U.S. patent application number 12/254783 was filed with the patent office on 2010-04-22 for game for generating equivalent phrases.
This patent application is currently assigned to IAC SEARCH & MEDIA, INC.. Invention is credited to Tomasz Imielinski.
Application Number | 20100099496 12/254783 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42109118 |
Filed Date | 2010-04-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100099496 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Imielinski; Tomasz |
April 22, 2010 |
GAME FOR GENERATING EQUIVALENT PHRASES
Abstract
The invention provides a method of at least in part operating a
computer system. A game includes receiving a plurality of
rephrases, associating each rephrase with a respective player
identification, comparing each rephrase with a threshold,
associating a winner with one of the player identifications, the
winner being at least in part based on a comparison of the
rephrases with the threshold, and declaring the winner. The
rephrases of the game are associated with one another on a computer
readable medium and can then be used to generate equivalent phrases
for a search engine.
Inventors: |
Imielinski; Tomasz;
(Princeton, NJ) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SONNENSCHEIN NATH & ROSENTHAL LLP
P.O. BOX 061080, WACKER DRIVE STATION, WILLIS TOWER
CHICAGO
IL
60606-1080
US
|
Assignee: |
IAC SEARCH & MEDIA,
INC.
Oakland
CA
|
Family ID: |
42109118 |
Appl. No.: |
12/254783 |
Filed: |
October 20, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
463/42 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/3338
20190101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/42 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/24 20060101
A63F009/24 |
Claims
1. A method of at least in part operating a computer system,
comprising: operating a first game including: receiving a plurality
of rephrases; associating each rephrase with a respective player
identification; comparing each rephrase with a threshold;
associating a winner with one of the player identifications, the
winner being at least in part based on a comparison of the
rephrases with the threshold; declaring the winner; and associating
the rephrases of the first game with one another on a computer
readable medium.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the game further includes:
receiving a plurality of signals, each signal including a
respective one of the rephrases; operating a processor to associate
each rephrase with a respective player; operating the processor to
compare each rephrase with the threshold; operating the processor
to associate the winner with one of the player identifications; and
transmitting a signal declaring the winner.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the signals are received from
player computer systems and the rephrases in the signals are text
rephrases.
4. The method of claim 2, further comprising: operating a plurality
of games, each game including: receiving a plurality of rephrases;
associating each rephrase with a respective player identification;
comparing each rephrase with a threshold; associating a winner with
one of the player identifications, the winner being at least in
part based on a comparison of the rephrases with the threshold; and
declaring the winner.
5. The method of claim 2, further comprising: providing a phrase to
each, at least one rephrase associated with first of the player
identifications being a patent phrase, the threshold being reached
when one of the phrases associated with a second one of the player
identifications matches the patent phrase.
6. The method of claim 5, the game further including: storing a
score associated with each player identification on the computer
readable medium, the scores being adjusted each time that the
threshold is reached; and comparing the scores to determine a
winner.
7. The method of claim 2, the game further including: comparing
each rephrase with a hidden phrase, the threshold being reached
when a selected one of the rephrases matches the hidden phrase; and
declaring the winner when the selected rephrase matches the
hidden.
8. The method of claim 2, the game further including: receiving a
query from a client computer system; utilizing the rephrases to
determine a parsing phrase; utilizing the parsing phrase to extract
a search result from a database; and transmitting the search result
to the client computer system.
9. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a set of
instructions which, when executed by a processor, executes a method
comprising: operating a first game including: receiving a plurality
of rephrases; associating each rephrase with a respective player
identification; comparing each rephrase with a threshold;
associating a winner with one of the player identifications, the
winner being at least in part based on a comparison of the
rephrases with the threshold; declaring the winner; and associating
the rephrases of the first game with one another on a computer
readable medium.
