Method and apparatus for searching for documents stored within a document directory hierarchy

Claim 3

The method according to claim 1, wherein obtaining category names further comprises: obtaining a matching document directory path from the matching document directory paths; removing a document name from the matching document directory path to obtain a directory path; and extracting a category name corresponding to the directory path from a path-to-name translation listing, the path-to-name translation listing indicating relationships between document directories within the document directory hierarchy and corresponding categories within the class hierarchy.

Claim 4

The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the matching document directory paths is ranked according to relevance, the method further comprising determining a user-specified number of the matching document directory paths which are most relevant.

Claim 7

The method according to claim 4, wherein obtaining category names further comprises: obtaining a matching document directory path from the matching document directory paths; removing a document name from the matching document directory path to obtain a directory path; and extracting a category name corresponding to the directory path from a path-to-name translation listing, the path-to-name translation listing indicating relationships between document directories within the document directory hierarchy and corresponding categories within the class hierarchy.

Claim 8

The method according to claim 4, wherein each of the matching document directory paths is ranked according to relevance, said displaying further comprising: sorting the category names by relevance; and displaying each of the category names determined to be unique.

Claim 11

The method according to claim 7, the user query further comprising a user-selected category corresponding to one of the plurality of category nodes.

Claim 14

A computer system for searching a document directory hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms, the document directory hierarchy comprising a plurality of document directories stored in a tree data structure within a memory, each of the plurality of document directories corresponding to a category within a class hierarchy and storing at least one document, the computer system comprising: a processor; and a memory having stored therein the following: means for accepting a user query from an input device; means for performing a directed search in response to a user query comprising a user-selected category, the directed search confined to one of the plurality of document directories corresponding to the user-selected category and returning relevant documents within the user-selected category, said means for performing a directed search further comprising: means for comparing the search terms to each of a set of document vectors created by indexing the document directory hierarchy using Fulcrum, the set of document vectors corresponding to the index of the user-selected category, the step of comparing producing a list of matching document directory paths, each of the document directory paths having a matching document name and a directory path corresponding to a matching document; means for obtaining category names corresponding to the matching document directory paths; means for grouping the matching document directory paths within the category names; and means for displaying information corresponding to each of the matching document directory paths; and means for performing an undirected search in response to a user query not comprising a user-selected category, the undirected search performed within each of the plurality of document directories within the document directory hierarchy and returning relevant categories corresponding to document directories within the document directory hierarchy.

Claim 15

A computer system for searching a document directory hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms, the document directory hierarchy comprising a plurality of document directories stored in a tree data structure within a memory, each of the plurality of document directories corresponding to a category within a class hierarchy and storing at least one document, the computer system comprising: a processor; and a memory having stored therein the following: means for accepting a user query from an input device; means for performing a directed search in response to a user query comprising a user-selected category, the directed search confined to one of the plurality of document directories corresponding to the user-selected category and returning relevant documents within the user-selected category, said means for performing a directed search further comprising: means for comparing the search terms to each of a set of document vectors created by indexing the document directory hierarchy using Fulcrum, the set of document vectors corresponding to the index of the user-selected category, the step of comparing producing a list of matching document directory paths, each of the document directory paths having a matching document name and a directory path corresponding to a matching document; means for obtaining category names corresponding to the matching document directory paths; means for grouping the matching document directory paths within the category names; and means for displaying information corresponding to each of the matching document directory paths; and means for performing an undirected search in response to a user query not comprising a user-selected category, the undirected search performed within each of the plurality of document directories within the document directory hierarchy and returning relevant categories corresponding to document directories within the document directory hierarchy.

Claim 16

The computer system according to claim 10, the means for obtaining category names further comprising: means for obtaining a matching document directory path from the matching document directory paths; means for removing a document name from the matching document directory path to obtain a directory path; and means for extracting a category name corresponding to the directory path from a path-to-name translation listing, the path-to-name translation listing indicating relationships between document directories within the document directory hierarchy and corresponding categories within the class hierarchy.

