Search system with query refinement
US9767144B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 20, 2012 |
| Grant date | Sep 19, 2017 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 6, 2033 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F16/9535
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A search system that automatically generates questions to refine an underspecified query. The system may generate questions even for queries against a database that contains unstructured textual descriptions of items, allowing the system to operate on a database of items that can be constructed inexpensively. The system extracts from the unstructured text combinations of words that may serve as a set of attribute values. The system uses a classifier to filter out attribute values from the set that would generate unanswerable questions. The remaining attribute values are ranked on their ability to narrow the search results and the highest ranking attribute value is used to generate a question to the user who submitted the query. The response to the question narrows the search results, and the process can be repeated iteratively until the search results are sufficiently narrow.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.