JP2002183187A - Unit having internet connection mechanism facilitating home page browsing, and home page retrieval method and method and system for retrieving home page retrieval support system used in the unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a home page retrieving method, a device therefor and a guide server, which can easily retrieve a desired Internet home page with a simple operation in an Internet connection unit having a simple input/output mechanism. SOLUTION: The unit is provided with voice response parts (311, 312 and 311), a browser (314), a retrieval control part (3141) for controlling the changeover between the transmission/reception mode of voice data and transmission/ reception mode of home page reference data, a mode changeover part (318) for changing over the transmission/reception mode of voice data to/from the transmission/reception mode of home page reference data, an access point changeover part (322) for changing over the connection destination of the unit (31) between the home page guide server and an Internet provider server, and a URL reception part (3141) for receiving URL address data which is transmitted from the home page reference server by voice or digital data and deals with an inquiry. Thus, the home page can efficiently be retrieved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device having an Internet connection function for facilitating browsing of a homepage, a homepage search method and a homepage search support system used in the device. In particular, the present invention relates to a technology for realizing efficient search and browsing of a desired homepage in a device having an Internet connection function such as an Internet home appliance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, it has been possible to access various homepages by connecting to an Internet network by using a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as "PC"). However, a PC is expensive to some extent, and a predetermined operation cannot be realized unless a user installs necessary software. Further, until a PC can be actually used after power is turned on. There is a problem in that it takes several minutes, and the usability is different from conventional general home appliances. It can be said that such poor usability has given the general consumer the impression that a PC is difficult, and has hindered the explosive development of Internet access.

In order to improve the situation, various Internet terminal devices which are more convenient than PCs have been proposed in recent years. In this specification, an Internet terminal device refers to any device having a function of connecting to the Internet. The Internet terminal device is provided with only a simplified input / output mechanism (an output mechanism such as a display with a small area, an input mechanism without a keyboard, or with only a numeric keypad), especially in comparison with the general-purpose PC. Often not.

FIG. 1 shows an example of these Internet terminal devices. As illustrated in FIG. 1, these Internet terminal devices are specifically in the form of a mobile phone, a stationary telephone, a facsimile, a TV, a CATV terminal, a flat display panel, and the like. It is easy or unnecessary to set the Internet connection conditions (by automatically completing the setting on the Internet provider side), the startup time is short, the operability is improved, the cost is lower, etc. And On the other hand, in the case of these Internet terminal devices, there is often no keyboard, and operations are performed using a numeric keypad or a screen touch panel.

[0005]

However, when trying to access the Internet using the above-mentioned Internet terminal device and obtain desired information, there are serious problems in usability as described below. . Such a problem also existed in the conventional PC, but without a keyboard,
Or, it becomes particularly obvious in this kind of equipment in which the input device tends to be simplified as compared with the PC. That is, when accessing the Internet with these Internet terminal devices, it is extremely difficult to search and browse a desired Internet homepage as compared with the case where a PC having a substantial input / output mechanism is used.

[0006] In the case of Internet homepage search using a PC, a user opens a browser software for browsing the Internet and then opens a search-only homepage (for example, a search engine such as Yahoo, goo, or Infoseek). When a user inputs a keyword related to a desired homepage to the homepage of the search engine, address information of a predetermined homepage can be obtained. If the keywords are almost self-explanatory and unique, users can browse the information on the desired homepage without much hassle.

[0007] However, in actuality, the user requires considerable experience and tips to make full use of the search function provided by this search engine. In some cases, even if a plurality of search homepages are used and a considerable amount of time is spent, it may not be possible to reach a predetermined homepage.

[0008] The reason is as follows.

(1) Since such a search engine (homepage) uses a machine search, only a search is made by checking whether or not a term matching the keyword exists on the homepage. Therefore, if there is ambiguity in the keyword, appropriate search cannot be performed. Even if you change the ending of the keyword a little, you may not be able to reach the homepage you could reach immediately.

(2) In the case of the machine search described above, all the homepages that match the specified keyword conditions are displayed, depending on the setting of the search engine. That is, all the homepages that include the specified keyword in any part of the homepage are output as the searched homepages.

For example, if a user wants to search the official homepage of Toshiba Corporation and enters a keyword into the search engine as "Toshiba", and searches, as shown in FIG. 1, in addition to the official homepage of Toshiba, Toshiba affiliates, Toshiba product articles, Toshiba-related news, and any home page containing the word Toshiba are displayed, and the number can be tens of thousands of pages. Of course, it is possible to narrow down the search results by inputting some more keywords into the search engine, and for the first time, it is possible to narrow down to several types of candidates for the home page. However, it takes a lot of effort to reach the homepage you really wanted by trial and error.

(3) As described above, recent new Internet terminal devices often do not have a keyboard like a conventional PC. Therefore, it has been difficult to easily input a keyword even when trying to utilize a search engine. Furthermore, since the display on which the search results are displayed has a small area and can display only a small amount of data, for example, the search results of tens of thousands of pages are displayed by scrolling the screen, and the content of the home page is checked each time, and the desired home page is checked. Finding it took a lot of effort.

As described above, when searching for information on the Internet using an Internet terminal device, connection to the Internet itself is simplified, but a search function important for browsing a desired Internet homepage is provided. It becomes extremely difficult for users to use.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above technical problems, and the object thereof is to
(1) For example, in an Internet terminal device having a simple input / output mechanism, a device having an Internet connection function that can easily search for a desired Internet homepage by an easy operation, a homepage search method used in the device And a homepage search support system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide (2) a device having an Internet connection function capable of connecting to a desired Internet homepage, a homepage search method and a homepage search support system used in the device. The point is to provide.

