JP2003050817A - Information processor and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processor improving a user interface in the retrieval of an electronic document. SOLUTION: This system analyzes the electronic document provided at an URL inputted to an input field 302 by a user and displays a keyword group extracted from the electronic document at a display part 304. The displayed keyword group is delivered to a retrieval control panel 303 having one, two or more areas by a drag-and-drop operation by a user operation, the evaluation standard of the retrieval is decided by the system depending on which area of the retrieval control panel 303 it is dropped to, a retrieval means 305 is made to execute the retrieval on the basis of the evaluation standard and an obtained retrieved result is displayed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method for supporting a user who searches information on the Internet, a computer readable memory and a computer program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The Internet is drawing attention as a system that allows users to freely obtain information desired by walking (surfing the net) electronic documents existing all over the world. However, in reality, the information processing ability of human beings is constant, but the number of accessible electronic documents provided on the Internet is increasing exponentially, and the number of accessible electronic documents is increasing against the explosive increase of electronic documents. As a result, the information processing ability of the information receiving side has become unable to keep up. In such a situation, a search engine for searching an electronic document containing a keyword input by a user (the location thereof is identified by an address called URL) is provided,
Widely used.

A method for a user to search an electronic document is to type in a search keyword that the user has come up with and input it into a search engine, and the search engine searches for a URL including the keyword and presents it to the user. Is common. On the other hand, for users who cannot think of an appropriate keyword, the search engine provides buttons classified by genres such as "sports" and "personal computer". In such a search engine, for example, when "sports" is selected, buttons such as "soccer", "baseball", and "golf" whose keywords are subdivided appear. In this case, if "golf" is continuously selected, more finely classified keywords appear as a menu. In the method of proceeding from this rough classification to fine classification, the user can obtain a desired electronic document list by going through multiple stages.

[0004]

When the user wants to search for an electronic document from the viewpoint of any interesting information, or when the user wants to search for an entirely new type of electronic document that is different from the electronic document found before. There is. In this case, the user himself often does not know what he is looking for at first. When considering such exploratory use of the Internet, the current search method is to use a search engine by entering a keyword that the user has come up with, or use top-down search classified by genre. There was only a way.

However, the method in which a user inputs a keyword to search cannot be used unless the user knows the keyword in advance. On the other hand, the top-down search method classified by genre is a conceptual field keyword pre-classified because the user does not know what he or she is looking for. For example, "sports", "personal computer", etc. It is difficult to find out in which genre the desired electronic document is classified. In other words, for a user who wants to "enjoy something on the Internet", the conventional interface specifications that must know the keyword in advance or know in which genre the desired electronic document is classified are , Not comfortable at all.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an information processing apparatus and method, a computer program readable memory, and a computer program capable of improving a user interface in electronic document retrieval. The purpose is to

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention,
An information processing apparatus that supports a search includes an extraction unit that extracts a keyword from an electronic document on the Internet, and a control unit that causes the search unit to execute a search on the Internet based on the extracted keyword.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the control means causes the search means to execute a search in accordance with a drag-and-drop operation by a user operation.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the control means is a display means for displaying one or a plurality of areas on a display, and an area in which the extracted keyword is one or a plurality of areas. In addition, it has a determining means for determining the evaluation standard depending on whether or not it is dropped by the drag and drop operation.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the control means transfers the extracted keyword to one or a plurality of search means in accordance with a user operation, and the number of the extracted keyword used by the operating means. It has a changing means for changing the shape of the one or more areas depending on whether or not the shape is passed to the searching means.

A second aspect of the present invention relates to an information processing apparatus for assisting a search, which comprises a control means for causing one or a plurality of search means to execute a search in accordance with a drag and drop operation of a keyword by a user.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an information processing apparatus for assisting a search is provided, wherein a display means for displaying one or a plurality of areas on a display and a shape of the one or a plurality of areas are displayed. It further includes a changing unit that changes according to whether the searching unit executes the search.

