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Canadian Patents Database
Help: Search Language
The following is a brief description of the search language used by
the text search engine. This language is valid in all entry fields
except the patent number field.
SEARCH WORDS
-
Names: names of inventors, agents, attorneys and
owners (when they are proper names and not corporate names) are stored
as lastname firstname .
Other tips:
-
Do not put commas or periods in with your search words; they
are ignored.
-
Nonalphanumeric characters: / and - are kept in the
text index. All other non-alphabetic and non-numeric characters are
ignored.
-
Phrases: to search
for a phrase of several words, use double quotation
marks. For example, "electric transformer".
PROXIMITY OPERATORS
-
<NEAR>
search for two or more words within n number of words of
each other. n is an integer between 1 and 1024. <NEAR>
defaults to <NEAR/256>
-
<PARAGRAPH>
same as <NEAR/100>
-
<SENTENCE>
same as <NEAR/15>
-
<ORDER>
specifies the order of words when using <PARAGRAPH>, <SENTENCE>
or <NEAR/n>
Syntax:
-
word1 <operator> word2
-
word1 <ORDER> <operator> word2
-
word1 <operator> word2 <operator> word3 ...
For multi-word searches, <operator> must be identical and the
search is for all words to be within n words of each other.
Examples:
-
robot <near> arm
-
wrist <sentence> hollow
-
wrist <near/5> pin <near/5> hollow
-
fiberglass <near> covering
-
rotating <order> <sentence> armature
LOGICAL OPERATORS
-
<AND>
search for documents with all words.
-
<OR>
search for documents with any word.
-
<ACCRUE>
search for documents with any word. The more words found, the better
the score.
-
<NOT>
exclude documents with specified word. Used only with <AND>
and <OR>
Syntax:
-
word1 <operator> word2
-
word1 <operator> word2 <operator> word3 ...
Examples:
-
cpu <or> processor
-
market <and> survey
-
(silane <or> organopolysiloxane) <and> silicium
-
computer <and> <not> mainframe
FIELD SEARCH OPERATOR
-
<IN>
search for word in a specific field of the patent index. The
available fields are:
-
title - for the title of the invention
-
abstract - for the abstract
-
owner - for the owner names
-
inventor - for the inventor names
-
claims - for the claims
-
CPC - for Canadian Patent Code
-
IPC - for International Patent Code
-
PCTNUM - for PCT Filling Number
-
PUBNUM - for International Publication Number
Syntax:
-
word <in> field
-
word <in> (field1, field2, ...)
Examples:
-
algorithm <in> title
-
junction <in> (title, abstract, claims)
WILDCARDS
-
*
specifies zero or more alphanumeric characters
-
?
specifies one alphanumeric character
Examples:
-
fire* will match fire, fires, fireman, firefighter, etc.
-
?am will match cam, ram, jam, etc.
-
Wickr* <near> Kumar
Note: Wildcards will lengthen the time of your
search.
MORE EXAMPLES
-
golf ball
Searches for the phrase, "golf ball," in all fields of the
patent index.
-
"golf ball"<or>"golf tee"
Searches for patents with either the phrase, "golf ball,"
or, "golf tee."
-
"golf ball" <in> title
Searches for the phrase, "golf ball," in the title of the
patent.
-
("golf ball" <and> <not> practice) <in>
title
Searches for patents with the phrase, "golf ball," but do
not have the word, "practice," in the title.
-
"golf ball" <in> title <and> juhas <in>
inventor
Searches for patents with the phrase, "golf ball," in the
title and the name, "juhas," in the inventor field.
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"input/output" <near> connectivity
Searches for patents with the phrase, "input/output,"
along with the word, "connectivity," in any of the text
fields.
-
("walker mark" <in> inventor ) <and> (switch
box <in> title)
Searches for patents where Mark Walker was the inventor and the
word, "switch box," appears in the title. When searching for
names, use the last name followed by the first name.
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