US Patent 9203623 Apparatus and methods for keyword proximity matching

One embodiment relates to an apparatus configured to match a list of keywords against a target document. The apparatus includes data storage configured to store computer-readable instruction code and data, and a processor configured to access the data storage and to execute said computer-readable instruction code. The apparatus further includes a keyword searcher and a keyword object generator. The keyword searcher is configured to receive the list of keywords and a textual string corresponding to the target document file, and search the textual string for instances of the keywords so as to generate a sequence of keyword instances. The keyword object generator implemented using the instruction code and configured to receive the sequence of keyword instances, and generate a keyword object, wherein the keyword object includes a range-dependent match function. Other embodiments and features are also disclosed.