keyword propagation.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method according to claim 46 wherein said weighted keyword propagation comprises dividing a relevance score unevenly prior to propagating said relevance score.
Claim 55
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method according to claim 44 wherein said request for information includes a keyword.
Claim 56
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method according to claim 44 wherein said request for information includes a topic category.
Claim 57
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method according to claim 44 further comprising displaying results of said performing site distillation on a display.
Claim 58
Independent Claim
147 words
A method of site distillation for identifying information in a search space comprising a plurality of pages; said method comprising: responsive to a request for information, determining a set of pages within the search space wherein each page in said set of pages contains information relevant to said request; identifying one or more keywords relevant to said request; assigning a score to each page in said set of pages in accordance with relevance to said request and in accordance with relevance to said one or more keywords; distributing said score of each page in said set of pages to neighboring pages in said set of pages in accordance with relevance to said one or more keywords; and responsive to said distributing, computing a weight for each page in said set of pages in accordance with relevance to said request and relevance to said one or more keywords.
Claim 59
Independent Claim
147 words
A method of site distillation for identifying information in a search space comprising a plurality of pages; said method comprising: responsive to a request for information, determining a set of pages within the search space wherein each page in said set of pages contains information relevant to said request; identifying one or more keywords relevant to said request; assigning a score to each page in said set of pages in accordance with relevance to said request and in accordance with relevance to said one or more keywords; distributing said score of each page in said set of pages to neighboring pages in said set of pages in accordance with relevance to said one or more keywords; and responsive to said distributing, computing a weight for each page in said set of pages in accordance with relevance to said request and relevance to said one or more keywords.
Claim 60
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method according to claim 51 wherein said identifying comprises extracting keywords from said set of pages.
Claim 61
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method according to claim 51 wherein said distributing comprises weighted keyword propagation.
Claim 62
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method according to claim 53 wherein said weighted keyword propagation comprises dividing said score unevenly prior to said distributing.
Claim 63
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method according to claim 51 wherein said request for information includes a keyword.
Claim 64
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method according to claim 51 wherein said request for information includes one or more specified topic categories.
Claim 65
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method according to claim 51 further comprising displaying results of said computing on a display.
Claim 66
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method according to claim 51 further comprising selectively repeating said distributing and said computing.
Claim 67
Independent Claim
131 words
A method of topic distillation for identifying information in a search space comprising a plurality of pages; said method comprising: responsive to a request for information, determining a set of pages within the search space wherein each page in said set of pages contains information relevant to said request; for each page in said set of pages, extracting one or more keywords relevant to said request and assigning a score to each of said one or more keywords in accordance with relevance to said request; propagating said score of each of said one or more keywords to neighboring pages in said set of pages; weighting each page in said set of pages in accordance with said assigning and said propagating; and identifying a set of important keywords associated with said request.
Claim 68
Independent Claim
131 words
A method of topic distillation for identifying information in a search space comprising a plurality of pages; said method comprising: responsive to a request for information, determining a set of pages within the search space wherein each page in said set of pages contains information relevant to said request; for each page in said set of pages, extracting one or more keywords relevant to said request and assigning a score to each of said one or more keywords in accordance with relevance to said request; propagating said score of each of said one or more keywords to neighboring pages in said set of pages; weighting each page in said set of pages in accordance with said assigning and said propagating; and identifying a set of important keywords associated with said request.
Claim 69
Dependent Claim
80 words
The method according to claim 59 wherein said plurality of pages in said search space are arranged in accordance with relevance to one or more predetermined categories and wherein said method further comprises: propagating said score of each of said one or more keywords from one of said one or more predetermined categories to another of said one or more predetermined categories; and weighting each of said one or more predetermined categories in accordance with said assigning and said propagating.
Claim 70
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method according to claim 59 wherein said propagating includes applying a neighboring page decay factor.
Claim 71
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method according to claim 60 wherein said propagating includes applying a category decay factor.
Claim 72
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method according to claim 60 wherein said request for information includes identifying said one or more predetermined categories.
Claim 73
Independent Claim
152 words
A method of processing a query of a search space; said query comprising a plurality of keywords and said search space comprising a plurality of pages; said method comprising: responsive to said query, determining a set of pages within the search space wherein each page in said set of pages contains at least one of said plurality of keywords; identifying one or more topic categories relevant to said query; determining, for each of said one or more topic categories, a set of important pages in accordance with relevance to said query and in accordance with relevance to said one or more topic categories; assigning a score to each page in said set of pages in accordance with relevance to said query; and distributing said score of each page in said set of pages to neighboring pages in said set of pages in accordance with relevance to each of said plurality of keywords.
Claim 74
Independent Claim
152 words
A method of processing a query of a search space; said query comprising a plurality of keywords and said search space comprising a plurality of pages; said method comprising: responsive to said query, determining a set of pages within the search space wherein each page in said set of pages contains at least one of said plurality of keywords; identifying one or more topic categories relevant to said query; determining, for each of said one or more topic categories, a set of important pages in accordance with relevance to said query and in accordance with relevance to said one or more topic categories; assigning a score to each page in said set of pages in accordance with relevance to said query; and distributing said score of each page in said set of pages to neighboring pages in said set of pages in accordance with relevance to each of said plurality of keywords.
Claim 75
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method according to claim 64 wherein said query includes said one or more topic categories.
Claim 76
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method according to claim 64 wherein said determining a set of important pages includes utilizing a vector model.
Claim 77
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method according to claim 66 wherein utilizing said vector model considers relevance to said query more important than relevance to said one or more topic categories.
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