A third aspect of the present invention relates to an information processing method for assisting a search, which is an extraction step of extracting a keyword from an electronic document on the Internet, and a search means is searched on the Internet based on the extracted keyword. And a control step for executing.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the control step causes the search means to execute a search according to a drag-and-drop operation by a user operation.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the control step includes a display step of displaying one or a plurality of areas on a display, and an area in which the extracted keyword is one or a plurality of areas. In addition, there is a determination step of determining an evaluation criterion depending on whether the item is dropped by a drag and drop operation.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the control step includes an operation step of passing the extracted keyword to one or a plurality of search means according to a user operation, and a number of operation steps of the extracted keyword. There is a changing step of changing the shape of the one or more regions depending on whether or not the shape is passed to the search means.

A fourth aspect of the present invention relates to an information processing method for assisting a search, and includes a control step of causing one or a plurality of search means to execute a search in accordance with a drag and drop operation of a keyword by a user.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, according to an information processing method for assisting a search, a display step of displaying one or a plurality of areas on a display and a method of determining the shape of the one or a plurality of areas. The method further includes a changing step of making a change depending on whether or not the search means executes the search.

A fifth aspect of the present invention relates to a computer-readable memory in which a program code for information processing supporting search is stored, and a program code for an extracting step for extracting a keyword from an electronic document on the Internet, and the extracted code. And a program code of a control process that causes the search means to perform a search on the Internet based on the keyword.

A sixth aspect of the present invention relates to an information processing program for assisting a search, and an extracting step of extracting a keyword from an electronic document on the Internet, and a searching means on the Internet based on the extracted keyword. A control step that causes the search to be performed.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of an information processing apparatus applicable to the information search support system of this embodiment.

In FIG. 1, a CPU 101 controls the entire information processing apparatus 1000 via a main bus 106, and an input device 107 (for example, a keyboard, a pointing device, a pen, etc.) connected to the outside of the information processing apparatus 1000. A microphone or the like) is controlled via the input I / F (interface) 104. In addition, a display device 108 (eg, CRT display, liquid crystal display, etc.) connected to the outside of the information processing device 1000 is displayed.
It is controlled via the I / F (interface) 105. C
The PU 101 executes a series of processes such as input of a character string, search of an electronic document, display of a screen, determination / application of search evaluation criteria, display of search results, and the like in accordance with an instruction input from the input device 107.

The ROM 102 stores a control program such as BIOS provided to the CPU 101. HDD1
Reference numeral 09 stores a control program A for realizing the information search support system according to the present embodiment, an operating system (OS) and other control programs, and the CPU 101 stores these programs in the RAM 10
Load it into 3 and run it. Further, the RAM 103 functions as various work areas used for executing the control program and a temporary save area.

Here, the information processing apparatus 1000 is constructed by providing the control program A to a general computer. The control program A itself constitutes the invention, and the recording medium storing the control program A also constitutes the invention. Examples of such a recording medium include a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, and a CD.
-R (W), magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card, R
OM or the like can be used.

In FIG. 2, the CPU 101 controls the control program A.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a logical configuration of an information search system constructed by loading the data into a RAM 103.

In FIG. 2, 202 is the input URL
Is an initial search unit for searching for. A keyword extracting unit 203 extracts a keyword group from the retrieved electronic document. Reference numeral 208 denotes a display unit for displaying the keyword group extracted by the keyword extracting unit 203 on the screen, which is configured by the display device 108 of FIG. Reference numeral 207 designates a keyword as the input device 107 of FIG.
Is an input unit for the user to perform drag and drop operations using an input device such as a mouse as
The input device 107 of FIG. 1 and the driver of the input device are included. Reference numeral 205 denotes a search evaluation reference extraction unit for determining a search evaluation reference from the position of the dropped keyword. An Internet search unit 206 searches the Internet for information needed by the user by sending keywords and search evaluation criteria to a search engine on the Internet. Reference numeral 204 is a search engine selection unit that selects a search engine. Reference numeral 201 denotes a control unit 201 that controls these blocks 202 to 208.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a computer operation screen of the information search support system of this embodiment. This operation screen is displayed on the display device 108 of FIG. 1 (the display unit 208 of FIG. 2).

