JP2001273222A - Method and device for supporting information provision, and recording medium recorded with information provision supporting program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a device for supporting information provision and a recording medium in which information provision supporting program is recorded by which the browsing of information can be supported without burdening a user by suitably converting a URI by an agency server correspond ing to the change of a network to which a user terminal is connected. SOLUTION: URI conversion rules corresponding to the conditions of computer resources in the user terminal operating a WWW browser are registered as a conversion table 23 by the proxy server 10, and the conditions of computer resources in the user terminal operating the WWW browser are detected by a computer resource monitoring part 21. When the URI is received from the WWW browser, the URI conversion rules corresponding to the detected conditions of computer resources are acquired from the conversion table 23 and according to these acquired URI conversion rules, the URI received from the WWW browser is converted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a WWW (World-Wi-Fi).
More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing information using an information providing system using de Web). More specifically, when a WWW browser makes a request for information to a proxy server, the proxy server accesses the information server via a network, Information is obtained from the information server by proxy, and the obtained information is
The present invention relates to an information providing method and apparatus for supporting information provision in an information providing system for receiving and displaying the returned information, and a recording medium storing an information providing support program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An information providing system using the WWW will be described with reference to FIG. The information providing system shown in FIG. 4 includes information servers 3a and 3b connected directly or indirectly to the Internet 1 and a user terminal 50.
Having. Information server 3 among servers that provide information
a is indirectly connected to the Internet 1 via the intranet 8 and the firewall 9, and the information server 3b is directly connected to the Internet 1.

[0003] A user terminal 50 is connected to the Internet 1 via an intranet 8 and a firewall 9, and a WWW browser 5 for requesting, receiving, and displaying information, and information requested by the WWW browser 5 on behalf of the user terminal 50. It has a proxy server 7 obtained from the information server. The proxy server 7 includes a request receiving unit 11 that receives a request from the WWW browser 5, and a W that is received by the request receiving unit 11.
An information requesting unit 13 for requesting a request from the WW browser 5 to the information server, an information acquiring unit 15 for receiving information returned from the information server, and transmitting the received information to the WWW.
It has an information transmitting unit 17 that sends a reply to the browser 5. In addition,
The firewall 8 prohibits an information server 3a or the like connected to the intranet 8 from being externally connected via the Internet 1.

In the information providing system configured as described above, when a user instructs the WWW browser 5 of a URI (Uniform Resource ID) of desired information to be obtained from the user terminal 50 (1), the WWW browser 5 URI
Is transferred to the proxy server 7 (2). The proxy server 7 is U
When receiving the RI, the information of the URI is transmitted to the information server 3a.
Or request 3b (3).

[0005] The information server 3a or 3b returns information to the proxy server 7 according to the request of the proxy server 7 (4). Upon receiving this information, the proxy server 7 transfers the information to the WWW browser 5 (5). The WWW browser 5 receives and displays this information (6).

[0006] The information displayed on the WWW browser 5 usually includes a plurality of hyperlinks, and the user performs only one operation of clicking the link, and the above-mentioned (1) to (1) are again performed. The processing of 6) is automatically performed, so that the continuation of the currently browsed information can be obtained. If useful information is found while browsing the information, the storage function of the WWW browser 5 can be used to store the URI of the displayed information.

The above description is for the case where the proxy server 7 is located at the user terminal 50. However, even when the proxy server is connected to the firewall 9, information can be obtained by the same processing. In addition, a proxy server exists in the user terminal 50 and the firewall 9, and it is possible to access both by connecting them in multiple stages.

Although the above-described example describes an example in which the user terminal 50 is connected to the intranet 8, the user terminal uses a general telephone line such as a mobile phone and an Internet connection provider called a provider. The information can be obtained by the same processing when directly connected to the Internet via the Internet.

With the above processing, the user can browse and store desired information one after another from the user terminal via the WWW browser 5. For the information providing system using the WWW, see, for example, Takashi Takeshita, Nagatoshi Ito, Yukio Kanda, "Mastering TCP / IP-Internetwork", Ohmsha.