[0016]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a search for a desired Internet homepage can be easily realized by an easy operation in an Internet terminal device or a similar device.

The Internet terminal device is, for example, a device capable of connecting to and browsing the Internet.
In particular, telephone / facsimile / mobile phone type Internet terminal devices having a voice response function (voice transmission / reception function) are preferable.

Specifically, when a user searches for a desired homepage for browsing on the Internet terminal device, the user accesses the call center via the voice response function of the Internet terminal device, and searches the homepage by voice. Is performed. The homepage information server on the call center side performs a search for homepage registration information registered in advance in response to a voice inquiry from the user, and specifies the obtained homepage.
Information such as RL is notified to the user by data download or voice or other methods. Therefore, a desired homepage can be more easily searched without repeating complicated homepage search and content confirmation operations.

Alternatively, if the user desires, the homepage information server on the call center side can also execute a proxy process for connecting the user's Internet terminal device to the searched homepage.

According to one feature of the present invention, there is provided a voice response device having an Internet connection mechanism, which converts an input inquiry sentence by voice into a code,
A voice response unit that outputs received voice data in voice, a browser that displays a homepage on the Internet,
A search operation unit for operating the browser, and a URL corresponding to a homepage search request according to the operation of the search operation unit
A mode switching unit for switching between a transmission / reception mode of voice data and a transmission / reception mode of data required for browsing the homepage by the browser in communication with a homepage guide server for guiding the user; To
There is provided a voice response device comprising an access point switching unit for switching between the homepage guide server and the Internet provider server.

According to another feature of the present invention, the voice response device further includes the inquiry message transmitted by voice or digital data from the homepage guide server in the transmission / reception mode of the homepage browsing data. URL that receives URL address data corresponding to
A receiving unit.

According to another feature of the present invention, the URL receiving unit further causes the image display unit to display the received URL address data.

According to another feature of the present invention, the URL receiving unit further transmits a connection request to a home page indicated by the received URL address data based on an operation input from the search operation unit. Send to Internet provider server.

According to another feature of the present invention, the URL receiving unit further transmits a request for connection to the home page indicated by the received URL address data based on the control data from the home page guide server. Send to provider server.

According to another feature of the present invention, the voice response device further instructs the homepage guide server to directly connect the voice response device to a homepage indicated by URL address data as a search result. And a command input unit for performing the command.

According to another feature of the present invention, there is provided a homepage guide server for sending a URL address of a homepage corresponding to a homepage search request by voice input via a line, wherein the input voice is converted into a code. A voice response unit to be converted, a homepage search database storing at least a homepage alias name serving as a keyword of the homepage to be searched, and URL address data most correlated with the homepage alias name, and a searched URL address data. A URL data transfer unit that transfers a search request to the Internet terminal device, and a search control unit that controls switching between a voice data transmission / reception mode and a URL address data transmission / reception mode in communication between the Internet terminal device. And according to the control of the search control unit, Serial homepage guiding server, characterized by comprising a mode switching unit for switching between transmission and reception modes of data required for home viewing in transmission and reception mode and the browser of the audio data is provided.

According to another feature of the present invention, the homepage guide server further includes a connection destination switching unit for transmitting control data for switching a connection destination of the device between the homepage guide server and the Internet provider server. Have.

According to another feature of the present invention, the homepage search database further stores a category to which the alias name belongs.

According to another feature of the present invention, the homepage guide server further includes a voice recognition unit that recognizes voice received from the device and converts the voice into a query, and analyzes the converted query. And an analysis unit for extracting a keyword for searching the homepage search database, and searching the homepage search database using the extracted keyword to find a corresponding UR.
A search execution unit for acquiring the L address.

According to another feature of the present invention, there is provided a homepage providing method for providing a homepage desired by a user using a voice response device having an internet connection mechanism, wherein a homepage inquiry request transmitted from the user is received by an operator. Notifying to the user, waiting for an incoming inquiry by voice, searching the homepage search database by analyzing the inquiry of the incoming voice, and obtaining a URL of the searched homepage as a search result; URL
Requesting the user to confirm a URL usage mode indicating how the user uses the URL.

According to another feature of the invention, the method of providing a home page further comprises:
The communication with the server includes a step of switching from a data transmission / reception mode to a voice transmission / reception mode at the server.

According to another feature of the present invention, the method for providing a home page further includes a step of receiving, from a voice response device of the user, a request for a homepage connection of the voice response device. And instructing the voice response device to switch from a voice transmission / reception mode to a data transmission / reception mode in communication with the server; and transmitting URL data of a searched home page to the voice response device. including.

According to another feature of the present invention, there is provided a homepage search method for searching for a homepage desired by a user using a voice response device having an Internet connection mechanism, wherein the setting of a browser is switched and an access point of an Internet provider is switched. A step of establishing a connection to a homepage guide server that guides a homepage in response to an inquiry, a step of switching a data transmission / reception mode to a voice transmission / reception mode, and transmitting an inquiry sentence by an input voice to the homepage guide server. And a step of receiving a URL address, which is voice or digital data transmitted as a search result, is provided.

[0034] According to another feature of the present invention, the homepage search method further includes a step of transmitting to the Internet provider a connection request for a homepage having the received URL address.

