Patents by Inventor Dwayne E. Bowman

Dwayne E. Bowman has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7996398
    Abstract: A system is disclosed that identifies related search terms by performing a term co-occurrence analysis of search query submissions of users. The system may give different amounts of weight to different search query submissions based, for example, on whether subsequent user actions reveal that particular searches were successful. The system may use the identified related search terms to correct spelling errors in search queries received from users.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2011
    Assignee: A9.com, Inc.
    Inventors: Ruben E. Ortega, Dwayne E. Bowman, Michael L. Hamrick, Joel R. Spiegel, Timothy R. Kohn
  • Publication number: 20110035370
    Abstract: A system is disclosed that identifies related search terms by performing a term co-occurrence analysis of search query submissions of users. The system may give different amounts of weight to different search query submissions based, for example, on whether subsequent user actions reveal that particular searches were successful. The system may use the identified related search terms to correct spelling errors in search queries received from users.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2010
    Publication date: February 10, 2011
    Inventors: Ruben E. Ortega, Dwayne E. Bowman, Michael L. Hamrick, Joel R. Spiegel, Timothy R. Kohn
  • Patent number: 6963867
    Abstract: A search engine system displays the results of a multiple-category search according to levels of relevance of the categories to a user's search query. A query server receives a search query from a user and identifies, within each of multiple item categories, a set of items that satisfy the query. The sets of items are used to generate, for each of the multiple categories, a score that reflects a level significance or relevance of the category to the search. The scores may be based, for example, on the number of hits within each category relative to the total number of items in that category, the popularity levels of items that satisfy the query, a personal profile of the user, or a combination thereof. The categories are then presented to the user, together with the most relevant items within each category, in the order of highest to lowest category relevance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2005
    Assignee: A9.com, Inc.
    Inventors: James L. Ford, Christopher L. Scofield, Dwayne E. Bowman, Ruben E. Ortega
  • Publication number: 20030195877
    Abstract: A search engine system displays the results of a multiple-category search according to levels of relevance of the categories to a user's search query. A query server receives a search query from a user and identifies, within each of multiple item categories, a set of items that satisfy the query. The sets of items are used to generate, for each of the multiple categories, a score that reflects a level significance or relevance of the category to the search. The scores may be based, for example, on the number of hits within each category relative to the total number of items in that category, the popularity levels of items that satisfy the query, a personal profile of the user, or a combination thereof. The categories are then presented to the user, together with the most relevant items within each category, in the order of highest to lowest category relevance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2003
    Publication date: October 16, 2003
    Inventors: James L. Ford, Christopher L. Scofield, Dwayne E. Bowman, Ruben E. Ortega
  • Patent number: 6169986
    Abstract: A search engine is disclosed which suggests related terms to the user to allow the user to refine a search. The related terms are generated using query term correlation data which reflects the frequencies with which specific terms have previously appeared within the same query. The correlation data is generated and stored in a look-up table using an off-line process which parses a query log file. The table is regenerated periodically from the most recent query submissions (e.g., the last two weeks of query submissions), and thus strongly reflects the current preferences of users. Each related term is presented to the user via a respective hyperlink which can be selected by the user to submit a modified query. In one embodiment, the related terms are added to and selected from the table so as to guarantee that the modified queries will not produce a NULL query result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2001
    Assignee: Amazon.com, Inc.
    Inventors: Dwayne E. Bowman, Ruben E. Ortega, Michael L. Hamrick, Joel R. Spiegel, Timothy R. Kohn
  • Patent number: 6006225
    Abstract: A search engine is disclosed which suggests related terms to the user to allow the user to refine a search. The related terms are generated using query term correlation data which reflects the frequencies with which specific terms have previously appeared within the same query. The correlation data is generated and stored in a look-up table using an off-line process which parses a query log file. The table is regenerated periodically from the most recent query submissions (e.g., the last two weeks of query submissions), and thus strongly reflects the current preferences of users. Each related term is presented to the user via a respective hyperlink which can be selected by the user to submit a modified query. In one embodiment, the related terms are added to and selected from the table so as to guarantee that the modified queries will not produce a NULL query result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 21, 1999
    Assignee: Amazon.Com
    Inventors: Dwayne E. Bowman, Ruben E. Ortega, Michael L. Hamrick, Joel R. Spiegel, Timothy R. Kohn