[0010]

When the above-mentioned conventional information providing system is used by using a mobile terminal which has been widely used in recent years, there is a problem that a user cannot easily obtain desired information.

More specifically, a mobile terminal is characterized in that the method of connecting to a network changes frequently. For example, a mobile terminal frequently switches between a connection with an intranet constructed by a LAN and a connection with the Internet using a mobile phone or the like. In such a situation, consider a case where certain information exists in an intranet, and the same content is copied and also exists in an information server on the Internet (an example in which the same information is copied and present is communication cost). It is often seen on the Internet for reasons such as reduction).

[0012] It is assumed that the mobile terminal has changed to the Internet connection state while the user is acquiring and browsing information from an information server in the intranet while connected to the intranet. In this situation, the link destination of the hyperlink included in the page displayed on the WWW browser indicates the URI of information existing in the intranet. Therefore, even if the user clicks this link, information cannot be obtained because access to the information server in the intranet is prohibited from the Internet. Also, even if the user knows the existence of the copy of the information to be obtained, it is difficult to investigate the URI corresponding to the copy of the information to be browsed. The input operation imposes a greater burden on the user than the operation of clicking the hyperlink.

Further, in the above example, even if the user can directly input the URI to obtain the subsequent information, a problem occurs in the storage function of the WWW browser. For example, it is assumed that a user finds useful information on the Internet and stores the URI in a WWW browser. In this state, when the user returns to the intranet again and tries to browse the information again using the storage function of the WWW browser, the WWW browser obtains not the original information on the server in the intranet but the information published on the Internet. Therefore, the communication cost is increased. In order to correct this situation, a burden is imposed on the user, such as a task of directly inputting a URI and a process of changing a storage function of a WWW browser.

The present invention has been made in view of the above,
The purpose is to support the proxy server to convert the URI appropriately according to the change of the network to which the user terminal is connected so that the information can be browsed without burdening the user. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information provision support method and apparatus and a recording medium on which an information provision support program is recorded.

[0015]

To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, when a WWW browser makes a request for information to a proxy server, the proxy server accesses the information server via a network. An information providing system for obtaining information from an information server as a proxy, returning the obtained information to a WWW browser, and the WWW browser receiving and displaying the returned information, wherein the proxy server comprises a WWW browser A URI conversion rule corresponding to the state of the computer resources of the user terminal on which the WWW browser is operating is registered as a conversion table, and the state of the computer resources of the information terminal on which the WWW browser is operating is detected. Is received, a URI conversion rule corresponding to the detected state of the computer resource is obtained from the conversion table. And gist converting the URI received from the WWW browser in accordance with RI conversion rule.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the proxy server stores the URI corresponding to the state of the computer resources of the user terminal.
The conversion rule is registered as a conversion table, the state of the computer resource of the user terminal on which the WWW browser is operating is detected, and when the URI is received, the URI conversion rule corresponding to the detected state of the computer resource is converted. Since it is obtained from the table and converts the URI according to the URI conversion rule, even if the network connection status of the user terminal changes,
The information collection work can be continued and the information collection work can be smoothly performed without imposing a burden on the user such as searching for the URI of the copied information, storing the information, and directly inputting the information.

The present invention according to claim 2 provides the present invention according to claim 1.
In the invention described, the detection of the status of the computer resource includes:
The gist of the present invention is to detect the connection status of the network connection device of the user terminal.

According to the present invention, the connection status of the network connection device of the user terminal is detected as the status of the computer resources.

Further, the present invention according to claim 3 provides the invention according to claim 1.
In the invention described in the above aspect, the conversion table registers a URI conversion rule corresponding to a connection status of a network connection device of the user terminal.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the conversion table registers URI conversion rules corresponding to the connection status of the network connection device of the user terminal.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, in detecting the status of the computer resources,
When two or more computer resource statuses are detected and two or more URI conversion rules are acquired from the conversion table as a URI conversion rule corresponding to the detected computer resource status, URI conversion that minimizes the desired cost The point is to select a rule.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when two or more URI conversion rules are acquired, a URI conversion rule that minimizes a desired cost is selected. Can acquire information at a minimum cost.