According to another feature of the present invention, there is provided a program for causing a computer to execute a voice response process having an Internet connection function. The program converts an input inquiry sentence into a code and converts received voice data into a code. In response to a voice response process for outputting a voice and an operation request input to the browser, a communication between the homepage guide server and a transmission / reception mode of voice data and a data transmission / reception mode required for browsing the homepage with the browser are performed. A search control process for controlling switching, a mode switching process for switching between the transmission / reception mode of the audio data and a transmission / reception mode of the homepage browsing data according to the control of the search control process, and a device connection destination, the homepage guide server and Switch between Internet provider servers Including a connection destination switching process and a URL receiving process of receiving URL address data corresponding to the inquiry sentence transmitted by voice or digital data from the homepage browsing server in the transmission / reception mode of the homepage browsing data. Is provided.

According to another feature of the present invention, the URL receiving process further causes the image display device to display the received URL address data.

[0037] According to another feature of the present invention, the search control processing is performed, via the browser, based on an operation input from a search operation unit, to a home page having the received URL address data as an address. A connection request is transmitted to the Internet provider server.

[0038] According to another feature of the present invention, the search control processing is performed based on control data from the homepage guide server via the browser.
A request for connection to a home page having the RL address data as an address is transmitted to the Internet provider server.

[0039]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of an Internet homepage search system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

First Embodiment In the first embodiment, based on a homepage search request by a user's voice, the Internet terminal device accurately searches for the location of a homepage desired to be connected, and returns the search result to the homepage URL ( Uniform Resource Locat
or).

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the concept of a homepage search using the Internet terminal device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

First, the user transmits, via voice, a search request for a homepage desired to be connected to the homepage guide server on the call center side via a voice response function of the Internet terminal device 21 such as a telephone type. For example, if a search request of "I want to find Toshiba's homepage." Is received, the call center-side homepage information server 22 searches the homepage search database described below for the UR of the homepage that is Toshiba's official site.
Search for L. When the search result is obtained, the homepage information server on the call center side transmits the search result URL.
Is notified by voice, transmitted as download data, or instructed to switch the connection to the URL that is the search result of the Internet terminal device that is the search request source,
To the user via the voice response function of the Internet terminal device, and executes a search result notification process according to the answer of the user.

For example, when the user obtains a URL as a search result,
If a request is made for a connection to a homepage having a URL, the URL is sent from the call center and the access point switching instruction data is sent by remote control from the homepage information server of the call center. On the other hand, the Internet terminal device automatically switches the connection to the home page having the search result URL. As a result, a homepage having the URL of the connection switching destination as an address is automatically displayed on the screen of the image display device of the Internet terminal device.

The homepage search support system described above
Phone number information generally known by telephone (usually "10
4)) is realized on the Internet. Upon receiving the inquiry, the homepage information server notifies the user's Internet terminal device of information such as the URL of the homepage instead of the telephone number.

The user operates the Internet terminal device to access the call center. After the communication between the Internet terminal device and the homepage guide server on the call center side is in a communication state, the user inputs a keyword for searching the desired homepage by voice into the homepage guide server. Here, the keyword notified to the call center side is, for example, a term indicating a company name or a brand name. Further, if there is a product name or service name for narrowing down, the keyword is added to the company name or the brand name. It can be.

The operator of the call center searches the homepage search database for a homepage that matches the input keyword, selects the homepage as needed, and notifies the user. UR of search result homepage
L is notified to the Internet terminal device side by downloading voice or URL data according to the user's instruction. Alternatively, if the user desires, the URL data of the search result and the instruction data for causing the terminal device to execute the access point switching operation are transmitted to the user's Internet terminal device, and the connection switching on the Internet terminal device side is performed. The function may perform connection switching to the homepage, which is the search result, so that connection to the homepage of the search result may be performed.

The first embodiment is based on the following findings,
It is practically feasible.

A. When searching the homepage on the Internet, most of the users know what they want to look up, such as companies, brands, talents, product names, various service names, media, magazines, news, etc. Most homepages do not have the information to specify this. In the following, the information (company, brand, talent, product name, various service names, media, magazines, news, etc.) specifying "what to look for" will be referred to as "common name".

B. There are few cases where it is vague to want to obtain all the homepages corresponding to "What is a homepage with VTR articles?", "What is a Japanese article around April 1, 2000?"

C. Therefore, by making the above-mentioned common names, that is, information accompanying the URL, such as a company, a brand, a talent, a product brand, various services, the media, a magazine, and news, together with the corresponding URL data, into a database as a homepage search database. A homepage search support service similar to "104" for a telephone call can be realized.

Next, the configuration of the homepage search support system according to the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the homepage search support system according to the first embodiment.
The homepage search support system according to the first embodiment includes an Internet terminal device 31 on the user side,
A homepage information server 32 on the call center side connected to the Internet terminal device 31 via a communication line
Consisting of

The Internet terminal device 31 is, for example,
A telephone-type Internet terminal device having a voice response function, comprising a voice input unit 311 and an AD / DA converter 31
2, an audio encoding / decoding unit 313, an Internet browser 314, an image display unit 315, and an audio output unit 3.
16, a browser operation unit 317, a voice / data switching unit 318, an access point switching unit 319, and a modem 3
191.

