Patent Searching

The Thomson Innovation patent search tool provides a powerful and highly configurable interface for professional patent searching.

This chapter addresses the following topics.

Finding Your Way Around

The Fielded Style patent search screen, the application default, is shown below.

Patent Search Screen Features

  1. The Search panel.  Details to follow in the Search Styles topic.

  2. The Patent Collections to Search panel

  3. The Patent Search Tool Bar

  4. The Breadcrumb Navigation tool

  5. The Patent Search Preferences link

  6.  The Search History link

  7. The Search Help link

  8. The Run Search button

  9.  The Clear All Fields button

  10.  The Make These My Default Search Preferences checkbox

 

The Search History Button

Press the Search History link to open the Search History screen.

See the Search History chapter for complete information.

The Patent Search Tool Bar

The Patent Search tool bar is shown below.

Select Search Style

Select one of three search styles.

See the Search Style topic, below, for a description of these three styles.

Save Search | Create Alert

Click Save Search to display the Save Search & Create Alert Setup screen, shown below.

To save your search, you must enter a name in the Name: text box.  Optionally, enter a description or specify a Save To folder.

See the Saved Searches chapter for complete information on saving your search.

Click Create Alert to display the Save Search & Create Alert Setup screen with the Alert Run Options, Alert Delivery & Content Options and Alert Recipients & Saved Search Permissions panels expanded, shown below.

You must first save your search before creating an alert.

See the Alerts chapter for complete information on creating an alert.

The Patent Collections to Search Panel

Use the Patent Collections to Search panel, shown below, to select the patent collections you wish to search.

Click the down arrow to expand the panel.

Click the Enhanced Patent Data radio button to search DWPI data.

Click the Patent Collections by Authority radio button to select any or all of the Full Text or Bibliographic collections.  Use the Select All and Clear all links to select or deselect all of the collections.

Click the Patent Collections by Authority radio button, then check the Also Search DWPI Fields checkbox to allow DWPI fields to be selected as part of your search criteria.  In other words, if you have chosen to search the Abstract field, and you have checked this checkbox, the Derwent Abstract field will also be searched.  Additionally, when this checkbox is checked, DWPI fields are available on the Field Selector drop-down.

Note that the availability of any of these collections is determined by the terms of your subscription.

See the Collections and Coverage chapter for a complete description of patent collections.

Use the Up arrow to collapse the Patent Collections to Search panel.

Search Styles

Three search screen configurations, called styles, are available.  Select the one best suited to your work.

Available styles are

Fielded

The Fielded search panel is shown below.

Fielded Search Features

  1. The Delete This Field icon

  2. The Between Field Operator selector

  3. The Field Selector

  4. The Context Sensitive Help link

  5. The Text Entry box

  6. The Field Format example

  7. The Operators Panel, shown expanded

  8. The Run Search Button

  9. The Syntax Test status area

  10. The Undo Edits button

  11. The Test Syntax button

  12. The Display and Sort Options button

  13. The Show All Fields button

  14. The Query Previewer display

  15. The Query Previewer link

  16. The Add Field button  

 

The Operators Panel

Click the down arrows to expand the Operators panel.

Below, the Operators panel is shown expanded.

Optionally, use the Operators panel to help compose or edit your query.

Place your cursor in either a Text Entry box or the Query display and click on the operator you wish to insert.  The operator will be inserted with spaces before and after.

If you insert an operator in an inappropriate location, Thomson Innovation presents you with an informative message.

Click the up arrows to collapse the Operators panel.

 

Field Tools

Field tools are shown below.

 

Use the Delete This Field icon  to remove a row of field tools from your screen.  The Delete This Field appears only in the second and subsequent field rows.

Use the Add Field button  to add a row of field tools to your screen.

Use the Between Field Operator selector  to set the operator to use between a field and the following field.  Options include AND, OR or NOT.  The default is AND.  Note that you can change the default in your Preferences settings.

The Between Field Operator selector appears only in the second and subsequent field rows.

Use the Field Selectorto select the field you wish to search.

Click the Help link to get help on the specific field you have selected.

See the Patent Fields chapter for a complete discussion of fields.

Enter the text you wish to search in the Text Entry box.  The field format example is a useful guide to formatting your text. 

 

Display and Sort Options

Press the Display and Sort Options button  to display the Display and Sort Options panel, shown below.

Use the Display and Sort Options panel to configure the appearance of your Patent Result Set.

This feature is also available in your result set.  See the Patent Result Set chapter for a complete description.

Note that these same settings may be configured as defaults in the Preferences section.  See the Preferences chapter for a complete description.

 

The Query Previewer

Click the down arrow  to expand the Query Previewer, shown below.

View the syntax of your query, as it will be sent to the search engine, in the Query Previewer.

You may edit your query directly in the previewer.  You may even construct it from scratch.

Press the Undo Edits button  to undo any edits you have made in the previewer.

Press the Test Syntax button   to test the validity of your query without actually executing your search.  The Test Syntax status message displays the results of the test.

If your query syntax is correct, the following status message will display in the Syntax Test status area.

If your query syntax is not correct, Thomson Innovation will display a brief explanation of the problem, as well as examples of correct syntax format.

Click the up arrow  to collapse the Query Previewer.

 

A Typical Fielded Search

You wish to find US Patents, either applications or publications, whose title contains either of the terms “solar cell” or “solar energy,” and whose application date is on or after 20060101 but before 20070830.

Configure your search screen as shown below.  Test the syntax of your query before executing your search.

Your query, as displayed in the Query Previewer display is

TIO=(solar ADJ1 (cell OR energy)) AND AD>=(20060101) and AD<=(20070830);

Alternatively, you could use

TIO=("solar cell" OR "solar energy") AND AD>=(20060101) and AD<=(20070830);

Both methods produce the same number of results.

