Patent Application
20150254314
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to information service technology and, more particularly, relate to a method, apparatus and computer program product for providing augmentation to search results.
The modern communications era has brought about a tremendous expansion of wireline and wireless networks. Computer networks, television networks, and telephony networks are experiencing an unprecedented technological expansion, fueled by consumer demand. Wireless and mobile networking technologies have addressed related consumer demands, while providing more flexibility and immediacy of information transfer.
Current and future networking technologies continue to facilitate ease of information transfer and convenience to users. One area in which there is a demand to increase the ease of information transfer and convenience to users relates to the provision of services to users of electronic devices. Given the popularity of the Internet, and the vast sources of information that are accessible using the Internet, various Internet services have evolved to provide users with information from a plurality of different sources. In this regard, for example, Internet services have evolved for use with personal computers (PCs), mobile computers and other electronic devices in order to provide such devices with a vast array of services to enable access to information.
The information a particular user may desire to access can be obtained in a number of ways. As an example, users may search for the information they desire by providing a search term or query to a search engine. A search may then be conducted over documents, files or other content items accessible via a network, such as the Internet, based on the search term provided. However, the results of the search may not be presented in a desirable manner. In this regard, for example, results may be provided based on a number of different criteria and not all of the criteria may be of interest to the user.
Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide an improved mechanism for augmenting search results.
A method, apparatus and computer program product are therefore provided enable the provision of a mechanism for augmenting search results. In some exemplary embodiments, an indication of direction to a location provided as a result of a search may be provided. As such, some exemplary embodiments of the invention may provide for an improved capability for users to consider, for search results corresponding to one or a plurality of locations, which location to select, for example, to receive route guidance to the selected location.
In an exemplary embodiment, a method of providing augmented search results is provided. The method may include receiving an indication of one or more potential destinations provided in response to a search operation, generating directional information indicative of a direction from a predefined location to a potential destination, and providing for display of the directional information along with a search result associated with the potential destination.
In another exemplary embodiment, a computer program product for providing augmented search results is provided. The computer program product includes at least one computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program code instructions stored therein. The computer-executable program code instructions may include program code instructions for receiving an indication of one or more potential destinations provided in response to a search operation, generating directional information indicative of a direction from a predefined location to a potential destination, and providing for display of the directional information along with a search result associated with the potential destination.
In another exemplary embodiment, an apparatus for providing augmented search results is provided. The apparatus may include a processor. The processor may be configured to receive an indication of one or more potential destinations provided in response to a search operation, generate directional information indicative of a direction from a predefined location to a potential destination, and provide for display of the directional information along with a search result associated with the potential destination.
In yet another exemplary embodiment, an apparatus for providing augmented search results is provided. The apparatus may include means for receiving an indication of one or more potential destinations provided in response to a search operation, means for generating directional information indicative of a direction from a predefined location to a potential destination, and means for providing for display of the directional information along with a search result associated with the potential destination.
Embodiments of the invention may provide a method, apparatus and computer program product for employment, for example, in mobile environments. As a result, for example, mobile device users may enjoy an improved capability for obtaining search results and/or guidance services via their respective computing devices.
Having thus described some embodiments of the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:
Some embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, various embodiments of the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. As used herein, the terms “data,” “content,” “information” and similar terms may be used interchangeably to refer to data capable of being transmitted, received and/or stored in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. Moreover, the term “exemplary”, as used herein, is not provided to convey any qualitative assessment, but instead merely to convey an illustration of an example. Thus, use of any such terms should not be taken to limit the spirit and scope of embodiments of the present invention.
Given the ubiquitous nature of mobile terminals, such as mobile phones and numerous other mobile electronic devices, communication networks are being employed more commonly for sharing and/or accessing information or services. Embodiments of the present invention may be employed in the context of augmenting search results. In this regard, for example, some embodiments of the present invention may provide an indication of direction relative to a user's current position for each result of a search conducted in the context of mapping or routing services. As such, search results may be provided with additional information beyond just an identification of a search result location and perhaps the distance to the location. Accordingly, a user's experience, and the utility of the results, may be enriched.
While several embodiments of the mobile terminal 10 may be illustrated and hereinafter described for purposes of example, other types of mobile terminals, such as portable digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, mobile televisions, mobile telephones, gaming devices, laptop computers, cameras, video recorders, audio/video player, radio, GPS devices, or any combination of the aforementioned, and other types of voice and text communications systems, can readily employ embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, devices that are not mobile may also readily employ embodiments of the present invention.
