EP3552120A1

EP3552120A1 - Method for searching accessible resources on a data network

Info

Publication number: EP3552120A1
Application number: EP17828945.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Eric LEANDRI
Original assignee: Qwant SAS
Current assignee: Qwant SAS
Priority date: 2016-12-08
Filing date: 2017-12-08
Publication date: 2019-10-16
Also published as: JP2020501290A; CN110462611A; WO2018104687A1; KR20190116257A

Abstract

The method (100) for searching accessible resources on a data network comprises: - a step (105) of unlocking on a computer terminal, by the user, the access to a local user profile of the user, - a step (110) of entering search keywords by the user on the terminal in order to form a search request on the network, - a step (115) of local enrichment of the search request as a function of the user profile, - a step (120) of transmitting the enriched request to a computer server, - a step (125) of receiving results of the enriched search, transmitted by the server, and - a step (130) of displaying the results on a screen of the terminal.

Description

METHOD FOR SEARCHING ACCESSIBLE RESOURCES OVER A NETWORK

DATA

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a method of searching accessible resources on a data network. It applies, in particular, to the optimization of the relevance of search results resulting from a search request for resources on a network of Internet type by a user.

STATE OF THE ART

In the field of search for computing resources on the internet, online search engines are now being implemented, accessible from an internet browser.

These search engines base the results provided, in response to a query, on a content indexing and profiling of the user by the online search engine.

The disadvantage of the current search engines is that they are intrusive for the privacy of the users, in particular through the profiling action which is summarized to the follow-up of the actions of the users and to the association of behaviors or to the detection of associated interests to provide more relevant information to each search.

For this reason, these search engines are limited to searching for computing resources on the internet.

Other internal and private search modules, integrated into the operating systems, allow access to the computer contents of the terminal associated with the operating system.

Thus, today, there is no search system that can combine public search results on the internet and private search results without entering the user's private life to determine the relevance of the results. .

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims to remedy all or part of these disadvantages.

According to a first aspect, the present invention aims at a method of searching for resources accessible on a data network, which comprises: a step of unlocking on a computer terminal, by the user, access to a local user profile of the user,

a step of entering search keywords by the user on the terminal to form a search query on the network,

a step of locally enriching the search request according to the user profile,

a step of transmitting the enriched request to a computer server,

a step of receiving enriched search results sent by the server and

a step of displaying the results on a screen of the terminal.

Thanks to these provisions, the profile and its access remain in the possession of the user. Thus, if the user wishes to be profiled for the search, the user unlocks the access to the profile. If the user does not wish to be profiled for the search, the user does not unlock the access to the profile. When the user unlocks the access to the profile, the request is enriched in the same way as when it is enriched by a search engine using an online profiling of the user. In this way, the relevance of the search results is maintained but without violation of the user's privacy.

Indeed, thanks to these provisions, the online search engine does not need to know who performs the search to provide relevant results since the query is already relevant.

In embodiments, the method which is the subject of the present invention comprises:

a step of detection of event processing carried out by the user on this terminal and

a step of editing the user profile as a function of at least one detected processing. These embodiments make it possible to increase the relevance of the user profile as a function of the local actions of this user, which has the effect of improving the quality of the queries issued and therefore the search carried out by the user.

In embodiments, the user profile is edited, during the editing step, according to at least one treatment of the displayed information made by the user on the terminal.

These embodiments make it possible to optimize the profile as a function of the treatment achieved with the search results produced by the method.

In embodiments, the method that is the subject of the present invention comprises a step of associating remote personal information storage services, the user profile being edited, during the editing step, according to less a processing done to an information of each associated service. These embodiments make it possible to profile the user from the services to which the user subscribes as if they were within the profiling perimeter of the user on the terminal.

In embodiments, the method which is the subject of the present invention comprises a step of local classification of the search results received by the terminal as a function of the local user profile.

These embodiments make it possible to locally refine the presentation of information to present at first glance the most relevant results for the user.

In embodiments, the unlocking step is performed away from the terminal.

These embodiments make it possible to centralize the unlocking procedure so as to limit the capacity of a malicious third party to exploit a security flaw at the terminal.

In embodiments, the unlocking step includes a step of authenticating the portable terminal on a cellular telephone network.

