JP2002108906A - Web page for information retrieval - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a Web page for information retrieval with which information can be comfortably and smoothly retrieved on a Web site. SOLUTION: In the Web page for information retrieval provided inside the Web site opened on an information network utilizing a telecommunication line, equipped with a retrieval menu for information retrieval and capable of retrieving desired information out of a large quantity of information stored on the Web site while utilizing the retrieval menu, when a user, who accesses the Web site, is to retrieve information, on the basis of the utilization history of each of users, the menu for retrieval is automatically updated into a form judged optimal for the user, and displayed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information retrieval Web page provided in a Web site established on an information network using a telecommunication line such as the Internet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, with the development of information networks using telecommunication lines such as the Internet, anyone can search and obtain desired information on a global scale.

[0003] In addition, there are a wide variety of Web sites operated on the Internet, and there are countless sites operated by various organizations and companies, from individual-level sites, and a vast amount of information including such various sites. Therefore, a search engine with a large number of links for searching for desired information and accessing it immediately is operating as a so-called portal site.

[0004] In recent years, so-called virtual shopping malls (hereinafter referred to as shopping malls) that allow shopping without having to go to specialty stores, department stores, supermarkets, and the like.
Has become a popular site.

[0005] This is a form of mail-order sales. However, since the seller provides information on the Internet, the user can call the shopping mall on the monitor screen whenever he / she likes and furthermore, You can access the store linked to, and freely browse the prepared product catalogs, etc., and if you like, browse the purchase procedure on the screen and take the purchase procedure immediately It is also possible.

[0006] Such a shopping mall is expected to continue to evolve with the times.

[0007]

However, the following problems still remain when searching by the above-described search engine, shopping at a shopping mall, or obtaining product information.

[0008] For example, when a user accesses a shopping mall or a search engine site, a target shop, product,
Or it will call for information.

Normally, the search menu displays the names of stores that have been opened, categories in which these stores, products, and information are classified and entered, and input windows that allow the user to search by inputting free keywords. Further, the above-described categories are hierarchized in a tree-like manner, so that a user can easily obtain desired information.

[0010] However, in the search menu, since the displayed layout and the like are fixed to the contents produced by the site operator, if the category of the target product is not displayed, the user can obtain the target information. In order to obtain, it is necessary to take time to traverse multiple hierarchies of similar categories or perform a search by entering a keyword.

However, when searching by inputting a keyword, there are cases in which there are hundreds of pieces of information on a target product or the like. If these cannot be browsed one by one, a further keyword must be input in order to perform a narrowing operation. Must be entered.

[0012] In this case, the search operation takes a surprisingly long time, and in some cases, the originally intended information may be missed.

Further, even if the same site is called again without using the history search function provided by the WWW (World Wide Web) browser software (hereinafter simply referred to as "browser"), as described above, the search is performed as described above. Menus are always the same style, so if you want to get the same category of information as before, you have to follow the same search procedure, which makes searching extremely cumbersome.

[0014] In this case, the user is troublesome, and from the viewpoint of the shopping mall side, even if the store opens at the same mall, the chance of exposing the merchandise of the own store is reduced, so from the viewpoint of sales promotion. Disadvantageously.

Therefore, in the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, when a user accesses a target Web site, the use tendency of the user is determined each time the user accesses, and the search menu is automatically updated. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an information search Web page.

[0016]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is provided in a Web site established on an information network using a telecommunication line, and is used for information retrieval. With a search menu for
An information search Web page in which desired information can be searched for from a large number of information stored on the Web site using the search menu, and a user who accesses the Web site searches for information. At this time, based on the usage history of each user, the search menu is automatically updated and displayed in a form determined to be optimal for each user.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a Web established on an information network using a telecommunication line is provided.
b, provided with a search menu for information search, which is provided in the site, and allows a user to search for desired information from a large number of information stored in the Web site using the search menu. A web page in a server that manages the web site;
An information database that can be provided on the site, a user management database that records and manages the history of the above information data, such as the number of accesses of the user, the selected menu, e-mail address, etc., and a user's own unique menu A search needs database that records and manages search objects to create, menu style sheets, cell tables related to menu hierarchy, history information, etc.
A user menu style database that records and manages user menu information is provided. When a user accesses the Web site, the user who accesses from each database is identified, and the user is searched from the search history of the user. The search menu is automatically updated and displayed in a form determined to be optimal for the user.

In the present invention, the automatic update content of the search menu is a menu display order and a display position reconstructed with reference to a user's search history.

Further, in the present invention, the user can change the search menu according to his / her preference to create an original search menu.

