U.S. patent application number 17/116542 was filed with the patent office on 2021-03-25 for preview search results.
The applicant listed for this patent is A9.com, Inc.. Invention is credited to Matthew W. Amacker, William F. Stasior.
Application Number | 20210089607 17/116542 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005261071 |
Filed Date | 2021-03-25 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20210089607 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Stasior; William F. ; et
al. |
March 25, 2021 |
PREVIEW SEARCH RESULTS
Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for previewing content that is
located behind the links of a search results webpage without having
to click on the links and thereby cause webpage changes.
Embodiments provide a webpage that presents a first set of search
results in response to a search query submitted by a user. This
webpage is displayed in a graphical user interface and the first
set of search results comprises one or more links to other search
results webpages, which are defined dynamically and cannot be
pre-computed. In the event a user mouses over one of the links,
embodiments execute the search associated with the moused-over link
and then render selected portions of the search results in a
preview window that is positioned over a portion the webpage that
displays the first set of search results.
Inventors: |
Stasior; William F.; (Los
Altos, CA) ; Amacker; Matthew W.; (Santa Clara,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
A9.com, Inc. |
Palo Alto |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000005261071 |
Appl. No.: |
17/116542 |
Filed: |
December 9, 2020 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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15457845 |
Mar 13, 2017 |
10896238 |
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17116542 |
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12950862 |
Nov 19, 2010 |
9645722 |
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15457845 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/9577 20190101;
G06F 16/951 20190101; G06F 3/0482 20130101; G06F 3/0485 20130101;
G06F 3/0481 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06F 16/957 20060101
G06F016/957; G06F 3/0485 20060101 G06F003/0485; G06F 16/951
20060101 G06F016/951; G06F 3/0481 20060101 G06F003/0481; G06F
3/0482 20060101 G06F003/0482 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method, comprising: receiving a search
query; determining a set of search results and a set of search
refinement suggestions relevant to the received search query;
displaying, via a graphical interface, the set of search results
and user-selectable elements, individual user-selectable elements
corresponding to a search refinement suggestion; determining that a
pointer is positioned within a user-selectable element of interest
of the user-selectable elements; pre-fetching a set of refined
search results based on the search refinement suggestion associated
with the user-selectable element of interest; displaying, via the
graphical interface, at least a portion of individuals of the set
of refined search results in a preview area; determining that the
pointer is positioned outside of the user-selectable element of
interest; and removing the preview area from the graphical
interface.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: pre-fetching a second
set of refined search results based on a second search suggestion
associated with a second user-selectable element.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: determining that the
pointer is positioned within the second user-selectable element;
and displaying, via the graphical interface, at least a portion of
the second set of refined search results in a second preview
area.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein pre-fetching the set of refined
search results includes: causing a search service to execute a
search that includes the search refinement suggestion term
associated with the user-selectable element.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of search results is
displayed in a first portion of the graphical interface and the
user-selectable elements are displayed in a second portion of the
graphical interface.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the preview window is displayed
at least partially covering the first portion of the graphical
interface.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the preview window includes at
least one selectable element that is associated with one of the
refined search results.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one selectable
element is an image.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one selectable
element is a navigation link.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the user-selectable elements are
navigation links.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a
selection of the at least one selectable element; and updating the
graphical interface to display product information related to a
product associated with the selectable element.
12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a
selection of the user-selectable element of interest; and replace
the search results with the refined search results.
13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including
instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the
processor to: receive a search query; determine a set of search
results and a set of search refinement suggestions relevant to the
received search query; display, via a graphical interface, the set
of search results and user-selectable elements, individual
user-selectable elements corresponding to a search refinement
suggestion; determine that a pointer is positioned within a
user-selectable element of interest of the user-selectable
elements; pre-fetch a set of refined search results based on the
search refinement suggestion associated with the user-selectable
element of interest; display, via the graphical interface, at least
a portion of individuals of the set of refined search results in a
preview area; determine that the pointer is positioned outside of
the user-selectable element of interest; and remove the preview
area from the graphical interface.
14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
13, wherein the instructions to pre-fetch the set of refined search
results further includes instructions to: cause a search service to
execute a search that includes the search refinement suggestion
term associated with the user-selectable element.
15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
13, wherein the set of search results is displayed in a first
portion of the graphical interface and the user-selectable elements
are displayed in a second portion of the graphical interface.
16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
15, wherein the preview window is displayed at least partially
covering the first portion of the graphical interface.
17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim
13, wherein the preview window includes at least one selectable
element that is associated with one of the refined search
results.