These embodiments implement, for unlocking, a different network of the computer network used for the research carried out.

In embodiments, the unlocking step implements a virtual SIM card.

According to a second aspect, the present invention aims at a method of resources accessible on a data network, which comprises:

a step of unlocking on a computer terminal, by the user, access to a local user profile of the user,

a step of entering search keywords by the user on the terminal to form a search query,

a step of transmitting the request to a computer server,

a step of generating, by the server, a set of complementary search queries by adding keywords to the search query transmitted according to the keywords of the transmitted request,

a step of reception, by the terminal, of enriched search results, for each search request, sent by the server,

a step of weighting each result received according to the user profile and

a step of displaying the weighted results on a screen of the terminal.

Thanks to these provisions, the profile and its access remain in the possession of the user. Thus, if the user wishes to vary the results of the search according to his profile, the user unlocks the access to the profile. If the user does not want these results to be filtered based on their profile, the user does not unlock access to the profile. When the user unlocks the access to the profile, the search results based on the additional requests are filtered to produce a result similar to the results provided by a search engine using an online profiling of the user to provide results. of research. In this way, the relevance of the search results is maintained but without violation of the user's privacy.

Indeed, thanks to these provisions, the search engine online does not need to know who performs the search to provide relevant results since the results are sorted at the terminal and therefore closer to the user.

In embodiments, the method that is the subject of the present invention comprises: a step of detection of event processing performed by the user on this terminal and

In embodiments, the user profile is edited, during the editing step, according to at least one treatment of a displayed information made by the user on the terminal.

In embodiments, the method that is the subject of the present invention comprises a step of associating remote personal information storage services, the user profile being edited, during the editing step, according to less a processed processing of information from each associated service.

These embodiments make it possible to profile the user from the services to which the user subscribes as if they were within the profiling perimeter of the user on the terminal.

In embodiments, the method that is the subject of the present invention comprises, on the server, a step of determining complementary keywords to the key words entered implementing a local semantic dictionary, the determined keywords being used during the first semester. generation stage.

These embodiments make it possible to improve the relevance of the search results.

In embodiments, the unlocking step is performed away from the terminal. These embodiments make it possible to centralize the unlocking procedure so as to limit the capacity of a malicious third party to exploit a security flaw at the terminal.

In embodiments, the unlocking step implements a virtual SIM card.

According to a third aspect, the present invention is directed to a method of searching for resources accessible on a data network, which comprises:

a step of entering search keywords by the user on the terminal, a step of locally creating a primary search query according to the keywords entered,

a step of enriching the request by adding keywords to form a plurality of secondary requests,

a step of transmitting each secondary request to a computer server; a step of receiving search results for each request sent by the server;

a step of weighting each result received according to the user profile and

a step of displaying the weighted results on a screen of the terminal.

Thanks to these provisions, the profile and its access remain in the possession of the user. Thus, if the user wishes to be profiled for the search, the user unlocks the access to the profile. If the user does not wish to be profiled for the search, the user does not unlock the access to the profile. When the user unlocks the access to the profile, a multitude of secondary requests, based on the user profile and on the primary request entered, is transmitted to the search engine. Upon receipt In this way, the relevance of the search results is maintained but without violation of the privacy of the user.

Indeed, thanks to these provisions, the online search engine does not need to know who performs the search to provide relevant results since the relevance of results is ensured at the terminal.

In embodiments, the method that is the subject of the present invention comprises a step of determining complementary keywords to the keywords entered, a local semantic dictionary, the determined keywords being used during the enrichment step.

In embodiments, the enrichment step is performed by adding keywords determined according to the user profile.

a step of editing the user profile as a function of at least one detected processing.

These embodiments make it possible to increase the relevance of the user profile as a function of the local actions of this user, which has the effect of improving the quality of the queries issued and therefore the search carried out by the user.

In embodiments, the unlocking step is performed away from the terminal.

In embodiments, the unlocking step implements a virtual SIM card.

