Phrase Matching
TotalPatent One® supports exact phrase matching, it returns documents that contain only terms that exactly match the search query. The operator is the double quote (").
Example: TI:("particle accelerator") will not find documents that contain the terms "particle" OR "accelerator" in the title, nor will it find documents that contain the terms "particle" AND "accelerator" separately. It will find only documents that contain the complete phrase "particle accelerator" and will omit documents with the phrases like "particle beam accelerator".
Stemming is not used by TotalPatent One® in combination with phrase matching.
Wildcards
TotalPatent One® supports the use of wildcards in search terms. Wildcards are characters that substitute for any other characters or a character range in a search term. You can use them if you wish to specify only part of a search term. TotalPatent One® supports the following 3 wildcard character types:
1 . One-or-more wild card
Use the asterisk sign (*) to substitute one or more characters anywhere in the search term.
Examples:
- TI:(pr*) finds all documents in the database with search term variations in their title that start with "pr" (e.g.preparation, producing and primary).
- TI:(pr*g) finds all documents in the database with search term variations in their title that start with "pr" and end with "g" (such as producing and processing).
- Avoid using wildcards as a prefix (e.g. *trode) where possible, as it can lead to long response times. If you wish to use it, use it at the end of your query in combination with another search field and the AND operator. Example: TI:(Dielectric) AND AB: (*trode) finds all documents in the database that contain the word "Dielectric" in their title, AND all abstracts in the database that contain words ending with "trode" (e.g. Electrode).
2. Zero-or-one wild card
Use the percent sign (%) to substitute zero or one character anywhere in the search term.
Examples:
- Neo% finds search term variations that start with "neo" plus 0 or 1 added character (e.g.neo, neon), but not neolithic as it requires more than one substituted character.
- %eon finds search term variations that end with "eon" plus 0 or 1 added character (e.g. eon, aeon and neon).
- n%on finds search term variations that start with "n" end with "eon" plus 0 or 1 added character in-between (e.g. non, neon and noon).
3 . Add-one wild card
Use the question mark (?) to substitute only one character anywhere in the search term.
Examples:
- TI:(Wo?d) finds all documents in the database with search term variations in their title that start with "wo" end with "d" plus 1 added character in-between (e.g. wood and word).
- TI:(Wo??d ) finds all documents in the database with search term variations in their title that start with "wo" end with "d" plus 2 added characters in between (e.g. wound and world).
You can use wildcards also in application or publication number searches in TotalPatent One® . However, you can use them only in combination with a search alias (e.g. PN:, PRN: or AN: ).
Wildcard Rules for Different Languages
We have set out clear syntax rules for queries with wildcards, regarding:
- different languages,
- different search fields, and
- different use of wildcards.
Wildcard queries in TotalPatent One® can consist of any of the following character combinations:
- [*] in any position (left, internal, right)
- [?] in any position (left, internal, right)
- [%] in any position (left, internal, right)
- [?] combined with [*]
- [%] combined with [*]
- [?] combined with [%]
- [?] and [%] combined with [*]
Note that if you do not meet the wildcard search criteria, for example, if you add less than 3 characters before or after the wildcard, the wildcard character will be removed from your query, and a literal search with only the added characters will be executed. For example, if you use TI.DE:(ai*) in your query, you will get results for TI.DE:(“ai”) .
The requirements provided in the tables below are applicable for each type of wildcard on its own or in combination with other wildcards.
| Languages | Search Fields | Left-hand Truncation | Internal Truncation | Right-hand Truncation |
| Example | FT:(*immune) | FT:(imm*ne) | FT:(immune*) | |
| English French German Russian Spanish Portuguese Finnish Swedish Turkish |
Title, Abstract, Claims, Description | YES (min. 3 characters after the wildcard) |
YES (min. 3 characters after or before the wildcard) |
YES (min. 3 characters before the wildcard) |
| Name fields (Inventor, Assignee, Address etc.) |
NO | NO | YES (min. 3 characters before the wildcard) |
|
| Chinese Chinese traditional Japanese |
Title, Abstract, Claims, Description | NO | NO | NO |
| Name fields (Inventor, Assignee, Address etc.) |
YES (min. 2 characters after the wildcard) |
NO | YES (min. 2 characters before the wildcard) |
|
| Korean | Title, Abstract, Claims, Description | NO | YES (min. 2 characters after or before the wildcard) |
YES (min. 2 characters before the wildcard) |
| Name fields (Inventor, Assignee, Address etc.) |
NO | YES (min. 2 characters after or before the wildcard) |
YES (min. 2 characters before the wildcard) |
|
| Other languages | Title, Abstract, Claims, Description | NO | NO | YES (min. 3 characters before the wildcard) |
| Name fields (Inventor, Assignee, Address etc.) |
NO | NO | YES (min. 3 characters before the wildcard) |