Abbreviation handling in web search
US8204874B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 17, 2010 |
| Grant date | Jun 19, 2012 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 17, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F16/3338
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method for handling abbreviations in web queries includes building a dictionary of possible word expansions for potential abbreviations related to query terms received and anticipated to be received by a search engine; accepting a query including an abbreviation from a searching user, where a probability of finding a most probably-correct expansion in the dictionary is a first probability, and a probability that the expansion is the abbreviation itself is a second probability; determining a ratio between the first and second probabilities; expanding the abbreviation in accordance with the most probably-correct expansion when the ratio is above a first threshold value; and highlighting the abbreviation with a suggested expansion of the most probably-correct expansion for the user so that the user may accept the suggested expansion when the ratio is between a second, lower threshold value and the first threshold value.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.