18. A system, comprising: a processor; and a memory device
including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause
the processor to: receive a search query; determine a set of search
results and a set of search refinement suggestions relevant to the
received search query; display, via a graphical interface, the set
of search results and user-selectable elements, individual
user-selectable elements corresponding to a search refinement
suggestion; determine that a pointer is positioned within a
user-selectable element of interest of the user-selectable
elements; pre-fetch a set of refined search results based on the
search refinement suggestion associated with the user-selectable
element of interest; display, via the graphical interface, at least
a portion of individuals of the set of refined search results in a
preview area; determine that the pointer is positioned outside of
the user-selectable element of interest; and remove the preview
area from the graphical interface.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein the set of search results is
displayed in a first portion of the graphical interface and the
user-selectable elements are displayed in a second portion of the
graphical interface.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein the preview window is displayed
at least partially covering the first portion of the graphical
interface.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 15/457,845, entitled "Preview Search Results," filed Mar. 13,
2017, which claims priority to U.S. Pat. No. 9,645,722, entitled
"Preview Search Results," filed Nov. 19, 2010, both of which are
incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
BACKGROUND
[0002] There are currently a wide variety of search engines and
tools that permit computer users to search for electronic
information. For example, a typical search engine, in response to
receiving a search query from a user, executes a search and then
displays search results in a graphical user interface. Some search
engines provide search refinement suggestions along side of the
search results. These refinements are often limited to specific
categories or other types of information, which can be of limited
assistance in searching for information, as there can be many
levels of sub-categories, and the user might not know the correct
path to get to the desired information. Oftentimes, to find the
desired information in an Internet-based environment, the user
might start with a search query, but still ends up browsing from
webpage to webpage by clicking on links to the search results and
search refinement suggestions. Browsing from webpage to webpage may
be inefficient, however, as each time the user clicks on a link
such as a refinement, for example, the user has to wait for the
next webpage to load. If the refinement causes another search to be
executed, the webpage also must wait on the query to be executed to
present the results. Once that webpage loads, there is a reasonable
chance the user will return to the previous webpage because the
results did not contain the desire information. In addition to
being inefficient, browsing from webpage to webpage may cause the
user to lose context of the original search. In this event, the
user may have to restart the search from the original query or a
whole new query.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0003] Various embodiments in accordance with the present
disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings, in
which:
[0004] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example
environment for implementing aspects in accordance with at least
one embodiment;
[0005] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram depicting aspects of an
example computerized system in accordance with at least one
embodiment;
[0006] FIG. 3 is a data flow diagram illustrating a method of using
an example computerized system to preview content located "behind"
user-selectable elements of a search results webpage in accordance
with at least one embodiment;
[0007] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram depicting aspects of an
example search user interface component in accordance with at least
one embodiment;
[0008] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram depicting aspects of an
example search user interface in accordance with at least one
embodiment; and
[0009] FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting example steps for previewing
content located behind links of search results webpages in
accordance with at least one embodiment.
[0010] Same numbers are used throughout the disclosure and figures
to reference like components and features, but such repetition of
numbers is for purposes of simplicity of explanation and
understanding, and should not be viewed as a limitation on the
various embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] In the following description, various embodiments will be
described. For purposes of explanation, specific configurations and
details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding
of the embodiments. However, it will also be apparent to one
skilled in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without
the specific details, and that variations and other aspects not
explicitly disclosed herein are contemplated within the scope of
the various embodiments. Furthermore, well-known features may be
omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the embodiment being
described.
[0012] Disclosed herein are example techniques, including systems
and methods, for previewing information about content that is
associated with a user-selectable element on a webpage of content.
In one instance, upon a user hovering a pointer (e.g., mouse
pointer) over a link, a preview is provided in a preview window
showing at least some of the content located on the webpage that
would be displayed upon selection of the link. Thus, the user can
preview content available on another webpage without having to
actually click on the link and navigate to the other webpage to
view the content. Among other things, this is a time-saving feature
available to the user. For example, if the user determines that the
items displayed in the preview while hovering a mouse pointer over
a link are not of interest, the user will not select the link and
browse other sections of the website. The user is not required to
select the link, view a second webpage to determine that the items
are not of interest and then, for example, select a "back" button
to return to the first webpage. The user can make the determination
that the second webpage is not of interest without ever leaving the
first webpage. The ability to view content on a second webpage
without having to leave a first webpage reduces search time and
optimizes webpage navigation.
