JP2008210287A - Search term input auxiliary application and mobile terminal having same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the need of the knowledge for preparing a search expression and prepare a detail search expression for search sites with a minimum communication amount. <P>SOLUTION: This search term input auxiliary application of a mobile terminal can prepare and provide a detail search expression for general browser applications for browsing by transmitting a search expression to a predetermined URL search site. When the search term input auxiliary application is started from a browser application and the URL information on the search site under reading is transmitted by the browser application, the search term input auxiliary application displays an input screen (UI) suitable for the search site from the received URL information, and based on the search term input into the input screen by the user, generates a search expression and transmits it to the browser application. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a search word input auxiliary application, and more particularly to a search word input auxiliary application for performing a detailed search of a search site and a portable terminal equipped with the application.

  The number of Internet connections from mobile phones continues to increase, and the contents that are supposed to be viewed on mobile phones are diversifying. To search for the target content from a mobile phone, it is common to enter a keyword on the search site and search. However, in order to derive the expected search results, enter the keyword and the search expression / conditional expression appropriately. There is a need to.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional general mobile phone. The functional block for browsing and operating the search site on the Internet in the mobile phone (cell phone 1) 1 is shown.

  A cellular phone (cell phone 1) 1 of this embodiment includes a key operation unit (Key device) 2 and a screen display unit (display device) 3 for inputting characters, and further includes a key operation unit 2 and a screen inside the main body. Various types of software for setting the display unit 3 as I / O are installed. Of these, FIG. 10 shows a browser application 4 and a text input application 5.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of browsing a search site from a general mobile phone. When browsing / operating a search site on the Internet from the mobile phone 1, the browser application 4 determines an input tag (Input Tag) on the content of the search site, and the text input application 5 is displayed on the search screen shown in FIG. Is started in cooperation, and a desired search word is input as shown in FIG. 11B, and the input result (“keyword” in this example) shown in FIG. To get. Here, when performing a detailed search of the search site, it is necessary for the user to directly input a search expression using a plurality of search terms by connecting the search terms and the search terms with an operator.

In Patent Document 1, an input screen is acquired from a first server via a browser on the client side, and a user inputs one or a plurality of keywords on the input screen, and a search destination server (second server) When the first server is selected, the first server converts the input search condition such as a keyword so as to meet the specifications of the search engine of the second server, and requests the second server to perform a search. The second server receives the search request, searches the database, sends an answer to the first server, and the first server sends this to the client as a search result, so that the client is sent to each second server. A search proxy method and system that enable searching for necessary information without being bothered by search commands that may be different are described.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-260985

  In a search operation using the browser function of a conventional mobile phone, a user not only needs knowledge of different operators and conditional expressions for each search site, but also has a limited input means such as a mobile phone You can enter a search expression from, and change the character type of normal keywords (full-width kana and kanji) and operators (half-width English characters and symbols) each time, and search by connecting the search terms and search terms with operators. It was necessary to input an expression, which was very complicated and operability was poor.

  Further, in the search proxy system described in Patent Literature 1, when a user makes a search request via the first server, the user is bothered by search commands that may be different for each second server that is the search destination server. Although it is possible to search for necessary information without being performed, connection with the first server and acquisition of an input screen from the first server are essential at the start of the search, and the amount of packet traffic increases, There is a problem that it is necessary to change the specification of the first server in accordance with the expansion of the server and the specification change.

(the purpose)
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and provides a search term input assist application that makes it possible to create a detailed search formula for a search site with a minimum amount of communication without the need to create a search formula. The purpose is to provide a portable terminal equipped with an application.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a search word input auxiliary application that eliminates the need for knowledge of creating search formulas, facilitates the addition or change of search sites, and enables the creation of detailed search formulas for search sites. The purpose is to provide a mobile terminal equipped with an application.