The present invention described in claim 5 provides the present invention in claim 4.
In the invention described above, the gist is that a user can select what to use as the desired cost.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a user can input a desired cost evaluation target such as a communication fee or a communication speed.

Further, according to the present invention, when the WWW browser makes a request for information to the proxy server, the proxy server accesses the information server via the network, acquires the information from the information server as a proxy, This acquired information is
An information providing system for returning the information to a WWW browser, and receiving and displaying the returned information;
The proxy server includes a conversion table for registering a URI conversion rule corresponding to a state of the computer resource of the user terminal on which the WWW browser is operating, and a state of the computer resource of the user terminal on which the WWW browser is operating. And a UR corresponding to the state of the detected computer resource when a URI is received from the WWW browser.
Search means for searching for and obtaining an I conversion rule from the conversion table; and WWW in accordance with the obtained URI conversion rule.
A conversion means for converting the URI received from the browser is provided.

According to the present invention, the proxy server is a URI corresponding to the state of the computer resources of the user terminal.
The conversion rule is registered as a conversion table, the state of the computer resource of the user terminal on which the WWW browser is operating is detected, and when the URI is received, the URI conversion rule corresponding to the detected state of the computer resource is converted. Since it is obtained from the table and converts the URI according to the URI conversion rule, even if the network connection status of the user terminal changes,
The information collection work can be continued and the information collection work can be smoothly performed without imposing a burden on the user such as searching for the URI of the copied information, storing the information, and directly inputting the information.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the sixth aspect, the computer resource detecting means is configured to detect a connection status of a network connection device of the user terminal. I do.

According to the present invention, the connection status of the network connection device of the user terminal is detected as the status of the computer resources.

The present invention according to claim 8 provides the present invention according to claim 6.
In the invention described in the above aspect, the conversion table is configured to register a URI conversion rule corresponding to a connection status of a network connection device of a user terminal.

According to the present invention, the conversion table registers the URI conversion rules corresponding to the connection status of the network connection device of the user terminal.

Further, the present invention described in claim 9 is based on claim 6.
In the invention described above, the computer resource detecting means detects the status of two or more computer resources, and acquires two or more URI conversion rules from a conversion table as a URI conversion rule corresponding to the detected status of the computer resource. If each UR
The gist of the present invention is to have calculating means for calculating the cost when each URI conversion rule is used so that the URI conversion rule that minimizes the desired cost among the costs when the I conversion rule is used can be selected. I do.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, when two or more URI conversion rules are acquired, a URI conversion rule that minimizes the desired cost is selected. Can acquire information at a minimum cost.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an input means for allowing a user to select what to use as the desired cost.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, a user can input a desired cost evaluation target such as a communication fee or a communication speed.

The present invention according to claim 11 provides the WWW
When the browser makes a request for information to the proxy server, the proxy server accesses the information server via the network, obtains information from the information server as a proxy, returns the obtained information to the WWW browser, and the WWW browser A recording medium recording an information providing support program in an information providing system that receives and displays the returned information,
A URI conversion rule corresponding to the state of the computer resources of the user terminal on which the WWW browser is operating is registered as a conversion table, and the state of the computer resources of the user terminal on which the WWW browser is operating is detected. U from browser
When receiving the RI, obtains a URI conversion rule corresponding to the detected state of the computer resource from the conversion table, and converts the URI provided from the WWW browser according to the obtained URI conversion rule into an information providing support program. It shall be recorded in the summary.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the proxy server is a UR corresponding to the state of the computer resources of the user terminal.
I conversion rules are registered as conversion tables, and WWW
When the state of the computer resource of the user terminal on which the browser is operating is detected and the URI is received, a URI conversion rule corresponding to the detected state of the computer resource is acquired from the conversion table, and the URI is converted according to the URI conversion rule. Since the information provision support program to be converted is recorded on the recording medium, the distribution can be improved by using the recording medium.

