Indexing Nested Elements in Structured Geographical Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current web page search systems are unable to identify and return the most relevant data within structured documents, such as Keyhole Markup Language (KML) files, as they lack the capability to search nested elements and attributes, limiting user search functionality.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that extract and index data sets from structured documents, including KML files, allowing for the identification of searchable record items that correspond to contextual information, enabling users to filter and retrieve specific data based on search queries by merging and parsing structured documents and metadata.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If web page search systems use traditional full-document matching, then they can identify documents that match search terms, but they cannot identify specific elements within structured documents that match query parameters
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments structured documents (like KML files) into individual searchable elements such as placemarks, routes, and overlays. Each element is extracted and indexed separately with its associated attributes (name, description, coordinates, keywords), enabling precise searching of specific elements rather than treating the entire document as a single unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary indexing system that bridges between traditional web search and structured document content. The indexer extracts elements from structured documents and creates a searchable database with standardized fields, allowing users to search using conventional query interfaces while retrieving precise element-level results from complex structured documents.
2Loss of information
If search systems index entire structured documents, then they can retrieve documents containing relevant information, but they return all data in the document rather than only the most relevant specific data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts specific elements and their attributes from structured documents during the indexing process. Instead of returning entire documents, the system extracts only the matching elements (e.g., specific placemarks, routes, or overlays) that correspond to the search query, significantly reducing the quantity of returned data while maintaining information completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments structured documents into discrete, searchable elements (placemarks, routes, overlays) with individual attributes. This segmentation allows the search system to return only the specific matching elements rather than entire documents, reducing data volume while preserving all relevant information about the matched elements.
3Productivity
If search systems maintain simple document-level indexing, then they have fast search performance, but they lack the capability to search nested elements and attributes within structured documents
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary extraction and indexing of all elements and attributes from structured documents before search operations. During indexing, the system pre-processes the structured documents, extracting elements, attributes, and relationships and storing them in a standardized searchable format. This preliminary action enables fast search performance while maintaining the capability to search nested elements and attributes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the complex nested structure of structured documents into a flattened parameter-based representation during indexing. Each element is represented with standardized parameters (name, description, coordinates, keywords, etc.), changing the data structure from nested hierarchical format to a parameterized format that enables efficient searching while preserving all element-level details.
Data Source
AI summary
Data is identified from one or more data sources, where the data is associated with at least one structured document. Data sets contained within the at least one structured document are extracted, and one or more record items are added to a searchable database, where the one or more record items correspond to the extracted data sets.