[0013] In operation, embodiments provide a webpage or other
grouping or display of content (e.g., a webpage) that presents a
first set of search results in response to a search query submitted
by a user. This webpage is displayed in a graphical user interface
and the first set of search results comprises one or more search
refinement links. In the event a user mouses over one of the search
refinement links, embodiments execute the search associated with
the moused-over link. For example, if the user mouses over, but
does not click on, a search refinement link, that search refinement
is executed in the background. While the search associated with the
moused-over link is executed in the background, the webpage that
presents the first set of search results remains on display in the
graphical user interface. After the search associated with the
moused-over link is executed, embodiments render selected portions
of the search results in a preview window that is positioned over a
portion the webpage that displays the first set of search results.
According to some embodiments, the preview window is a tooltip and
the selected portions of the search results that are rendered in
the tooltip are images of items that are located on the webpage
associated with the moused over link.
[0014] According to some embodiments, once the preview window is
provided, the user can mouse over the individual items displayed in
the preview window to obtain additional information about the
respective items, or the user can click on one of the individual
items to load a webpage that presents information about that item.
This webpage may replace the webpage that presents the first set of
search results.
[0015] Various approaches may be implemented in various
environments for various applications. For example, FIG. 1
illustrates an example of an environment 100 for implementing
aspects in accordance with various embodiments. As will be
appreciated, although a Web-based environment may be utilized for
purposes of explanation, different environments may be utilized, as
appropriate, to implement various embodiments. The environment 100
shown includes both a build portion (or side) and a production
portion. The production portion may include one or more electronic
client devices such as the client devices 102 depicted in FIG. 1.
The client devices 102 may include any appropriate device operable
to send and receive requests, messages, or information over an
appropriate network 104 and convey information back to a user of
the client devices 102. Examples of such client devices include
personal computers, cell phones, handheld messaging devices, laptop
computers, set-top boxes, personal data assistants, electronic book
readers, and the like.
[0016] The network 104 may include any appropriate network,
including an intranet, the Internet, a cellular network, a local
area network, a wide area network, a wireless data network, or any
other such network or combination thereof. Components utilized for
such a system may depend at least in part upon the type of network
and/or environment selected. Protocols and components for
communicating via such a network are well known and will not be
discussed herein in detail. Communication over the network may be
enabled by wired or wireless connections, and combinations thereof.
In this example, the network 104 includes the Internet, as the
environment includes a Web server 106 for receiving requests and
serving content in response thereto, although for other networks an
alternative device serving a similar purpose could be utilized as
would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.
[0017] The illustrative environment 100 includes at least one
application server 108 and a data store 110. It should be
understood that there may be several application servers, layers,
or other elements, processes, or components, which may be chained
or otherwise configured, which may interact to perform tasks such
as obtaining data from an appropriate data store. As used herein
the term "data store" refers to any device or combination of
devices capable of storing, accessing, and/or retrieving data,
which may include any combination and number of data servers,
databases, data storage devices, and data storage media, in any
standard, distributed, or clustered environment. The application
server 108 may include any appropriate hardware and software for
integrating with the data store as needed to execute aspects of one
or more applications for the client devices 102, and may even
handle a majority of the data access and business logic for an
application.
[0018] The application server 108 provides access control services
in cooperation with the data store 110, and is able to generate
content such as text, graphics, audio, and/or video to be
transferred to the user, which may be served to the user by the Web
server 106 in the form of HTML, XML, or another appropriate
structured language in this example. The handling of all requests
and responses, as well as the delivery of content between the
client devices 102 and the application server 108, may be handled
by the Web server 106. It should be understood that the Web and
application servers 106, 108 are not required and are merely
example components, as structured code discussed herein may be
executed on any appropriate device or host machine as discussed
elsewhere herein. Further, the environment 100 may be architected
in such a way that a test automation framework may be provided as a
service to which a user or application may subscribe. A test
automation framework may be provided as an implementation of any of
the various testing patterns discussed herein, although various
other implementations may be utilized as well, as discussed or
suggested herein.
[0019] The environment 100 may also include a build side designed
to service the data store 110 rather than to service requests from
the client devices 102. The build side of the environment 100 may
include a development server 118, which can have functionality
similar to the application server 108. In at least one embodiment,
the application server 108 may also function as a build server, and
separate production and testing storage may not be utilized.
[0020] The data store 110 may include several separate data tables,
databases, or other data storage mechanisms and media for storing
data relating to a particular aspect. For example, the data store
110 illustrated includes mechanisms for storing production data 112
and user information 116, which may be utilized to serve content
for the production side. The data store 110 also is shown to
include a mechanism for storing testing data 114, which may be
utilized with the user information for the testing side. It should
be understood that there may be many other aspects that are stored
in the data store 110, such as for webpage image information and
access right information, which may be stored in any of the above
listed mechanisms as appropriate or in additional mechanisms in the
data store 110.