According to the present invention, the unique search menu is registered by the user in the server, and the search needs database is prepared by using a menu creation tool prepared in advance by the server. We decided to create it online while setting up the data in it.

According to the present invention, when the user specifies a search condition that does not match any search object in the search needs database, the server sets the condition as a new object. To be added to the needs database.

Further, according to the present invention, the W
The website is a search engine.

Further, according to the present invention, the Web site includes at least a shopping mall where a number of virtual shops capable of online shopping are opened.

[0024]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention is provided in a Web site established on an information network using a telecommunication line, and has a search menu for information search.
The present invention relates to an information search Web page in which desired information can be searched for from a large number of information stored in the Web site by using the search menu.

The feature is that the Web
When a user who accesses the site searches for information, the search menu is automatically updated and displayed in a form determined to be optimal for each user based on the usage history of each user. It is in.

Here, the Web site is composed of an information page in which a large amount of information composed of materials such as texts, images and sounds is packaged.
Each page is represented by a TML (HyperText Markup Language) file. And the WWW that operates the site
A server (hereinafter simply referred to as a “server”) and a browser are HTTP, a standard protocol of the Internet.
(HyperText Transfer Protocol).

[0027] Internet users can use a CPU or RO.
M, a memory such as RAM, a computer main body including a hard disk in which the browser is stored, a monitor connected to the main body, a keyboard as an input device,
The user can connect to the Internet using a computer such as a personal computer including a mouse or the like, access a predetermined Web site, and display and browse various information of the site on the monitor. In the present embodiment, a graphic user interface (GU) is used as a user action for displaying desired information.
I) It is performed by computer operation under the environment. That is, the input is performed by selecting and inputting an icon or the like (hereinafter, referred to as “click”) using the input device such as the mouse.

That is, when a user designates, for the first time, a URL (uniform resource locator) of a predetermined Web site managed by the server from a personal computer or the like via a browser, the server that operates this Web site must first execute The standard search menu that has been set is sent and displayed on the user's monitor, and the user can search and obtain the desired information by clicking the standard search menu, etc. The feature of the embodiment of the present invention is that, after the user uses this search menu, once the connection with the site is terminated and the user accesses again, the server executes, for example, the search menu. The display order and the display position are automatically updated according to the usage tendency of the user.

In this embodiment, in order to perform automatic updating, a Web site is managed in a server that manages the Web site.
Create an information database that can be provided on the site, a user management database that records and manages the number of accesses of the user who searches for the above information data, selected menus, e-mail addresses, etc., and a user's own unique menu A search needs database that records and manages search objects, menu style sheets, cell tables related to menu hierarchy, and history information, and a user menu style database that records and manages user menu information ing.

Then, when a user accesses the Web site, the user who accessed from each of the databases is identified, and a form determined to be optimal for the user based on the search history of the user is provided. The display order and display position of the search menu are automatically updated and displayed.

Since a menu optimizing program using such various databases is provided, after the first search, the latest search trend of the user is determined based on the search history information of the user. The menu form can be taken in accordance with the user's intention by reflecting the information, and the search time can be shortened as compared with the related art, so that the information search can be performed comfortably and smoothly.

The change in the display order of the search menu is as follows.
As described above, for example, the display order of a plurality of information menus includes changing the menu including the previously searched information to the top, and the change of the display position is the same as the previous search as described above. The category of the menu including the obtained information is arranged on the upper surface of the screen, and the other categories include moving to the lower surface. Therefore, the information desired by the user is easily noticed and searchable. Alternatively, it is possible to efficiently obtain information, for example, information that is not noticed in the previous search is displayed near the top and is easily noticed. It should be noted that specific changes such as the order of menu replacement and the destination can be appropriately designed on the server side.

Further, the search menu can be changed by the user according to his / her preference, and a unique menu can be created.

That is, the unique menu is a search menu which is a home menu prepared in advance by the server side.
While the user performs user registration with the server and sets up the data in the above-described search needs database using a menu creation tool prepared in advance by the server, while taking into account the frequency of use of the search conditions, the user goes online. It can be created and registered in the server. Therefore, it is possible to create an original search menu very easily.

A plurality of such unique search menus can be registered. Each time a user visits a Web site, the user can select and use a unique search menu suitable for his / her purpose. The target information can be called efficiently, and the search time can be reduced.

In the present embodiment, when a user who has already registered the original search menu accesses the Web site, the latest registered original search menu is automatically displayed in a place where only the display screen is easy, and other registrations are performed. The completed original search menu is displayed in the lower column of the information search Web page, for example, with the name given at the time of registration.
Users can freely select their own search menu.

