Tiering of posting lists in search engine index
US9529908B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 22, 2010 |
| Grant date | Dec 27, 2016 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 22, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F16/951
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A search index includes tiered posting lists. Each posting list in the search index corresponds with a different atom and includes a list of documents containing the particular document. Additionally, a rank is stored with each document listed in a posting list for a given atom representing the relevance of the atom to the context of each document. At least some of the posting lists in the search index are tiered. A tiered posting list is divided into a number of tiers with the tiers being ordered by document while each tier is internally ordered by document. Employing tiered posting lists within the search index allows a search engine to evaluate search queries in a manner that allows for a number of efficiencies and precise stopping.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.