Report:PatBase/Search Interface/The Command Line Interface
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The Command Line Interface
To make the database attractive to novice users, developers added the PatBase search form, which allows users to search via a simple web interface. However, users who are comfortable with field definitions and acceptable data formats will prefer the command line interface (CLI). Most PatBase users should strive to reach a level of familiarity with the command line interface, as it permits more advanced search construction than is possible through the web-based form. For more information, see the article on command line interfaces.
In PatBase, command line searching is available at all times during the session, and no additional service agreement or charges are necessary for users to take advantage of the command line feature. The command line input bar appears at the bottom of each screen during a PatBase session.
Like other command interfaces, PatBase’s command line offers greater flexibility in query construction. The PatBase simple search form is less advanced than comparable web search interfaces offered by competitors: due to space limitations it does not allow complex Boolean logic in keyword searching, and all fields are automatically combined into a query using the “and” operator. In contrast, the PatBase CLI will allow a search line with up to 45,000 characters in the search field, and parenthesis can create nested search logic to represent complex queries.[1]
The command line retains the search filter function available from the simple search form. Typing “f” before any search command will set the results of that query as a filter (as with the simple search form, any current unsaved search history will be deleted).
Users can also "run Text, Assignee and Inventor searches in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Russian and Thai, in the original language with non-Latin characters" through the command line.[2] The user must first specify the language using the 2 letter country code before entering the query in the command line.[2] For example, to conduct an assignee search in non-Latin text in both non-Latin and machine-translated records of Japanese documents, the user would enter the following query: JP:PA=(フクスケ株式会社).[2] Another example given in the PatBase manual is of a non-Latin text keyword search within the Title, Abstract, and Claims fields of Chinese non-Latin and machine translated records, which would be formatted as follows in the command line: CN:TAC=(用于进行体育运动的具有非均匀压迫作用的服装制品).[2]
In addition, the command line is used to combine or “stack” queries from the current search history. For example, (1 NOT 5) in the command line will return all unique results from query 1 that were not also hits resulting from query 5. More about this function is written in the Combining Queries search history section.
See the Searchable Datafields section of this article for a list of bibliographic and textual operators that can be used in PatBase, including custom datafields. Some unique operators include the PAE and INE fields, which will search for “exact” inventor or assignee, as opposed to the regular PA and IN fields, which will return a wider range of variations on the name entered.
Editor's Note:Some problems with this command line interface exist; these seem to be due to the system programming rather than a fundamental flaw in the system architecture. One particular problem arises due to the ability to “stack” queries in PatBase; to enable this feature, programmers inadvertently caused both the search form and the command line interface to recognize single digits as query line numbers, even if these single digit numbers are really supposed to mean something else. Fortunately, a simple workaround to this problem exists.
For example, take a search for any patent in US class 2. In the search form, users would enter “2” in the US Classification search box (UC=2). However, entering the digit “2” causes the search engine to run the search for “query 2”. For example, see the following search history.
To work around this problem, the PatBase manual explains that users should enclose any single-digit terms that are part of a search query in double quotes. This will prevent them from being interpreted as references to previously executed search strings.[2]