The voice input unit 311 is composed of a handset including, for example, a microphone and a speaker. The AD / DA converter 312 performs analog-to-digital conversion of the input analog audio, and performs digital-to-analog conversion of digital data into analog audio to be output. The audio encoding / decoding unit 313 converts / re-converts the digitized audio data into a format for transmission on a line. The Internet browser 314 uses the given U
It controls the display and operation of the Internet homepage of the RL address and a search control unit 314 described later.
1 is provided. The image display unit 315 displays a message (such as URL data) passed from the search control unit 3141 of the Internet browser 314, and displays a predetermined homepage. The sound output unit 316 outputs BGM and other sounds attached to the homepage. The browser operation unit 317 is an Internet browser 314
And a search operation unit 3171 to be described later. The voice / data switching unit 318 switches between a voice data transmission / reception mode on a communication line and a data transmission / reception mode such as URL data related to homepage browsing based on control data from the search control unit 3141 or the search operation unit 3171. The voice / data switching unit 318 transmits and receives data exclusively when browsing a normal homepage. On the other hand, when executing the homepage search according to the first embodiment, information is transmitted and received through a connection established with the homepage guide server 32 on the call center side, so that digitized voice data is transmitted and received. Will do. Based on control data from the search control unit 3141 or the search operation unit 3171, the access point switching unit 319 sets the access point to which the Internet terminal device 31 is connected to the homepage guide server 32 on the call center side, or browses the homepage. Internet service provider (Inte
rnet Service Provider: hereinafter referred to as “ISP”). Alternatively, a line for connecting to a call center may be provided separately from the line to the Internet service provider without switching the access point. The modem 3191 is provided at a line end to the outside of the Internet terminal device 31, and transmits and receives a signal over a communication line. This modem 3191 connects to any access point of an Internet service provider during normal Internet browsing,
When realizing the homepage search support function according to the first embodiment, an access point can be switched by a control signal from the access point switching unit 319 so as to connect to a call center. This modem 31
As the 91, an ISDN modem or an ADSL modem can be used in addition to a normal analog modem. If the communication line is not a public telephone line, a cable modem can be selected.

The switching operation of the connection destination of the modem 3191 through the access point switching unit 319, the switching operation of the voice transmission / reception and the data transmission / reception of the voice / data switching unit 318,
The search operation unit 3171 executes the instruction input to the search control unit 3141. Alternatively, the switching operation of the connection destination of the modem 3191 via the access point switching unit 319 and the switching operation of the voice transmission / reception and the data transmission / reception of the voice / data switching unit 318 can be performed by remote control from the homepage guide server 32 on the call center side. Control unit 314
1 may be performed.

The search control unit 3141 has the following functions.

A. A control signal for switching between a search mode for realizing the homepage search support function according to the first embodiment and a normal homepage browsing mode is sent to the voice / data switching unit 318.

B. The URL data of the search result homepage transmitted from the homepage guide server 32 on the call center side is taken in, stored in a memory controlled by the search control unit 3141, and the homepage indicated by the URL data is displayed on the image display unit 315. I do.

C. If the connection to the homepage information server 32 of the call center that performs the homepage information is to be processed by the homepage information server 32 on behalf of the homepage connection server, the control data transmitted from the homepage information server 32 and instructing to switch the access point is used. Based on the URL data, the connection is switched to the home page indicated by the stored URL data.

The above operation may be controlled in accordance with a user's operation input to search operation unit 3171.

On the other hand, the home page guide server 32 on the call center side comprises a modem 328, an access point switching instruction section 321, a voice / data switching section 322, a voice encoding / decoding section 323, and an AD / DA converter 32.
4, a voice input / output unit 325, a homepage URL transfer unit 326, a user search control unit 327, a homepage search database 34, and a billing unit 329.

The voice input / output unit 325 is constituted by a handset or the like comprising a microphone and a speaker, and is used by a call center operator to respond to an inquiry from a user by voice. The AD / DA converter 324 performs analog-to-digital conversion of the input analog audio and performs digital-to-analog conversion of digital data into analog audio to be output. The audio encoding / decoding unit 323 converts / re-converts the digitized audio data into a format for transmission on a line. The modem 328 is provided at the end of the line to the outside of the homepage guide server 32, and transmits and receives signals over a communication line. The access point switching unit 319 connects to the search control unit 3141 in the Internet terminal device 31 when the user requests the homepage information server 32 to perform connection connection to the search result homepage. The control data is transmitted such that the home page has the URL address to which the destination is transmitted. The voice / data switching unit 322 performs switching between voice data transmission / reception and data transmission / reception for homepage browsing based on an instruction from the user search control unit 327. In addition,
These audio input / output unit 325 and AD / DA converter 3
24, the voice encoding / decoding section 323, the modem 328, and the voice / data switching section 322 have the same specifications as the functions of the above-described Internet terminal device 31.

The homepage URL transfer section 326 is used to transmit the search result information obtained from the homepage search database 34 to the user by a method other than verbal. The URL data input to the homepage URL transfer unit 326 is transferred to the Internet terminal device 31 on the user side and displayed on the image display unit 315 or as control data for switching the homepage on the Internet terminal device 31 side. Works.

The user search function control unit 327 receives a search control unit 3141 of the telephone-type Internet terminal device 31 on the user side via the access point switching instruction unit 321.
To switch the connection to the homepage for which the access point switching unit 319 has made a search request.

The access point switching instruction section 321 is an apparatus for instructing the Internet terminal device 31 to switch between the homepage guide service and normal Internet access according to the first embodiment. The user's Internet terminal device 31 is connected to the Internet WWW (WoW).
When trying to access homepages all over the world by connecting to the Rld Wide Web) network 35, a line is connected to an ISP access point with a modem or the like, and the user enters the WWW network via an ISP server or the like. On the other hand, since the user accesses the call center when enjoying the homepage guide service according to the first embodiment, it is necessary to switch the access point at the start and end of the service.
For this purpose, an access point switching instruction section 321 is provided.