  In the present invention, when a search engine or the like is used, a user selects a necessary item on a graphical input screen (UI: User Interface) and inputs a search word instead of directly inputting a search expression or an operator. The present invention relates to search term input auxiliary application software capable of automatically generating a search expression. The search word input auxiliary application selectively displays an input screen for generating a conditional expression suitable for the search site from the URL information of the search site being searched by the browser application, and the user displays the search word on the input screen. Is automatically generated, and the generated search expression is used for detailed search of the search site of the browser application. When the search term input auxiliary application is activated, the browser application interprets the HTML syntax of the content browsed by the browser application, determines whether it is valid (can be activated) / invalid (cannot be activated), and the user determines whether it is valid. Can be done from above.

  A search word input auxiliary application program according to the present invention includes a browser application program that transmits a search expression to a search site having a predetermined URL for browsing, and a search word input auxiliary application program that can create a detailed search expression for the browser application program. A function for receiving URL information of a search site being browsed from the browser application program (for example, S1 in FIG. 5) and a search word input screen suitable for the search site from the received URL information are displayed on the computer. A function for displaying (for example, S2 and S3 in FIG. 5), a function for generating a search expression based on the search word input on the input screen (for example, S4, S5 and S6 in FIG. 5), and the generated search expression A function to be transmitted to the browser application program (for example, S6 in FIG. 5) The function for displaying the input screen (for example, S2 and S3 in FIG. 5) selectively selects the input screen defined by HTML data stored in advance for each RUL information of the search site. 2 (for example, S1 in FIG. 5), and the function for receiving the URL information (for example, S1 in FIG. 5) is a program by operating the user's auxiliary menu in the browsing display state by the browser application program. It is a function executed at startup.

  Further, the browser application program analyzes the HTML syntax of the input screen received from the search site being browsed, and realizes a function of controlling whether the program can be activated or not activated. The analysis is characterized in that the input tag and the anchor tag of the HTML document are in the contact state or not.

  The input screen is composed of at least a search condition and a search word input window to be input under the search condition (for example, FIG. 6), and the search word input screen suitable for the search site is provided. Information for display and information for generating a search expression are stored as file data such as HTML for each URL information (for example, 106 in FIG. 8), and the file data for each URL information is: It is characterized by being downloaded from the network and used.

  A portable terminal according to the present invention includes the browser application program and a search word input assist application program.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when utilizing an internet search site from a portable terminal, it is possible to improve a search word input means. In other words, by installing a search word input assist application in the mobile terminal, the user automatically displays an input screen UI having a search condition suitable for the search site and a search word input window for inputting the search condition. The correct conditional expression can be obtained simply by selecting individual conditions and inputting a keyword (search term).

  In addition, since the user can obtain the correct conditional expression simply by selecting the condition and inputting the search word from the graphical input screen of the search word input auxiliary application, knowledge of the conditional expression itself for each search site is not required. Moreover, it is freed from a complicated change operation of the input character type of the portable terminal accompanying the conditional expression input.

  Furthermore, it is possible to cope with addition / deletion of a search site by configuring the information of the input screen unit and the conditional expression processing unit for each search site in the mobile terminal as individual file data for each URL. Is possible.

  In addition, information on the conditional expression processing unit such as the input screen for each search site published on the Internet allows the user to process information on the conditional expression processing unit for the desired search site according to his / her frequency of use. It can be downloaded into the mobile terminal as part data and the function can be customized.