10. A computer system comprising: a processor; a computer-readable
medium having stored thereon a set of instructions which, when
executed by a processor, executes a method comprising operating a
first game including: receiving a plurality of rephrases;
associating each rephrase with a respective player identification;
comparing each rephrase with a threshold; associating a winner with
one of the player identifications, the winner being at least in
part based on a comparison of the rephrases with the threshold;
declaring the winner; and associating the rephrases of the first
game with one another on a computer readable medium.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1). Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates generally to a method of playing a
game and also to a method of generating equivalent phrases that can
be used by a search engine.
[0003] 2). Discussion of Related Art
[0004] Internet search engines are often used to obtain links to
web pages, or feed data such as information about people, places or
local data regarding business, events, movies, etc., in a specific
geographic area. A user interface is typically stored on a server
computer system and transmitted over the internet to a client
computer system. The user interface typically has a search box for
entering text. A user can then select a search button to transmit a
search request from the client computer system to the server
computer system. The server computer system then compares the text
with data in a database or data source and extracts information
based on the text from the database or data source. The information
is then transmitted from the server computer system to the client
computer system for display at the client computer system.
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 7,181,447, which is incorporated herein in its
entirety, discloses a method for transforming one query into
another query. By transforming the query, more appropriate search
results can often be obtained. Search engines often utilize other
systems such as lists of synonyms for transforming a query into a
query that can be more easily interpreted by the search engine.
[0006] Advances have also been made that allow search engines to
interpret natural language phrases. The transformation from one
natural language phrase to another natural language phrase requires
a level of understanding that can normally not be executed by a
computer. Lists of alternate phrases are typically generated by an
editor. It will be appreciated that an editor may only be able to
generate a small fraction of equivalent phrases that may be
required by a search engine. It will also be appreciated that the
generation of such lists is a cumbersome process that may take many
man-hours to complete.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The invention provides a method of at least in part
operating a computer system, including operating a first game
including receiving a plurality of rephrases, associating each
rephrase with a respective player identification, comparing each
rephrase with a threshold, associating a winner with one of the
player identifications, the winner being at least in part based on
a comparison of the rephrases with the threshold, declaring the
winner, and associating the rephrases of the first game with one
another on a computer readable medium.
[0008] The game may further include receiving a plurality of
signals, each signal including a respective one of the rephrases,
operating a processor to associate each rephrase with a respective
player, operating the processor to compare each rephrase with the
threshold, operating the processor to associate the winner with one
of the player identifications, and transmitting a signal declaring
the winner.
[0009] The signals may be received from player computer systems and
the rephrases in the signals may be text rephrases.
[0010] The method may further include operating a plurality of
games, each game including receiving a plurality of rephrases,
associating each rephrase with a respective player identification,
comparing each rephrase with a threshold, associating a winner with
one of the player identifications, the winner being at least in
part based on a comparison of the rephrases with the threshold, and
declaring the winner.
[0011] The method may further include providing a phrase to each,
at least one rephrase associated with first of the player
identifications being a patent phrase, the threshold being reached
when one of the phrases associated with a second one of the player
identifications matches the patent phrase.
[0012] The game may further include storing a score associated with
each player identification on the computer readable medium, the
scores being adjusted each time that the threshold is reached and
comparing the scores to determine a winner.
[0013] The game may further including comparing each rephrase with
a hidden phrase, the threshold being reached when a selected one of
the rephrases matches the hidden phrase, and declaring the winner
when the selected rephrase matches the hidden.
[0014] The game may further include receiving a query from a client
computer system, utilizing the rephrases to determine a parsing
phrase, utilizing the parsing phrase to extract a search result
from a database, and transmitting the search result to the client
computer system.
[0015] The invention also provides a computer-readable medium
having stored thereon a set of instructions which, when executed by
a processor, executes a method including operating a first game
including receiving a plurality of rephrases, associating each
rephrase with a respective player identification, comparing each
rephrase with a threshold, associating a winner with one of the
player identifications, the winner being at least in part based on
a comparison of the rephrases with the threshold, declaring the
winner, and associating the rephrases of the first game with one
another on a computer readable medium.