[0021] The data store 110 is operable, through logic associated
therewith, to receive instructions from the application server 108
or build server 118, and obtain, update, or otherwise process data
in response thereto. In one example, a user might submit a search
request for a certain type of item. In this case, the data store
110 might access the user information 116 to verify the identity of
the user, and may access the catalog detail information to obtain
information about items of that type. The information then may be
returned to the user, such as in a results listing on a Web webpage
that the user is able to view via a browser on one of the client
devices 102. Information for a particular item of interest may be
viewed in a dedicated webpage or window of the browser.
[0022] Each server typically will include an operating system that
provides executable program instructions for the general
administration and operation of that server, and typically will
include a computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when
executed by a processor of the server, allow the server to perform
its intended functions. Suitable implementations for the operating
system and general functionality of the servers are known or
commercially available, and are readily implemented by persons
having ordinary skill in the art, particularly in light of the
disclosure herein.
[0023] The environment 100 in one embodiment is a distributed
computing environment utilizing several computer systems and
components that are interconnected via communication links, using
one or more computer networks or direct connections. However, it
will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that such
a system could operate equally well in a system having fewer or a
greater number of components than are illustrated in FIG. 1. Thus,
the depiction of the system 100 in FIG. 1 should be taken as being
illustrative in nature, and not limiting to the scope of the
disclosure.
[0024] FIG. 2 depicts aspects of an example computerized system 200
configured to preview content located behind user-selectable
elements, such as links, of a search results webpage, in accordance
with at least one embodiment. The example system 200 includes a
search client 202 and a search service 204. Although, for clarity,
FIG. 2 depicts one each of the search client 202 and the search
service 204, systems in accordance with at least one embodiment may
include any suitable number of search clients and any suitable
number of search services. The search client 202 and the search
service 204 may be communicatively coupled, for example, by a
communication network within a computer and/or between a plurality
of computers such as the client devices 102 and the servers 106,
108, 118 of FIG. 1. For example, the search client 202 may be
hosted and/or implemented at least in part by one of the client
devices 102, and the search service 204 may be hosted and/or
implemented at least in part by computer systems corresponding to
the web server 106, the application server 108, the build server
118 and/or the data store 110.
[0025] The search client 202 may generate a search input stream 208
of search input elements such as characters of text. The unlabeled
squares inside the dashed line 208 represent search input elements
in FIG. 2. When the search input elements are characters of text,
the search input stream 208 may be called a search input keystream
(e.g., with reference to a keyboard method of input). However,
search input elements are not limited to characters of text. For
example, search input elements may include static images, audio,
video, clickstreams, and any digitized data suitable for use as
search input. The search client 202 may communicate the search
input stream 208 to a search module 210 of the search service 204.
The search module 210 may use the sequences of the search input
elements in search input stream 208 to search across an indexed
collection of content 214 and obtain search results 212. The search
module 210 may communicate the search results 212 to the search
client 202. For example, the search module 210 may generate a
search results webpage that provides links to individual search
results, links to related searches, or links to search refinements,
such as item categories.
[0026] It should be appreciated that the indexed collection of
content 214 may include any suitable content. Examples of suitable
content include electronic records, data structures, data objects,
representations including representations of goods such as physical
goods and commercial goods and representations of services such as
commercial services, documents, document collections, images
including digital images in any suitable image format, audio,
video, virtual environments including virtual realities (VR) and
recordings thereof, and suitable combinations thereof. This content
may be organized in any number of indexes, such as book indexes,
electronics indexes, apparel indexes, etc.
[0027] According to an embodiment, if the user clicks on a link to
a related search or a search refinement, a webpage change occurs.
However, before committing to the webpage change caused by clicking
on the link, the user can use the system 200 to preview what is
"behind" the link. For example, the user can cause the search
client 202 to send a preview request 220 to the search service 204.
According to an embodiment, the user causes the search client 202
to generate and send the preview request 220 by mousing over or
near the link. In response to the preview request 220, the search
service 204 executes the refinement or related search associated
with the link, and then sends preview search results 226 to the
search client 202 for presentation in a preview window. According
to an embodiment, an Ajax receiver 216 of the search service 204
receives the preview request 220 and invokes the search module 210
to execute the refinement or related search to obtain the preview
search results 226.
[0028] According to an embodiment, if the user selects any of the
items displayed in the preview window, then a new webpage
associated with the selected item is provided. On the other hand,
if the user moves the pointer off of the preview window and/or link
without selecting either, the preview window simply disappears.
Thus, the user can effectively view items normally only available
for viewing on another webpage without having to leave the current
webpage.