(Embodiment 1 of the invention)
(Description of configuration)
As a configuration example of the search word input assist application of the present invention and a mobile terminal equipped with the application, a usage example of a mobile phone will be described below.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention. Only the configuration related to the search / browsing function on the network of the mobile phone is shown. As shown in FIG. 1A, the screen display unit 101, the network interface unit 102 connected to the network, the key operation unit 103, ROM, RAM, etc. Storage unit 104 and a control unit 105 composed of a CPU (central processing unit) constituting a computer for controlling them.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the storage unit 104 according to the present embodiment stores various programs in addition to communication control such as incoming and outgoing calls of mobile phones, telephone calls, Internet communication, function menu display and function control. In addition, a text input application such as a search word input of the present invention, a browser application for browsing URLs on a network, and a search word input auxiliary application for assisting creation of a search expression for the browser application are stored. The application includes, for each search site, information on an input screen (UI: User Interface) for inputting a search term suitable for the search site and an operator for creating a conditional expression from the search term input on the input screen. Search formula information including The control unit (CPU) 105 reads various programs stored in the storage unit 104 and is controlled by the read programs. The control unit (CPU) 105 controls each unit to realize the auxiliary input function for inputting a search term according to the following application configuration.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an application configuration of the present embodiment. In addition to the browser application 4 and the text input application 5 which are the components of a general mobile phone shown in FIG. 10, a search word input assistance application 6 is provided. The search word input auxiliary application 6 includes a URL analysis unit (URL Parser) 7 that determines a URL being browsed by the browser application 4 at startup, and a plurality of search word input auxiliary applications 6 to assist the creation of the conditional expression on an input screen suitable for the determined URL. The conditional expression processing unit (Condition processor) 8 is provided.

  The conditional expression processing unit 8 includes an input screen unit (Entry screen) 9 and a conditional expression generation unit (condition generator) 10. A plurality of conditional expression processing units 8 are prepared so as to generate appropriate search expressions for each search site. The conditional expression processing unit 8 to be used is selected based on the URL of the search site determined in (1). This is because the search conditions and operators of the detailed search formula differ depending on the search site.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a correspondence relationship between search conditions and operators for each search site. In the examples of the search sites (1) to (3), only “and” matches all the operators under the same search conditions for the search terms A and B, and there is no operator depending on the search conditions. Sometimes.

  Therefore, even though the conditional expressions and operators that can be used at the search site are the same for the basic ones, there are differences between the search sites for the detailed conditions, and information on the input screen for each search site is output. An input screen unit 9 and a conditional expression generation unit 9 that generates a search condition expression by input from the input screen are selected.

  An outline of functions related to input / output signals between the respective parts of the mobile phone 1 shown in FIG. 2 is as follows. The key operation unit 2 has input functions such as text input including a URL, a search term, etc. (a1), activation of each application 4, 6 and termination control (a2, a11), and the text input application 5 is a pseudonym. It has functions of Kanji conversion processing and text data display output (a3), input of search words on the input screen in the browser application 4 and the search word input auxiliary application 6 (a6, a10). The browser application 4 starts the text input application 5 for inputting a search word on the input screen, controls the termination (a5), searches the search site, displays and displays browsing information (a4), and the search word input auxiliary application 6 The URL information being browsed is output to the application 6 (a9), the input of the search expression created by the search word input auxiliary application 6 (a8), and the search expression via the network interface 102 at the time of activation And has a function of receiving search results. In addition to the input / output or control, the search word input auxiliary application 6 has functions such as an input screen at the time of start-up and display output of a search word input to the input screen (a7).

(Description of operation)
Next, a search word input assist application according to this embodiment and a search word input assist operation by a mobile phone equipped with the application will be described.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an HTML document that defines an input screen (UI). In general, a search word input screen of a search site is expressed using an HTML form part or an input tag as shown in FIG.

  The browser application 4 can determine that an anchor (</ td>) is hit to a Form component / Input tag (<... maxlength = “20”>) on the displayed content, and this is used as a trigger for search. It is determined whether or not the word input auxiliary application 6 can be used. If the input tag has an anchor, the search word input auxiliary application 6 can be called (started), otherwise it cannot be called, and if it can be called, it is used from the auxiliary menu of the browser. Allows the user to activate the search word input auxiliary application 6.