Claim 17

The computer system according to claim 10, wherein each of the matching document directory paths is ranked according to relevance, the computer system further comprising: means for determining a user-specified number of the matching document directory paths which are most relevant.

Claim 18

A computer system for searching a document directory hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms, the document directory hierarchy comprising a plurality of document directories stored in a tree data structure within a memory, each of the plurality of document directories corresponding to a category within a class hierarchy and storing at least one document, the computer system comprising: a processor; and a memory having stored therein the following: means for accepting a user query from an input device; means for performing a directed search in response to a user query comprising a user-selected category, the directed search confined to one of the plurality of document directories corresponding to the user-selected category and returning relevant documents within the user-selected category; and means for performing an undirected search in response to a user query not comprising a user-selected category, the undirected search performed within each of the plurality of document directories within the document directory hierarchy and returning relevant categories corresponding to document directories within the document directory hierarchy, said means for performing an undirected search further comprising: means for comparing the search terms to each of all document vectors created by indexing the document directory hierarchy using Fulcrum, the step of comparing producing a list of matching document directory paths, each of the document directory paths having a matching document name and a directory path corresponding to a matching document; means for obtaining category names corresponding to the matching document directory paths; and means for displaying the category names.

Claim 19

A computer system for searching a document directory hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms, the document directory hierarchy comprising a plurality of document directories stored in a tree data structure within a memory, each of the plurality of document directories corresponding to a category within a class hierarchy and storing at least one document, the computer system comprising: a processor; and a memory having stored therein the following: means for accepting a user query from an input device; means for performing a directed search in response to a user query comprising a user-selected category, the directed search confined to one of the plurality of document directories corresponding to the user-selected category and returning relevant documents within the user-selected category; and means for performing an undirected search in response to a user query not comprising a user-selected category, the undirected search performed within each of the plurality of document directories within the document directory hierarchy and returning relevant categories corresponding to document directories within the document directory hierarchy, said means for performing an undirected search further comprising: means for comparing the search terms to each of all document vectors created by indexing the document directory hierarchy using Fulcrum, the step of comparing producing a list of matching document directory paths, each of the document directory paths having a matching document name and a directory path corresponding to a matching document; means for obtaining category names corresponding to the matching document directory paths; and means for displaying the category names.

Claim 20

The computer system according to claim 13, the means for obtaining category names further comprising: means for obtaining a matching document directory path from the matching document directory paths; means for removing a document name from the matching document directory path to obtain a directory path; and means for extracting a category name corresponding to the directory path from a path-to-name translation listing, the path-to-name translation listing indicating relationships between document directories within the document directory hierarchy and corresponding categories within the class hierarchy.

Claim 21

The computer system according to claim 13, wherein each of the matching document directory paths is ranked according to relevance, the means for displaying further comprising: means for sorting the category names by relevance; and means for displaying each of the category names determined to be unique.

Claim 22

A computer system for searching for documents within a document directory hierarchy, the computer system comprising: a processor; and a memory having stored therein the following: a module for creating a class hierarchy, the class hierarchy having a plurality of category nodes within a tree data structure, each of the plurality of category nodes having a user-defined category name and associated with a set of defining terms; a module for classifying a document based on content within a selected category node of the class hierarchy according to the defining terms within the class hierarchy; a module for storing the document in a directory within the document directory hierarchy corresponding to the selected category node; and a module for searching the document hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms.

Claim 23

A computer system for searching for documents within a document directory hierarchy, the computer system comprising: a processor; and a memory having stored therein the following: a module for creating a class hierarchy, the class hierarchy having a plurality of category nodes within a tree data structure, each of the plurality of category nodes having a user-defined category name and associated with a set of defining terms; a module for classifying a document based on content within a selected category node of the class hierarchy according to the defining terms within the class hierarchy; a module for storing the document in a directory within the document directory hierarchy corresponding to the selected category node; and a module for searching the document hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms.