The unique search menu can also be hierarchized into a plurality of layers, and a hierarchy in which submenus are provided below each menu can be created.

Therefore, the user can efficiently search for frequently used information by using his / her own unique search menu in a style suitable for the user, and greatly reduce the search time. Can be.

When a user performs a search by entering a character string, such as a keyword search, in a home menu or an original search menu, the specified conditions are stored in the search needs database. If it does not match any of the search objects, the server may add the condition as a new object in the search needs database so that the search needs database can also be automatically updated.

The added new object is assumed to be open, and is added to the home menu so that anyone who accesses this Web site can use it. Therefore, other users can use the newly added appropriate search condition at the time of search, and can easily perform the search operation.

However, if the search frequency using such an object is less than a predetermined value, the object may be deleted from the home menu and displayed only on the original search menu of the user who first inputs the object. .

The Web site having the above-described information search Web page can be applied to a search engine and is extremely easy to search. Therefore, the Web site is useful as a portal site when a user connects to the Internet, a so-called portal site. It can contribute to many users.

Further, at least the above Web site
The present invention can be more suitably used for a shopping mall where a large number of online shopping virtual shops are opened.

By applying to a shopping mall search menu, the user can quickly call up desired product information on the screen, and if necessary, can purchase and obtain a product. .

In addition, from the standpoint of the store entrant to the shopping mall, it is possible to prompt the user to search for the merchandise of the own store, and it is expected that the degree of exposure of the merchandise will be improved. it can.

It should be noted that the term "goods" does not necessarily refer to only tangible articles, but also includes various services, music, and images.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to efficiently search for information in a Web site on the Internet, and obtain target information easily and in a short time.

[0048]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in more detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an automatic update function of an information search Web page according to the present invention.

The information search Web page according to the present embodiment (hereinafter referred to as a “search page”) is provided in an information network using a telecommunication line, that is, a Web site established on the Internet. In the example, the Web site is a shopping mall where a number of virtual shops can open online shopping.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a WWW (World Wide)
Web), which is an Internet constructed by a telecommunication line, and a user terminal device (hereinafter simply referred to as “user”) 2 including a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”) via the Internet 1. ,
A server-side device that manages and operates the Web site (hereinafter, referred to as a “device”).
3 is simply connected to the server.

The user 2 and the server 3 include a CPU, a ROM,
A computer body 20 including a memory such as a RAM, a hard disk storing a browser which is software for taking in a target object from a myriad of data and objects on the Internet 1,
A monitor 21 is connected to the input device 20, and an input device 22 such as a keyboard and a mouse is provided.

The user 2 starts the browser, and displays a desired URL (uniform resource loc) on the browser screen.
For example, the user can browse various other websites on the monitor 21 including the shopping mall in the present embodiment linked to the Internet 1 by inputting the information such as an input to the Internet.

An operating system (OS), other software, and W
Stores HTML files and various data for building a shopping mall as an e-site.

In a shopping mall, a search page having a search menu for information search is usually provided on the first page of the site. The user can search for desired information from a large number of information stored in the. In this embodiment, a user action for displaying desired information is performed by a computer operation under a graphic user interface (GUI) environment. That is, this can be performed by clicking the icon with the input device 22 such as a mouse.

The feature of this embodiment is that, when the user 2 who accesses the shopping mall searches for information on the above-described search page, each user 2 is searched based on the use history of each user 2. The search menu is automatically updated and displayed in a form determined to be optimal.

That is, the user 2 sends the request via the browser
When accessing the URL of the shopping mall managed by the server 3 for the first time, the server 3 transmits a standard search menu (hereinafter referred to as “home menu”) 4 shown in FIG. 2 monitors 21
To be displayed.

Then, the user 2 enters the home menu 4
If the user 2 terminates the connection with the shopping mall and uses it again to access the shopping mall again, the server 3 changes the display order and display position of the search menu, for example, It is automatically updated according to usage trends.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the screen of the home menu 4 displayed on the monitor 21.

In the figure, reference numeral 41 denotes a common display area of a shopping mall, which is a Web site in the present embodiment, and includes a logo, a symbol mark of the mall, a tag linked to each page, a banner advertisement, and the like. ,
It is always displayed at the top of the page.

Reference numeral 42 denotes a condition display area common to the search menu including the home menu 4, in which input of search conditions and other links are always displayed. In the present embodiment, a band is always displayed on the left side of the page. To be displayed. Reference numeral 45 denotes a pull-down menu for specifying a unique search menu, 46 denotes a pull-down menu for specifying a search result report style, 47 denotes a search condition specification window by a character string, and 48 denotes a search condition specification window by a conditional expression.

