Patent · US Expired

Systems and methods for performing background queries from content and activity

US7225187B2 · kind B2 · utility

99Cited by
29References
35Claims
0Family size

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Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 20, 2004
Grant dateMay 29, 2007
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 25, 2025

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S707/99935
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Most information retrieval systems start with a user's explicit query. Systems and methods are provided that perform implicit or background queries to one or more information sources based on the ongoing activities of users. The methods provide users with the results of such automated contextualized searches in an unobtrusive manner. In one aspect, implicit queries are run when users are reading, working on or composing an application. Queries can be automatically generated by analyzing an application, and results can be presented in a variety of peripheral display configurations, including a small pane adjacent to a current window to provide peripheral awareness of related information that is automatically determined from existing user context and/or related content from the application. The invention includes methods for building models that predict the value of different queries, and of the results generated by such queries, based on logged data, and for using such models to control query formulation and to mediate decisions about displaying the results of implicit queries.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.