JP2003281356A - Search method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for searching a person matched with a search condition from persons other than members on the basis of the search condition. <P>SOLUTION: Member's strong fields are resisted in a member information database, strong fields of acquaintances of the member are registered in an acquaintance information database. When a search request in received, a person corresponding to the search condition are searched from the member information database. When the search result is not satisfied, a person corresponding to the search condition is searched from the acquaintance information database. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention, in a network network such as the Internet, stores various information as a database on the server side and searches the database for information that meets a search condition required by a customer. Relating to search services presented to customers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to promote a business or to improve knowledge, there is a case where a person who has necessary information from various information networks is individually searched for. However, the range of connections by people is surprisingly narrow, and there is very little possibility of connecting from familiar acquaintances to unknown people.

Therefore, at present, worldwide information is always available through a network such as the Internet. Therefore, a field in which each member is good at is stored in advance in a database for a certain member and specified by the member. There is also a service that, when a search condition such as searching for a person specialized in the field of "is received, searches a corresponding member from a stored database and introduces the member.

[0004] Also, if information is posted on a bulletin board of a portal site on the network, such as an individual looking for a person specialized in a specific field, he / she can look up at the bulletin board and introduce himself / herself. There is also a way to find out a specific person by doing something like that.

[0005]

However, putting it on the bulletin board of a portal site is very dangerous because personal information may be leaked and the personal information may be misused. Moreover, the information obtained may be malicious or accidental wrong information, and there is no compensation for obtaining reliable information.

[0006] Further, in the case of a search by a limited member, the search is performed only by a limited number of members, so the search range is narrow and it is difficult to find an appropriate person. Moreover, since the members do not change so rapidly, it is conceivable that the information obtained will become a rut.

[0007] Therefore, it is the current situation that the information desired by an individual cannot be obtained from a wide range even if the person or the network is used, which is a problem.

[0008]

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and when searching for a person specialized in a certain field from among a large amount of personal information, the person If you have registered a field in which you are good at, as a member information database, and if there is a person who has a field of specialty that you would like to introduce to others by your acquaintance, etc., then you are good at acquaintance information of that member. The fields to be registered are registered as an acquaintance information database.

When a search request is received from an individual requesting that a person specialize in a particular field be received,
The search server searches the member information database for the corresponding person and presents the search result. If the individual is satisfied with the information, that is all that is required, but if not, search the acquaintance information database using the same search criteria,
The result is presented. If there is a person you would like to introduce, we will provide that information.

That is, the acquaintance information of the member is stored as a database together with the member information, and when the search result is not satisfied in the information of the member, the acquaintance information of the member is searched for as a search condition. Regarding the method of introducing people who were there.

By storing the acquaintance information other than the members in the database as described above, it is possible to search for a desired person from the persons other than the members, and the persons other than the members are acquaintances of the members. Since there is a certain source of information, it is considered that only accurate information is gathered, and the person who searches can also make a search request with peace of mind.

As an invention attached to the present invention, a member can register more acquaintance information by adding a method of giving some kind of incentive to the member who introduced the acquaintance to the searcher as a result of the search. Therefore, the effect that the amount of information increases can be obtained.

As an invention associated with the present invention, as the information to be registered in the member information database and the acquaintance information database, by registering a pair of levels representing the knowledge together with the field in which the user is good, a search condition can be set. It is possible to make more detailed settings and obtain more accurate search results.

In addition, if there is a person who wants to be introduced among the persons obtained from the search results as an invention associated with the present invention, a mail asking whether or not the member who is the introducer can be introduced is sent and the introduction is possible. By introducing it to the searcher only when I receive a reply that it is, for example, if the member has forgotten to have registered acquaintance information or did not update old information, after checking Since it is introduced, more accurate information can be provided to the searcher.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an overall view of a system which is an embodiment of the present invention. The search server 1 has an infinite number of client terminals 3 via a network such as the Internet.
1, 32 and 33 are connectable.

The search server 1 is an information processing device, such as a personal computer. The search server 1 stores a processing part for performing processing according to the program by reading the program, and information including a level for indicating a field of specialty of each member and each acquaintance of the member and a degree of knowledge thereof. It is composed of a recording medium.

This program is executed by the client terminal 3
When a search request is input from 1, 32 or 33 to the search server 1 via the Internet 2, a member corresponding to the search condition is searched from the member information database,
The result is notified to the client terminal 31, 32 or 33 via the Internet 2.

Client terminal 31, 32 or 33
Asks you to search the acquaintance information database when you are not satisfied with the search results. Upon receiving the request, the search server 1 next searches the acquaintance information database under the same conditions, and notifies the client terminal 31, 32 or 33 of the search result.

