Intelligent automatic searching for resources in a distributed environment
US6009459A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 10, 1997 |
| Grant date | Dec 28, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 10, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F16/9566
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Searches are automatically initiated to intelligently locate resources, particularly World Wide Web sites, within a distributed environment in response to a user specifying text via a user interface element. In a particular embodiment, a Web browser is enhanced to include a browser search capability. The browser includes a text box allowing the user to enter a URL. Depending on the particular browser used in the embodiment, this text box may be called, among other things, a destination field, location field, or URL field. When the user enters a valid URL, the corresponding web site is accessed. If the user enters text that is not a URL, the system may first try to construct a valid URL from the user-entered text. If a valid URL cannot be constructed, the browser then automatically formats a search engine query using the user-entered text and forwards the query to an Internet search engine. The browser chooses a particular search engine by determining the meaning or category of the user-entered text. The search engine locates web pages containing the query terms and either (1) returns a list of the search results or (2) redirects the user's browser to the most relevant web site disc…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.