[0016] The invention further provides computer system comprising a
processor, a computer-readable medium having stored thereon a set
of instructions which, when executed by a processor, executes a
method comprising operating a first game including receiving a
plurality of rephrases, associating each rephrase with a respective
player identification, comparing each rephrase with a threshold,
associating a winner with one of the player identifications, the
winner being at least in part based on a comparison of the
rephrases with the threshold, declaring the winner, and associating
the rephrases of the first game with one another on a computer
readable medium.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The invention is further described by way of example with
reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:
[0018] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a networked computer
system in a network environment having features according to an
embodiment of the invention;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an equivalent phrase data store
and a game module forming part of the networked computer system of
FIG. 1;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing how a game is played to
generate equivalent phrases;
[0021] FIG. 4 is a screen shot of a web browser having a lobby page
displayed therein;
[0022] FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, wherein the lobby page
is replaced with a game view;
[0023] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating how the network
environment is used to search and find information;
[0024] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a client computer system
forming part of the network environment, but may also be a block
diagram of a computer in a server computer system forming an area
of the network environment;
[0025] FIG. 8 is a view of a browser at a client computer system in
the network environment of FIG. 1, the browser displaying a view of
a user interface received from a server computer system in the
network environment; and
[0026] FIG. 9 is a view of the browser in FIG. 8 displaying a
results page.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0027] FIG. 1 of the accompanied drawings illustrates a networked
computer system 10 having features according to an embodiment of
the invention, including a server computer system 12 and a
plurality of player computer systems 14a, 14b and 14c connected
over the internet 16a to the server computer system 12.
Specifically, the server computer system 12 includes a game module
18 and an equivalent phrase data store 20.
[0028] FIG. 2 illustrates the equivalent data store 20 and the game
module 18 in more detail. The equivalent phrase data store 20 holds
a plurality of phrase sets (phrase set 1; phrase set 2; phrase set
3). Each phrase set includes a plurality of equivalent phrases
(phrase 1; phrase 2; phrase 3). One of the phrases in a particular
phrase set may for example be "What is the population of Italy?"
and another one of the phrases may be "How many people live in
Italy?"
[0029] The game module 18 includes a new and hidden phrase
generator 22 connected to the equivalent phrase data store 20, a
game logic module 24 connected to the new and hidden phrase
generator 22, a provided phrase data store 26, a player score data
is store 28, a protocol generator 30 and a rephrase store 32
connected to the game logic module 24, and a data association
module 34 connected to the rephrase store 32. The protocol
generator 30 connects the game module 18 to the internet 16a. The
data association module 34 connects the game module to the
equivalent phrase data store 20.
[0030] In use, the game logic module 24 interacts with a new and
hidden phrase generator 22 to generate a plurality of new and
associated hidden phrases. The new and hidden phrase generator 22
extracts two phrases from each phrase set in the equivalent phrase
data store 20, the first phrase being a new phrase and the second
phrase being the hidden phrase. The provided phase data store 26
has a plurality of games stored therein. Each game has a respective
new phrase and a respective hidden phrase that are stored by the
game logic module 24. The game logic module 24 and the new and
hidden phrase generator 22 thus extract a plurality of new phrases
and hidden phrases, each from a respective phrase set in the
equivalent phrase data store 20. Each game in the provided phrase
data store 26 has a respective new phrase and a respective hidden
phrase. Games that have been playing for some time may also have a
plurality of patented phrases that are stored and associated with a
respective game in the provided phase data store 26.
[0031] The player score data store 28 has a plurality of player
identifications and associated scores stored therein. The game
logic module 24 updates the scores associated with a player
identifications as the respective games represented in the provided
phrase data store 26 progress.
[0032] The protocol generator 30 is an HyperText Markup Language
(HTML) protocol generator. The protocol generator 30 generates
signals and transmits the signals over the internet 16a to the
player computer systems 14a, 14b and 14c. A signal that is
transmitted by the protocol generator includes a page with data
displayed thereon. The signal is received by the respective player
computer systems 14a, 14b and 14c and the page with the data is
displayed on a display or screen of the respective player computer
system 14a, 14b and 14c. The player computer systems 14a, 14b and
14c can also transmit signals over the internet 16a to the protocol
generator 30. The signals transmitted by the player computer
systems 14a, 14b and 14c are typically due to selection of a link
on the page, selection of a button on the page and/or entry of text
on the page.