A search server according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the search server 1 is configured, and is roughly classified into a member information database 11 in which member information is stored, an acquaintance information database 12 in which member acquaintance information is stored, and a client. Client terminals 31, 32 and 33 which are terminals held by
Search condition acquisition program 13 for receiving search conditions from
The primary search execution program 14 for extracting members that meet the search conditions from the member information database 11, and the acquaintances who meet the search conditions from the acquaintance information database 12 when the result of the search by the primary search execution program 14 is unsatisfactory If there is a person who wants to be introduced in the secondary search execution program 15 or the secondary search execution program 15 that introduces a person, I introduced an acquaintance to an email asking whether or not to introduce the person. Referral acceptance / rejection request e-mail transmission program 16 to be sent to members, referrer acceptance / rejection result transmission program 16 to transmit the reply of the e-mail sent by the referrer / prohibition request e-mail transmission program 16 to the searcher, input means 18 such as a keyboard or mouse, a printer, etc. It can be divided into output means 19 such as a display. The contents will be described below.

The retrieval condition acquisition program 13 obtains the retrieval conditions input from the client terminals 31, 32 and 33 as shown in FIG. The search condition of FIG. 5 may be entered by the user, or may be selected from the selection boxes.

The search condition acquisition program 13 passes the field and level as a search condition to the primary search execution program 14 and executes the primary search execution program 14.

The primary search execution program 14 extracts whether or not there is a member in the member information database 11 that matches the search condition and level obtained from the client terminals 31, 32 and 33. Whether or not it exists, the search result is returned to the client terminals 31, 32, and 33, and as a result, the member receives an introduction,
Further, it is selected whether to perform a search from the acquaintance information of the member. In the case of introduction of a member, the member information is presented, and in the case of re-search from the acquaintance information of the member, the secondary search execution program 15 is executed.

The secondary search execution program 15 extracts whether or not there is an acquaintance of the member in the acquaintance information database 12 that matches the search condition and the level obtained from the client terminals 31, 32 and 33. Whether or not the search result exists, the search result is returned to the client terminals 31, 3
Or send it back to 2 and 33 and stop the search as a result,
Select whether to introduce the acquaintance of the member. When canceling the search, the program is stopped as it is, and when the acquaintance of the member is introduced, the introduction approval / disapproval request mail transmission program 16 is executed.

[0025] Referral request mail sending program 16
Obtains acquaintance information about who to introduce in the acquaintance information searched by the secondary search execution program 15, extracts the member introducing the acquaintance from the acquaintance information, and acquaints the corresponding member. Send a confirmation email asking if you would like to introduce.

When the response from the referral acceptance request mail transmission program 16 is received, the referral acceptance result transmission program 17
If the introduction is not possible, a mail that cannot be sent is sent to the client terminals 31, 32, and 33 together with information about the member if the introduction is possible.

The client terminals 31, 32 and 32 are terminals possessed by members who use this service, and they may be mobile terminals such as mobile phones and PDAs as well as desktop personal computers. The user can connect to the main search server 1 from the client terminals 31, 32 and 33 via the Internet 2 to receive the service.

Details of the drawings will be sequentially described below.

FIG. 2 is a data structure diagram of the member information database 11. From left to right, the ID, name, mail address, field 1, level 1, field 2, level 2, field 3, and level 3 are configured. The ID is a code that is given to each member and represents an individual. By logging in or searching with the ID, the service can be received without showing the name. The name is the name of the member with the ID. This name is used when creating an address when sending an email. The email address is the email address for each member with an ID,
Shows the address when sending an email. In the fields 1 to 3, fields in which each member having an ID is good are stored. Levels 1 to 3 represent to what extent each of the fields 1 to 3 is good at each field. The member information database 11 may store personal information such as an address and a telephone number other than those shown here, or may store three or more fields in which it is good at.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the acquaintance information database 12. From left to right, parent ID, ID, name, field 1,
The structure is Level 1, Field 2, Level 2, Field 3, and Level 3. The parent ID is the ID of the introducing member registered in the acquaintance information database. For example, the parent ID is 001
If it is, ID = 00 from the member information database 11
It is structured so that it is possible to find out who the parent ID = 001 is by searching the member of 1. The ID is a number assigned to each acquaintance with whom the parent ID is registered, and the acquaintance can be identified by the parent ID + ID. The name is a name that identifies the individual. The fields 1 to 3 and the levels 1 to 3 have the same contents as the member information database 11.

Like the member information database 11, the acquaintance information database 12 may store personal information such as addresses and telephone numbers in addition to the ones shown in the figure. You can remember more than one.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the entire search server 1.

First, the client terminals 31, 32 and 3
When the search server 1 receives the information of the search request from 3, the search condition acquisition program 13 receives the search condition (Step 10). Next, it is searched from the member information database 11 whether there is a person who matches the search condition (Step 20). The search result is presented to the search requester, and if the content is satisfied, the process moves to Step 40, and if not satisfied, the process moves to Step 50 (Step 30).