All of these aspects can be combined advantageously. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Other advantages, aims and particular characteristics of the invention will emerge from the following nonlimiting description of at least one particular embodiment of the method which is the subject of the present invention, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 represents, schematically and in the form of a logic diagram, a particular succession of steps of a first embodiment of the method which is the subject of the present invention,

FIG. 2 represents, schematically and in the form of a logic diagram, a particular succession of steps of a second embodiment of the method which is the subject of the present invention and

FIG. 3 represents, schematically and in the form of a logic diagram, a particular succession of steps of a third embodiment of the method that is the subject of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLES OF EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

This description is given in a nonlimiting manner, each feature of an embodiment being able to be combined with any other feature of any other embodiment in an advantageous manner.

It is already noted that the figures are not to scale.

"Information" is digital data that can take the form of text, image, sound, video or executable files or web pages. This term is synonymous with "computing resources". By this term is also meant any address of the digital data as mentioned above.

The internet is the Internet of the World Wide Web (translated as "global network").

An "internet browser" is a software program designed to view and display the World Wide Web, with at least one search keyword entry area and one search result display interface.

The term "terminal" means an electronic device comprising a human-machine interface, a means of communication with the Internet network and a display screen, this terminal being configured to execute the internet browser. As an indication, a terminal can be:

- a smart phone,

a digital tablet or

- a personal computer The term "event" is defined as any interaction of the user, via a human interface, with the terminal having an effect on at least one execution parameter of a software of the terminal. Such an interaction can be:

entering research keywords, for example on an internet browser,

- the consultation of a file,

the execution of a file.

FIG. 1 shows a diagrammatic view of a particular flow diagram of steps for carrying out the process that is the subject of the present invention. This method 100 for finding resources accessible on a data network, comprises:

a step 105 of unlocking on a computer terminal, by the user, access to a local user profile of the user,

a step 1 10 of entering search keywords by the user on the terminal to form a search query on the network,

a step 1 15 of local enrichment of the search request as a function of the user profile,

a step 120 of transmitting the enriched request to a computer server,

a step 125 of reception of enriched search results sent by the server and

a step 130 of displaying the results on a screen of the terminal.

This unlocking step 105 implements any type of mechanism for unlocking access to known computer content. Such a mechanism is, for example, the comparison of a code entered by the user, on the human-machine interface of the terminal, with a prerecorded code on the terminal or remotely from this terminal. In other variants, the mechanism is a biometric identification mechanism by fingerprint or eye recognition.

In particular, this unlocking step 105 can be performed by an extension module of a browser installed by the user or preinstalled in the browser.

In variants, the unlocking step 105 is implemented remotely with respect to the terminal.

In particular embodiments, such as that shown in Figure 1, the unlocking step 105 comprises a step 150 of authentication of the portable terminal on a cellular telephone network.

This authentication step 150 is performed, for example, by the authentication of a SIM card associated with the terminal on the cellular telephone network.

In variants, the unlocking step 105 implements a virtual SIM card. A virtual SIM card is a dedicated memory space in the rewritable terminal whose content is transmitted by a radio channel, this content including the identification data of the terminal on the mobile cellular network.

The input step 1 10 is performed by any type of man-machine interface known to those skilled in the art. Such an interface is, for example, a mechanical keyboard, a virtual keyboard, a touch keyboard, a mouse or a voice command interface.

The human-machine interface used depends on the terminal running the internet browser.

Thanks to this human-machine interface, the user enters, in a search field of the internet browser, keywords entered. These keywords correspond to search objects desired by the user.

The keywords entered are assembled to form a search query. For example, these keywords can be "Restaurant", "Tonight".

In current systems, when the user validates the keywords entered, the search request is sent to a server hosting a search engine configured to associate information with keywords.

In this first embodiment, prior to sending the search request, this request is enriched 1 15.

This enrichment is achieved, for example, by adding keywords to the request, these keywords being determined according to the user profile.

For example, if the user's terminal is geo-located in Rome, Italy, the query below is enriched by adding the keyword "Rome" in order to limit the results to those with a greater chance of matches the expectations of the user.

This enrichment is achieved at the terminal so as to maintain, on the search engine side, the anonymity of the user. The search engine knows the keywords of the query, but not the treatments and information on which these keywords were based.

The transmission step 120 is performed, for example, by the implementation of an electronic control circuit of a communication interface of the terminal. This communication interface is, for example, an antenna or a port for connecting a computer link cable.

