The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 03, 2009
Filed:
Apr. 04, 2003
Richard Daniel Borovoy, Boston, MA (US);
Michael Graves, San Jose, CA (US);
Michael Robert Hanson, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Nagabhushan Rao Machiraju, Cupertino, CA (US);
Richard Daniel Borovoy, Boston, MA (US);
Michael Graves, San Jose, CA (US);
Michael Robert Hanson, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Nagabhushan Rao Machiraju, Cupertino, CA (US);
Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US);
Abstract
An integrated searching/browsing mechanism employs user-constructed information hierarchies that represent a cognitive framework for the organization of information. The hierarchies are independent of the information itself. This feature permits them to be shared among multiple users, and applied to any of a variety of different sources of information. The hierarchical organization that is provided by the framework gives the user the ability to browse around any available document database in a manner that is intuitive to the user. Two or more hierarchies can be combined to locate documents which match the criteria of both hierarchies, and thereby refine search results to an appropriate level. A relevance feedback mechanism further enhances the browsing experience, by concentrating the search results in areas that are most relevant to documents selected as being of particular interest.