[0033] In FIG. 3, at step 100, the new and hidden phrase generator
22 in FIG. 2 generates a plurality of new phrases and associated
hidden phrases. The new and hidden phrase generator 22 generates
the new and hidden phrases based on an instruction received from
the game logic module 24. At step 102, the protocol generator 30
generates a lobby page that includes a listing of a plurality of
games, each having a respective new, and an associated hidden
phrase. The protocol generator 30 generates the lobby page in
response to an instruction received from the game logic module
24.
[0034] FIG. 4 illustrates a browser interface 36 that resides on
each one of the player computer systems 14a, 14b and 14c in FIG. 1.
The browser interface 36 may, for example, be an interface of
Internet Explorer.RTM., Firefox.RTM., Netscape.RTM. or any other
browser. The browser interface 36 has an address box 38, a viewing
pane 40 and various buttons such as back and forward buttons 42. A
user at a respective one of the player computer systems 14a, 14b or
14c can load the browser interface 36 into memory. The browser
interface 36 can be displayed on a screen or a display of the
player computer system 14a, 14b or 14c.
[0035] The user enters an address in the address box 38. The user
uses a mouse to move a cursor 44 into the address box 38, and then
clicks a button on the mouse. After clicking the button on the
mouse, the user can use a keyboard to enter text into the address
box 38. The user can then press "Enter" on the keyboard. A command
is sent over the internet 16a in FIG. 1 requesting a page
corresponding to the address that is entered in the address box 38.
The page is retrieved and transmitted to the player computer system
14a, 14b or 14c and is displayed within the viewing pane 40. An
address can also be automatically entered in the address box 38 and
be transmitted due to an earlier or subsequent action by the user
of the respective player computer system 14a, 14b or 14c. For
purposes of expediency, the transmission and reception and the
contents of every signal are not described in every instance
herein, but it should be understood that a communication will
include at least one transaction that includes transmission and
reception of a signal and what the contents of such a signal will
be.
[0036] FIG. 4 also shows a lobby page that is displayed within the
viewing pane 40. The lobby page 50 includes a listing of a
plurality of games 52. Each game is identified by a respective
number and a respective new phrase that is generated by the new and
hidden phrase generator 22 in FIG. 2. The hidden phrases are not
displayed within the lobby page 50. The lobby page 50 is
transmitted at step 104 in FIG. 3 from the protocol generator 30
over the internet 16a and FIG. 2 to the respective player computer
system 14a, 14b or 14c in FIG. 1.
[0037] At step 106 in FIG. 3, the game logic module 24 provides an
instruction for the protocol generator 30 to generate game views
corresponding to each one of the games 52 in FIG. 4. At step 108,
the protocol generator 30 transmits a respective game view to, for
example, the player computer system 14a in FIG. 1. The game view is
transmitted in response to selection of a user of one of the games
52 in FIG. 4. The user may for example move the cursor 44 onto a
name of one of the games 52 and then depress the button on the
mouse to select the respective game. A different game view is
transmitted to the player computer system 14a for each one of the
games 52.
[0038] FIG. 5 illustrates a game view 54 that replaces the lobby
page 50 in FIG. 4 within the browser interface 36. The game view 54
includes a new phrase 56 for the particular games 52 selected in
FIG. 4, a text box 58, a "submit" button 60, and player scores 62
and 64. A cookie is stored on the player computer system 14a. The
cookie includes one of the player identifications shown in the
player score data store 28 and the provided phrase data store 26 in
FIG. 2. The cookie is transmitted from the player computer system
14a in FIG. 1 to the game module 18 so that the game module 18
identifies the player computer system 14a. The score 62 in FIG. 5
is extracted from the player score data store 28 in FIG. 2
corresponding to the respective player identification for the
player computer system 14a. In a similar manner, the player
computer systems 14b and 14c are also identified at the game-module
18 in FIG. 1. The respective scores associated with the respective
player computer systems 14a, 14b and 14c will thus be displayed
similar to the score 62 in FIG. 5, but will differ for the
respective player computer systems 14a, 14b and 14c.