Further, according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the eleventh aspect, the processing for detecting the status of the computer resource comprises an information providing support program for detecting a connection status of a network connection device of the user terminal. Is recorded on a recording medium.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, since the information providing support program for detecting the connection status of the network connection device of the user terminal is recorded on the recording medium,
By using the recording medium, its distribution can be improved.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the eleventh aspect, the conversion table registers a URI conversion rule corresponding to a connection status of a network connection device of the user terminal. The gist is to record the program on a recording medium.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the conversion table records an information provision support program in which a URI conversion rule is registered in accordance with the connection status of the network connection device of the user terminal on a recording medium. Therefore, the distribution of the recording medium can be improved by using the recording medium.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the eleventh aspect, in detecting the status of the computer resources, the status of two or more computer resources is detected, and the detected status of the computer resources is determined. In the case where two or more URI conversion rules are obtained from the conversion table as URI conversion rules corresponding to the above, the information provision support program for selecting a URI conversion rule that minimizes the desired cost is recorded on a recording medium. .

According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, when two or more URI conversion rules are acquired, an information provision support program for selecting a URI conversion rule that minimizes a desired cost is recorded on a recording medium. Therefore, the distribution of the recording medium can be improved by using the recording medium.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the information providing apparatus according to the fourteenth aspect, wherein an input function is provided which allows a user to select what to use as the desired cost. The gist is to record the support program on a recording medium.

According to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, since the information providing support program for inputting the cost evaluation target desired by the user, such as the communication fee and the communication speed, is recorded on the recording medium. By using the recording medium, its distribution can be improved.

[0045]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a proxy server 10 provided in a user terminal used in an information providing system that performs an information providing support method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The proxy server 10 shown in FIG. 4 is provided in the user terminal together with the WWW browser 5 similarly to the proxy server 7 shown in FIG.
The proxy server 10 of the present embodiment is different from the conventional proxy server 7 of FIG. 4 in that, in addition to the configuration of the conventional proxy server 7, a table search unit 19, a computer resource monitoring unit 21, a conversion table 23, a cost calculation unit 25, cost item input unit 2
7 and the URI conversion unit 29,
Different reference numerals are used.

The computer resource monitoring unit 21 constituting the proxy server 10 constitutes a computer resource detecting means.
It monitors and detects the state of computer resources of the user terminal on which the WWW browser 5 is operating, specifically, the connection state of the network connection device of the user terminal. Conversion table 23
Registers a URI conversion rule corresponding to the state of computer resources of the user terminal on which the WWW browser 5 is operating, that is, the connection state of the network connection device of the user terminal. The table search unit 19 forms a search unit, and searches the conversion table 23 for a URI conversion rule corresponding to the state of the computer resource detected by the computer resource monitoring unit 21 and acquires the URI conversion rule. The URI conversion unit 29 forms a conversion unit, and converts the URI received from the WWW browser 5 according to the URI conversion rule acquired by the table search unit 19.

The cost calculation unit 25 constitutes calculation means, and the computer resource monitoring unit 21 detects the status of two or more computer resources, and converts the status as a URI conversion rule corresponding to the detected status of the computer resource. When two or more URI conversion rules are obtained from the table 23, each of the URI conversion rules is used so that a URI conversion rule that minimizes a desired cost can be selected from the costs of using each URI conversion rule. Calculate the cost of doing this. The cost item input unit 27 constitutes an input unit, and includes a cost calculation unit 2
In calculating the cost in step 5, the user inputs a cost item for the user to select which one of, for example, a communication fee and a communication speed to use.

FIG. 2 shows the proxy server 10 shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an information providing system to which a mobile terminal 51 as a user terminal provided with the WW browser 5 is connected. In the information providing system shown in FIG. 2, a configuration in which a mobile terminal is connected to the Internet 1 via an intranet 8 and a firewall 9 is shown as a mobile terminal 51a, and the mobile terminal is connected to the Internet 1 via a provider 31. In this case, the mobile terminal 51b is shown.