At Step 40, the contact information of the member who is satisfied at Step 30 is extracted from the member information database 11, the search requester is notified, and the processing is ended.

At Step 50, the matching person is searched from the acquaintance information database 12 based on the search condition at the time of searching at Step 20. The search result is presented to the search requester, and if the content is satisfied, the step 70 is not satisfied, and if the content is not satisfied, the processing ends (step 60).

In Step 60, the parent ID of the person pointed out by the search requester is requested from the acquaintance information database 12, the contact information of the parent ID is extracted from the member information database 11, and the introduction request mail is sent to the parent ID. To the address (Step 70).

When the reply of the introduction approval / disapproval request mail is received and the member of the parent ID has accepted the introduction, the process moves to Step 90. If the member with the parent ID does not approve the referral, the referral is not possible, and the process ends (Step 80).

At Step 90, the contact information of the person who requested that the search requester make an inquiry is the acquaintance information database 1
2, and it is extracted from the member information database 11 and notified to the search requester. By the above method, it becomes possible to notify the search requester of the information that is the acquaintance of the member.

FIG. 5 is an example of a screen on which a search requester inputs search conditions. As the search condition, the applicable field may be input, or one of the selected boxes may be selected. The levels are similar. Further, regarding the level, it is possible to search for people at all levels for those who want to search for any level. Further, the level is not limited to 5, and the member may register according to the preset numerical value.

FIG. 6 is an example of a screen for presenting the result of the primary search execution program 14 to the search requester. First
As a result of the search by the next search execution program 14, all the relevant persons are presented to the search requester, and the search requester selects from the three options what kind of processing is to be executed. Three
One of the three options is “introduce from the current search result”, “inquire from the connection information of the member”, and “stop the search”.

When "introduce from current search result" is selected, the necessary member information selected by the search requester is extracted from the member information database 11 and displayed. If "Search from member connection information" is selected, the secondary search execution program 15 is executed. When "Cancel search" is selected, this search service is terminated.

FIG. 7 is an example of a screen for presenting the result of the secondary search execution program 15 to the search requester. Second
As a result of the search by the next search execution program 15, all applicable persons are presented to the search requester, and the search requester selects what kind of processing is to be executed from the two options. Two
The two options are "introduce from current search result" and "stop search".

If "introduce from current search result" is selected, the introduction approval / disapproval request mail transmission program 16 for obtaining approval from the member who is the introducer is executed.

When "Cancel search" is selected,
This search service will be terminated.

FIG. 8 is an example of a screen for selecting which person to introduce with the introduction approval request mail transmission program 16. Information that is extracted by the secondary search execution program 15 and displays information about people who match the search conditions. If there are multiple people, select which person you would like to introduce, and send back the answer. Ask the client to enter the email address. If the search requester's email address is already a member and is stored in the member information database,
This item may be omitted, or an email address different from the stored email address may be specified.

FIG. 9 is a display example when the result is transmitted to the search requester when the introduction permission result transmission program 17 permits the member who is the introducer. In the display example, the e-mail address of the member who is the introducer is displayed, but you may display other contact methods such as telephone numbers, or you may display the information of the person you want to introduce directly. .

FIG. 10 is a detailed flowchart of the primary search execution program 14. Search condition acquisition program 1
Member information database 11 based on the search conditions obtained in 3
From the field, the members to be searched and the specified level or higher are extracted (Step 101).

The information extracted in Step 101 is presented to the search requester (Step 103). The extracted result is as shown in FIG. 6, for example.

As a result of the presentation, if the search requester is satisfied with the result and wants to introduce it, go to Step 109. If the search requester is not satisfied with the result and wants to search from the acquaintance information of the member, go to Step 107. Move (Step 1
05).

At Step 107, the program moves to the secondary search execution program 15.

At Step 109, the contact information of the member selected by the search condition requester and desired to be introduced is extracted from the member information database 11 and presented to the search requester.

As described above, the primary search condition execution program 14 extracts and displays the relevant person from the member information database 11 based on the search condition from the search requester, and when the content is satisfied, The detailed information is presented, and if not satisfied, the secondary search execution program 15 is executed to search the acquaintance information database.

FIG. 11 is a detailed flowchart of the secondary search execution program 15. Search condition acquisition program 1
Acquaintance information database 12 based on the search conditions obtained in 3
From the fields, the members to be searched and the specified level and above are extracted (Step 111).

The information extracted in Step 111 is presented to the search requester (Step 113). The extracted result is as shown in FIG. 7, for example.

As a result of the presentation, the customer is satisfied with the result,
If the customer is not satisfied with the result, the program is terminated because there is no person to be introduced (Step 115).