Claim 24

The computer system according to claim 16, the user query further comprising a user-selected category corresponding to one of the plurality of category nodes.

Claim 25

A computer system for searching for documents within a document directory hierarchy, the computer system comprising: a processor; and a memory having stored therein the following: a module for creating a class hierarchy, the class hierarchy having a plurality of category nodes within a tree data structure, each of the plurality of category nodes having a user-defined category name and associated with a set of defining terms; a module for classifying a document based on content within the document directory hierarchy according to the defining terms within the class hierarchy, the document directory hierarchy having a plurality of directories, each of the plurality of directories corresponding to one of the plurality of category nodes; and a module for searching the document hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms.

Claim 26

A computer system for searching for documents within a document directory hierarchy, the computer system comprising: a processor; and a memory having stored therein the following: a module for creating a class hierarchy, the class hierarchy having a plurality of category nodes within a tree data structure, each of the plurality of category nodes having a user-defined category name and associated with a set of defining terms; a module for classifying a document based on content within the document directory hierarchy according to the defining terms within the class hierarchy, the document directory hierarchy having a plurality of directories, each of the plurality of directories corresponding to one of the plurality of category nodes; and a module for searching the document hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms.

Claim 27

A computer-readable medium recording software, the software disposed on a computer to perform a method for searching a document directory hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms, the document directory hierarchy comprising a plurality of document directories stored in a tree data structure within a memory, each of the plurality of document directories corresponding to a category within a class hierarchy and storing at least one document, the method comprising: accepting a user query from an input device; and performing a directed search in response to a user query comprising a user-selected category and otherwise performing an undirected search, the directed search confined to one of the plurality of document directories corresponding to the user-selected category and returning relevant documents within the user-selected category, the undirected search performed within each of the plurality of document directories within the document directory hierarchy and returning relevant categories corresponding to document directories within the document directory hierarchy, said performing a directed search further comprising: comparing the search terms to each of a set of document vectors created by indexing the document directory hierarchy using Fulcrum, the set of document vectors corresponding to the index of the user-selected category, said comparing producing a list of matching document directory paths, each of the document directory paths having a matching document name and a directory path corresponding to a matching document; obtaining category names corresponding to the matching document directory paths; grouping the matching document directory paths within the category names; and displaying information corresponding to each of the matching document directory paths.

Claim 28

A computer-readable medium recording software, the software disposed on a computer to perform a method for searching a document directory hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms, the document directory hierarchy comprising a plurality of document directories stored in a tree data structure within a memory, each of the plurality of document directories corresponding to a category within a class hierarchy and storing at least one document, the method comprising: accepting a user query from an input device; and performing a directed search in response to a user query comprising a user-selected category and otherwise performing an undirected search, the directed search confined to one of the plurality of document directories corresponding to the user-selected category and returning relevant documents within the user-selected category, the undirected search performed within each of the plurality of document directories within the document directory hierarchy and returning relevant categories corresponding to document directories within the document directory hierarchy, said performing a directed search further comprising: comparing the search terms to each of a set of document vectors created by indexing the document directory hierarchy using Fulcrum, the set of document vectors corresponding to the index of the user-selected category, said comparing producing a list of matching document directory paths, each of the document directory paths having a matching document name and a directory path corresponding to a matching document; obtaining category names corresponding to the matching document directory paths; grouping the matching document directory paths within the category names; and displaying information corresponding to each of the matching document directory paths.

Claim 29

The computer-readable medium according to claim 19, said obtaining category names further comprising: obtaining a matching document directory path from the matching document directory paths; removing a document name from the matching document directory path to obtain a directory path; and extracting a category name corresponding to the directory path from a path-to-name translation listing, the path-to-name translation listing indicating relationships between document directories within the document directory hierarchy and corresponding categories within the class hierarchy.

Claim 30

The computer-readable medium according to claim 19, wherein each of the matching document directory paths is ranked according to relevance, the method further comprising: determining a user-specified number of the matching document directory paths which are most relevant.