The network 44 may include a collection of various different nodes, devices or functions that may be in communication with each other via corresponding wired and/or wireless interfaces. As such, the illustration of
One or more communication terminals such as the mobile terminal 10 may be in communication with each other via the network 44 and each may include an antenna or antennas for transmitting signals to and for receiving signals from a base site, which could be, for example a base station that is a part of one or more cellular or mobile networks or an access point that may be coupled to a data network, such as a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), and/or a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet. In turn, other devices such as processing elements (e.g., personal computers, server computers or the like) may be coupled to the mobile terminal 10 via the network 44. By directly or indirectly connecting the mobile terminal 10 and other devices to the network 44, the mobile terminal 10 may be enabled to communicate with the other devices, for example, according to numerous communication protocols including Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and/or the like, to thereby carry out various communication or other functions of the mobile terminal 10.
Furthermore, although not shown in
In an example embodiment, the service platform 46 may be a device or node such as a server or other processing element. The service platform 46 may have any number of functions or associations with various services. As such, for example, the service platform 46 may be a platform such as a dedicated server (or server bank) associated with a particular information source or service (e.g., a search service and/or a mapping service), or the service platform 46 may be a backend server associated with one or more other functions or services. As such, the service platform 46 may represent a plurality of different services or information sources. The functionality of the service platform 46 may be provided by hardware and/or software components configured to operate in accordance with known techniques for the provision of information to users of communication devices. However, some of the functionality provided by the service platform 46 may be information provided in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
In an exemplary embodiment, the service platform 46 may represent a source for information associated with a service that may be provided to the mobile terminal 10 in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. As such, for example, the mobile terminal 10 may run a client application configured to communicate with a corresponding server function at the service platform 46. The client application may be configured to enable entry of search criteria by a user of the mobile terminal 10, while the server function may enable the processing of the search criteria to provide search results. The search results may then be returned to the mobile terminal 10 for display. Augmentation to the search results may be performed either at the mobile terminal 10 or at the service platform 46.
The mobile terminal 10 may include an antenna 12 (or multiple antennas) in operable communication with a transmitter 14 and a receiver 16. The mobile terminal 10 may further include an apparatus, such as a controller 20 or other processing element, that provides signals to and receives signals from the transmitter 14 and receiver 16, respectively. The signals may include signaling information in accordance with the air interface standard of the applicable cellular system, and/or may also include data corresponding to user speech, received data and/or user generated data. In this regard, the mobile terminal 10 may be capable of operating with one or more air interface standards, communication protocols, modulation types, and access types. By way of illustration, the mobile terminal 10 may be capable of operating in accordance with any of a number of first, second, third and/or fourth-generation communication protocols or the like. As an alternative (or additionally), the mobile terminal 10 may be capable of operating in accordance with non-cellular communication mechanisms. For example, the mobile terminal 10 may be capable of communication in a wireless local area network (WLAN) or other communication networks.
The controller 20 may include circuitry implementing, among others, audio and logic functions of the mobile terminal 10. For example, the controller 20 may comprise a digital signal processor device, a microprocessor device, and various analog to digital converters, digital to analog converters, and/or other support circuits. Control and signal processing functions of the mobile terminal 10 may be allocated between these devices according to their respective capabilities. The controller 20 may also support other functionality for use in encoding, receiving and/or transmitting messages. Further, the controller 20 may include functionality to operate one or more software programs, which may be stored in memory. For example, the controller 20 may be capable of operating a connectivity program, such as a conventional Web browser. The connectivity program may then allow the mobile terminal 10 to transmit and receive Web content, such as location-based content and/or other web page content, according to a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and/or the like, for example.
The mobile terminal 10 may also comprise a user interface including an output device such as an earphone or speaker 24, a ringer 22, a microphone 26, a display 28, and a user input interface, which may be coupled to the controller 20. The user input interface, which allows the mobile terminal 10 to receive data, may include any of a number of devices allowing the mobile terminal 10 to receive data, such as a keypad 30, a touch display (not shown) or other input device. In embodiments including the keypad 30, the keypad 30 may include numeric (0-9) and related keys (#, *), and other hard and soft keys used for operating the mobile terminal 10. Alternatively, the keypad 30 may include a conventional QWERTY keypad arrangement. The keypad 30 may also include various soft keys with associated functions. In addition, or alternatively, the mobile terminal 10 may include an interface device such as a joystick or other user input interface. The mobile terminal 10 may further include a battery 34, such as a vibrating battery pack, for powering various circuits that are used to operate the mobile terminal 10, as well as optionally providing mechanical vibration as a detectable output.