Each time the homepage guide server 32 according to the first embodiment is used, the charging processing unit 329 performs charging for the Internet terminal device 31 that is the search request source on a pay-as-you-go or pay-per-time basis.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the configuration of the home page search database 34 referred to by the call center operator who responds to the home page search request.

As shown in FIG. 4, the homepage search database 34 stores at least a common name (popular naming).
e) and the UR of the homepage corresponding to this alias
L is defined along with the category of the alias. As described above, the common name is a keyword for specifying what the user wants to search, such as a company, a brand, a talent, a product name, various service names, the media, magazines, and news. It is a well-known name that is well known or known in the general society. The URL registered corresponding to the common name is not simply the URL of the home page that includes the common name in the HTML description of the home page, but is the homepage of the most highly correlated site as represented by the official site related to the common name. URL. The category is a category of the above-mentioned common name, and is classified into, for example, a company, a brand, a talent, a product name, various service names, a media, a magazine, and news. Further, the common name stored in the homepage search database 34 may be configured as, for example, "Toshiba / Dynabook" or the like so as to indicate the hierarchical structure of the homepage.

Next, a procedure of a homepage search process executed by the user-side Internet terminal device 31 and the call center-side homepage guide server 32 in the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure from sending a homepage search request to receiving a search result in the first embodiment.

First, the Internet terminal device 31 is started up by the user's activation. With this startup, the Internet browser 314 as browsing software is activated, and the Internet terminal device 31 connects to the access point of the ISP via the modem 3191. The Internet terminal device 31 allows the user to browse the Internet home page via the Internet browser 314 (step S41).

If there is no need to search the home page, the user continues the operation as it is (step S43), but if there is a home page to search (step S4).
2Y), the user activates the search operation unit 3171 in the browser operation unit 317, and the search operation unit 3171 switches the setting of the terminal browser (step S44).

Search operation section 3171 outputs a control signal to access point switching section 319 in conjunction with this setting switching, so that access point switching section 319 is switched.
Disconnects the ISP connection to the access point once and establishes a line connection to the call center instead (step S45). At the same time, the search operation unit 3171 operates the voice / data switching unit 318 to set a state in which a voice data signal can be transmitted / received to / from the call center (step S49). Further, the fact that the homepage search processing by voice is being performed is displayed to the user through the image display unit 315 or some indicator (S5).
0).

On the other hand, the homepage information server 32 on the call center side of the ISP notifies the operator 33 via the voice input / output unit 325 that the user has access for browsing inquiry (step S46). Enter standby state to wait for an incoming call. Further, the user search control unit 327 sets the access point switching instruction unit 321 and the modem 328 to the operating state. Further, the voice / data switching unit 322 is switched to the voice transmission / reception mode, and the voice input / output unit 325 (handset) is set in a responsive state (steps S47 and S4).
8).

The user can input a voice via the voice input unit 311
To the operator 33 of the call center, a common name such as a company name, a product name, or a brand name, which is information related to the homepage to be searched, is transmitted by voice (step S51).

The operator 33 searches the homepage search database 34 for the URL of the homepage desired by the user by referring to the received alias name as a keyword (step S52). For example, if the inquiry sentence input by the user is “I want to know the home page of Toshiba's Dynabook”, the operator 33
Analyzes this as a search request for "a homepage showing a Dynabook in a personal computer that is a product of Toshiba Corporation" and searches the homepage with the company name "Toshiba Corporation" and the product name "Dynabook" Search the database 34. Alternatively, the homepage search database 34 is searched using “Toshiba / Dynabook” as a search keyword. When the URL of the homepage is found, the operator 33 confirms with the user how the user will use the URL (step S53). The usage mode of the user in this case is shown below.

A. The user is notified of the URL information by voice of the operator, and the user himself operates the Internet browser 314 to browse a desired homepage based on the information (step S55Y).

B. The URL data is transferred to the homepage guide server 32, and access to the corresponding homepage is performed by the user himself operating the search operation unit 3171 based on the transferred URL data (step S57Y).

C. The access to the search result homepage is entrusted to the remote control of the homepage guide server 32 (step S59Y). More specifically, the homepage URL transfer unit 326 sends information to the search control unit 3141 in the Internet terminal device 31 to the search control unit 3141, together with the URL data, by the access point switching unit 319, which is information for switching the access point to the Internet service provider server. By transmitting the operation information, the search control unit 3141
Is automatically executed by switching the connection and accessing the homepage.

The user notifies the operator 33 by voice of any one of the above URL utilization modes. Alternatively, the UR searched on the Internet terminal device 31
By providing a button or the like for instructing a connection request to the homepage indicated by L or an interface for instructing the search operation unit 3171 to directly connect to the homepage, it is possible to omit the above-mentioned voice communication and to achieve a simpler operation. A desired homepage can be displayed on the Internet terminal device 31 by a simple operation. The notification of the usage form of the URL does not have to be made after the URL is found. For example, the notification may be made by voice at the start of service use or at the time of inquiry.

If none of the above is selected, the service ends.

FIG. 6 shows that in step S55 in FIG.
A. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in a case where the URL information is notified by an operator's voice.

The user responds to the inquiry of step S53 of FIG. 5 by notifying the call center operator 33 of the URL information by voice (step S55).
1).

The operator 33 receives a request from the user (step S552), and then conveys the URL data to the user by voice (step S553).