In FIG. 3, 301 is a display screen. Reference numeral 302 is an input field for inputting a URL. A search control panel 303 includes one or a plurality of areas, and each area has a different evaluation criterion for the search. 304 is a user input field 302
This is a display portion for displaying a keyword group extracted from the electronic document analyzed by this system, which is contained in the URL input to the electronic document. The method of extracting a keyword group is as follows: an arbitrary number of words appearing in an electronic document in order of frequency (for example,
A method of extracting the top five) is possible. A search engine selection button 305 selects a search means such as a search engine, and the user can select one or a plurality of search engines at a time. Although only one search engine is selected in FIG. 3, for example, when a plurality of search engines are selected, the search control panel 303 is divided by the number of selected search engines as shown in FIG. Allows another search. In addition, the shape of the search control panel 303,
It is also possible to make a quadrangle as shown in FIG. 5 or a polygon such as a pentagon. In the examples of FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, no color is added, but in order to make the distinction of the search engines clearer or add a taste, it is possible to add a plurality of colors to attract the user's interest. It is possible.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the keyword is not known in advance. Therefore, in order to obtain a desired electronic document, the user does not input a keyword, but an electronic document that the user is interested in on the Internet or a randomly selected URL is input on the screen. Fill in the fields. In response to this, the system automatically extracts the keyword from the electronic document, passes the keyword to the search engine according to the drag and drop operation by the user, and based on the specified search evaluation criteria, the desired keyword is selected. Get an electronic document.

Next, the flow of information search processing in the information search support system of the present embodiment will be described based on the flowcharts of FIGS. 6, 7 and 8.

FIG. 6 shows the initial search unit 202 shown in FIG.
7 is a flowchart showing operation steps of the keyword extracting unit 203.

In FIG. 6, when the operation of the information search support system of this embodiment is started, a main window for displaying an image is created in step 601, and a graphical user interface (GUI) shown in FIG. 3 is created. Is displayed on the display screen 301 (display unit 208). Here, the user inputs from the input field 302 of FIG. 3, or the copy and paste function (Wi
ndows (trademark) combination of CTRL + C and CTRL + V)
The URL input using is passed to an arbitrary search engine, the retrieved electronic document is fetched, and the electronic document is saved.

Next, at step 602, the keywords in the electronic document saved at step 601 are extracted. For example,
A method of extracting the words in the order of appearance frequency in the electronic document, a method of analyzing the characteristics of the HTML data expression, and extracting the words used in a specific tag can be considered. Examples of word extraction methods include extracting character strings separated by spaces in English, extracting character strings composed of Kanji in Japanese, and matching the character strings in a database prepared in advance. It is possible to consider a method of taking out what has been done. The number of keywords to extract is
Although it has been set to an arbitrary number (for example, 5) in advance,
It is also possible to allow the user to freely set on the screen of FIG.

Then, in step 603, the extracted keyword group is displayed on the display portion 304 on the screen of FIG.

FIG. 7 shows the search engine selection unit 2 shown in FIG.
It is a flowchart which shows the operation step of 04.

First, in step 701, the name and number of the search engine selected by the user with the search engine selection button 305 of FIG. 3 are detected.

Next, at step 702, the step 70 is performed.
Based on the name and number of search engines obtained in 1
The drawing of the search control panel 303 is drawn. As a specific process, as described above, a figure such as a triangle, a quadrangle, and a pentagon is drawn depending on the number of search engines. For example, any number of circles with the same center point, or
Draw a triangle, a quadrangle, a pentagon, etc. that have the same center point. This number depends on how finely your search criteria are set. FIG. 4 is a display example when two search engines, search engine A and search engine B, are selected. Each circle is divided into two parts above and below the center line, and the upper half circle region is assigned to the search engine A and the lower half circle region is assigned to the search engine B. FIG. 5 is a display example when four search control panels 303 are selected. In this case, the search control panels 303 are formed in a quadrangle and are divided into four search engines. Further, in both FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, three circles or quadrangles having the same center point are overlapped with each other, so that the evaluation criteria for search can be set in three stages.

FIG. 8 shows the retrieval evaluation criterion extraction unit 2 shown in FIG.
5 is a flowchart showing the operation steps of 05 and the Internet search unit 206.

In FIG. 8, first, in step 801,
The evaluation criterion of the search is determined by the position where the keyword dragged and dropped by the user is dropped on the search control panel 303.

Next, in step 802, the keyword and the evaluation criteria of the search are passed to the search engine determined in step 801, and the search is executed.

Then, in step 803, step 8
The search result is displayed based on the search evaluation criterion determined in 01.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a situation where a keyword is dropped on the search control panel 303.