[0029] FIG. 3 is a data flow diagram illustrating an example method
of using an example computerized system 300 to preview content
located behind user-selectable elements, such as links, of a search
results webpage, in accordance with at least one embodiment. The
encircled reference numerals are referred to when describing the
example method of using the system 300. However, it should be
appreciated that the encircled reference numerals are provided for
illustrative convenience and are not intended to limit ways in
which data may flow in the system 300 or ways in which the system
300 may operate. For example, data may flow to and from any
component of the system 300 in any order. The example system 300
includes a client browser 302 and a search service 304. The client
browser 302 shown in FIG. 3 is an example of the search client 202
shown in FIG. 2, and the search service 304 shown in FIG. 3 is an
example of the search service 204 shown FIG. 2.
[0030] As represented at 306, a user inputs search terms into a
user interface 308, which is provided by the client browser 302,
and, as represented at 310, the user interface 308 sends the search
terms to a search module 314 of the search service 304. The search
module 314 shown in FIG. 3 is an example of the search module 210
shown in FIG. 2. At 316, the search module 314 runs the search
terms through an indexed collection of content 318 to identify
items that may be relevant to the search terms (e.g., find a "first
set of search results"). According to an embodiment, the indexed
collection of content 318 may be stored in the data store 110 shown
in FIG. 1. The first set of search results includes, for example,
ASINs and associated HTML, for the items that were identified in
the indexed collection of content 318 as being relevant to the
search terms. Further, for example, the first set of search results
includes search refinements and associated links. Example search
refinements include links to categories of items that are relevant
to the submitted search terms and/or links to related searches that
may be of interest to the user. The search module 314 may utilize
any suitable relevance determination technique to determine which
content in the indexed content collection 318 is relevant to the
inputted search terms. Alternatively, or in addition, the inputted
search terms may be associated with pre-defined subsets of the
indexed content collection 318, and the search module 314 may
include the pre-defined subsets in the first set of search
results.
[0031] As represented at 320, the search module 314 sends the first
set of search results to the user interface 308, which presents the
search results in a search results presentation 322 that comprises
links 324 to the individual items of the first set of search
results and links 326 to the search refinements. According to an
embodiment, the search refinement links 326 describe a search that
is separate and independent from the search created by the search
terms inputted by the user at 306. Further, according to an
embodiment, the search refinement links 326 are encoded with
information necessary to execute the separate search. For example,
the search refinement links 326 are encoded with the search
refinement and the one or more nodes of the indexed collection of
content 318 to be searched.
[0032] As mentioned above, when a user reviews the first set of
search results presented on the search results presentation 322,
the user may want to preview the content behind one or more of the
search refinement links 326 without having to click on one of the
links and navigate to another webpage. By previewing what is behind
links without having to click on links and wait for webpage
changes, the user is able to review more content in less time. To
enable the user to preview content behind one or more of the search
refinement links 326, when a user positions the mouse pointer over
or near one of the links, a script 330 running on the presentation
322 causes the corresponding refinement search to be executed and
then renders the refinement search results in the preview
window.
[0033] For example, the script 330 may be running within the HTML
on the client browser 302 and configured to "watch" where the mouse
pointer goes on the search results presentation 322. According to
an embodiment, if the mouse pointer gets within a predefined
distance of one of the search refinement links 326, then as
represented at 332 the client script 330 reads the refinement and
pulls out the search refinement. For example, the script 330 may
execute an if-then statement that says "if mouse pointer gets near
or touches one of search refinement links 326, then read that
search refinement link."
[0034] As represented at 334, the script 330 causes the client
browser 302 to send data that represents the refinement search to
an Ajax receiver 336 of the search service 304. As represented at
340, the Ajax receiver 336 decodes the data that represents the
search refinement to determine which type of search needs to be
executed and runs the search across the appropriate index or
indexes of the indexed collection of content 318. According to an
embodiment, the Ajax receiver 336 or some other component of the
system 300 invokes the search module 314 to execute the search. For
example, if the search refinement link 326 is directed to books,
the Ajax receiver 336 figures out that the refinement search is for
books and runs that search refinement across the index of the
indexed collection of content 318 that contains content related to
books. As represented at 344, the Ajax receiver 336 obtains from
the indexed collection of content 318 a second set of search
results (e.g., preview search results). According to an embodiment,
the Ajax receiver 336 obtains the search results by way of the
search module 314. For example, the preview search results may
include ASINs and images associated with items that match the
refinement search. As represented at 348, the Ajax receiver 336
sends the preview search results to the script 330, which, as
represented at 352 renders the preview search results in a preview
window 360. According to an embodiment, if the preview search
results include ASINs and images, then just the images are
presented to the user via the preview window 360. According to some
embodiments, the script 330 causes the preview window 360 to be
rendered on top of the first set of search results of the search
results presentation 322. For example, the preview window 360 may
be a tooltip associated with the search refinement link 326 that
the user moused over. It should be appreciated that the preview
search results may include a subset of relevant search results and,
when the user actually selects (i.e., clicks on) the corresponding
search refinement link, a complete set of relevant search results
are rendered in the search results presentation 322.