The mobile terminal is provided with one or more interfaces for adding a network device. An operating system, which is a basic interface for operating mobile terminals, manages what network devices are connected to these interfaces. The software operating on the mobile terminal can know the type of the network device connected to the interface and whether the device is actually connected to the network via the network device by inquiring the operating system.

Therefore, the computer resource monitoring unit 21
When monitoring the status of computer resources of the mobile terminal on which the WW browser 5 is operating, specifically, the connection status of the network connection device of the mobile terminal, the type of network connection device connected to the interface with the operating system And whether the device is actually connected to the network. Then, the result of this inquiry is stored, and thereafter, the same inquiry is made to the operating system at regular time intervals, and when there is a change in the network connection device, the operation of rewriting the stored information is repeatedly performed. .

The information server 3 is connected to the intranet 8.
a, and an information server 3b is connected to the Internet 1. The information server 3a publishes information a, b, and c, and the respective URIs are as follows.

[0052]

[Formula 1] URI of information a in information server 3a: http: // A / a URI of information b in information server 3a: http: // A / b URI of information c in information server 3a: http: // A / c There is also a copy of the information published by the information server 3a on the information server 3b, and the URIs of each are as follows.

[0053]

[Formula 2] URI of information a in information server 3b: http: // B / copy / a URI of information b in information server 3b: http: // B / copy / b URI of information c in information server 3b: http : // B / copy / c Further, although each information a, b, and c of the information server 3a and the information server 3b includes a hyperlink, in FIG. Contains a hyperlink to the next piece of information. That is, in the case of the information a, the character string “next” includes a hyperlink to the information b.

The firewall 9 is provided to restrict communication from the Internet 1 to the intranet 8. Therefore, a terminal connected to the Internet 1 via the provider 31 cannot access the information server 3a in the intranet 8.

In the configuration of the information providing system described above, the conversion table 23 registers a URI conversion rule as an executable statement corresponding to a network connection device which is a conditional statement as shown in Table 1 shown in FIG. In this example, a network connection device used when connecting the mobile terminal 51 to the intranet 8 like the mobile terminal 51a is an intranet connection, and a network connection device used when connecting to the Internet 1 like the mobile terminal 51b is Internet connection. Also,
Regular rules can be used as conversion rules.

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described. First, if the user uses mobile terminal 5
The information a, b, and c are continuously changed while the connection is switched from the state of connection to the intranet 8 as shown as the mobile terminal 51a to the Internet 1 through the provider 31 as shown as the mobile terminal 51b. The operation when browsing will be described.

First, when the user connects the mobile terminal to the intranet 8 as shown as the mobile terminal 51a, the computer resource monitoring unit 21 of the proxy server 10 provided in the mobile terminal sends the operating system to the operating system as described above. By inquiring, it is detected that the connection status of the network connection device is “intranet connection”, and this is stored.

Next, the user sends a UR to the WWW browser 5 in order to obtain the information a provided by the information server 3a.
Enter http: // A / a as I. WWW browser 5
When this URI is received, this URI is transferred to the proxy server 10.
Send to When the request receiving unit 11 receives the URI from the WWW browser 5, the proxy server 10 transmits the URI to the table search unit 19. Table search unit 19
Acquires the information “Intranet connection” as the connection status of the network connection device from the computer resource monitoring unit 21, searches the conversion table 23 with the obtained “Intranet connection” information, It identifies that there is a conditional statement that matches "intranet connection".

Therefore, the URI conversion unit 29 attempts to acquire a URI conversion rule corresponding to the conditional statement “Intranet connection” from the conversion table 23, but converts the input http: // A / a as described above. Since there is no URI conversion rule to perform, the proxy server 10 does not change the URI,
As usual, the information requesting unit 13 requests the information server 3a for the information a of the URI via the intranet 8.
The information server 3a returns the information a to the information acquisition unit 15 according to the request from the information request unit 13. When the information transmitting unit 17 of the proxy server 10 receives the information a, the information a
The information is transferred to the W browser 5, and the WWW browser 5 receives and displays the information a. Thus, the information a is stored in the WWW browser 5
, The link destination of the link included in the information a is http: // A / b.