In FIG. 9, the search control panel 303 is
For example, it is composed of one or a plurality of circles or polygons having the same center point. The larger the number of figures, the finer the evaluation criteria for retrieval. For example, if a circle is composed of one circle, the evaluation criterion of the search is constant no matter where it is dropped, but if it is composed of multiple circles, the inside and outside of each circle will be evaluated. Then, the evaluation criteria for search are different.

Specific examples of typical steps of the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8 will be described below.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a method of determining the evaluation criteria for the search in step 801.

In FIG. 10, the search control panel 303
, Is composed of three circles, Circle1, Circle2, and Circle3. Assuming that the highest evaluation criterion for search is 100%, if the user drops a keyword in Circle1, the evaluation criterion S1 for search is 100%, and if the user drops the keyword between Circle1 and Circle2. Is the search evaluation criterion S2, S2 =
It is 100 * 2/3%, and the user uses Circle2 and Circle.
If the keyword is dropped during 3, the search evaluation criterion S3 is defined as S3 = 100 * 1/3%. That is, when a keyword is dropped between Circle n-1 and Circle n, the evaluation criterion Sn for the search
Is represented by the following formula, where m is the total number of circles: Sn = 100 / m * (m−n + 1) [%] ......... [Formula 1].

Next, a method for determining in which area the user has dropped the keyword will be described. The radius of Circle1
The radius of R1 and Circle2 is R2, and the radius of Circle3 is R3. Further, the center position of the keyword is KEY_P (Xk, Yk) and the center point of the search control panel 303 is Circle_P (Xc, Yc). Letting Lkey be the distance between the center position of the keyword and the center point of the search control panel 303, the search evaluation criterion is determined by which of the following conditions the Lkey satisfies. That is, n = 1 (Lkey <R1), n = 2 (R1 ≦ Lkey <R2), n = 3 (R2 ≦ Lkey <R3) ... [Equation 2].

In FIG. 10, since R2 ≦ Lkey <R3, n = 3, and the retrieval evaluation criterion S3 is S3 = 100 /
It is determined that 3 * (3-3 + 1) = 100/3%.

Next, a specific example of the process of step 802 will be described. In this processing, the keywords and the evaluation criteria of the search are passed to the search engine preset as a default by the information search support system or the search engine selected by the user in step 701 of FIG. 7. GOO (registered trademark) and YAH
The search engine options such as OO (registered trademark) have a keyword narrowing function and a search result display number specifying function. Therefore, in these optional functions,
Assign search criteria. For example, if the search evaluation criterion is 50%, it is possible to set such that only half of the search results are displayed. Also, when the keyword appears more than 5 times in the electronic document, the evaluation criterion for the search is set to 100%, 4 times to 75%, 3 times to 50%, and 2 times to 25%. Methods etc. are considered. Next, after these options are specified, when the search is executed by the search engine, a plurality of URLs of the search results are returned. The Internet search unit 206 of FIG. 2 receives this result,
It is transferred to the display unit 208. During the search (until the result is obtained), it is also possible to entertain the user by clearly indicating that the search is being performed by rotating or deforming the graphic of the search control panel 303.

Next, the process of step 803 will be specifically described. In this process, the Internet search unit 2 of FIG.
The result received by 06 is transferred to the display unit 208 and displayed on the screen.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a screen for displaying the search result.

In FIG. 11, reference numeral 1101 is a display screen. 1102 is GU of this information retrieval support system
I. 1103 is a screen for displaying a list of retrieved URLs. Reference numeral 1104 is a display screen of an electronic document.
First, the search result (URL) is displayed in the search result list 1103 in FIG. In this case, it may be displayed in the GUI of the present system, or may be displayed on another screen when the screen is crowded. Next, the user selects the URL displayed in the search result list 1103 by an operation such as mouse clicking to display the entire electronic document on the display screen 1104. In this case, the finally selected electronic document is HT
Since it is a file in ML format, it is most convenient to use a WWW browser.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, quick search is possible even when the user executes the search without knowing "what he / she wants to search" or when he / she does not know the keyword in advance. , It becomes possible to discover a completely new electronic document.