The communication interface is, for example, an antenna configured to implement the standard IEEE 802.1 1, called "Wi-Fi" or a cellular data network.

During this transmission step 120, the search request is transmitted to the server. The reception step 125 is performed analogously to the transmission step

120.

During this step, at least one search result, in the form of a link to a computer resource on the data network, is received by the terminal.

The display step 130 is performed, for example, by the implementation of an electronic control circuit of a screen of the terminal for displaying, in an internet browser, the search results received during the step Reception 125.

a step 135 of detection of event processing carried out by the user on this terminal and

a step 140 of editing the user profile as a function of at least one detected processing.

The event processing detection step 135 is performed, for example, by the implementation of an electronic control circuit associated with software configured to detect actions performed by the user on the terminal. These actions, associated with an event, can be dated.

The editing step 140 is performed, for example, by an electronic calculation circuit associated with software, this software being configured for, depending on the processing performed at the events, to determine a user profile. This profile aims, for example, the preferences of the user, statically or in time, the correlation between a succession of events, such as for example successive searches or a frequency of realization of specific events.

In embodiments, the user profile is edited, during the editing step 140, as a function of at least one treatment of the displayed information made by the user on the terminal.

This makes it possible to take into account, at the profile level, the preferences of the user with regard to the object of the searches carried out so as to extract probable intentions, these probable intentions making it possible to better choose the search results for the search. to come up.

In embodiments, the method 100 of the present invention comprises a step 145 of association of remote personal information storage services, the user profile being edited, during the editing step 140, according to at least one processing performed to an information of each associated service.

This association step 145 is performed, for example, by the user entering on the terminal:

an identity of the service to associate and

identifiers allowing the connection to this service on behalf of the user. This association step 145 implements the establishment of a computer communication between the terminal and each service thus associated through the entered and registered identifiers.

Such an association can be deleted by the user.

In embodiments, the method 100 which is the subject of the present invention comprises a step 145 of local ranking of the search results received by the terminal as a function of the local user profile.

FIG. 2 diagrammatically shows an embodiment of the method 200 which is the subject of the present invention. This method 200 for searching for resources accessible on a data network comprises:

a step 205 of unlocking on a computer terminal, by the user, access to a local user profile of the user,

a step 210 for entering search keywords by the user on the terminal to form a search query,

a step 220 of transmitting the request to a computer server,

a step 215 of generating, by the server, a set of complementary search queries by adding keywords to the search query transmitted according to the keywords of the transmitted request,

a step 225 of reception, by the terminal, of enriched search results, for each search request, sent by the server,

a step 255 of weighting each result received according to the user profile and

a step 235 of displaying the weighted results on a screen of the terminal.

This unlocking step 205 implements any type of mechanism for unlocking access to known computer content. Such a mechanism is, for example, the comparison of a code entered by the user, on the human-machine interface of the terminal, with a prerecorded code on the terminal or remotely from this terminal. In other variants, the mechanism is a biometric identification mechanism by fingerprint or eye recognition.

In particular, this unlocking step 205 can be performed by an extension module of a browser installed by the user or preinstalled in the browser.

In variants, the unlocking step 205 is implemented remotely with respect to the terminal.

In particular embodiments, such as that shown in Figure 2, the unlocking step 205 comprises a step 250 of authentication of the portable terminal on a cellular telephone network. This authentication step 250 is performed, for example, by the authentication of a SIM card associated with the terminal on the cellular telephone network.

In variants, the unlocking step 205 implements a virtual SIM card.

A virtual SIM card is a dedicated memory space in the rewritable terminal whose content is transmitted by a radio channel, this content including the identification data of the terminal on the mobile cellular network.

The input step 210 is performed by any type of human-machine interface known to those skilled in the art. Such an interface is, for example, a mechanical keyboard, a virtual keyboard, a touch keyboard, a mouse or a voice command interface.

The transmission step 220 is performed, for example, by the implementation of an electronic control circuit of a communication interface of the terminal. This communication interface is, for example, an antenna or a port for connecting a computer link cable.

During this transmission step 220, the search request is transmitted to the server.

The information returned in response to the request then depends on the profile of the user maintained by the search engine.

In this second embodiment, no profile is maintained by the search engine.