Claim 31

A computer-readable medium recording software, the software disposed on a computer to perform a method for searching a document directory hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms, the document directory hierarchy comprising a plurality of document directories stored in a tree data structure within a memory, each of the plurality of document directories corresponding to a category within a class hierarchy and storing at least one document, the method comprising: accepting a user query from an input device; and performing a directed search in response to a user query comprising a user-selected category, and otherwise performing an undirected search, the directed search confined to one of the plurality of document directories corresponding to the user-selected category and returning relevant documents within the user-selected category, the undirected search performed within each of the plurality of document directories within the document directory hierarchy and returning relevant categories corresponding to document directories within the document directory hierarchy, said performing an undirected search further comprising: comparing the search terms to each of all document vectors created by indexing the document directory hierarchy using Fulcrum, said comparing producing a list of matching document directory paths, each of the document directory paths having a matching document name and a directory path corresponding to a matching document; obtaining category names corresponding to the matching document directory paths; and displaying the category names.

Claim 32

A computer-readable medium recording software, the software disposed on a computer to perform a method for searching a document directory hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms, the document directory hierarchy comprising a plurality of document directories stored in a tree data structure within a memory, each of the plurality of document directories corresponding to a category within a class hierarchy and storing at least one document, the method comprising: accepting a user query from an input device; and performing a directed search in response to a user query comprising a user-selected category, and otherwise performing an undirected search, the directed search confined to one of the plurality of document directories corresponding to the user-selected category and returning relevant documents within the user-selected category, the undirected search performed within each of the plurality of document directories within the document directory hierarchy and returning relevant categories corresponding to document directories within the document directory hierarchy, said performing an undirected search further comprising: comparing the search terms to each of all document vectors created by indexing the document directory hierarchy using Fulcrum, said comparing producing a list of matching document directory paths, each of the document directory paths having a matching document name and a directory path corresponding to a matching document; obtaining category names corresponding to the matching document directory paths; and displaying the category names.

Claim 33

The computer-readable medium according to claim 22, wherein obtaining category names further comprises: obtaining a matching document directory path from the matching document directory paths; removing a document name from the matching document directory path to obtain a directory path; and extracting a category name corresponding to the directory path from a path-to-name translation listing, the path-to-name translation listing indicating relationships between document directories within the document directory hierarchy and corresponding categories within the class hierarchy.

Claim 34

The computer-readable medium according to claim 22, wherein each of the matching document directory paths is ranked according to relevance, said displaying further comprising: sorting the category names by relevance; and displaying each of the category names determined to be unique.

Claim 35

A computer-readable medium recording software, the software disposed on a computer to perform a method for searching for documents within a document directory hierarchy, the method comprising: creating a class hierarchy, the class hierarchy having a plurality of category nodes within a tree data structure, each of the plurality of category nodes having a user-defined category name and associated with a set of defining terms; classifying a document based on content within a selected category node of the class hierarchy according to the defining terms within the class hierarchy; storing the document in a directory within the document directory hierarchy corresponding to the selected category node; and searching the document hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms.

Claim 36

A computer-readable medium recording software, the software disposed on a computer to perform a method for searching for documents within a document directory hierarchy, the method comprising: creating a class hierarchy, the class hierarchy having a plurality of category nodes within a tree data structure, each of the plurality of category nodes having a user-defined category name and associated with a set of defining terms; classifying a document based on content within a selected category node of the class hierarchy according to the defining terms within the class hierarchy; storing the document in a directory within the document directory hierarchy corresponding to the selected category node; and searching the document hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms.

Claim 37

The computer-readable medium according to claim 25, the user query further comprising a user-selected category corresponding to one of the plurality of category nodes.

Claim 38

A computer-readable medium recording software, the software disposed on a computer to perform a method for searching for documents within a document directory hierarchy, the method comprising: creating a class hierarchy, the class hierarchy having a plurality of category nodes within a tree data structure, each of the plurality of category nodes having a user-defined category name and associated with a set of defining terms; classifying a document based on content within the document directory hierarchy according to the defining terms within the class hierarchy, the document directory hierarchy having a plurality of directories, each of the plurality of directories corresponding to one of the plurality of category nodes; and searching the document hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms.