In such a state, when the user switches the mobile terminal to the Internet 1 via the provider 31 as shown as the mobile terminal 51b, the computer resource monitoring unit 21 of the proxy server 10 It detects that the connection status of the network connection device has changed to "Internet connection" by inquiring of the operating system at regular intervals, and stores this.

When the user clicks the “Next” link to browse the continuation of information a, WWW
The browser 5 sends htt to the proxy server 10 as a URI.
Enter p: // A / b. Request receiving unit 11 of proxy server 10
Receives this URI, it transmits this URI to the table search unit 19. The table search unit 19 obtains the information “Internet connection” as the connection status of the network connection device from the computer resource monitoring unit 21, searches the conversion table 23 with the obtained “Internet connection” information, and stores the network table in the conversion table 23. It identifies that there is a conditional statement that matches "Internet connection" as a connected device.

Therefore, the URI conversion unit 29 acquires from the conversion table 23 a URI conversion rule corresponding to the conditional statement “Internet connection”. As can be seen from Table 1 shown in FIG. 3, this URI conversion rule is http: // A / * → h
Since it is ttp: // B / copy / *, http:
// Convert A / b to http: // B / copy / b Thereafter, as in the normal processing, the information server 3b requests the information b of the URI, receives the information b from the information server 3b, and sends the information b to the WWW browser 5.
To display. In this way, the user can acquire the subsequent information b without the burden of directly inputting the URI of the copy destination of the information b.

Next, when the user is connected to the Internet 1 via the provider 31 as shown by the mobile terminal as the mobile terminal 51b, the mobile terminal 5
A process of browsing the information b while changing the connection to the intranet 8 as shown as 1a will be described.

Assume that the user views the information (http: // B / copy / b) viewed while connected to the Internet 1 as useful information and stores it in the WWW browser 5. Then, it is assumed that the user connects the mobile terminal to the intranet 8 and accesses the information b again using the storage function of the WWW browser 5. In this situation, the computer resource monitoring unit 21 of the proxy server 10 stores the connection status of the network connection device as “intranet connection”. Therefore, the WWW browser 5 stores the stored http: /
It requests the proxy server 10 to access / B / copy / b. The table search unit 19 of the proxy server 10 searches the conversion table 23 to detect that the condition statement of “intranet connection” matches, and the URI conversion unit 29
URI corresponding to the conditional statement "Intranet connection"
Identify http: // B / copy / * as a conversion rule,
Http: // B / copy / b is converted to http: // according to this URI conversion rule.
Convert to A / b. Thereafter, as in the normal processing, the information server 3a requests the information b, receives the information b from the information server 3a, and displays it on the WWW browser 5. In this manner, the user can acquire the information b without incurring a load such as checking the URI of the original information or editing the storage function of the WWW browser.

Next, when the user connects the mobile terminal to the Internet 1 via the provider 31 as shown by the mobile terminal 51a and the mobile terminal 51b, and when the user is connected to the intranet 8, The operation of browsing information b when connected is described. In this description, it is assumed that the computer resource monitoring unit 21 of the proxy server 10 stores “Internet connection and intranet connection” as the connection status of the network connection device.

As described above, a situation in which a mobile terminal is connected to both the Internet and an intranet may be caused, for example, by a telephone line interface using a modem and a LAN interface as an interface for adding a network connection device to the mobile terminal. It occurs when two types are provided, such as connecting to the Internet via a telephone line interface and connecting to an intranet via a LAN interface.

First, using the interface function provided by the cost item input unit 27, the user wants to evaluate the item to be evaluated as the cost, that is, the communication fee as the cost, or A cost evaluation item such as a communication fee or a communication speed is input as if the user wants to target the speed cost. Note that the cost includes a bit error rate, the number of hops, and the like in addition to the communication fee and the communication speed. The number of hops is the number of devices such as routers through which packets are transmitted on a network. The greater the number, the slower the response speed from transmitting an information request to receiving information. For the number of hops, see, for example, Washburn Kevin and Evens Jim, translated by Takashi Yui, “TCP / IP Bible” Softbank.