After receiving the URL by voice (step S554), the user operates search operation unit 3171 to switch voice / data switching unit 318 to the data transmission / reception mode (step S555). Further, the setting of the Internet browser 314 and the setting of the modem 3191 are switched via the access point switching unit 319 (step S556), the line to the call center is disconnected (step S557), and the connection to the access point for browsing the homepage is made again. (Step S559).

The operator 33 confirms that the line has been disconnected and enters the service end state (step S558).

The user operates the Internet browser 31
U notified via the browser operation unit 317 to
The user inputs RL data (step S560) and accesses a desired homepage. The internet browser 314 displays the home page indicated by the input URL (step S561).

FIG. 7 shows that in step S57 of FIG.
B. Is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in a case where the user accesses the homepage guide server 32 while accessing the corresponding homepage by operating the user's own Internet browser 314.

The user requests the call center operator 33 to transfer the URL data by voice (step 571).

The operator 33 responds to the incoming request by
The user's intention is understood (step S572), and control data for operating the voice / data switching unit 318 in the user's telephone or other Internet terminal device is input to the user search control unit 327 (step S57).
3) The URL data is set to be transmittable to the search control unit 3141 in the Internet browser 314.

The homepage URL transfer section 326 transmits the URL data to the search control section 3141 on the user side through the operation of the operator 33 on the user search control section 327 (step S574).

The URL data is stored in the search control unit 3 on the user side.
When an incoming call is received, the same URL data is displayed and output on the Internet browser 314 on the image display unit 315 (step S577).

After the user confirms the display of the URL data, the search operation section 3171 switches the mode of the voice / data switching section 318 to the data transmission / reception mode through the operation of the user. Further, the search operation unit 3171
The access point switching unit 319 switches the setting of the browser 314 and the setting of the modem 3191 (step S5).
78) and disconnect the line to the call center (step S
579), reconnect to the server of the Internet service provider, which is the access point when browsing the home page (step S581).

On the other hand, the operator 33 confirms that the line has been disconnected (step S580) and enters the service end state.

The user operates the browser 314 in a state where the URL data is already stored in the temporary storage area of the search control unit 3141 to perform a certain operation for displaying the home page of the URL, and obtains a desired one. The user accesses the home page (step S582). Browser 314
Displays the accessed home page (step S583).

FIG. 8 shows that in step S59 in FIG.
C. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when the homepage guidance server 32 on the call center side performs an operation on behalf of an access to a homepage to be searched.

The user makes a voice request for the homepage connection proxy to the call center operator 33 (step S591).

The operator 33 understands the user's intention in response to the incoming request (step S592), and instructs the user search control unit 327 to switch the voice / data switching unit in the telephone type Internet terminal equipment 31. 31
8 to input control data, and set the URL data to be transmittable to the search control unit 3141 in the browser 314 (steps S593 and S594).

The homepage URL transfer section 326 is operated by the user's search control section 31 in response to an instruction input by the operator.
41, the URL set in the user search control unit 327
The data is transmitted (step 595).

Further, the user search control unit 327 operates the browser operation unit 317
After a certain period of time, the browser operation information, which is control data for switching the browser software settings and the modem settings to the connection destination homepage, is transmitted to the search operation unit 3171 (step S596).

When the URL data and the browser operation information are received by the search control unit 3141 on the user side, the search control unit 3141 sends a signal to notify the search operation unit 3171 of an incoming call. The browser operation unit 317 automatically operates the search control unit 3141 to set the browser 314 and the modem 3191 via the access point switching unit 319.
Is switched (step S597), the line to the call center is disconnected (step S598), and the access point for browsing the homepage is reconnected (step S600).

The state of the series of operations is output to the user through the image display unit 315 or some indicator.

On the other hand, the operator 33 confirms that the line has been disconnected (step S599) and enters the service end state.

Internet terminal equipment 31 on the user side
The Internet browser 314 of step S596
According to the URL data and the browser operation information received as the browser operation information, the browser automatically accesses the homepage of the URL (step S601).

The Internet browser 314 displays the accessed home page (step S60).
2).

According to the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

That is, for example, an Internet terminal device having a simple input / output mechanism such as a telephone type can enjoy a more comfortable Internet connection service than a conventional PC. That is, the homepage can be more easily searched without repeating complicated homepage search and content confirmation operations.

Alternatively, the homepage information server 32 on the call center side can connect the Internet terminal device on the user side to the searched homepage.

Further, since the operator 33 responds to the homepage search request, unlike the machine search, the operator 33 has excellent flexibility in response. Since the machine can handle ambiguous words that are difficult to process, the stress on the user is low and the added value of the service is high.

In the future, the ratio of data service to voice service will be larger than that of voice service, and the number of voice telephone service users will decrease, and the number of telephone number guide operators will decrease. On the other hand, if the user service according to the present embodiment is set up at an Internet provider / service site operated by a telephone company, personnel can be diverted to this new service. Hateful.

Second Embodiment Referring to FIG. 9, a device having an Internet connection function, a homepage search method and a homepage search support system used in the device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Only different points from the first embodiment will be described in detail.

The second embodiment provides a function for automating a response to a homepage search inquiry by a user and a homepage search support process performed by a call center operator in the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a homepage search support system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

The homepage search support system according to the second embodiment has the Internet terminal device 3 on the user side.
1 and homepage information server 93 on the call center side
The Internet terminal device 31 on the user side is the same as the Internet terminal device 31 in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The homepage guide server 732 according to the second embodiment is different from the homepage guide server 32 according to the first embodiment in that the voice input / output unit 325 is omitted, and further, the voice recognition unit 9331 and the analysis Part 9332,
A search execution unit 9333.