[0035] According to an embodiment, if the user clicks on one of the
search results (e.g., images) provided in the preview window 360,
the preview window 360 disappears and the webpage associated with
the selected result replaces the search results presentation 322
that presented the first set of search results. Further, according
to an embodiment, if the user does not click on one of the search
results presented in the preview window 360 and instead moves the
mouse pointer to another search refinement link 326, the script 330
causes the first preview window 360 to disappear and a second
preview window pop up and render search results associated with the
new search refinement link 326.
[0036] According to an embodiment, search results for all or some
of the search refinement links 326 are pre-fetched when the search
results presentation 322 is loaded. For example, the search results
for the search refinement links 326 may be fetched before a user
has a chance to mouse over the links. As such, the search results
can be rendered in a preview window 360 immediately after the user
mouses over the corresponding link. According to an embodiment, to
pre-fetch search results, the script 330 is configured to pull
search refinement information from some or all of the search
refinement links 326 immediately after the search results
presentation 322 is provided. The script 330 then sends the search
refinement information to the Ajax receiver 336, which obtains
preview search results and sends the obtained preview search
results back to the script 330 so that the scrip 330 can render the
preview search results immediately after a user mouses over or near
one of the search refinement links 326.
[0037] According to an embodiment, the script 330 may be configured
to pre-fetch preview search results for the search refinement links
326 most likely to be selected by the user. For example, since
users may be likely to click on one or more of the first two to
three search refinement links 326 presented on the search results
presentation, the script 330 may be configured to pre-fetch preview
search results for those links. In another example, after a user
mouses over one of the search refinement links 326, the script 330
may pre-fetch preview search results for the adjacent search
refinement links 326 because, after viewing the preview search
results for the one search refinement link 326, the user is likely
to mouse over adjacent search refinement links 326. In yet another
example, the script 330 may be configured to pre-fetch preview
search results for a particular search refinement link 326 when the
user positions the mouse pointer within a threshold number of
pixels of that link. In still another example, the script 330 may
pre-fetch preview search results for all search refinement links
326 and concurrently render those preview search results in preview
windows associated with each of the search refinement links 326.
Thus, the user would not have to mouse over the search refinement
links 326 to cause preview windows to render preview search
results.
[0038] FIGS. 4 and 5 depict aspects of an example graphical user
interface 400 in accordance with at least one embodiment. For
example, the user interface 400 is an example of the search results
presentation 322 shown in FIG. 3. The example user interface 400
includes a search input component 402, a search result component
406, and a search refinement component 414. A preview window 410
appears in the user interface 400 when a user hovers a mouse
pointer over a link. The user interface 400 may incorporate other
suitable user interface components as well.
[0039] The search input component 402 may include a free-text input
component 416 and a search submission component 418. The user
interface 400 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 was generated in response to a
keyword search of the term "laptop," which is shown in the
free-text search box 416. The user interface 400 is for
illustration purposes only, and is not meant to limit the scope of
the technology described herein. Other user interfaces are within
the scope of the technology described herein. The search result
component 406, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, initially displays a
subset of the search results. Using the example shown in FIG. 4,
three items are initially displayed in the search result component.
It is within the scope of the technology described herein to
initially display any number of items.
[0040] The search refinement component 414 displayed in the user
interface 400 includes multiple search refinement links 426. In
this embodiment, the search refinement links 426 are examples of
the search refinement links 326 shown in FIG. 3. These refinement
links 426 are provided to assist the user to further refine their
search. For example, user interface 400 indicates that over 1,000
search results were obtained based on a search for "laptop." By
selecting the "Netbook Computers" link 426, the initial search for
a "laptop" would further be refined to items contained in the
laptop browse node as well as the netbook computers browse node.
This technology is well known in the art and therefore does not
require further description.
[0041] As illustrated, the preview window 410 may be positioned
partially over the first set of search results provided in the
search result presentation 422 and may include a set of images 434
that represent a portion of the content located behind one of the
search refinement links 426. According to an embodiment, the
preview window 410 appears when the mouse pointer is positioned
over or near one of the search refinement links 426. However, if
the mouse pointer is not positioned over or near one of the search
refinement links 426, then the preview window 410 does not appear.