[0039] A number of player computer systems 14a, 14b and 14c can
join each one of the games 52 shown in FIG. 4. The scores 64 in
FIG. 5 correspond to the respective player computer systems 14a,
14b or 14c that have joined one of the games 52 shown in FIG. 4
different subsets of the player computer systems 14a, 14b and 14c
can join different ones of the games 52 in FIG. 4.
[0040] Each one of the scores 64 also has a player name 66
associated therewith. The respective player name 66 may be a
respective one of the player identifications shown in the player
score data store 28 of FIG. 2, or may be separately associated with
a respective player identification. The player names 66 are entered
on the player computer systems 14a, 14b and 14c during a
registration process.
[0041] The user can enter a text rephrase in the text box 58. The
text rephrase is a different interpretation given by the player for
the new phrase 56. The player then selects the "submit" button 60,
which causes transmission of a signal that includes the text
rephrase from the player computer system 14a over the internet 16a
to the game module 18 in FIG. 1. Referring again to FIG. 3, the
text rephrase is received at step 110 by the game module 18.
[0042] At steps 112,114 and 116 the rephrase is compared with a
number of thresholds to either determine a winner or to proceed the
game towards determination of a winner. At step 112, a
determination is made whether the rephrase matches a hidden phrase.
The hidden phrase is not displayed in the game view 54 or the lobby
page 50 of FIGS. 5 and 4. If the rephrase matches the hidden
phrase, the respective player is said to have hit the "jackpot" and
is declared a winner at step 118. The winner is declared by
replacing the game view 54 with a view (not shown) that indicates
that a respective player is declared a winner.
[0043] If, at step 112, the rephrase does not match the hidden
phrase, the rephrase is compared with all patented phrases for the
game. The patented phrases for the game are stored in the provided
phrase data store 26 in FIG. 2. If the rephrase is a unique phrase,
i.e., the rephrase is not listed as one of the patented phrases for
the respective game in the provided phrase data store, then the
rephrase will become a patented phrase at step 120 and the rephrase
provided at step 110 is added to the respective game in the
provided phrase data store as an additional patented phrase.
[0044] If, at step 114, it is determined that the rephrase is not a
patented phrase, a determination is made at step 116 whether the
rephrase matches a patented phrase already in the provided phrase
data store 26. If the rephrase matches one of the patented phrases,
then step 122 is carried out. At step 122, the score in the player
score data store 28 corresponding to a player identification having
a patented phrase in the provided phrase data store 26 is
increased. The score of another player thus increases if the
rephrase matches a patented phrase of such another player. For
example, with reference to FIG. 1, the player computer system 14b
may previously have provided a rephrase that was turned into a
patented phrase. When the player computer system 14a is used to
provide a rephrase and the rephrase matches the patented phrase
provided by the player computer system 14b, then the score of the
player computer system 14b is increased.
[0045] Following step 122, step 124 is carried out. In its present
example, a maximum score limit is provided and at step 124, the
scores of all the players are compared to the maximum score. If one
of the players has a score that reaches the maximum score then such
a player is declared a winner at step 118.
[0046] Following steps 120, or if steps 116 and 124 are answered in
the negative, the player is again directed to step 110. The player
can then again type a further rephrase within the text box 58 in
FIG. 5.