Reference numeral 43 denotes a search menu display area, which is automatically updated according to the usage tendency of the user 2 and changes the display content as described above. In this embodiment, the search menu display area is always displayed at the center of the page. I am trying to be. The shopping mall according to the present embodiment handles a wide variety of products, and as shown in the figure, when shopping is performed, there are mall search menus 100 of various categories such as fashion, books, and music. In addition, a search menu 200 for service facilities such as tourist information, golf courses, ski resorts, restaurants, and camps is provided.

Reference numeral 44 denotes a service area common to the shopping mall. The service area 44 displays the usage status of the shopping mall, various service guidance to members registered in the mall, and other information. It is displayed in a band below the search menu display area 43.

In order to automatically update the home menu 4 according to the use situation of the user 2, this embodiment is provided with a menu optimizing program.

The program refers to various databases provided in the server 3 for managing the shopping mall, as shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, an information database 5 that can be provided in a shopping mall is used as a database.
A database for user management 6 for recording and managing the number of accesses of the user for searching the information data, a selected menu, a mail address, and the like; a standard search object for creating a user-specific original search menu 9; A search needs database 7 for recording and managing menu style sheets, cell tables related to menu hierarchy, history information, and the like, and a user menu style database 8 for recording and managing menu information of the user 2 are provided.

Here, each of the databases 5, 6, 7, and 8 will be described in more detail.

The information database 5 stores product information, banner advertisements, and other provided information for each minimum unit of information to be searched by the user 2.

The size of the minimum unit of information can be freely determined by the information provider (a person who opens a shop in the shopping mall). In making the determination, basically, it is preferable that the minimum unit be a size that can be displayed by a search action by a single click by the user. For example, a unit that does not make sense even when divided, such as a program or image data, is a unit of information.

Further, depending on the information provider, it is possible to determine a unit in which the search situation of the user 2 can be easily grasped and an individual merchandise unit created for trading purpose without necessarily defining a single click. Regarding copyright-related information such as papers, novels, audios, photographs, and moving images, the management unit is determined according to the convenience of the information provider. In this embodiment, this management unit is temporarily defined as an SST (small shop tray) from the image of a minimum show window.

[0086] Information such as the above-mentioned information, other contract information, search history, and the display mode of the product is automatically updated in accordance with the usage status of the user 2.

The user management database 6 records the search status of the shopping mall of the user 2. The recorded contents include personal information such as the address, telephone number, e-mail address, and homepage URL of the user 2, the number of times the user 2 accesses the shopping mall, the registration status of the unique search menu 9, the product purchase history, Other records, such as the use history of the mall, allow the user 2 to receive detailed services based on these records. In order to protect the privacy and the like of the user 2, security measures such as encryption are applied to personal information.

Further, when the user registers as a member of the mall, as will be described in detail later, it is possible to create a unique search menu 9 unique to the user, participate in an auction, and provide various services such as a prize service. Member information is recorded so that it can be received.

The search needs database 7 is a core database in the present shopping mall, and is a standard search object for creating the unique search menu 9, that is, a title character string of a search target item, a search icon image, and the like. Is stored. And
This standard search object is linked to the information database 5. The standard search object is automatically added each time a user search object described later is specified.

The title character strings and the search icon images are hierarchized.
Defined as a menu hierarchy cell table.

Then, an original search menu 9 can be created using these standard search objects and a search menu style sheet prepared in advance. In this embodiment, a large number of background sheets used as backgrounds for the unique search menu 9 are also stored.

Further, each search object has history information, and the information is automatically updated each time the search object is used.

Further, the user menu style database 8 stores the screen information of the unique search menu 9 created by the user, the hierarchical relation information of the three-level menu, the search character string uniquely designated by the user, the unique The above-mentioned user search object including a search icon image and the like created is stored.

When the user 2 accesses the shopping mall by using each of the databases 5, 6, 7, and 8, a menu optimizing program is started, and the server 3 transmits the databases 5, 6, 7, and 8. The search order of the search menus in the search menu display area 43 is determined so as to identify the user 2 who has accessed by searching for the search menu 8 and to determine from the search history of the user 2 that the search is optimal for the user. The display position can be automatically updated and displayed.

As described above, the information database 5, the user management database 6, the search needs database 7,
Since a menu optimization program using the user menu style database 8 is provided, after the first search, based on the search history information of the user 2,
It is possible to take a menu form according to the intention of the user 2 by reflecting the search trend of the user 2, and the user 2 can smoothly perform the information search.

Here, a process in which the user 2 actually accesses a shopping mall having a search page according to the present embodiment using these databases 5, 6, 7, and 8 to obtain desired information will be described. This will be described below.