  In a situation where the search word input auxiliary application 6 can be started, the application 6 can be started immediately by operating the auxiliary menu of the browser, and a plurality of functions can be selected during the operation of the auxiliary menu. The application 6 can be configured to be able to be activated by selecting a detailed search or the like. In any case, when the user operates activation of the application 6 under the above situation, the browser application 4 notifies the search word input auxiliary application 6 of the currently displayed URL information.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the search word input auxiliary application. When the URL information currently displayed by the browser application 4 is notified to the search word input auxiliary application 6, the operation of the processing flow shown in FIG. 5 is started (START). When the search word input auxiliary application 6 receives URL information from the browser application 4 (step S1), the URL analysis unit 7 in the search word input auxiliary application 6 determines which search site the operation is based on the notified URL information. Is determined, and it is determined whether or not the prepared conditional expression processing unit 8 exists (step S2). If the conditional expression processing unit 8 exists, the conditional expression processing unit 8 is activated and the corresponding input screen (input UI) is carried. The information is displayed on the screen display unit 3 of the telephone 1 (step S3).

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a specific input screen of the activated conditional expression processing unit 8. The input screen includes "All include", "Include any", and other conditions for creating a search expression specific to the URL information (search site) notified from the browser application 4, and a single or a plurality of conditions corresponding to each condition The search word input location is displayed, and it is configured so that the search word and the condition can be individually input only by inputting the search word. The user can use a search expression including the search word, an operator for combining the search words, etc. It is possible to input without being conscious of.

When the user inputs a search word at a predetermined condition location on the input screen and confirms it (step S4), the input content is notified to the conditional expression generation unit 10, and the conditional expression generation unit 10 analyzes the syntax ( In step S5), a predetermined conditional expression obtained by combining the search terms input by the user with an operator is created and output to the browser application 4 (step S6), and the processing of the conditional expression processing unit 8 is terminated (END). The browser application 4 searches the search site according to the conditional expression received from the conditional expression generation unit 10 of the search word input auxiliary application 6, displays the search result, and enables browsing.
In step S2 for determining whether the conditional expression processing unit 8 exists for the search site shown in FIG. 5, the conditional expression processing unit 8 corresponding to the URL information (search site) notified from the browser application 4 is not prepared. Terminates the processing (END).

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a series of screen operation examples. The user activates the browser application 4 and designates a URL. On the search word input input screen (a) acquired from the search site of the URL, the search word input auxiliary application 6 is activated by clicking the menu display of the user. It can be arbitrarily performed by an operation or the like. In this example, a function menu screen (d) capable of selecting activation of a plurality of function menus is temporarily displayed when the menu display is clicked from the browser, and the input screen (e) of the present invention is displayed in the function menu. The detailed search can be selected, and the application 6 can be activated by this selection operation. If there is only one search word, the cursor is set at the input position on the input screen (a) of the browser (anchor selection), and the text input application 5 is started as usual from the screen (b) (c). It is also possible to perform input and search shown in FIG.

  Further, as shown in the screens (e) and (f) shown in FIG. 7, the user does not include the search term input “1” and “2” in the condition “include all” on the input screen (e). When the search term input “3” is input to “” and input confirmation (OK) or the like is performed, the search expression “1and2not3” shown in the same screen (f) is generated, and the search expression is transmitted to the search site. Note that whether or not to display the search formula on the screen (f) can be changed as appropriate.

(Other embodiment 2 of invention)
In the first embodiment described above, information is managed as a plurality of conditional expression processing units 8 by incorporating information such as input screen information and operators for each search site in the search word input auxiliary application. In the example described above, the information is stored as individual file data in the mobile phone (mobile device), so that the addition / deletion of the search site can be supported.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a mobile phone according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an application configuration according to the present embodiment. The configuration and function of each part of the mobile phone according to the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, but in the second embodiment, the search screen input auxiliary application 6 includes the input screen unit 12 and A single conditional expression processing unit 11 including a conditional expression generation unit 13 is provided, and URL (URL 1 to n) information for each search site is stored in the storage unit 106 of the mobile phone 1 as information to be processed by the conditional expression processing unit 11. In addition, information on the input screen including the conditions and the like (input screen information 1 to n) associated with each URL information and information on the generation of the conditional expressions including the operators and the like (conditional expression generation information 1 to n) are stored as file data. The configuration is adopted.