The method comprises, instead, a mechanism formed of the generation 215 and the 255 weighting steps.

During the generation step 215, the search engine generates a set of complementary requests from the primary request sent by the terminal. These secondary requests are formed by adding keywords close to the keywords entered. The proximity between keywords can be observed statistically according to the follow-up of the events carried out on the information displayed by all the users of the search engine, keywords being attached to each information. For example, if search engine users click on information about the author Victor Hugo and other information about a street named Victor Hugo, the search engine determines two additional queries, when a user enters "Victor Hugo", these two complementary requests being "Rue Victor Hugo" and "Author Victor Hugo".

All the results of these two searches are sent back to the terminal.

In embodiments, the method 200 which is the subject of the present invention comprises, on the server, a step 260 of determining complementary keywords to the key words entered implementing a local semantic dictionary, the determined keywords being used during of the generation stage.

The reception step 225 is performed analogously to the transmission step

220.

During this step 225, at least one search result, in the form of a link to a computer resource on the data network, is received by the terminal.

The weighting step 255 is performed, for example, by assigning, to each information received, a relevance score based on the match between the profile of the user and the information received.

For example, if the user is geo-located in the city of Rennes, the search results of "Rue Victor Hugo" are weighted to highlight the search results applying to the city of Rennes.

This weighting is performed at the terminal so as to preserve, on the search engine side, the anonymity of the user. The search engine knows the keywords of the query, but not the processing and information involved in the weighting of the results.

The display step 230 is performed, for example, by the implementation of an electronic control circuit of a screen of the terminal for displaying, in an internet browser, the search results received during the step reception 225.

In embodiments, the method that is the subject of the present invention comprises: a step 235 of detection of event processing performed by the user on this terminal and

a step 240 of editing the user profile as a function of at least one detected processing. The step 235 of event processing detection is performed, for example, by the implementation of an electronic control circuit associated with software configured to detect actions performed by the user on the terminal. These actions, associated with an event, can be dated.

The editing step 240 is performed, for example, by an electronic calculation circuit associated with software, this software being configured for, depending on the processing performed at the events, to determine a user profile. This profile aims, for example, the preferences of the user, statically or in time, the correlation between a succession of events, such as for example successive searches or a frequency of realization of specific events.

In embodiments, the user profile is edited, during the editing step 240, according to at least one treatment of the displayed information made by the user on the terminal.

In embodiments, the method 200 which is the subject of the present invention comprises a step 245 of association of remote personal information storage services, the user profile being edited, during the editing step 240, according to at least one processing performed to an information of each associated service.

This association step 245 is performed, for example, by the user entering on the terminal:

an identity of the service to associate and

- identifiers allowing the connection to this service on behalf of the user.

This association step 245 implements the establishment of a computer communication between the terminal and each service thus associated through the entered and registered identifiers.

Such an association can be deleted by the user.

FIG. 3 diagrammatically shows one embodiment of the method

300 object of the present invention. This method 300 for searching for resources accessible on a data network comprises:

a step 305 of unlocking on a computer terminal, by the user, access to a local user profile of the user,

a step 310 for entering search keywords by the user on the terminal,

a step 315 of locally creating a primary search request according to the keywords entered, a step 317 of enriching the request by adding keywords to form a plurality of secondary requests,

a step 320 of transmitting each secondary request to a computer server,

a step 325 for receiving search results, for each request, sent by the server,

a step 355 of weighting each result received according to the user profile and

a step 330 of displaying the weighted results on a screen of the terminal.

The unlocking step 305 implements any type of mechanism for unlocking access to known computer content. Such a mechanism is, for example, the comparison of a code entered by the user, on the human-machine interface of the terminal, with a prerecorded code on the terminal or remotely from this terminal. In other variants, the mechanism is a biometric identification mechanism by fingerprint or eye recognition.

In particular, this unlocking step 305 can be performed by an extension module of a browser installed by the user or preinstalled in the browser.

In variants, the unlocking step 305 is implemented remotely with respect to the terminal.

In particular embodiments, such as that shown in FIG. 3, the unlocking step 305 comprises a step 350 of authentication of the portable terminal on a cellular telephone network.