[0116] The voice recognition section 9331 recognizes the input voice for requesting a homepage search uttered by the user and obtains an inquiry sentence. The analysis unit 9332 analyzes the search sentence recognized by the speech recognition unit 9331, and generates a search sentence used for searching the homepage search database 34. Specifically, a common name, which is a keyword for searching the homepage search database 34, is extracted from the inquiry sentence, and a URL is searched from the homepage search database 34 using the common name. Search execution unit 9
333, using the alias name extracted by the analysis unit 9332,
The URL is searched from the homepage search database 34. A generally known inference engine can be used for the conversion process from the query sentence to the search sentence.

The searched URL is the homepage URL.
The data is transferred to the transfer unit 326 and transferred to the Internet terminal device 31 on the user side. The user search control unit 9327 executes transmission and reception of voice from the user, activation of the voice recognition unit 9331, analysis unit 9332, and search execution unit 9333 and transfer of data. The response to the user and the transmission / reception of the inquiry about the usage mode of the URL information as the search result may be performed by transmitting voice to the Internet terminal device 31 using a generally known voice response technology, or a voice / data switching unit. The mode may be switched to the data transmission / reception mode via 322 and transmitted as digital data.

In the second embodiment, FIGS.
In the homepage search support processing shown in FIG. 7, the processing executed by the operator 33 on the call center side is performed by the user search control unit 9327, the voice recognition unit 9331, and the analysis unit 9332.
The search execution unit 9333 can further automate and realize simpler and more efficient homepage search and browsing.

According to the second embodiment, the following effects can be further obtained as compared with the first embodiment. That is,
Since there is no need for operator personnel on the call center side, a more efficient and inexpensive homepage search service can be provided.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of each device constituting the homepage search support system according to each embodiment of the present invention.

The homepage guide server 32 according to each embodiment of the present invention has, for example, all or a part of the configuration shown in FIG. That is, the homepage guide server 32 according to each embodiment of the present invention is configured by incorporating each element of the homepage search support processing in one or a plurality of computer systems. On the other hand, the Internet terminal device 31 may be various devices having an Internet connection mechanism provided with a simple input / output mechanism as described above, and further, a computer having all or a part of the configuration shown in FIG. It may be.

As shown in FIG. 10, the computer system includes a central processing unit 1 such as a microprocessor.
10 and many other units interconnected via a system bus 112. The computer system includes, for example, an I / O that connects peripheral devices such as a random access memory 114, a read-only memory 116, and a hard disk device to the system bus 112.
O adapter 118, keyboard, mouse, speaker 1
28, a user interface adapter 1 for connecting a user interface device such as a microphone 132 or a touch screen (not shown) to the system bus 112.
22, a communication adapter 134 for connecting the computer system to a communication network, a display adapter 136 for connecting a display device to the system bus 112,
An external disk driver that drives a floppy disk, an optical disk, various memory cards, and the like is provided.

Programs for executing each function of the homepage search support processing of the present invention are stored in various computer-readable storage media such as a floppy disk, an optical disk, and various memory cards. By performing a predetermined read operation from these storage media via a driver, a program for executing each function of the homepage search support processing of the present invention stored in these storage media is installed in the computer system. can do. By loading these programs into the random access memory 114 and executing them in the central processing unit 110, the homepage search support processing of the present invention is realized.
Alternatively, all or part of these programs,
Input terminal devices 110 and 710, mobile terminal devices 150 and 7
50, and executed by the central processing unit 101 in the apparatus, thereby realizing the parking violation warning processing of the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows an example of an embodiment of the present invention implemented in a network such as the Internet. The homepage search support system according to the present invention includes an Internet terminal device that is a plurality of client machines 202 connected to a homepage guide server 204 via a network 200. If the homepage search support system according to the present invention is implemented in a network, the present invention can be implemented on a large scale.

Each of the above-described embodiments of the present invention comprises:
The present invention does not limit the gist of the present invention, and the present invention includes various embodiments other than the above-described embodiments.

[0126]

The homepage search support system according to the present invention has not only various devices such as a telephone-type Internet terminal having a voice response mechanism but also a miniaturized Internet connection function having a simple input / output mechanism. Can be widely applied to equipment. Further, the present invention is useful for manufacturing, developing or selling program distribution processing to various terminals related to a homepage search support service.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional telephone-type Internet terminal device and an example of a screen display in a homepage search using the same.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a concept of a homepage search using an Internet terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a homepage search system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure stored in a homepage search database 34 of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in an Internet homepage search of a homepage guide server on a user side and a homepage guide server on a call center side in the first embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure up to the display of the homepage on the Internet terminal device when the user instructs voice announcement of the URL of the homepage as a search result in the processing procedure of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure up to display of a home page on an Internet terminal device when a user instructs transfer of URL data of a home page as a search result in the processing procedure of FIG.