(Automatic Update of Home Menu 4) First, the manner in which the home menu 4 in a shopping mall is automatically updated will be described.

In FIG. 1, when the user 2 accesses the shopping mall (a), the server 3 determines whether the user 2 has already registered the unique search menu 9 or, if so, what is the style. Alternatively, the user management database 6 is searched to identify whether or not this is the first access (a), and if the original search menu 9 is not registered, the home menu 4 shown in FIG. (B), and displays it on the monitor 21 of the user 2 (b).

The user 2 can search for information by inputting a search condition as a character string in the condition display area 42 of the home menu 4 or clicking each menu in the search menu display area 43 (c). ). At this time, server 3
Automatically updates the corresponding data in the user management database 6 and the search needs database 7 (c).

Then, the server 3 searches the information database 5 for request information under the conditions specified by the user 2 and
(D) Transmit (d).

When the user 2 disconnects from the shopping mall and accesses again, the features of the search page appear.

That is, when the user 2 accesses the shopping mall next time, the server 3 searches the user management database 6, refers to the search history information of the mall of the user 2, and displays from the use state. The home menu 4 whose form is automatically updated is displayed on the monitor 21.

For example, in the first home menu 4 shown in FIG.
Suppose you had information on campsite 210 out of 200,
In the home menu 4 of this time, as shown in FIG. 3, a search menu 200 of the service facility is displayed at the top in the search menu display area 43.
Is displayed at the top of the menu 200.

Of course, after that, the server 3 refers to the search history information of the user 2 and automatically updates the use state to a display form considered to be optimal for the user 2 according to the use state of the user 2. Monitor home menu 4
Display at 21.

For example, if the total number of searches in the search menu 200 for the service facility displayed as “Let's go” is 10
In the case of 00 items, if the total number of searches of the mall search menu 100 displayed as “mall category” is 800, in FIG. 3, the home menu 4 shown in FIG. I understand.

Similarly, a service facility search menu
Even within 200, the display order changes according to the change in the total number of searches.

In the automatic updating of the search menu described above, specific operations such as a change in the display order and a change in the display position can be appropriately designed on the server side.

(Creation of Unique Search Menu 9) Further, after accessing the shopping mall, the user 2 can arrange the home menu 4 as desired to create the unique search menu 9.

As described above, the unique search menu 9
Using the menu creation tool prepared in advance by the server 3, the data in the search needs database 7 is created online while setting up the monitor 21, and registered in the user management database 6 of the server 3. Is operated.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a free form style sheet 91 which is one of the menu creation tools is used.
The user 2 arranges the title 92, the standard search object (the title character string of the search target item, the search icon image, etc.) 93 and the mark object 94 at arbitrary positions on the style sheet 91 by using Create. At this time, a plurality of types of the background 95 and the mark object 94 of the style sheet 91 are stored in the search needs database 7 as described above, and can be selected from these according to preference. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 96 denotes a character string and a background 95.
And a pull-down menu group for searching and selecting the mark object 94.

When there is no favorite mark object 94, the user 2 can also create and register this independently. The created mark object 94 can be used as an open symbol mark by anyone who has accessed the shopping mall.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the unique search menu 9 created by using the above-described menu creation tool. Here, a menu uniquely created and named “hot spring tour menu” is used as the unique search menu 9 so that the user 2 can easily search for information on the hot spring.

As shown, the search menu display area
In 43, a plurality of hot spring resorts for each prefecture designated by the user 2 are displayed as buttons (indicated by underlines in the figure), and the menu hierarchy is two layers. Therefore, when you click the buttonized menu item 300, the individual hot spring information of the corresponding hot spring area is displayed in the submenu of the second hierarchy, and if you click this further, it jumps to the individual hot spring information page and It is possible to obtain information.

[0099] If necessary, a link button 310 for accessing accommodation information and map information of a hotel or the like in the hot spring area can be set.

The unique search menu 9 is, for example, 10
The user 2 can select and use the original search menu 9 that suits the purpose as needed to access the purpose information efficiently each time the mall 2 accesses the shopping mall. It is possible. Therefore, the search time can be shortened, and the Internet 1 can be used efficiently.

In this embodiment, when a user who has already registered the unique search menu 9 accesses the shopping mall, the latest registered unique search menu 9 is automatically displayed in the search menu display area 43. The registered unique search menu 9 of the search menu display area 43
Is displayed in the service area 44 under the name given at the time of registration.

As described above, the user 2 can create his / her own unique search menu 9 in a style suitable for himself / herself by using the information frequently used by the user 2 and use the menu to make efficient information search. It becomes possible.