The mobile terminal 10 may further include a user identity module (UIM) 38, which may generically be referred to as a smart card. The UIM 38 is typically a memory device having a processor built in. The UIM 38 may include, for example, a subscriber identity module (SIM), a universal integrated circuit card (UICC), a universal subscriber identity module (USIM), a removable user identity module (R-UIM), or any other smart card. In addition to the UIM 38, the mobile terminal 10 may be equipped with memory. For example, the mobile terminal 10 may include volatile memory 40 and/or non-volatile memory 42.
In some cases, the mobile terminal 10 may further include a positioning sensor 36. The positioning sensor 36 may include, for example, a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, an assisted global positioning system (Assisted-GPS) sensor, etc. However, in one exemplary embodiment, the positioning sensor 36 may include a pedometer or inertial sensor. In this regard, the positioning sensor 36 may be capable of determining a location of the mobile terminal 10, such as, for example, longitudinal and latitudinal directions of the mobile terminal 10, or a position relative to a reference point such as a destination or start point. In some cases, the positioning sensor 36 may include components enabling a determination of mobile terminal 10 position based on triangulation with respect to signals received from various sources or other techniques. Information from the positioning sensor 36 may then, in some cases, be communicated to a memory of the mobile terminal 10 or to another memory device to be stored as a position history or location information.
Referring now to
The processor 70 may be embodied in a number of different ways. For example, the processor 70 may be embodied as various processing means such as a processing element, a coprocessor, a controller or various other processing devices including integrated circuits such as, for example, an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), an FPGA (field programmable gate array), a hardware accelerator, or the like. In an exemplary embodiment, the processor 70 may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory device 76 or otherwise accessible to the processor 70.
Meanwhile, the communication interface 74 may be any means such as a device or circuitry embodied in either hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software that is configured to receive and/or transmit data from/to a network and/or any other device or module in communication with the apparatus. In this regard, the communication interface 74 may include, for example, an antenna (or multiple antennas) and supporting hardware and/or software for enabling communications with a wireless communication network. In fixed environments, the communication interface 74 may alternatively or also support wired communication. As such, the communication interface 74 may include a communication modem and/or other hardware/software for supporting communication via cable, digital subscriber line (DSL), universal serial bus (USB) or other mechanisms.
The user interface 72 may be in communication with the processor 70 to receive an indication of a user input at the user interface 72 and/or to provide an audible, visual, mechanical or other output to the user. As such, the user interface 72 may include, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a joystick, a display, a touch screen, a microphone, a speaker, or other input/output mechanisms. In an exemplary embodiment in which the apparatus is embodied as a server or some other network devices, the user interface 72 may be limited, or eliminated. However, in an embodiment in which the apparatus is embodied at a communication device (e.g., the mobile terminal 10), the user interface 72 may include, among other devices or elements, any or all of a speaker, a microphone, a display, and a keyboard or the like.
In an exemplary embodiment, the processor 70 may be embodied as, include or otherwise control a map manager 78, a search manager 80 and an augmentation manager 82. As such, the map manager 78, the search manager 80 and the augmentation manager 82 may in some cases each be separate devices, modules, or functional elements. However, in other embodiments, some or all of the map manager 78, the search manager 80 and the augmentation manager 82 may be embodied within a single device, module, or functional element, such as the processor 70. The map manager 78, the search manager 80 and the augmentation manager 82 may each be any means such as a device or circuitry embodied in hardware, software or a combination of hardware and software (e.g., processor 70 operating under software control) that is configured to perform the corresponding functions of the map manager 78, the search manager 80 and the augmentation manager 82, respectively, as described below. In some embodiments, communication between any or all of the map manager 78, the search manager 80 and the augmentation manager 82 may be conducted via the processor 70. However, some or all of the map manager 78, the search manager 80 and the augmentation manager 82 may alternatively be in direct communication with each other.