[0047] At step 126, all the rephrases are associated with one
another. Referring to FIG. 2, the rephrase store 32 includes the
new phrase and all rephrases for all of the games. The rephrases
are collected by the game logic module 24 as each games progresses
and are then provided to the rephrase store 32. Each game within
the rephrase store 32 thus includes not only the new phrase and the
bidden phrase that are generated for the respective game by the new
and hidden phrase generator 22, but also all the rephrases that are
entered by all the players in the text box FIG. 5 displayed by each
one of the player computer systems 14a, 14b and 14c in FIG. 1 that
have joined the game represented in FIG. 5. The data association
module 34 then imports the rephrases from the rephrase store 32
into the equivalent phrase data store 20. The new and hidden phrase
generator 22 has extracted a new and hidden phrase from a
particular phrase set within the equivalent phrase data store 20
and the data association module 34 places the rephrases within the
same set. The rephrases for different games within the rephrase
store 32 are thus imported into different ones of the phrase sets
within the equivalent phrase data store 20.
[0048] Referring again to FIG. 1, the network environment 10
further includes a server computer system 12, the internet 16B, 16C
and 16D, a plurality of client computer systems 218, and a
plurality of remote sites 220, according to an embodiment of the
invention.
[0049] The server computer system 12 has stored thereon a crawler
222, a collected data store 224, an indexer 226, a plurality of
search databases 228, a plurality of structured databases and data
sources 230, a search engine 232, the user interface 212, and a
natural language interpretation module 234.
[0050] The crawler 222 is connected over the internet 16B to the
remote sites 220. The collected data store 224 is connected to the
crawler 222, and the indexer 226 is connected to the collected data
store 224. The search databases 228 are connected to the indexer
226. The search engine 232 is connected to the search databases 228
and the structured databases and data sources 230. The client
computer systems 218 are located at respective client sites and are
connected over the internet 16D and the user interface 212 to the
search engine 232.
[0051] Reference is now made to FIGS. 1 and 6 in combination to
describe the functioning of the network environment 10. The crawler
222 periodically accesses the remote sites 220 over the internet
16B (step 330). The crawler 222 collects data from the remote sites
220 and stores the data in the collected data store 224 (step 332).
The indexer 226 indexes the data in the collected data store 224
and stores the indexed data in the search databases 228 (step 334).
The search databases 228 may, for example, be a "Web" database, a
"News" database, a "Blogs & Feeds" database, an "Images"
database, etc. Some of the structured databases or data sources 230
are licensed from third-party providers and may, for example,
include an encyclopedia, a dictionary, maps, a movies database,
etc.
[0052] A user at one of the client computer systems 218 accesses
the user interface 212 over the internet 16D (step 336). The user
can enter a search query in a search box in the user interface 212,
and either hit "Enter" on a keyboard or select a "Search" button or
a "Go" button of the user interface 212 (step 338).
[0053] The search engine 232 receiving a query instructs the
natural language interpretation model 234 to extract a parsing
phrase from the equivalent phrase data store 20. The natural
language interpretation model 234 utilizes the utilizes the query
to extract a parsing phrase from the equivalent phrase data store
20. The parsing phrase is typically the same as the new phrase
generated at step 100 in FIG. 3 and corresponds to a rephrase that
is the same as the query. The natural language interpretation model
234 thus finds a rephrase in the equivalent phrase data store 20
that is the same as the query and extracts a new phrase
corresponding to the rephrase and passes the new phrase to the
search engine 232 as a parsing phrase. The natural language
interpretation model 234 thus determines an equivalent parsing
phrase for the query (step 339). The search engine 232 then
utilizes the parsing phrase to extract a search result from a
database.
[0054] The search engine 232 then uses the "Search" query to parse
the search databases 228 or the structured databases or data
sources 230. In the example of where a "Web" search is conducted,
the search engine 232 parses the search database 228 having general
Internet Web data (step 340). Various technologies exist for
comparing or using a search query to extract data from databases,
as will be understood by a person skilled in the art.
[0055] The search engine 232 then transmits the extracted data over
the internet 16D to the client computer system 218 (step 342). The
extracted data typically includes uniform resource locator (URL)
links to one or more of the remote sites 220. The user at the
client computer system 218 can select one of the links to one of
the remote sites 220 and access the respective remote site 220 over
the internet 16C (step 344). The server computer system 12 has thus
assisted the user at the respective client computer system 218 to
find or select one of the remote sites 220 that have data
pertaining to the query entered by the user.