8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure up to display of a homepage on an Internet terminal device when a user instructs connection switching to a homepage as a search result in the processing procedure of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a homepage search system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of each device according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a network configuration of a homepage search support system according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 31 Internet terminal device 32 Homepage information server 33 Operator terminal 34 Homepage search database 35 Internet 311 Handset 312 AD / DA converter 313 Encoding / decoding unit 314 Browser 315 Image display unit 316 Audio output unit 317 Browser operation unit 318 Voice / data switching Section 319 access point switching section 321 access point switching instructing section 322 voice / data switching section 323 voice encoding / decoding section 324 AD / DA converter 325 handset 326 homepage URL transfer section 327 user search control section 328 modem 329 billing section 3141 Search control unit 3171 Search operation unit

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) H04M 3/42 H04M 3/42 P 3/50 3/50 A 11/00 302 11/00 302

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. A voice response device having an Internet connection mechanism, comprising: a voice response unit that converts an input inquiry by voice into a code and outputs received voice data in voice; In a communication between a browser to be displayed, a search operation unit for operating the browser, and a homepage guide server for guiding a URL corresponding to a homepage search request in accordance with an operation of the search operation unit, a transmission / reception mode of voice data and A mode switching unit for switching between a data transmission / reception mode necessary for browsing a homepage, and an access point switching unit for switching a device connection destination between the homepage guide server and the Internet provider server. Voice response device characterized by comprising: 2. The voice response device further receives URL address data corresponding to the inquiry sent from the home page guide server by voice or digital data in the transmission / reception mode of the home page browsing data. The voice response device according to claim 1, further comprising: a URL receiving unit that performs the operation. 3. The voice response device according to claim 1, wherein the URL receiving unit further displays the received URL address data on an image display unit. 4. The URL receiving unit further transmits a request for connection to a home page indicated by the received URL address data to the Internet provider server based on an operation input from the search operation unit. The voice response device according to claim 1, wherein: 5. The URL receiving unit further transmits a request for connection to a home page indicated by the received URL address data to the Internet provider server based on control data from the home page guide server. The voice response device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein 6. The voice response device further includes a command input unit for instructing the homepage guide server to directly connect the voice response device to a homepage indicated by URL address data as a search result. The voice response device according to claim 1, wherein: 7. A homepage guide server for transmitting a URL address of a homepage corresponding to a homepage search request by voice input via a line, comprising: a voice response unit for converting the input voice into a code; A homepage search database that stores homepage alias names serving as keywords of homepages to be searched, and URL address data most highly correlated with the homepage alias names; and an Internet terminal that transmits the searched URL address data to a search request. A URL data transfer unit for transferring to a device; a search control unit for controlling switching between a voice data transmission / reception mode and URL address data transmission / reception mode in communication between the Internet terminal device; and control of the search control unit. Transmission and reception of the voice data according to Home guiding server, characterized by comprising a mode switching unit for switching between transmission and reception modes of data required for home viewing on the over-de with the browser. 8. The homepage information server further comprises a connection destination switching unit for transmitting control data for switching a connection destination of a device between the homepage information server and the Internet provider server. A homepage information server according to item 7. 9. The homepage search database,
9. The homepage information server according to claim 7, further comprising storing a category to which the alias name belongs. 10. The homepage guide server further includes: a voice recognition unit that recognizes voice received from the device and converts the voice into an inquiry sentence; and analyzes the converted inquiry sentence to execute the homepage search database. A homepage guide comprising: an analysis unit for extracting a keyword for searching; and a search execution unit for searching the homepage search database using the extracted keyword to obtain a corresponding URL address. server. 11. A homepage providing method for providing a homepage desired by a user using a voice response device having an internet connection mechanism, the method comprising: notifying an operator of a homepage inquiry request transmitted from the user; Waiting for an incoming inquiry message; analyzing the incoming voice inquiry message to search a homepage search database, and finding the URL of the searched homepage
, As a search result, and requesting the user to confirm a URL usage mode indicating how the user uses the URL as the search result. 12. The method for providing a home page according to claim 1, further comprising the step of switching from a data transmission / reception mode to a voice transmission / reception mode at the server in communication between the user's voice response device and the server. The method of providing a homepage according to claim 11, wherein 13. The method for providing a homepage, further comprising: receiving, from a voice response device of the user, a request for proxy connection of the homepage of the voice response device; and communication between the voice response device and a server. Instructing the voice response device to switch from a voice transmission / reception mode to a data transmission / reception mode; and providing the voice response device with a URL of a searched homepage.
13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising transmitting data. 14. A homepage search method for searching for a homepage desired by a user using a voice response device having an Internet connection mechanism, wherein the browser setting is switched and the homepage is accessed in response to an inquiry from an access point of an Internet provider. Establishing a connection to the homepage information server to be guided; switching the data transmission / reception mode to the voice transmission / reception mode; transmitting an inquiry sentence by voice to the homepage information server; Receiving a URL address that is voice or digital data. 15. The homepage search method according to claim 1, further comprising:
Sending a request for connection to a home page having an RL address. 16. A program for causing a computer to execute voice response processing having an Internet connection function, the voice response processing for converting an input inquiry sentence into a code and outputting received voice data as a voice. A search control process for controlling switching between a voice data transmission / reception mode and a data transmission / reception mode required for browsing a home page in the browser in communication with the home page guide server in accordance with an operation request input to the browser A mode switching process for switching between the transmission / reception mode of the voice data and the transmission / reception mode of the homepage browsing data in accordance with the control of the search control process; Connection destination switching processing, In the case of transmission and reception mode of the serial home page browsing data,
UR corresponding to the inquiry sent by voice or digital data from the homepage browsing server
A URL receiving process for receiving L address data. 17. The program according to claim 16, wherein the URL receiving process further causes the image display device to display the received URL address data. 18. The search control process, according to an operation input from a search operation unit via the browser, sends a request for connection to a home page having the received URL address data as an address to the Internet provider server. 17. The method according to claim 16, wherein:
7. The program according to 7. 19. The search control process, according to control data from the homepage guide server via the browser, sends a request for connection to a homepage whose address is the received URL address data to the Internet provider. 18. The program according to claim 16, wherein the program is transmitted to a server.