(Automatic Update of Search Needs Database 7) In this embodiment, the user 2 performs a search by inputting a character string such as a keyword search using the home menu 4 or the unique search menu 9. In this case, if the condition is a search condition that does not match any search object stored in the search needs database 7, the server 3 converts the search condition into a new user search The search needs database 7 can be automatically updated by adding the object to the search needs database 7 as an object.

The user can add a mark object (a mark object as image information or symbol information such as an icon) to the user search object, and the added user search object is It is also open, so that anyone who visits the mall can use it freely. That is, the server 3 adds the added user search object to the home menu 4.

However, if the search frequency using such an object is less than a preset value, it is deleted from the home menu 4 and this object is displayed only in the original search menu 9 of the user 2 who first inputs the object. Like that.

(Function for Specifying Display Style of Search Result) The search page according to the present embodiment is provided with a function for specifying the display style of search result.

That is, the user 2 has a function of designating the report style sheet 10 by which the user 2 can select the display style of the search result, and the user 2 can edit and display the search result in a desired layout.

The report style sheet in this embodiment
As shown in FIG. 6, ten types are provided in a pull-down menu 46 for performing style display, and each report style sheet 10 has a different number of rows × columns.

The user 2 can easily specify and use his / her favorite report style sheet 10 from the style display pull-down menu 46.

The server 3 can edit the search result of the user 2 according to the report style sheet 10 designated by the user 2, transmit the result to the user 2, and display the result on the monitor 21.

For example, when the user uses the “hot spring tour menu”, which is the unique search menu 9 relating to the hot spring, as described above, the user uses the pull-down menu 45 for specifying the unique search menu. Specify and style display pull-down menu 46 (Fig. 6
), A desired report style is selected, and a desired hot-spring resort inn is specified in a search condition specification window 47 using a character string.

In response to these search conditions, the server 3 sends the information results obtained using the various databases 5, 6, 7, 8 to the monitor 21 in the designated report style as shown in FIG. Send to show.

In this case, the user 2 makes a 3 × 5 (3 × 5) display from the style display pull-down menu 46 (see FIG. 6).
Is selected, and each piece of search result information is displayed in the above-described SST created with characters and images in 15 cells 11 in 3 rows and 5 columns. Here, as a result of the information, the inn name of the hot spring area and the accommodation fee are displayed. Also, in the service area 44 at the bottom of the screen,
The number of search results, the number of report pages, and other notes are displayed.

Each cell in the 3 rows and 5 columns showing the search results
By clicking 11, it is also possible to jump to a lower level. For example, by linking the details of a desired hot-spring inn to the cell 11, the user 11 can also know the details of the inn of interest.

(Shopping Mall Management System) In addition, this shopping mall transmits information to be transmitted to the user 2.
It has a unique management system so that it can be provided in a convenient form.

That is, the SST (small shop tra) defined from the image of the minimum show window described above.
This is a management system that uses y) to perform processing in a manner that is optimal for the search condition specified by the user 2 and the report style of the specified search result.

The structure of the SST will be further described.
As shown in FIG. 8, the SST includes information provided to the user 2 and information itself such as various programs, objects such as characters, images, and voices, and information categories which are management information of the SST. SST owner information,
Rights-related information, display shelf information to be described later, information creation date,
Update date, SST posting deadline, number of searches, etc.
Information such as a hierarchical relation table of each SST is defined.

As shown in FIG. 9, the SST plays a central role in the management system of the shopping mall according to the present embodiment.
Registered, recorded, and managed.

Accordingly, the action search history of the user 2 is
Information can be grasped for each ST, and detailed information management such as a product unit and a search display position unit can be performed.

In the present embodiment, the server 3 has the following processing method to realize the SST.

Information provided to a company or the like opening a store in the shopping mall, ie, product information, advertisement, news, and other information, is converted into SST (minimum unit).
Authorization tool to do.

An automatic display shelf function taking into account the number of SST searches.

A report creation function for reporting the status of each SST to the store clerk.

[0124] Here, the authorization tool is a tool for defining the information of the store entrant as SST.
The store entrant makes a store opening contract with the shopping mall using this tool, and divides the provided information into management units that can be easily managed by the store entrant and registers it as an arbitrary SST.
Next, the relationship with the related SST transmitted in response to the condition search of the user 2 is defined, and the relationship with the link destination URL is performed. Finally, the copyright and other rights for the provided information and the posting period of the SST are determined.

