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Full-Text Search

Updated

Introduction
Using the Full-Text Search in the Field Search Mode
Using the Full-Text Search in the Syntax Mode
Entering Keywords Into the Full-text Search Field
Search Syntax of the Full-Text Search
Boolean Operators
Proximity Operators
Wildcards
Escape Characters
Stop Words
Punctuation Characters
Case Sensitivity: Uppercase and Lowercase Letters

Introduction

The PatentSight full-text search runs on the English-language versions of all documents in our database regardless of their original language. Where original English texts are not available, we use machine translated versions thereof. This allows the use of English keywords to search in patent documents from all over the world.
 

Note: 

The PatentSight full-text search is designed for searching for English keywords only. Searching for keywords in other languages is currently not supported.
 

Using the Full-Text Search in the Field Search Mode

In the field search mode, you can add the full-text search field to the search panel by clicking on "Full-Text" displayed on top of the search panel.



You can select which segment(s) of the patent documents your keywords should be searched in by ticking one or a combination of the four options "Title", "Abstract", "Claims", and "Description".

Using the Full-Text Search in the Syntax Mode

In the → syntax search mode, instead of clicking on the available filter elements, you can type your entire search query directly into the search filter.

To define which segment(s) of the patent documents your keywords should be searched in, you can use any of the following search queries:

Long Syntax Short Syntax
Title=( ) T=( )
Abstract=( ) A=( )
Claims=( ) C=( )
Description=( ) D=( )
TitleAbstracts=( ) TA=( )
TitleClaims=( ) TC=( )
TitleDescription=( ) TD=( )
TitleAbstractClaims=( ) TAC=( )
TitleAbstractDescription=( ) TAD=( )
TitleClaimsDescription=( ) TCD=( )
TitleAbstractClaimsDescription=( ) TACD=( )
AbstractClaims=( ) AC=( )
AbstractDescription=( ) AD=( )
AbstractClaimsDescription=( ) ACD=( )
ClaimsDescription=( ) CD=( )

 

Entering Keywords Into the Full-text Search Field

In the field search mode, enter the keywords you want to search for into the input field of the full-text search field.

In the syntax search mode, enter the keywords you want to search for between the parentheses following the equal sign of the full-text search field.



The PatentSight full-text search comes with a range of operators which you can use to search for documents with various combinations of keywords or alternative spellings of the same keyword.

  • Boolean Operators

  • Proximity Operators

  • Wildcards

  • Escape Characters

  • Subqueries

In the PatentSight search panel, such operators are displayed in green font. Details and examples are outlined below.


Search Syntax of the Full-Text Search

Boolean Operators

Operator Description Example Alias
AND
15.jpg		 The AND operator (conjunction) returns documents that contain all words separated by this operator. steel AND alloy
Returns all documents that contain both the words "steel" and "alloy".		 &
&&
OR
16.jpg		 The OR operator (disjunction) returns documents that contain any of the words separated by this operator. steel OR alloy
Returns all documents that contain either the word "steel" or the word "alloy".		 |
||
 ,
AND NOT
17.jpg		 The AND NOT operator (negation) excludes documents that contain the negated word. steel AND NOT alloy
Returns all documents that contain the word “steel” but not the word "alloy".		 AND !
NOT
18.jpg		 The NOT operator is only used at the beginning of query. NOT alloy
Returns all documents that do not contain the word "alloy".		 !

 

 

Important
When searching in more than one segment of the patent document (e.g., title and claims) while using Boolean operators, these segments are treated as one text body.
For example, the search TC=(steel AND alloy) returns all documents that for which any of the following is true:
  • both "steel" and "alloy" in the title
  • both "steel" and "alloy" in the claims
  • both "steel" and "alloy" in both title and claims
  • only "steel" in the title and only "alloy" in the claims
  • only "steel" in the claims and only "alloy" in the title

 

Proximity Operators

Proximity operators allow you to define the maximum or the exact number of word jumps between the words you are searching for (e.g., "steel" in the vicinity of "alloy"). If the number of word jumps [n] is omitted, the default distance is 5 word jumps. Depending on the proximity operator used, this means either exactly or a maximum of 4 words ( = 5 - 1 ) between the words you are searching for.

