Systems and methods utilizing a search engine

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention form an information set from the current set of index information available by the operations of the Pre-Search and RunTime Search components of the search engine. A search request that contains search terms and/or other search criteria (e.g. date or file type) is entered by a user through an input interface. The search terms and the information set are worked through the search engine modules to provide the actual results sought by the user. These results are provided to the user via a Return Interface. Embodiments involve a search engine that forms a numeric code index that includes grammar embedded rules from a plurality of documents, converts a search request into the same format as the index, and then compares the index and the search request to form the search results.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A search engine that is stored on a computer-readable medium, comprising:
 a Pre-Search component that forms an index from a plurality of documents, wherein the index comprises numeric code that includes grammar embedded rules;   a RealTime Search component that receives a search request from a user, converts the search request into the numeric code, and compares the converted search request with the index to form search results; and   a Post-Search component that receives the search results and converts the search results into a format of the search request, and provides the converted search results to the user.   
     
     
         2 . The search engine of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an input interface that allows a user to form the search request.   
     
     
         3 . The search engine of  claim 2 , wherein the input interface is a browser interface. 
     
     
         4 . The search engine of  claim 3 , wherein the browser interface includes a plurality of switches that allows a user to control the search. 
     
     
         5 . The search engine of  claim 1 , wherein the index is one of a plurality of indexes that is formed by the Pre-Search component, and the RealTime Search component operates with the plurality of indexes. 
     
     
         6 . The search engine of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of documents has a format selected from the group comprising:
 text, photos, graphics, speech, movies, and combinations thereof.   
     
     
         7 . The search engine of  claim 1 , wherein the search engine is embedded in one of:
 a computer, a laptop computer, a personal computer, a personal data assistant, a camera, a phone, a cell phone, mobile phone, a computer server, a media server, music player, a game box, a smart phone, a data storage device, measuring device, handheld scanner, a scanning device, a barcode reader, a POS device, digital assistant, desk phone, IP phone, solid-state memory device, and a memory card.   
     
     
         8 . The search engine of  claim 1 , wherein the search request includes at least one search term; and wherein the search request asks for a retrieval of all documents that have the at least one instance of a search term, in any order and in any position. 
     
     
         9 . The search engine of  claim 1 , wherein the search request includes a plurality of search terms; and wherein the search request asks for a retrieval of all documents that have the plurality of search terms in an order of the search request and a position of the search request. 
     
     
         10 . The search engine of  claim 1 , wherein the search request includes a plurality of search terms; and wherein the search request asks for a retrieval of all documents that have the plurality of search terms constrained in a manner described in the search request. 
     
     
         11 . The search engine of  claim 1 , herein the search request includes a plurality of search terms; and wherein the search request asks for a retrieval of all documents that have the plurality of search terms constrained in a manner described in the search request, and meets at least one document condition. 
     
     
         12 . The search engine of  claim 1 , wherein the Pre-Search component also analyzes each document of a plurality of documents to determine at least one topic of the document, and analyzes the plurality of documents to determine common topics among the plurality of documents; and wherein the search request includes a topic of interest, and asks for a retrieval of all documents that have the topic of interest. 
     
     
         13 . The search engine of  claim 1 , wherein the Pre-Search component comprises:
 an Acquisitioner module that locates the plurality of documents within an information repository;   a Formatter module that refines the documents located by the Acquisitioner module; and   an Indexer module that forms a numerical matrix from the refined documents, wherein the numerical matrix is the index.   
     
     
         14 . The search engine of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a RunTime Search component that removes duplicate document references from the index, and caches the index for use by an electronic device using the search engine.   
     
     
         15 . The search engine of  claim 1 , wherein the RealTime Search component comprises:
 a Normalizer module that converts the search request comprising at least one search term in a format usable with the index;   a search module that compares the converted search request and the index, and forms a plurality of blocks, wherein each block defines a match between the index and the search term; and   a Processor module that determines the relevance for each match using its associated block.   
     
     
         16 . A method for searching for at least one document of a plurality of documents using an electronic device comprising:
 forming an index from the plurality of documents, wherein the index comprises numeric code that includes grammar embedded rules;   receiving, from a user, a search request comprising at least one search term;   converting the search request into the numeric code;   comparing the converted search request with the index to form search results;   converting the search results into a format of the search request; and   providing the converted search results to the user.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 using, by the user, a browser to form the search request.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising;
 selecting, by the user, a type of search for the search request;   wherein the type of search is selected from the group consisting of a Bucket Fetch, an Exact Fetch, a Flex Fetch, and a combinatorial search.   
     
     
         19 . A computer program product having a computer-readable medium having computer program logic recorded thereon for searching an information repository, the computer program product comprising search engine that is stored on a computer-readable medium, comprising:
 means for forming an index from a plurality of documents of the information repository, wherein the index comprises numeric code that includes grammar embedded rules;   means for receiving a search request from a user, converting the search request into the numeric code, and comparing the converted search request with the index to form search results; and   means for converting the search results into a format of the search request, and providing the converted search results to the user.   
     
     
         20 . The computer program product of  claim 19 , wherein the computer-readable medium is associated with one of:
 a computer, a laptop computer, a personal computer, a personal data assistant, a camera, a phone, a cell phone, a computer server, a music player, a game box, a smart phone, and a data storage device.