Patent Document ID: 8166036
Application ID: 12848318

Base Claim:
1. A computer-implemented method for enabling satisfaction of a search responsive to a query based on classification of the query, the method comprising: receiving, based on user input, a query phrase; parsing, with a processor, the received query phrase into at least a first constituent part and a second constituent part; determining, with a processor, a first category associated with the received query phrase by performing a first classification process that uses the first constituent part and the second constituent part, wherein the first classification process includes: accessing, from classification information stored in a storage medium that includes patterns, a pattern that is associated with at least one category, the pattern including a first part and a second part; comparing the determined definitional information of the first constituent part with the first part included in the accessed pattern and comparing the second constituent part with the second part included in the accessed pattern; based on the comparison results, determining whether the second constituent part and the determined definitional information of the first constituent part correspond to at least a subportion of the accessed pattern; and based on a determination that the second constituent part and the determined definitional information of the first constituent part correspond to at least a subportion of the accessed pattern, identifying the at least one category that is associated with the pattern as the first category associated with the received query phrase; determining a second category associated with the received query phrase by performing a second classification process that uses the first constituent part and the second constituent part, the second classification process being different than the first classification process; determining whether the first category determined by the first classification process matches the second category determined by the second classification process; in response to a determination that the first category matches the second category, associating the received query phrase with a category that corresponds to the first category and the second category; in response to a determination that the first category does not match the second category: selecting, from among the first category and the second category, a single category; and associating the received query phrase with the single category selected; and processing the received query phrase based on the associated category.

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Claim 2:
2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising: accessing a first indication of strength that indicates an estimated strength of the first classification process in determining the received query phrase is associated with the first category; accessing a first classification metric that indicates a confidence level in all classifications made by the first classification process; accessing a second indication of strength that indicates an estimated strength of the second classification process in determining the received query phrase is associated with the second category; and accessing a second classification metric that indicates a confidence level in all classifications made by the second classification process, wherein selecting, from among the first category and the second category, the single category comprises: selecting, from among the first category and the second category, a single category based on the first indication of strength, the first classification metric, the second indication of strength, and the second classification metric.