[0125] The store clerk, when registering the SST,
For information that has an enormous amount of data, such as maps and video information, for which logical division is not appropriate,
Instead of defining it as T, it is defined as information different from SST, a search specification is received from the user, and the information is sequentially extracted from the separately defined information data according to the search condition.
The dynamically created virtual SST can be transmitted to the user 2.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the use of the authorization tool. The store clerk can enter information on the store opening in the display area 51 on the Internet screen. Registration of special sale products, registration of maps, shop contracts, etc. can be performed. In addition, the area 52 is an area for displaying information of shop registration at the time of product registration, and the area 53 is an area for displaying the search status of the user 2 with respect to shops and products.

The above-mentioned automatic display shelf function is a function that can display information such as merchandise information to be sold, popular provided information, and other information in a well-suited manner.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the automatic display function works even when the user 2 uses the “hot spring tour menu” which is the unique search menu 9 for hot springs.

In other words, among the 31 hotels of the search information, the hotel preferred by the user 2 is the number of searches (the number of clicks).
It is natural that the number of searches is low for hotels that do not attract much interest. Therefore, conversely, the preference of the user 2 can be determined to some extent based on the number of searches.

However, when the user 2 uses the “hot spring tour menu”, the inn with the highest number of searches is always displayed in the upper part of the report, that is, in an easy-to-see position, and the inn with the least number of searches is currently displayed. It is disproportionate to only appear on hidden pages that are not
User 2 also tends to be troublesome to see the information on the next page and beyond.
The difference in the number of searches is large and easy to spread.

[0131] Then, if the opportunity of exposure to the report is reduced for the store-opening party, the power of appealing information (products) is also reduced.

Therefore, the inn where the user 2 has not browsed much and the number of clicks is small, in this case, A
The hotel, guest house B, pensions D and E inn annex have been displayed on the first line of the report for the first time this time for the first time due to the automatic display function, despite the small number of clicks in the past.

When the F hotel and the J inn are hotels where the user 2 frequently clicks and obtains information (the number of searches is large), it is obvious that these hotels are also included in the first page of the report. It is displayed at the appropriate position.

As described above, the automatic display shelf function means that as many users as possible can browse any SST of the present shopping mall store in consideration of the number of searches by the user 2 and the number of times the report display position appears. The report display position can be automatically set so as to be received.

Therefore, every time the user 2 uses the “hot spring tour menu”, the user 2 can contact many SSTs. Then, even from the side of the store, the SST of the store can be exposed without being unfair, so that the effect of opening the store in the shopping mall can be sufficiently obtained.

The server 3 that operates the shopping mall reports the number of searches (the number of clicks) by the user 2 for each SST of the store and the status of the search to the store, and also reports the provided information (products). It is also possible to promptly improve the quality of the entire shopping mall by conducting consulting, including the need for changes and added value.

As the quality of the shopping mall on the Internet 1 increases, the number of times that ordinary users access the shopping mall naturally increases, and the utility value increases as an advertising medium. Profit can also be expected.

As described above, in the shopping mall having the search page according to the present embodiment, the user 2
Can edit and change the favorite search screen menu to his / her own preference, thereby improving search efficiency.

Also, the display screen of the search result can be changed to the layout of the user's preference, so that the display screen is always easy to see.

[0140] Further, the store entrant can confirm the information (SS
T) exposure opportunities are increased, and the appeal of products and the like is increased and the sales power is also increased as compared with the conventional store opening in shopping malls and the like.

Therefore, a large number of users 2 will access this mall, and the Internet 1 as a shopping mall will be improved in its position and its value as an advertising medium will be increased. can do.

[0142] Web sites can be applied not only to shopping malls, but also to search engines, and are extremely easy to search. Therefore, many users use portal sites as internet portal sites, so-called portal sites. Can contribute to people.

[0143]

The present invention is embodied in the above-described embodiment, and has the following effects.

(1) According to the first aspect of the present invention, a Web established on an information network using a telecommunication line is provided.
An information search Web provided in the site and provided with a search menu for information search, wherein desired information can be searched for from among a large number of information stored in the Web site using the search menu. Page,
When a user who accesses the Web site searches for information, the search menu is automatically updated and displayed in a form determined to be optimal for each user based on the usage history of each user. Therefore, a search menu can be formed in accordance with the user's intention by reflecting the search trend of the user, and the user can perform information search comfortably and smoothly.