What is emphasized in the GUI of this embodiment is that
It feels like throwing a keyword into a search control panel that is composed of figures such as circles and polygons. This interface is lean and direct compared to the conventional type-in method and user interface such as button selection. Further, even when compared with other visual parameter setting methods, for example, a method of moving a bar such as a control bar with a mouse or the like, it is directly connected to the image of a search on the Internet. Further, the GUI of the present embodiment is interesting in itself, so that it is not only possible to search for a target electronic document, but also to say, “Somehow, I don't know, but a keyword is thrown in the search control panel 303. It is particularly effective for making the user have an expectation of "throw and see the result". Further, since the search can be performed by a simple drag and drop operation, even a beginner on the Internet or a user who is not familiar with the search engine can enjoy the search.

Furthermore, a plurality of search engines can be selected at the same time, and the evaluation criteria for the search can be set by dragging keywords.
Since it is possible to instruct at the same time during the AND-drop operation, the number of times the user inputs a keyword or the like required for the search and the number of screens displayed as a result can be greatly reduced, and the internet connection cost can be reduced.

[0057]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide an information processing apparatus and a method thereof, a computer program readable memory, and a computer program capable of improving a user interface in searching an electronic document.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information processing apparatus applicable to the system of this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a GUI that is a feature of this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a search control panel formed of circles according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a search control panel configured by a rectangle according to the present embodiment.

[FIG. 6]

[FIG. 7]

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a flowchart of an example of this embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state where a keyword of this embodiment is dropped on a search control panel.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a method for determining a search evaluation criterion according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a screen displaying a search result of this embodiment.

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus for supporting a search, comprising: extraction means for extracting a keyword from an electronic document on the internet; and control means for causing the search means to perform a search on the internet based on the extracted keyword. An information processing apparatus comprising: 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the search unit to execute a search according to a drag-and-drop operation performed by a user operation. 3. The control means is a display means for displaying one or a plurality of areas on a display, and the extracted keyword is dropped to any one of the one or a plurality of areas by a drag-and-drop operation. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a determining unit that determines an evaluation criterion depending on whether the information is processed. 4. The operation means transfers the extracted keyword to one or a plurality of search means in accordance with a user operation, and the number of search means to which the operation means transfers the extracted keyword. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a changing unit that changes the shape of one or a plurality of regions. 5. An information processing apparatus for supporting search, comprising:
An information processing apparatus comprising: a control unit that causes one or a plurality of search units to perform a search in accordance with a drag and drop operation of a keyword by a user. 6. An information processing device for assisting a search, comprising: a display means for displaying one or a plurality of areas on a display; and how many search means execute the search for the shape of the one or a plurality of areas. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: a changing unit that changes according to the above. 7. An information processing method for supporting a search, comprising an extracting step of extracting a keyword from an electronic document on the Internet, and a control step of causing a search means to execute a search on the Internet based on the extracted keyword. An information processing method comprising: 8. The information processing method according to claim 7, wherein the control step causes a search unit to execute a search in accordance with a drag-and-drop operation performed by a user operation. 9. The control step includes a display step of displaying one or a plurality of areas on a display, and the extracted keyword is dropped to any one of the one or a plurality of areas by a drag and drop operation. 8. The information processing method according to claim 7, further comprising: a determining step of determining an evaluation criterion depending on whether the information is processed. 10. The control step comprises: an operation step of passing the extracted keyword to one or a plurality of search means in accordance with a user operation; and a number of search means to which the operation step passes the extracted keyword. The information processing method according to claim 7, further comprising a changing step of changing the shape of one or a plurality of regions. 11. An information processing method for supporting a search, the method including a control step of causing one or a plurality of search means to execute a search in accordance with a drag and drop operation of a keyword by a user. 12. An information processing method for supporting a search, comprising a displaying step of displaying one or a plurality of areas on a display, and how many searching means execute the search for the shapes of the one or a plurality of areas. The information processing method according to claim 11, further comprising: a changing step of changing according to the following. 13. A computer-readable memory in which a program code for information processing for supporting a search is stored, the program code of an extracting step of extracting a keyword from an electronic document on the Internet, and the extracted keyword based on the extracted keyword. A computer-readable memory comprising: a control process program code that causes a search means to execute a search on the Internet. 14. A program for information processing for supporting a search, comprising an extracting step of extracting a keyword from an electronic document on the Internet, and a control for causing a search means to execute a search on the Internet based on the extracted keyword. A program characterized by including steps and.