Further, according to an embodiment, the preview window 410
includes scroll buttons 412, 414 that, when selected by the user,
cause the search results (e.g., images 434) displayed in the
preview window 410 to scroll across the preview window 410. For
example, the search results scroll to the right when the user
selects the right scroll button 412 and the search results scroll
to the left when the user selects the left scroll button 414.
[0042] As mentioned above, according to an embodiment, the preview
window 410 appears when one of the search refinement links 426 is
moused over. In some embodiments, upon detecting a mouse-over event
associated with the one of the search refinement links 426, the
client 302 (FIG. 3) instructs the search service 304 (FIG. 3) to
search for items contained in the browse node associated with the
moused over link. The client 302 provides the preview window 410
for display and populates the preview window 410 with at least one
image representing an item associated with the browse node. For
example, with reference to FIG. 5, the user has positioned the
mouse pointer over or near the "2 to 4 Years" refinement link 426,
which represents the "2 to 4 Years" browse node contained within
the "Toys & Games" browse node. Upon mousing over the link 426,
the preview window 410 is populated with images of items available
within the "laptop"/"Toys & Games"/"2 to 4 Years" browse node
(e.g., laptop toys/games appropriate for 2-4 year old
children).
[0043] FIG. 4 illustrates that a user can view items available in a
different browse node simply by mousing over an different link. In
particular, in FIG. 4, the user has moved the pointer from the "2
to 4 Years" search refinement link 426 to the "Netbook Computers"
search refinement link 426 and the preview window 410 is populated
with images 434 of items available within the "laptop"/"Computers
& Accessories"/"Netbook Computer" browse node.
[0044] The description now turns to example steps that may be
performed in accordance with at least one embodiment. For example,
the example steps discussed below with reference to FIG. 6 may be
executed by either of systems 200 or 300 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
FIG. 6 depicts an example process 600 for previewing content
located behind links of a search results webpage, in accordance
with at least one embodiment. As indicated at block 604, the
process 600 generally begins with receiving a search query. For
example, a user may input search terms in the text input component
416 of the user interface 400. Next, as indicated at block 608, the
process 600 involves calling out to a search service and then, as
indicated at block 612, obtaining a first set of search results
from the search service, where the first set of search results
includes search refinement links. Then, as indicated at block 618,
the process involves displaying the first set of search results in
a graphical user interface. For example, to execute steps 608, 612,
and 618, respectively, the search client 202 sends search terms 208
to the search module 210 of the search service 204, which responds
with a first set of search results 212 that are presented in the
search result presentation 422.
[0045] Next, as indicated at decision block 619, the process 600
involves determining whether a script running on the search results
webpage specifies that search results located "behind" certain
search refinement links should be pre-fetched. If so, the process
600 involves pre-fetching the search results for the links
indicated by the script, as indicated at block 620. After
pre-fetching, the process 600 continues to the step represented by
decision block 622.
[0046] As indicated at decision block 622, in the event a user
positions a mouse pointer over or near one of the search refinement
links of the first set of search results, the process 600, as
indicated at block 626, sends the corresponding refinement search
to the search service to obtain search results associated with the
link. After sending the refinement search to the search service,
the process 600, as indicated at block 630, involves obtaining
preview search results of the refinement search. Then, as indicated
at block 634, the process 600 involves providing a preview window
in the graphical user interface, where, according to some
embodiments, the preview window is positioned on top of the first
set of search results. Next, as indicated at block 638, the process
600 involves displaying the preview search results in the preview
window.
[0047] The various embodiments described herein may be implemented
in a wide variety of operating environments, which in some cases
may include one or more user computers, computing devices, or
processing devices which may be utilized to operate any of a number
of applications. User or client devices may include any of a number
of general purpose personal computers, such as desktop or laptop
computers running a standard operating system, as well as cellular,
wireless, and handheld devices running mobile software and capable
of supporting a number of networking and messaging protocols. Such
a system also may include a number of workstations running any of a
variety of commercially-available operating systems and other known
applications for purposes such as development and database
management. These devices also may include other electronic
devices, such as dummy terminals, thin-clients, gaming systems, and
other devices capable of communicating via a network.
[0048] Most embodiments utilize at least one network that would be
familiar to those skilled in the art for supporting communications
using any of a variety of commercially-available protocols, such as
TCP/IP, OSI, FTP, UPnP, NFS, CIFS, and AppleTalk. Such a network
may include, for example, a local area network, a wide-area
network, a virtual private network, the Internet, an intranet, an
extranet, a public switched telephone network, an infrared network,
a wireless network, and any combination thereof. The network may,
furthermore, incorporate any suitable network topology. Examples of
suitable network topologies include, but are not limited to, simple
point-to-point, star topology, self organizing peer-to-peer
topologies, and combinations thereof.