In an exemplary embodiment, the map manager 78 and the search manger 80 may include instructions, code, modules, applications and/or circuitry for providing a mapping service and a search service, respectively. However, it should be noted that code, circuitry and/or instructions associated with the map manager 78 and/or the search manager 80 need not necessarily be modular.
The map manager 78 may be configured to generate and/or display a map of a particular area. Moreover, the map displayed may include landmarks, roads, buildings, points of interest, service points or numerous other geographical features. The map manager 78 may be further configured to include routing services. For example, the map manager 78 may be configured to determine one or more candidate routes between a current or starting location and a destination based on any known route determination methods. As such, for example, the map manager 78 may provide route guidance to a particular service point, landmark, building, point of interest, etc. In this regard, the map manager 78 may include an application or algorithm for determining possible routes such as, for example, Mapquest or other known route determination applications. Accordingly, the map manager 78 may be configured to determine candidate routes using operational information such as driving time, driving distance, fuel consumption, battery consumption, etc. The map manager 78 may incorporate into the map display various ones of the geographical features and other supplemental information about a particular service point. For example, the map manager 78 may display an icon or another identifier that is indicative of the availability of a particular product or service (e.g., gasoline or food) in association with the particular service point (e.g., a gas station or restaurant).
In an exemplary embodiment, the search manager 80 may include a search engine configured to receive a query or search term identification and search various accessible sources (e.g., databases such as may be included in the memory device 76 or accessible via the network 44) for information associated with the query or search term identification. When embodied at the mobile terminal, the search manager 80 may also be configured to enable entry of the information including search or query terms and display of results of the search. The information may be, for example, static and/or dynamic attributes associated with the query. As such, according to an exemplary embodiment, in response to a search associated with a service point (e.g., a search for the title or name of the service point or a search associated with an event or service provided at the service point), the search manager 80 may be configured to provide a listing of search results that may have an association with the query.
In an exemplary embodiment, the search manager 80 and the map manager 78 may be operated in combination to provide directory or look-up services related to a particular service point. As such, for example, a search for a nightclub may result in a listing of nightclubs (e.g., a service point for nighttime entertainment, drinks and/or dancing) and a search for a gas station may result in a listing of gas stations being provided to the user requesting the directory or look-up service (e.g., at the mobile terminal 10). Furthermore, if any of the nightclubs, gas stations, or other objects of the search happen to fall within an area of a map currently being displayed at the mobile terminal 10 by the map manager 78, the corresponding objects of the search may be indicated on the map (e.g., with a star, icon, dot or some other distinguishing feature). Alternatively or additionally, a listing of search results may be provided by the search manager 80 independent of any view of the map and the map view may be provided in response to selection of one of the search results as an object (or potential object) for guidance services to the selected search result location. Either along with the listing of search results or in response to selection or highlighting of a particular search result, more detailed information about the corresponding service point, location, business, landmark or the like, may be presented by the search manager 80. The detailed information may include street address, phone number, email address, business name, building name, services or products offered, hours of operation, and/or many other pieces of information. If desired, the user may then decide to visit one of the search result locations and select the location or a guidance option to receive route guidance thereto.
The augmentation manager 82 may be configured to augment the search results by providing directional information in association with one or more of the search results. In an exemplary embodiment, the augmentation manager 82 may be configured to provide direction information for each search result provided. In some cases, the directional information may provide an indication of the direction of the corresponding search result from the user's current location. As such, for example, an arrow, directional descriptor (e.g., NW for North-West, S for South, ESE for East-South-East, etc.), or other indicator of directional information may be provided along with the search results. In order to generate the directional information, the augmentation manager 82 may be configured to receive information regarding current device location (e.g., location of the mobile terminal 10 as indicated by the positioning sensor 36) and the geographic location of each search result provided. The augmentation manager 82 may be configured to compare the current device location to the geographic location of a particular search result in order to determine a direction of travel or map direction from the current device location to the geographic location of the particular search result. The arrow or directional descriptor may then by selected or generated based on the determined direction of travel or map direction.