This authentication step 350 is performed, for example, by the authentication of a SIM card associated with the terminal on the cellular telephone network.

In variants, the step 305 of unlocking implements a virtual SIM card.

The input step 310 is performed by any type of human-machine interface known to those skilled in the art. Such an interface is, for example, a mechanical keyboard, a virtual keyboard, a touch keyboard, a mouse or a voice command interface.

Thanks to this human-machine interface, the user enters, in a search field of the internet browser, keywords entered. These keywords correspond to search objects desired by the user. The keywords entered are assembled to form a search query during step 315 of creating a primary request.

The creation step 315 implements, for example, an electronic calculation circuit configured to record the key words of the primary request in a memory of the terminal.

In this third embodiment, the primary request is enriched, during the enrichment step 317, by adding keywords to the keywords entered to form secondary requests, each secondary request corresponding to an addition.

For example, these keywords entered can be "Restaurant", "Tonight". To these keywords can be added, in a plurality of requests, the keywords "Rome" if the user has been geo-located in Rome or "Italian" if the user has searched for Italian restaurants in a previous search .

The choice of the keywords to be added is carried out during a step 360 of determination of keywords complementary to the keywords entered implementing a local semantic dictionary, the determined keywords being used during the step enrichment.

The transmission step 320 is performed, for example, by the implementation of an electronic control circuit of a communication interface of the terminal. This communication interface is, for example, an antenna or a port for connecting a computer link cable.

During this transmission step 320, the search request is transmitted to the server.

The reception step 325 is performed analogously to the transmission step 320.

During this step, at least one search result, in the form of a link to a computer resource on the data network, is received by the terminal. The weighting step 355 is performed, for example, by assigning, to each information received, a relevance score based on the match between the profile of the user and the information received.

The display step 330 is performed, for example, by the implementation of an electronic control circuit of a screen of the terminal for displaying, in an internet browser, the search results received during the step Reception 125.

a step 235 of detection of event processing carried out by the user on this terminal and

a step 240 of editing the user profile as a function of at least one detected processing.

The step 235 of event processing detection is performed, for example, by the implementation of an electronic control circuit associated with software configured to detect actions performed by the user on the terminal. These actions, associated with an event, can be dated.

In embodiments, the user profile is edited, during the editing step 340, according to at least one treatment of the displayed information made by the user on the terminal.

In embodiments, the method 300 which is the subject of the present invention comprises a step 345 of association of remote personal information storage services, the user profile being edited, during the editing step 340, according to at least one processing performed to an information of each associated service. This association step 345 is performed, for example, by the user entering on the terminal:

an identity of the service to associate and

identifiers allowing the connection to this service on behalf of the user. This association step 345 implements the establishment of a computer communication between the terminal and each service thus associated through the entered and registered identifiers.

Such an association can be deleted by the user.

Claims

1. Method (100) for searching for resources accessible on a data network, characterized in that it comprises:

a step (105) of unlocking on a computer terminal, by the user, access to a local user profile of the user,

a step (1 10) for entering search keywords by the user on the terminal to form a search query on the network,

a step (1 15) of local enrichment of the search request as a function of the user profile,

a step (120) for transmitting the enriched request to a computer server; a step (125) for receiving enriched search results sent by the server and

a step (130) of displaying the results on a screen of the terminal.

2. Method according to claim 1, which comprises:

a step (135) for detecting event processing carried out by the user on this terminal and

a step (140) for editing the user profile as a function of at least one detected processing.

3. Method (100) according to claim 2, wherein the user profile is edited, during the editing step (140), according to at least one treatment of the displayed information made by the user. on the terminal.

4. Method (100) according to one of claims 2 or 3, which comprises a step (145) of association of remote personal information storage services, the user profile being edited, during the step of edition (140), according to at least one processing performed to an information of each associated service.

5. Method (100) according to one of claims 1 to 4, which comprises a step (145) of local ranking of the search results received by the terminal according to the local user profile.

6. Method (100) according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the step (105) of unlocking is performed remote from the terminal.

The method (100) of claim 6, wherein the unlocking step (105) includes a step (150) of authenticating the portable terminal over a cellular telephone network.

The method (100) of claim 7, wherein the unlocking step (105) implements a virtual SIM card.