The interface provided by the cost item input section 27 displays all costs that can be selected by the user, and can select one of the costs by using a button or a method of allowing the user to select one from a menu. .

The cost item input section 27 stores a cost input by a user operation. That is, when the user wants to reduce the communication fee as a cost, “communication fee” is input as a cost evaluation item from the cost item input unit 27 and stored.

Next, the user inputs http: // B / copy / into the WWW browser in order to access the information b. WW
The W browser 5 transmits this request to the proxy server 10. In the proxy server 10, the table search unit 19 checks the connection status of the network connection device stored in the computer resource monitoring unit 21 against the conversion table 23, and as a result, matches the two conditional statements of the Internet connection and the intranet connection. Identify that. Therefore, the cost calculation unit 2
Reference numeral 5 denotes the cost required when each URI conversion rule is used so that a URI conversion rule that minimizes the communication fee, which is a cost evaluation item input by the user from the cost item input unit 27, can be selected as follows. calculate. It is assumed that the cost calculation unit 25 stores a calculation formula for the communication fee in advance.

[0071]

## EQU00003 ## In the case of the Internet connection, one minute.times.10 yen = 10 yen In the case of the intranet connection, one minute.times.0 yen = 0 yen From the result calculated by the cost calculation unit 25, the cost of the intranet connection is minimized. And there is an intranet connection selected. Therefore, the URI conversion unit 29 converts http: // B / copy / to http: // A / b using the URI conversion rule corresponding to the intranet connection.
Thereafter, as in the normal processing, the information server 3a requests the information b, receives the information b from the information server 3a, and displays it on the WWW browser 5. In this way, the user can obtain the information b in such a manner that the desired cost is minimized.

The processing procedure of the information providing support method of the above embodiment is recorded as a program on a recording medium, and this recording medium is incorporated in a computer system.
Of course, by downloading or installing the program recorded on the recording medium into a computer system, and operating the computer system with the program, it is possible to function as an information providing support device that implements the information providing support method. By using such a recording medium, its distribution can be enhanced.

[0073]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A URI conversion rule corresponding to the state of the computer resources of the user terminal is registered as a conversion table, and the state of the computer resources of the user terminal on which the WWW browser is operating is detected. The URI conversion rule corresponding to the state of the computer resource is acquired from the conversion table, and the URI is converted according to the URI conversion rule. Therefore, even if the network connection status of the user terminal changes,
The information collection work can be continued and the information collection work can be smoothly performed without imposing a burden on the user such as searching for the URI of the copied information, storing the information, and directly inputting the information.

According to the present invention, two or more URIs
If the conversion rule is obtained, the desired cost is minimized.
Since the RI conversion rule is selected, information can be acquired at the minimum cost for the cost target item desired by the user.

Further, according to the present invention, a user can input a desired cost evaluation target such as a communication charge or a communication speed, and information can be obtained at a minimum cost in the cost evaluation target. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a proxy server provided in a user terminal used in an information providing system that implements an information providing support method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information providing system to which a mobile terminal as a user terminal provided with the proxy server shown in FIG. 1 together with a WWW browser is connected.

FIG. 3 is a table showing a configuration of a conversion table in which URI conversion rules are registered in accordance with a connection status of a network connection device which is a status of a computer resource of a user terminal.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a conventional configuration of an information providing system using WWW.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Internet 3a, 3b Information server 5 WWW browser 8 Intranet 19 Table search unit 21 Computer resource monitoring unit 23 Conversion table 25 Cost calculation unit 27 Cost item input unit 29 URI conversion unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5B082 EA07 FA12 GC04 HA08 5B089 GA19 GA25 GB04 HA10 JA22 KA03 KB03 KC15 KC23 KC44 KC60 KH03

