Search Result Highlighting for Parametric Differences
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Solution Overview
Problem
Consumers find it difficult to quickly discern differences between search results returned by search engines, as the brief information provided does not adequately highlight variations in items, requiring users to drill down or use comparison functions.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that groups items with similar parametric values together in search results and highlights differences in these values directly within the search result listing, using data from a repository to create a 'parametric signature' for each item, allowing consumers to distinguish between items without needing to access detailed pages or invoke comparison functions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If brief textual and image description is provided for each search result item, then the search result listing is concise and easy to display, but consumers cannot quickly discern differences between items
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color changes by highlighting differing parametric values with distinct visual indicators (such as colored icons or markers) next to each item in the search result listing. This allows consumers to quickly identify differences between items through color coding without requiring detailed text descriptions or additional clicks to item detail pages.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the search result listing by grouping items with similar parametric values together and visually separating items with different values using highlighting indicators. This segmentation organizes the information so that consumers can quickly scan and compare items based on their parametric differences without reviewing all details.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If detailed item information is provided in search results, then consumers can discern differences between items, but the search result listing becomes complex and time-consuming to evaluate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential parametric value differences from the full item details and presents them as highlighted indicators directly in the search result listing. This extraction allows consumers to quickly identify key differences without accessing complete item information or detailed descriptions, thereby reducing evaluation time while maintaining the ability to discern important item variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by providing only the necessary highlighting information about parametric differences rather than complete item details. This partial disclosure is sufficient for consumers to quickly compare items and make decisions without requiring full information review, thus optimizing the balance between information availability and time efficiency.
3Adaptability or versatility
If search results are ranked by relevance without grouping similar items, then the search engine can return diverse results, but consumers cannot easily compare items with similar characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by maintaining the overall diversity of search results while introducing localized highlighting indicators next to specific items that share similar parametric values. This allows the search results to remain diverse and relevant while providing localized visual cues that facilitate comparison of similar items without requiring explicit grouping or reordering of the entire result set.
Data Source
AI summary
A received search query is used to create a search result where the search result is a listing of items identified in a data repository of item information where the item information includes data indicative of parametric values for each of a plurality of items. Data indicative of parametric values within the item information of the listing of items is used to order the search result for display whereby at least one subset of items within the listing of items determined to have similar parametric values will be displayed as a group having positions within the listing of items that are proximate relative to each other. Data indicative of parametric values within the item information of the at least one subset of items is also used to discern differences in one or more parametric values between items in the at least one subset of items which discerned differences in the one or more parametric values between items in the at least one subset of items within the listing of items are caused to be highlighted.