Patents by Inventor Mark D. Huentelman

Mark D. Huentelman 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: 9223851
    Abstract: A query including one or more current search terms is received from a user and executed against a target database. When the query yields a number of results less than a defined search threshold (a.k.a. an “unsuccessful” search), the current search terms are compared with an associations database. The associations database includes associations between search terms in previously-executed queries that yielded less than a threshold number of results and replacement search terms that were substituted to generate a successful query yielding at least the threshold number of results. Upon finding a match between one or more of the search terms and the current search terms, the associations between the search terms and the replacement search terms are used to identify suggested replacement search terms and present them to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Daniel G. Zarzar Charur, Mark D. Huentelman, Noaa Avital, Jun Ge, Joel W. Varland
  • Publication number: 20110106831
    Abstract: A query including one or more current search terms is received from a user and executed against a target database. When the query yields a number of results less than a defined search threshold (a.k.a. an “unsuccessful” search), the current search terms are compared with an associations database. The associations database includes associations between search terms in previously-executed queries that yielded less than a threshold number of results and replacement search terms that were substituted to generate a successful query yielding at least the threshold number of results. Upon finding a match between one or more of the search terms and the current search terms, the associations between the search terms and the replacement search terms are used to identify suggested replacement search terms and present them to the user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 5, 2011
    Publication date: May 5, 2011
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Daniel G. Zarzar Charur, Mark D. Huentelman, Noaa Avital, Jun Ge, Joel W. Varland
  • Patent number: 7890516
    Abstract: A query including one or more current search terms is received from a user and executed against a target database. When the query yields a number of results less than a defined search threshold (a.k.a. an “unsuccessful” search), the current search terms are compared with an associations database. The associations database includes associations between search terms in previously-executed queries that yielded less than a threshold number of results and replacement search terms that were substituted to generate a successful query yielding at least the threshold number of results. Upon finding a match between one or more of the search terms and the current search terms, the associations between the search terms and the replacement search terms are used to identify suggested replacement search terms and present them to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2011
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Daniel G. Zarzar Charur, Mark D. Huentelman, Noaa Avital, Jun Ge, Joel W. Varland
  • Patent number: 7680857
    Abstract: A method and system for generating a help file based on failed user queries. A help file generation system collects failed user queries from user computer systems. The generation system assists a developer in identifying failed user queries that are related to a topic. The generation system then updates the entry in the help file for that topic based on the identified user queries. When a help system subsequently uses that help file, it checks the updated entry when searching for a match and will likely find a match to a relevant topic for a user query that previously failed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Christine E. Vadai, Kevin R. McDowell, Mark D. Huentelman, Robert N. Ashby
  • Patent number: 7653622
    Abstract: When a user submits a content resource to a content database, an automated content categorizer facilitates the task by suggesting a list of relevant content categories in the content database. The automated content categorizer receives a search descriptor attributed to the content resource, performs a relevance search, and proposes a ranked list of category branches that are expected to provide a good match with the described content resource. Metadata associated with individual categories and content resources stored in the content database are searched relative to the search descriptor provided by the user. From the proposed content categories, the user can simply select the category he or she feels is most appropriate and store the content resource under that category in the content database, or propose a new category.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Mark D. Huentelman, Stephen N. Anderson, Eugene Lee
  • Publication number: 20090299991
    Abstract: A query including one or more current search terms is received from a user and executed against a target database. When the query yields a number of results less than a defined search threshold (a.k.a. an “unsuccessful” search), the current search terms are compared with an associations database. The associations database includes associations between search terms in previously-executed queries that yielded less than a threshold number of results and replacement search terms that were substituted to generate a successful query yielding at least the threshold number of results. Upon finding a match between one or more of the search terms and the current search terms, the associations between the search terms and the replacement search terms are used to identify suggested replacement search terms and present them to the user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 30, 2008
    Publication date: December 3, 2009
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Daniel G. Zarzar Charur, Mark D. Huentelman, Noaa Avital, Jun Ge, Joel W. Varland