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. When a WWW browser makes a request for information to a proxy server, the proxy server accesses the information server via a network, acquires information from the information server as a proxy, and returns the acquired information to the WWW browser. And WW
The W browser is an information providing system for receiving and displaying the returned information, wherein the proxy server converts a URI conversion rule corresponding to a state of a computer resource of a user terminal on which the WWW browser is operated into a conversion table. When the state of the computer resource of the information terminal on which the WWW browser is operating is detected and a URI is received from the WWW browser, the URI conversion rule corresponding to the detected state of the computer resource is converted into the conversion table. And converting the URI received from the WWW browser in accordance with the obtained URI conversion rule. 2. The information providing support method according to claim 1, wherein the detection of the status of the computer resource detects a connection status of a network connection device of the user terminal. 3. The information providing support method according to claim 1, wherein the conversion table registers a URI conversion rule corresponding to a connection status of a network connection device of the user terminal. 4. In the detection of the status of the computer resource,
When two or more computer resource statuses are detected and two or more URI conversion rules are acquired from the conversion table as a URI conversion rule corresponding to the detected computer resource status, URI conversion that minimizes the desired cost 2. The information providing support method according to claim 1, wherein a rule is selected. 5. The information providing support method according to claim 4, wherein a user can select what to use as the desired cost. 6. When the WWW browser makes a request for information to the proxy server, the proxy server accesses the information server via the network, acquires the information from the information server as a proxy, and returns the acquired information to the WWW browser. And WW
The W browser is an information providing system for receiving and displaying the returned information, wherein the proxy server registers a URI conversion rule corresponding to a state of computer resources of a user terminal on which the WWW browser is operating. Conversion table, computer resource detection means for detecting the status of the computer resources of the user terminal on which the WWW browser is operating, and a URI corresponding to the detected status of the computer resources when a URI is received from the WWW browser. An information providing support device comprising: a search unit that searches for and obtains a conversion rule from the conversion table; and a conversion unit that converts a URI received from a WWW browser in accordance with the obtained URI conversion rule. 7. The information providing support device according to claim 6, wherein said computer resource detecting means is configured to detect a connection status of a network connection device of the user terminal. 8. The information providing support apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the conversion table is configured to register a URI conversion rule in accordance with a connection status of a network connection device of the user terminal. . 9. The computer resource detecting means detects the status of two or more computer resources, and uses the conversion table as a URI conversion rule corresponding to the detected status of the computer resource.
When one or more URI conversion rules are acquired, each URI conversion rule is selected so that a URI conversion rule that minimizes a desired cost among costs when using each URI conversion rule can be selected.
7. The information providing support device according to claim 6, further comprising a calculating unit for calculating a cost when the I conversion rule is used. 10. The information providing support device according to claim 9, further comprising an input unit that allows a user to select what to use as the desired cost. 11. When the WWW browser makes a request for information to the proxy server, the proxy server accesses the information server via the network, acquires the information from the information server as a proxy, and returns the acquired information to the WWW browser. And WW
The W browser is a recording medium that records an information providing support program in an information providing system that receives and displays the returned information, and is a URI corresponding to a state of computer resources of a user terminal on which the WWW browser is operating. The conversion rule is registered as a conversion table, and the state of the computer resource of the user terminal on which the WWW browser is operating is detected. When the URI is received from the WWW browser, the URI corresponding to the detected state of the computer resource is detected. A recording medium storing an information providing support program, wherein a conversion rule is obtained from the conversion table, and a URI received from a WWW browser is converted according to the obtained URI conversion rule. 12. The recording medium according to claim 11, wherein the processing of detecting the status of the computer resource detects a connection status of a network connection device of the user terminal. 13. The recording device according to claim 11, wherein the conversion table registers a URI conversion rule corresponding to a connection status of a network connection device of the user terminal. Medium. 14. In the detection of the status of computer resources, the status of two or more computer resources is detected, and two or more URI conversion rules from a conversion table are detected as URI conversion rules corresponding to the detected status of computer resources. 12. The recording medium according to claim 11, wherein a URI conversion rule that minimizes a desired cost is selected when the information provision support program is acquired. 15. The recording medium according to claim 14, wherein an input function is provided which allows a user to select what to use as the desired cost. .