In an exemplary embodiment, after selection of the key associated with the search function (e.g., the number 3 key), the search manager 80 may be invoked and the user may enter in a keyword or other query (e.g., gas station). In response to initiation of the search, the search manager 80 may utilize searching techniques to identify search results that correspond to the query (e.g., gas stations). In some cases, the query may include search parameters that may be employed to limit the search. For example, a distance parameter may limit search results to only those results that correspond to the query, but are within the distance defined by the distance parameter (e.g., 10 miles). Other search parameters may include, for example, limitations on the number of search results displayed, instructions to provide results in alphabetical order, distance order or according to some other ordering scheme. Alternatively or additionally, settings or preferences associated with the user may provide guidance to the search manager 80 with respect to conducting and/or displaying results of the search. Filtering criteria may also be applied.
In an exemplary embodiment, the reference point from which the directional information 96 is based may not change, even as the user transits a route to a particular location or otherwise changes location. As such, the arrow may not change directions after the search results are provided in some embodiments. However, in some alternative embodiments, the reference point from which the directional information 96 is based may change to correspond to the user's current location and/or heading. As such, for example, directional information 96 could be altered based on device heading. In this regard, device orientation may be determined (e.g., via a compass or movement sensors) and when rotating the device, the directional information (and in some cases also the map in the background of the display (e.g., if the display is large enough to display results and map information simultaneously)) may be changed accordingly. Thus, for example, the arrows indicating direction may indicate direction to the search results, which may update automatically even if the user is rotating the device. Accordingly, for example, if a user is shifting to orient himself or herself to have a desired search result directly in front of them, the user may rotate until the desired search result's directional information points straight ahead.
As an alternative, the directional information 96 may be provided with reference to some selected location chosen by the initiator of the search. For example, the directional information 96 could be provided with reference to the direction from some selected location on a map that may be chosen by the user. Thus, the user may indicate a reference location and the search results may provide directional information 96 indicative of the direction from the reference location to each corresponding one of the search results. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may provide for directional information 96 to be provided indicating a direction from some predefined location (e.g., the current location of the user, the initial location of the user, or some location selected by the user) to the location of one or more respective search results. According to one exemplary embodiment the user may also alternate the reference location after the search has been made, in order to see the directional information 96 indicating directions from the selected location or the current location, for example.
Users of embodiments of the present invention may find directional information useful in that, the closest point of interest or service point may not actually be in a convenient or desirable direction for the user to travel. For example, if the user is visiting the downtown area of a city and has finished touring, the user may wish to return to his or her hotel located South of the city. However, the user may wish to get gas on the way back to the hotel. Using embodiments of the present invention, the user may be enabled to recognize which of the available search result entries is actually in the desired direction of travel. Thus, the closest gas station, which may be to the North (assume a North up display mode for
Embodiments of the present invention may also be employed in contexts other than vehicular navigation. For example, some embodiments may be employed in the context of pedestrian navigation. In this regard, providing an indication of the direction to search results may enable users to avoid an extra walk in a direction that does not correspond to the desired direction of travel.
Accordingly, blocks or steps of the flowchart support combinations of means for performing the specified functions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that one or more blocks or steps of the flowchart, and combinations of blocks or steps in the flowchart, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform the specified functions or steps, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
In this regard, one embodiment of a method for providing search result augmentation as illustrated, for example, in
In some embodiments, the method may include further optional operations, an example of which is shown in dashed lines in
In some embodiments, certain ones of the operations above may be modified or further amplified as described below. It should be appreciated that each of the modifications or amplifications below may be included with the operations above either alone or in combination with any others among the features described herein. In this regard, for example, receiving the indication in operation 100 may include receiving a listing of search results corresponding to each of the potential destinations. In some cases, providing for display of the directional information may include providing for display of each of the search results with corresponding directional information specific to each of the search results. Alternatively or additionally, generating the directional information may include generating an arrow pointing toward the potential destination from an origin corresponding to a position of the device. In some embodiments, generating the directional information may include generating an arrow oriented in the same orientation that a map view showing a current position of the device is oriented. In an exemplary embodiment, providing for display of the directional information may include providing for continued display of the directional information oriented relative to an original position of the device regardless of subsequent motion of the device.
In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus for performing the method of
Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings describe exemplary embodiments in the context of certain exemplary combinations of elements and/or functions, it should be appreciated that different combinations of elements and/or functions may be provided by alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In this regard, for example, different combinations of elements and/or functions than those explicitly described above are also contemplated as may be set forth in some of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
This application is a continuation application of co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 12/257,843, filed Oct. 24, 2008, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12257843 | Oct 2008 | US |
| Child | 14722998 | US |