[0056] FIG. 7 shows a diagrammatic representation of a machine in
the exemplary form of one of the client computer systems 218 within
which a set of instructions, for causing the machine to perform any
one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, may be executed.
In alternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone
device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In
a network deployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a
server or a client machine in a server-client network environment,
or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network
environment. The machine may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet
PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a
cellular telephone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or
bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions
(sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that
machine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the
term "machine" shall also be taken to include any collection of
machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple
sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the
methodologies discussed herein. The client computer system 218, or
any other computer system of FIG. 1 may also include one or more
machines as shown in FIG. 3.
[0057] The exemplary client computer system 218 includes a
processor 430 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics
processing unit (GPU), or both), a main memory 432 (e.g., read-only
memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM)
such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM (RDRAM), etc.), and
a static memory 434 (e.g., flash memory, static random access
memory (SRAM, etc.), which communicate with each other via a bus
436.
[0058] The client computer system 218 may further include a video
display 438 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray
tube (CRT)). The client computer system 218 also includes an
alpha-numeric input device 440 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control
device 442 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 444, a signal
generation device 446 (e.g., a speaker), and a network interface
device 448,
[0059] The disk drive unit 444 includes a machine-readable medium
450 on which is stored one or more sets of instructions 452 (e.g.,
software) embodying any one or more of the methodologies or
functions described herein. The software may also reside,
completely or at least partially, within the main memory 432 and/or
within the processor 430 during execution thereof by the client
computer system 218, the memory 432 and the processor 430 also
constituting machine readable media. The software may further be
transmitted or received over a network 454 via the network
interface device 448.
[0060] While the instructions 452 are shown in an exemplary
embodiment to be on a single medium, the term "machine-readable
medium" should be taken to understand a single medium or multiple
media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database or data source
and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more
sets of instructions. The term "machine-readable medium" shall also
be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing,
encoding, or carrying a set of instructions for execution by the
machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of
the methodologies of the present invention. The term
"machine-readable medium" shall accordingly be taken to include,
but not be limited to, solid-state memories, optical and magnetic
media, and carrier wave signals.
[0061] FIG. 8 of the accompanying drawings illustrates a browser
512 that displays a user interface 522 at a client computer system
218 in FIG. 1. The browser 512 may, for example, be an Internet
Explorer.TM., Firefox.TM., Netscape.TM., or any other browser. The
browser 512 has an address box 514, a viewing pane 516, and various
buttons such as back and forward buttons 518 and 518. The browser
512 is loaded on a computer at the client computer system 218 of
FIG. 1. A user at the client computer system 218 can load the
browser 512 into memory, so that the browser 512 is displayed on a
screen such as the video display 438 in FIG. 7.
[0062] The user enters an address (in the present example, the
internet address http://www.ask.com) in the address box 514. A
mouse (i.e., the cursor control device 442 of FIG. 7) is used to
move a cursor 520 into the address box 514, and a left button is
depressed or "clicked" on the mouse. After clicking on the left
button of the mouse, the user can use a keyboard to enter text into
the address box 514. The user then presses "Enter" on the keyboard.
A command is then sent over the internet requesting a page
corresponding to the address that is entered into the address box
514, or a page request is transmitted from the client computer
system 218 to the server computer system 12. The page that is
retrieved at the server computer system 12 is a first view of the
user interface 212 and is transmitted from the server computer
system 12 to the client computer system 218 and displayed in the
viewing pane.
[0063] FIG. 9 shows a results page after a user enters the query
"How many people live in Italy?" in the address box 514 in FIG. 8.
The results page includes results for a equivalent phrase "What is
the population of Italy?" due to generation of equivalent phrases
in the game described with reference to FIG. 2.
[0064] While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and
shown in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that
such embodiments are merely illustrative and not restrictive of the
current invention, and that this invention is not restricted to the
specific constructions and arrangements shown and described since
modifications may occur to those ordinarily skilled in the art.
* * * * *
References