  In the second embodiment, when the search word input auxiliary application 6 receives the URL information of the search site being searched from the browser application 4, the URL analysis unit 7 displays the input screen for the search word input for the search site of the URL and It is determined whether or not information such as conditional expression generation is stored in the storage unit 106. When it is determined that the information is stored, the condition processing unit 11 is notified, and the input screen unit 12 of the condition processing unit 11 stores the storage unit. The information on the input screen of the URL is read from 106, the condition generation unit 13 reads information such as an operator for generating the conditional expression, and the input screen unit 12 outputs the information on the input screen to the screen display unit 3. When the user inputs a search word on the input screen displayed, the condition generation unit 13 generates a conditional expression by combining with an operator and generates a conditional expression in the browser application 4. Forces. Hereinafter, the browser application 4 obtains a detailed search result on the search site by the conditional expression input from the search word input auxiliary application 6 and enables browsing.

  In the second embodiment, the information of the conditional expression processing unit for each search site is stored in the storage unit 106 as file data, so that the search word input auxiliary application 6 is modified for addition, deletion, change, etc. of the search site. Since it can be handled by adding, deleting, and changing file data, it is easy to handle on the mobile phone side. In addition, file data is made public on the Internet, so that users can download file data for their favorite search sites into their mobile phones as information processing unit data according to their frequency of use. Thus, it is possible to realize customization of a search function suitable for the user.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the mobile telephone of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the application structure of this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the correspondence of the search condition for every search site, and an operator. It is a figure which shows the HTML document which defines an input screen (UI). It is a figure which shows the processing flow of a search word input assistance application. It is a figure which shows the specific input screen of the activated conditional expression process part. It is a figure which shows the example of a series of screen operations of this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the mobile telephone of other Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the application structure of this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the conventional common mobile telephone. It is a figure which shows the example which browses a search site from a general mobile telephone.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cellular phone 2, 103 Key operation part 3, 101 Screen display part 4 Browser application 5 Text input application 6 Search term input auxiliary application 7 URL analysis part 8, 11 Conditional expression process part 9, 12 Input screen part 10, 13 Conditional expression Generation unit 102 Network interface 104, 106 Storage unit 105 Control unit

Claims (9)

A search term input auxiliary application program for a browser application program for searching and browsing a search site,
A function of receiving URL information of a search site being browsed from the browser application program on a computer, a function of displaying a search word input screen suitable for the search site from the received URL information, and an input to the input screen A search word input auxiliary application program that realizes a function for generating a search expression based on a search term and a function for transmitting the generated search expression to the browser application program. The search word input according to claim 1, wherein the function of displaying the input screen is a function of selectively displaying an input screen defined by HTML data stored in advance for each RUL information of the search site. Auxiliary application program. The search term according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the function of receiving the URL information is a function executed when the program is started by operating a user's auxiliary menu in a browsing display state by the browser application program. Input auxiliary application program. 4. The search according to claim 3, wherein the browser application program realizes a function of analyzing the HTML syntax of the input screen received from the search site being browsed and controlling the program to be enabled or disabled. Word input assist application program. 5. The search word input assist application program according to claim 4, wherein the analysis of the HTML syntax is an analysis of whether or not an input tag and an anchor tag of an HTML document are in a contact state. 6. The search word input auxiliary application according to claim 1, wherein the input screen includes at least a search condition and a search word input window to be input under the search condition. program. 7. The search according to claim 1, wherein information for displaying a search term input screen suitable for a search site and information for generating a search expression are stored as file data for each URL information. Word input assist application program. 8. The search word input assist application program according to claim 7, wherein the file data for each URL information is downloaded from a network and used. A portable terminal comprising the browser application program and the search word input assist application program according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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