19.jpg

Operator Description Example Alias
NEAR[n] The unordered proximity operator NEAR[n] returns all documents that contain the searched words within up to n word jumps of each other, regardless of order. steel NEAR alloy
Returns all documents that contain both the words "steel" and "alloy" within up to 5 word jumps of each other regardless of their order.		 W[n]
~[n]
[n]D
SEQ[n] The ordered proximity operator SEQ[n] returns all documents that contain the searched words within up to n word jumps of each other, in the specified order. steel SEQ3 alloy
Returns all documents that contain both the words "steel" and "alloy" within up to 3 word jumps of each other in the specified order (i.e., "steel" must appear before "alloy").		 WF[n]
[n]W
PRE[n]
WD[n
=NEAR[n] =NEAR[n] is an unordered proximity operator with an exact word distance. It returns all documents that contain the searched words in exactly n word jumps of each other, regardless of order. steel =NEAR10 alloy
Returns all documents that contain both the words "steel" and "alloy" in exactly 10 word jumps of each other regardless of their order.		 =[n]D
=SEQ[n] =SEQ[n] is an ordered proximity operator with an exact word distance. It returns all documents that contain the searched words in exactly n word jumps of each other, in the specified order. steel =SEQ3 alloy
Returns all documents that contain both the words "steel" and "alloy" within exactly 3 word jumps of each other in the specified order (i.e., steel must appear before alloy).		 =[n]W
Space Spaces between words are interpreted as =SEQ1. steel alloy
Returns all documents that contain both the words "steel" and "alloy" directly next to each other in the specified order		 ADJ
( ) Parentheses can be used to change the order of precedence. (steel OR iron) NEAR (alloy OR blend)
Returns all documents that contain either one of the words "steel" or "iron" within up to 5 word jumps of either one of the words "alloy" or "blend" other regardless of their order.		  

 

 

Important
When selecting more than one segment of the patent document (e.g., title and claims) while using proximity operators, each segment is treated individually.
For example, the search TC=(steel =SEQ2 alloy) returns all documents that contain:
  • "steel" and "alloy" in this order within exactly 2 word jumps of each other in the title
  • "steel" and "alloy" in this order within exactly 2 word jumps of each other in the claims
  • "steel" and "alloy" in this order within exactly 2 word jumps of each other in both the title and the claims
Example search hit:
" [...] golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the metal face insert is composed of a material selected from the group consisting of steel, titanium alloy, and aluminum alloy."


Order of Precedence

  1. Subqueries ()

  2. Proximity Operators

  3. NOT

  4. AND                                         

  5. OR

For operators of the same priority level, searches are evaluated left-to-right.

Wildcards

Wildcard Description Example
* The asterisk replaces between zero and an unlimited number of characters. Using it at the beginning of a word is allowed (left-hand truncation). comput*
Returns all document that contain, e.g., "computing", "computation", or "computer".
*oxide
Returns all documents that contain, e.g., "monoxide", "dioxide", or "peroxide".
? The question mark replaces exactly one character. Using it at the beginning of a word is allowed (left-hand truncation). analy?e
Returns all documents that contain "analyse" or "analyze".
% The percentage replaces either zero or one character. Using it at the beginning of a word is allowed (left-hand truncation). alumin%um
Returns all documents that contain "aluminium" or "aluminum".
_ The underscore replaces either a space or zero characters. air_bag
Returns all the documents that contain "air bag" or "airbag".

 

Escape Characters

Escape Character Description Example
"  " Quotation marks can be used as escape characters to search for words that would otherwise be interpreted as operators.
Note:     The following characters are not indexed and therefore not searchable:
( + = & | > < ! ( ) { }[ ] ^ " ~ * ? % : / \ )		 "electromagnetic near field"
Returns all documents that contain the actual word "near" instead of interpreting it as the proximity operator "NEAR".

 

Stop Words

Stop words (e.g., "the" or "and") are treated as regular keywords and are not excluded. 

  • Searching for "steel =SEQ2 alloy" returns "steel and alloy" but not "steel alloy"

  • Searching for "coating =SEQ2 layer" returns "coating a layer" but not "coating layer"

Punctuation Characters

Punctuation characters and special characters, such as such as periods, commas, or hyphens, are ignored in both the search filter and in the documents searched in. 

  • Periods (".") and commas (",")
    • Searching for "coating layer" returns both "coating layer" and "coating, layer"
  • Hyphens ("-") 
    • Searching for "water based" returns "water based" and "water-based"
    • Searching for "water-based" returns "water-based", "water based" and "waterbased"

However, punctuation characters that define numeric values are treated as exceptions:

    • Searching for "12.5" returns "12.5" but not "125".
    • Searching for "12,5" returns "12,5" but not "125".
    • Searching for "125" returns "125" but not "12,5" or "1,25" or "12.5" or "1.25".

Case Sensitivity: Uppercase and Lowercase Letters

The PatentSight full-text search is case insensitive and does not differentiate between uppercase and lowercase letters.

  • Searching for "LED" returns both "LED" and "led"
  • Searching for "composition" returns both "Composition" and "composition"

Also find examples in Full-Text Search Examples

 

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