(2) According to the second aspect of the present invention, a Web established on an information network using a telecommunication line is provided.
An information search Web provided in the site and provided with a search menu for information search, wherein desired information can be searched for from among a large number of information stored in the Web site using the search menu. Page,
An information database that can be provided in the Web site, and a user management that records and manages the history of the user who searches the information data, such as the number of accesses, the selected menu, and the mail address, in the server that manages the Web site. Search database to create user-specific menus, menu style sheets, menu tables related to menu hierarchy, search needs database to record and manage history information, etc.
A user menu style database for recording and managing user menu information is provided. When a user accesses the Web site, the user who accesses from the database is identified, and the user is searched from the search history of the user. The search menu is automatically updated and displayed in a form that is determined to be optimal for the user, so that the search menu is adapted to the user's intention by reflecting the search trend of the user. The user can comfortably and smoothly search for information.

(3) According to the third aspect of the present invention, the automatic update content of the search menu is the menu display order and display position reconstructed with reference to the search history of the user. In addition, the information desired by the user is easily noticed and searchable. Alternatively, it is possible to efficiently obtain information, for example, information that is not noticed in the previous search is displayed near the top and is easily noticed.

(4) According to the present invention, the user can change the search menu according to his / her preference and create an original search menu. , An efficient information search can be performed by using a user's own unique search menu in a style suitable for the user, and the search time can be greatly reduced.

(5) According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the unique search menu is used by the user to perform user registration with the server, and by using a menu creation tool prepared in advance by the server, to search for the search needs. Since we decided to create the data online while setting up the data in the database, it was very easy to create our own search menu.

(6) According to the present invention, when the user specifies a search condition that does not match any search object in the search needs database, the server
Since the conditions are added as a new object in the search needs database, other users can use the newly added appropriate search conditions at the time of the search, and the search operation can be performed. Can be done easily.

(7) In the present invention described in claim 7, the We
Since the site b is a search engine, it becomes a search engine that is extremely easy to search, and is useful as a portal site when a user connects to the Internet, a so-called portal site, and can contribute to a large number of users.

(8) In the present invention described in claim 8, the We
Since the b-site includes at least a shopping mall where a large number of virtual shops capable of online shopping are opened, the user can quickly call up desired product information on the screen and immediately purchase necessary items. be able to. In addition, from the standpoint of the store owner, since the user can quickly search for the merchandise in the own store and the degree of exposure of the merchandise can be expected to be improved, the profitability can be expected to be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an automatic update function of an information search Web page according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing one form of a home menu.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an automatically updated home menu.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a style sheet.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a unique search menu.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a report style sheet.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a search result display example using a report style sheet.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing a shopping mall management system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of an SST which is a core of the management system.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an authorization tool.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Internet 2 User (user terminal device) 3 Server (server side device) 4 Home menu (standard search menu) 5 Information database 6 User management database 7 Needs database for search 8 User menu style database 9 Unique search menu

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hiromi Egawa 4-10-48 Yoshizuka, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Fukuoka Inter Building 5F 5th floor in i-system Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5B075 PP03 PP13 PQ02 PQ46 PR03

Claims (8)

[Claims] Claims: 1. A web site established on an information network using a telecommunications line,
An information search W that has a search menu for information search and enables desired information to be searched for from a large number of information stored in the Web site using the search menu.
When a user who accesses a Web site searches for information on an web page, the search menu is automatically updated to a form determined to be optimal for each user based on the usage history of each user. An information search Web page characterized by being displayed. 2. It is provided in a Web site established on an information network using a telecommunication line,
An information search W that has a search menu for information search and enables desired information to be searched for from a large number of information stored in the Web site using the search menu.
An web page, in a server that manages the web site, an information database that can be provided in the web site, and a record of the number of accesses of a user who searches for the information data, a selected menu, a mail address, and the like.・ A user management database to manage, a search object to create user's own original menu, a search needs database to record and manage menu style sheets, menu tables related to menu hierarchy, history information, etc. A user menu style database that records and manages the menu information of the user, and when the user accesses the Web site, identifies the user who accessed from each of the databases, and based on the search history of the user. Set the search menu to a form that is determined to be optimal for the same user. Information search for Web pages, characterized in that it displays the dynamic update. 3. The information search according to claim 1, wherein the automatically updated contents of the search menu are a menu display order and a display position reconstructed with reference to a user's search history. Web page. 4. The information search Web according to claim 1, wherein the user can change the search menu according to his / her preference to create an original search menu. page. 5. An original search menu is created online by a user performing user registration with a server and setting up data in the search needs database using a menu creation tool prepared in advance by the server. 5. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the method comprises:
Web page for information search described in section. 6. When the user specifies a search condition that does not match any search object in the search needs database, the server adds the condition as a new object in the search needs database. The information search Web page according to any one of claims 2 to 5. 7. The information search Web page according to claim 1, wherein the Web site is a search engine. 8. The Web site includes at least a shopping mall where a large number of virtual shops capable of online shopping are opened.
7. The information search Web page according to any one of 7.