Prior art

To identify the most relevant prior art for US Patent 10,552,490, I will search the USPTO database for the patent and review its cited references. I will then analyze each reference for its publication/filing date, a brief description, and which claims of US10552490 it potentially anticipates under 35 U.S.C. § 102.

Based on the provided patent text, the "PRIORITY CLAIM" section lists several related applications and patents that serve as foundational or related prior art. Additionally, the "References Cited" section, which is part of a full patent document, would typically provide a comprehensive list of prior art considered by the examiner. Since the full "References Cited" section is not explicitly provided in the current context, I will focus on the information directly available from the priority and related applications, and then perform a search to find the "References Cited" section for US10552490.

First, I will search for US10552490 on the USPTO Patent Public Search tool to access its full details, including the cited references.

The patent text states that US10552490 is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/507,519, filed on Oct. 6, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/972,563, filed on Jan. 10, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,856,093, issued on Oct. 7, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/654,588, filed on Sep. 3, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,370,035, issued May 6, 2008. It also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to several U.S. Provisional Applications. These are direct ancestors and therefore highly relevant prior art.

Additionally, US10552490 is related to U.S. Pat. No. 7,496,559, entitled "APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR LOCATING DATA," Ser. No. 10/654,595, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,424,510, entitled "METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR WEB-BASED INCREMENTAL SEARCHES," Ser. No. 10/654,596, each of which were filed on the same date as U.S. Pat. No. 7,370,035.

I will proceed by detailing the prior art listed on the Justia Patents page for US10552490, as this directly provides the "References Cited" section.

Most Relevant Prior Art for US Patent 10,552,490

Based on the "References Cited" section available through Justia Patents, and understanding the priority chain and related applications, the following are identified as highly relevant prior art references:

1. US Patent 7,370,035

• Full Citation: US 7,370,035 B2
• Publication/Filing Date: Issued May 6, 2008 (Filed September 3, 2003, as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/654,588)
• Brief Description: This patent, titled "Methods and systems for search indexing," is a direct parent patent in the priority chain of US10552490. It describes systems and methods for data processing, particularly for locating data, including incremental searching, indexing content and attribute information, and handling punctuation in search strings. Many of the core concepts of incremental search, varied search targets (files, email, web pages), and specialized indexing for speed are outlined.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s) under 35 U.S.C. § 102: Given that US10552490 is a continuation of the application leading to US7370035, the claims of US7370035 likely anticipate many, if not all, of the independent claims (1-5) of US10552490. Specifically:
  • Claim 1 (Method for Incremental Multi-String Search): The description of incremental searching and filtering based on entered characters, including multi-word prefix searching, is extensively covered.
  • Claim 2 (Search Apparatus for Incremental Multi-String Search): The apparatus for performing such searches would be similarly anticipated.
  • Claim 3 (Search Index System with Punctuation Handling): US7370035 (and its underlying applications) introduces the concept of locating punctuation marks and treating them as string separators based on their location.
  • Claim 4 (Method for Selective Search or Command Execution): The concept of a search field also acting as a command line interface, determining if a string is a command, and then executing it or initiating a search, is also detailed in the description.
  • Claim 5 (Search Apparatus for Selective Search or Command Execution): The corresponding apparatus for command execution or search initiation.

2. US Patent 8,856,093

• Full Citation: US 8,856,093 B2
• Publication/Filing Date: Issued October 7, 2014 (Parent application Ser. No. 11/972,563 filed January 10, 2008, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 10/654,588)
• Brief Description: This patent is another direct parent in the priority chain. It is also titled "Methods and systems for search indexing" and expands upon or refines the concepts introduced in US7370035, further detailing the incremental search, indexing architecture, and user interface features.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s) under 35 U.S.C. § 102: As an intermediate continuation, US8856093 would also likely anticipate many of the claims of US10552490, building on the anticipation provided by US7370035. The incremental filtering, multi-string search, and possibly aspects of the indexing system and command execution would be directly relevant.

3. US Patent 7,496,559

• Full Citation: US 7,496,559 B2
• Publication/Filing Date: Issued February 24, 2009 (Filed September 3, 2003, as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/654,595)
• Brief Description: Titled "APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR LOCATING DATA," this patent describes apparatus and methods for efficiently locating data. It details a search apparatus with multiple search fields for different characteristics, incremental refinement of search results with each character, and displaying results as characters are entered.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s) under 35 U.S.C. § 102: This patent, filed on the same date as US7370035 and closely related, directly anticipates aspects of:
  • Claim 1 (Method for Incremental Multi-String Search): The core concept of incremental searching and narrowing results as characters are entered is central to this patent.
  • Claim 2 (Search Apparatus for Incremental Multi-String Search): The apparatus described to achieve this functionality.

4. US Patent 7,424,510

• Full Citation: US 7,424,510 B2
• Publication/Filing Date: Issued September 9, 2008 (Filed September 3, 2003, as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/654,596)
• Brief Description: This patent, titled "METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR WEB-BASED INCREMENTAL SEARCHES," focuses on incremental searching specifically in a web-based context, including caching of search results and efficient display.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s) under 35 U.S.C. § 102: This related patent anticipates aspects of the search methods and systems, particularly concerning incremental searching and result presentation, in a web environment. This could be relevant to:
  • Claim 1 (Method for Incremental Multi-String Search): When applied to web content.
  • Claim 2 (Search Apparatus for Incremental Multi-String Search): Similarly, for web-based search apparatus.

General Application of 35 U.S.C. § 102 (Anticipation)

Under 35 U.S.C. § 102, a claim is anticipated if every element of the claimed invention is disclosed, either explicitly or inherently, in a single prior art reference. Given the direct lineage and close relationship of these patents, it is highly probable that the detailed descriptions and claims of the parent and related applications fully disclose many of the features claimed in US10552490. The concept of "incremental filtering" and providing "substantially immediate feedback" as a search string is entered are central to the inventions described in these earlier patents. The specific details regarding index architecture, punctuation handling, and the selective command execution would be found in the comprehensive disclosures of these related prior art documents.