Publication Number

The Publication Number search panel is shown below.

 

Publication Number Search Features

  1. The Text Entry box

  2. The Output Type selector

  3. Number formatting examples

  4. The Specialized Search panel

  5. The Display and Sort Options button

 

The Text Entry Box

The Publication Number Text Entry box is shown below.

Enter one or more patent numbers in the Text Entry box.

As shown above, multiple numbers are separated by spaces.  This is the correct format for Thomson Innovation.

However, if you wish to paste in a list of numbers separated by tabs or line feeds, there is no need to re-format it.  Thomson Innovation Publication Number search auto-formats your list for you.

Note that when Document Copies or File Histories is selected as an output type, a maximum of 500 publication numbers may be submitted in one search.

The Output Type Selector

The Output Type selector is shown below.

Three different behaviors are available.  They are:

When Document Copies or File Histories is selected as an output type, a maximum of 500 publication numbers may be submitted in one search, and so a maximum of 500 results are returned.

When Result Set is selected as an output type, a maximum of 30,000 results are returned.

See the Patent Result Set chapter for a complete explanation of the patent result set.

See the Document Delivery chapter for further information.

The Display and Sort Options Button

Press the Display and Sort Options button  to display the Display and Sort Options panel.

Use the Display and Sort Options panel to configure the appearance of your Patent Result Set.

This feature is also available in your result set, or from your Preferences settings.  See the Patent Result Set chapter for a complete description.

Expert

The Expert search panel is shown below.

Publication Number Search Features

  1. The Query Entry box

  2. The Fields & Tags and Operators panel, shown expanded

  3. The Fields & Tags selector

  4. The Operator Help link

  5. The Field & Tag Help link

  6. The Classes & Codes Help link

  7. The Test Syntax button

  8. The Add Resources links bar

  9. The Display and Sort Options button

  10. The Syntax Test status area

  11. Query formatting examples

 

The Query Entry Box

Enter and edit your query in the Query Entry box using Thomson Innovation field tags, search operators, and your own search terms.

The Fields & Tags and Operators Panel

Click the down arrows to expand the Fields & Tags and Operators panel, shown below. 

Optionally, use the Fields & Tags and Operators panel to compose or edit your query.

Place your cursor in the Query Entry box, then click on the operator you wish to use.  The operator is inserted in your query.

If you insert an operator in an inappropriate location, Thomson Innovation presents you with an informative message.

Click the up arrows to collapse the Operators panel.

The Fields & Tags Selector

The Fields & Tags Selector is shown below.

Optionally, use the Fields & Tags selector to compose or edit your query.

Place your cursor in the Query Entry box, then click on the field name or field tag you wish to insert.  The field tag is inserted in your query.

Always terminate your query string with a semicolon.

The Operator Help Link

Click the Operator help link to view detailed help on search operators.

The Field & Tag Help Button

Click the Field & Tag help link to view detailed help on field names and field tags.

The Display and Sort Options Button

Press the Display and Sort Options button  to display the Display and Sort Options panel.

Use the Display and Sort Options panel to configure the appearance of your patent result set.

This feature is also available in your result set.  See the Patent Result Set chapter for a complete description.

The Classes & Codes Help Button

Click the Classes & Codes Help button to view detailed help on classes and codes.

The Test Syntax Button

Press the Test Syntax button   to test the validity of your query without actually executing your search.  The Test Syntax status message displays the results of the test.

If your query syntax is correct, the following status message will display in the Syntax Test status area.

If your query syntax is not correct, Thomson Innovation will display a brief explanation of the problem, as well as examples of correct syntax format.

The Add Resources Toolbar

The Add Resources toolbar is shown below.

Click any one of the links to access a search aid on that subject.  Click on a code or a value in the reference to add it to your Query Entry box.

See the Corporate Tree chapter for details on this search aid.

The Syntax Test Status Area

In this area, see the results of the syntax test.

 Query Formatting Examples

Use the on-screen query formatting examples as a guide to formatting your query.

A Typical Expert Search

You wish to find US Patents, either applications or publications, whose title contains either of the terms “solar cell” or “solar energy,” and whose application date is on or after 20060101

Configure your search screen as shown below.  Test the syntax of your query before executing your search.

Your query, as displayed in the Query Entry box is

TI=(solar ADJ (cell OR energy)) AND AD>=(20060101);

Alternatively, you could use

TI=("solar cell" OR "solar energy") AND AD>=(20060101);

Both methods produce the same number of results.

Note that when no “To:” date is specified, the current date is assumed.

Specialized Search

Use Specialized Search to perform a publication number search that returns patent citations, patent family members, or record update information.

Access the Specialized Search functionality from the Patent Search Publication Number search form.  The Specialized Search panel is shown below collapsed, the default mode.

Click the down arrow to expand the Specialized Search panel.

The None radio button is selected by default.

Patent Citations

Forward citations are patents that cite the searched publication number.  Backward citations are patents cited by the searched publication number.  The examiner or the author may make citations.

To search for patent citations, either forward, backward, or both, select the Patent Citations radio button, then select forward, backward, or both.

Family Lookup

A patent family is a set of patents filed with different patenting authorities (equivalents) referring to the same invention.

To search for patent families, select the Family Lookup radio button, then select either INPADOC or DWPI as the family structure you want to see.  Your result set will include all family members for the searched publication numbers.

Record Updates

The record update search can return all searched publication numbers in which family, legal status, publication stage, citations or assignment has changed since the specified date.

To search for record updates, select the Record Updates radio button, then select any or all of the available options.

Available options include

Set the Updated Since date to specify the earliest date to be searched.  Please note that the date is required