Claim 39

A computer-readable medium recording software, the software disposed on a computer to perform a method for searching for documents within a document directory hierarchy, the method comprising: creating a class hierarchy, the class hierarchy having a plurality of category nodes within a tree data structure, each of the plurality of category nodes having a user-defined category name and associated with a set of defining terms; classifying a document based on content within the document directory hierarchy according to the defining terms within the class hierarchy, the document directory hierarchy having a plurality of directories, each of the plurality of directories corresponding to one of the plurality of category nodes; and searching the document hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms.

Claim 40

A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause said processor to search a document directory hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms, the document directory hierarchy comprising a plurality of document directories stored in a tree data structure within a memory, each of the plurality of document directories corresponding to a category within a class hierarchy and storing at least one document, by performing the following: accepting a user query from an input device; and performing a directed search in response to a user query comprising a user-selected category, and otherwise performing an undirected search, the directed search confined to one of the plurality of document directories corresponding to the user-selected category and returning relevant documents within the user-selected category the undirected search performed within each of the plurality of document directories within the document directory hierarchy and returning relevant categories corresponding to document directories within the document directory hierarchy, said performing a directed search further comprising: comparing the search terms to each of a set of document vectors created by indexing the document directory hierarchy using Fulcrum, the set of document vectors corresponding to the index of the user-selected category, said comparing producing a list of matching document directory paths, each of the document directory paths having a matching document name and a directory path corresponding to a matching document; obtaining category names corresponding to the matching document directory paths; grouping the matching document directory paths within the category names; and displaying information corresponding to each of the matching document directory paths.

Claim 41

A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause said processor to search a document directory hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms, the document directory hierarchy comprising a plurality of document directories stored in a tree data structure within a memory, each of the plurality of document directories corresponding to a category within a class hierarchy and storing at least one document, by performing the following: accepting a user query from an input device; and performing a directed search in response to a user query comprising a user-selected category, and otherwise performing an undirected search, the directed search confined to one of the plurality of document directories corresponding to the user-selected category and returning relevant documents within the user-selected category the undirected search performed within each of the plurality of document directories within the document directory hierarchy and returning relevant categories corresponding to document directories within the document directory hierarchy, said performing a directed search further comprising: comparing the search terms to each of a set of document vectors created by indexing the document directory hierarchy using Fulcrum, the set of document vectors corresponding to the index of the user-selected category, said comparing producing a list of matching document directory paths, each of the document directory paths having a matching document name and a directory path corresponding to a matching document; obtaining category names corresponding to the matching document directory paths; grouping the matching document directory paths within the category names; and displaying information corresponding to each of the matching document directory paths.

Claim 42

The computer data signal according to claim 28, said obtaining category names further comprising: obtaining a matching document directory path from the matching document directory paths; removing a document name from the matching document directory path to obtain a directory path; and extracting a category name corresponding to the directory path from a path-to-name translation listing, the path-to-name translation listing indicating relationships between document directories within the document directory hierarchy and corresponding categories within the class hierarchy.

Claim 43

The computer data signal according to claim 28, wherein each of the matching document directory paths is ranked according to relevance, further comprising determining a user-specified number of the matching document directory paths which are most relevant.

Claim 44

A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause said processor to search a document directory hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms, the document directory hierarchy comprising a plurality of document directories stored in a tree data structure within a memory, each of the plurality of document directories corresponding to a category within a class hierarchy and storing at least one document, by performing the following: accepting a user query from an input device; and performing a directed search in response to a user query comprising a user-selected category, and otherwise performing an undirected search, the directed search confined to one of the plurality of document directories corresponding to the user-selected category and returning relevant documents within the user-selected category, the undirected search performed within each of the plurality of document directories within the document directory hierarchy and returning relevant categories corresponding to document directories within the document directory hierarchy, said performing an undirected search further comprising: comparing the search terms to each of all document vectors created by indexing the document directory hierarchy using Fulcrum, said comparing producing a list of matching document directory paths, each of the document directory paths having a matching document name and a directory path corresponding to a matching document; obtaining category names corresponding to the matching document directory paths; and displaying the category names.