[0049] In embodiments utilizing a Web server, the Web server may
run any of a variety of server or mid-tier applications, including
HTTP servers, FTP servers, CGI servers, data servers, Java servers,
and business application servers. The server(s) also may be capable
of executing programs or scripts in response requests from user
devices, such as by executing one or more Web applications that may
be implemented as one or more scripts or programs written in any
programming language, such as Java.RTM., C, C# or C++, or any
scripting language, such as Perl, Python, or TCL, as well as
combinations thereof. The server(s) may also include database
servers, including without limitation those commercially available
from Oracle.RTM., Microsoft.RTM., Sybase.RTM., and IBM.RTM..
[0050] The environment may include a variety of data stores and
other memory and storage media as discussed above. These may reside
in a variety of locations, such as on a storage medium local to
(and/or resident in) one or more of the computers or remote from
any or all of the computers across the network. In a particular set
of embodiments, the information may reside in a storage-area
network ("SAN") familiar to those skilled in the art. Similarly,
any necessary files for performing the functions attributed to the
computers, servers, or other network devices may be stored locally
and/or remotely, as appropriate. Where a system includes
computerized devices, each such device may include hardware
elements that may be electrically coupled via a bus, the elements
including, for example, at least one central processing unit (CPU),
at least one input device (e.g., a mouse, keyboard, controller,
touch screen, or keypad), and at least one output device (e.g., a
display device, printer, or speaker). Such a system may also
include one or more storage devices, such as disk drives, optical
storage devices, and solid-state storage devices such as random
access memory ("RAM") or read-only memory ("ROM"), as well as
removable media devices, memory cards, flash cards, etc.
[0051] Such devices also may include a computer-readable storage
media reader, a communications device (e.g., a modem, a network
card (wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, etc.),
and working memory as described above. The computer-readable
storage media reader may be connected with, or configured to
receive, a computer-readable storage medium, representing remote,
local, fixed, and/or removable storage devices as well as storage
media for temporarily and/or more permanently containing, storing,
transmitting, and retrieving computer-readable information. The
system and various devices also typically will include a number of
software applications, modules including program modules, services,
or other elements located within at least one working memory
device, including an operating system and application programs,
such as a client application or Web browser. It should be
appreciated that alternate embodiments may have numerous variations
from that described above. For example, customized hardware might
also be utilized and/or particular elements might be implemented in
hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets),
or both. Further, connection to other computing devices such as
network input/output devices may be employed.
[0052] Storage media and computer readable media for containing
code, or portions of code, may include any appropriate media known
or used in the art, including storage media and communication
media, such as but not limited to volatile and non-volatile,
removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or
technology for storage and/or transmission of information such as
computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules,
or other data, including RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other
memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or other
optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk
storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium
which may be utilized to store the desired information and which
may be accessed by the a system device. Program modules, program
components and/or programmatic objects may include
computer-readable and/or computer-executable instructions of and/or
corresponding to any suitable computer programming language. In at
least one embodiment, each computer-readable medium may be
tangible. In at least one embodiment, each computer-readable medium
may be non-transitory in time. Based on the disclosure and
teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art
will appreciate other ways and/or methods to implement the various
embodiments.
[0053] The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be
regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. It
will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes
may be made thereunto without departing from the broader spirit and
scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.
[0054] The use of the terms "a" and "an" and "the" and similar
referents in the context of describing embodiments (especially in
the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover
both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein
or clearly contradicted by context. The terms "comprising,"
"having," "including," and "containing" are to be construed as
open-ended terms (i.e., meaning "including, but not limited to,")
unless otherwise noted. The term "connected" is to be construed as
partly or wholly contained within, attached to, or joined together,
even if there is something intervening. Recitation of ranges of
values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of
referring individually to each separate value falling within the
range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value
is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually
recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in
any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise
clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples,
or exemplary language (e.g., "such as") provided herein, is
intended merely to better illuminate embodiments and does not pose
a limitation on the scope unless otherwise claimed. No language in
the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed
element as essential to the practice of at least one
embodiment.
[0055] Preferred embodiments are described herein, including the
best mode known to the inventors. Variations of those preferred
embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the
art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect
skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the
inventors intend for embodiments to be constructed otherwise than
as specifically described herein. Accordingly, suitable embodiments
include all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter
recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable
law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in
all possible variations thereof is contemplated as being
incorporated into some suitable embodiment unless otherwise
indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
[0056] All references, including publications, patent applications,
and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to
the same extent as if each reference were individually and
specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set
forth in its entirety herein.
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