Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Bing Lang

Kun Wu

XiaoWei Sheng

Justin Hamilton

Paul Valentin Borza

Avinash Vemuluru

Troy Ma

Charles Cummins

Yue Ma

Hua Ding

A representative image system is described herein that provides a representative image for any given search query. Upon receiving a search for a term (or terms), the system accesses an inverted index to identify images associated with that term. The system then receives a ranked list of images. The ranked list includes image identifiers, and once an item in the list is selected the system can use the associated image identifier to retrieve the image from a thumbnail or other server. If an editor has overridden the default image for the present search query, then the system returns the image identifier for the overridden image, which can be used to access the image from the thumbnail or other server. Thus, the representative image system provides a reliable and universal mechanism for retrieving representative images for any given topic dynamically in real time.

Dynamic definitive image service

Systems and methods for identifying a representative image for any given search query are provided. In response to a search for a query term (or terms), the system accesses an inverted index to identify images associated with that term. The system then receives a ranked list of images. The ranked list includes image identifiers, and once an item in the list is selected the system can use the associated image identifier to retrieve the image from a server. If an editor has overridden the default image for the present search query, then the system returns the image identifier for the overridden image, which can be used to access the image from the server. Thus, the representative image system provides a reliable and universal mechanism for retrieving representative images for any given topic dynamically in real time.

Accurate search results are provided while still honoring content limitations. Content responsive to search, whose presentation is prevented by content limitations is presented in an obscured manner, notifying the user of the existence of the content, while not enabling discerning of details, thereby honoring the content limitations. Attempted user interaction with obscured content acts as an entry point to changing the content limitations, including presenting user notifications of the content limitations and presenting an option to change the content limitations to allow for the unobscured presentation of the obscured content. Graphical content can be obscured by applying graphical modifications to generate new, obscured content that provides only a vague resemblance to the original, including jittering pixels, or other subcomponents, the applying of Gaussian blurs, and pixelization.

Accurate search results while honoring content limitations

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Beijing, China

Bing Lang