Claim 45

A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause said processor to search a document directory hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms, the document directory hierarchy comprising a plurality of document directories stored in a tree data structure within a memory, each of the plurality of document directories corresponding to a category within a class hierarchy and storing at least one document, by performing the following: accepting a user query from an input device; and performing a directed search in response to a user query comprising a user-selected category, and otherwise performing an undirected search, the directed search confined to one of the plurality of document directories corresponding to the user-selected category and returning relevant documents within the user-selected category, the undirected search performed within each of the plurality of document directories within the document directory hierarchy and returning relevant categories corresponding to document directories within the document directory hierarchy, said performing an undirected search further comprising: comparing the search terms to each of all document vectors created by indexing the document directory hierarchy using Fulcrum, said comparing producing a list of matching document directory paths, each of the document directory paths having a matching document name and a directory path corresponding to a matching document; obtaining category names corresponding to the matching document directory paths; and displaying the category names.

Claim 46

The computer data signal according to claim 31, wherein obtaining category names further comprises: obtaining a matching document directory path from the matching document directory paths; removing a document name from the matching document directory path to obtain a directory path; and extracting a category name corresponding to the directory path from a path-to-name translation listing, the path-to-name translation listing indicating relationships between document directories within the document directory hierarchy and corresponding categories within the class hierarchy.

Claim 47

The computer data signal according to claim 31, wherein each of the matching document directory paths is ranked according to relevance, said displaying further comprising: sorting the category names by relevance; and displaying each of the category names determined to be unique.

Claim 48

A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause said processor to search for documents within a document directory hierarchy, by performing the following: creating a class hierarchy, the class hierarchy having a plurality of category nodes within a tree data structure, each of the plurality of category nodes having a user-defined category name and associated with a set of defining terms; classifying a document based on content within a selected category node of the class hierarchy according to the defining terms within the class hierarchy; storing the document in a directory within the document directory hierarchy corresponding to the selected category node; and searching the document hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms.

Claim 49

A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause said processor to search for documents within a document directory hierarchy, by performing the following: creating a class hierarchy, the class hierarchy having a plurality of category nodes within a tree data structure, each of the plurality of category nodes having a user-defined category name and associated with a set of defining terms; classifying a document based on content within a selected category node of the class hierarchy according to the defining terms within the class hierarchy; storing the document in a directory within the document directory hierarchy corresponding to the selected category node; and searching the document hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms.

Claim 50

The computer data signal according to claim 34, the user query further comprising a user-selected category corresponding to one of the plurality of category nodes.

Claim 51

A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause said processor to search for documents within a document directory hierarchy, by performing the following: creating a class hierarchy, the class hierarchy having a plurality of category nodes within a tree data structure, each of the plurality of category nodes having a user-defined category name and associated with a set of defining terms; classifying a document based on content within the document directory hierarchy according to the defining terms within the class hierarchy, the document directory hierarchy having a plurality of directories, each of the plurality of directories corresponding to one of the plurality of category nodes; and searching the document hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms.

Claim 52

A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause said processor to search for documents within a document directory hierarchy, by performing the following: creating a class hierarchy, the class hierarchy having a plurality of category nodes within a tree data structure, each of the plurality of category nodes having a user-defined category name and associated with a set of defining terms; classifying a document based on content within the document directory hierarchy according to the defining terms within the class hierarchy, the document directory hierarchy having a plurality of directories, each of the plurality of directories corresponding to one of the plurality of category nodes; and searching the document hierarchy for documents according to a user query having one or more search terms.