At Step 117, the program moves to the introduction approval / disapproval request mail transmission program 16.

As described above, the secondary search condition execution program 15 extracts and displays the corresponding person from the acquaintance information database 12 based on the search condition from the search requester, and when the content is satisfied, The introduction permission request mail transmission program 16 is executed.

FIG. 12 is a detailed flowchart of the referral permission request mail transmission program 16. The person who wants to be introduced is obtained from the items extracted by the secondary search execution program 15, and the e-mail address of the member who introduced the corresponding person is extracted from the member information database 11 (Step 1).
21).

An email asking if the acquaintance can be introduced to the member extracted in Step 121 is sent (Step 12).
3).

When the reply mail comes back, Step 127
Move to (Step 125).

At Step 127, the result of referral approval returned from the member is transmitted to the search requester. An example of transmission is as shown in FIG. 9, for example.

As described above, the referral permission request mail transmission program 16 asks the person selected for introduction to be selected from the persons extracted by the secondary search execution program 15, and the parent who is the contact address is selected. An email is sent to the member asking if he / she can be introduced, and the search requester is replied to based on the returned content.

FIG. 13 is a detailed flowchart of the introduction approval / disapproval result transmission program. Upon receiving the reply to the referral approval / disapproval request mail, it is checked whether the referral is possible, and if possible, go to Step 133, and if not possible, Step 13
Move to 5 (Step 131).

At Step 133, the fact that the introduction is possible and the contact information thereof are notified to the search requester, and Step 135 is performed.
Then, the search requester is notified that introduction is not possible. The notification to the search requester is as shown in FIG. 9, for example.

As described above, when the referral-introducing reply mail comes back from the introducing member, the referral is notified to the search requester.

The operation of the processing of the search server 1 will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The search requester accesses the search server 1,
It is assumed that a search request is made by inputting search conditions as shown in FIG.

The search condition acquisition program 13 of the search server 1 which has received the search request executes the primary search execution program 13. The primary search execution program 13 extracts, from the data of the member information database 11, members who satisfy the search conditions of “field” = “movie” and “level” = “3” or more. Since there is one person who satisfies this condition in the member information database 11 shown in FIG. 2, the result is presented to the search requester as shown in FIG. The search requester selects whether to introduce this person or to search again from the connection information of the member.

If it is selected here that the member currently presented is to be introduced, the ID of the member information database 11 =
The name and email address of 001 are extracted and presented to the search requester.

If "Search by member connection information" is selected, the secondary search execution program 1
5 is executed to search the acquaintance information database 12 for a person who matches the search condition. In the acquaintance information database 12 shown in FIG. 3, the number of persons who meet the search condition is 2
Since there are people, the results are presented as shown in FIG.

Looking at the results presented, the search requester selects whether or not to introduce from the current search results. When introducing, the person requesting introduction is selected on the screen of FIG. , Enter the return email address and have the request. Here, a request is received to introduce a person with "Introduction ID: 001 level 5".

The introduction approval / disapproval result e-mail transmission program 16 extracts the e-mail address of the person having the introduction ID: 001 from the member information database 11 and sends an introduction approval / disapproval request mail to Mr. Ippei Aoyama with ID = 001.

When the reply mail from Mr. Ippei Aoyama is received, the referral acceptance result transmission program 17 is activated to notify the search requester of the referral acceptance result. FIG. 9 is an example of notification to the search requester when a reply that the introduction is possible is received.

As described above, the search requester first extracts the people who meet the search conditions from the members, and when he / she is not satisfied with the search result, searches the acquaintance database of the member to search for the members other than the member. It becomes possible to search from the information.

The present invention further has an area for storing points for each member in the member information database of FIG. 2, and introduces the acquaintance when sending the referrable mail to the search requester in Step 133 of FIG. It is also possible to give incentives, such as giving points to the members who have made the purchase.

(Supplementary Note 1) A search method executed by a search server connected to a customer terminal via a network based on a search request from a customer, the step of obtaining a search condition from the customer terminal, A step of searching member information corresponding to the search condition from the member information database in which the fields in which the member is good is registered based on the search condition and notifying the result to the customer terminal;
When it is received that the customer is not satisfied with the notified search result, the acquaintance information database in which the acquaintance of the member and the field of specialty are registered is searched for acquaintance information of the member corresponding to the search condition. And a step of notifying the result to the customer terminal.

(Supplementary Note 2) Each of the member information database and the acquaintance information database has a level representing the degree of knowledge for each field in which it is good, and the field in which it is good and its level are specified in the search condition. The search method according to appendix 1, wherein the search is performed.

(Supplementary Note 3) In the search method described in Supplementary Note 1, the acquaintance information database is searched for acquaintance information of members who meet the search condition, and the result is notified to the customer terminal, and the customer is satisfied with the result. The search method according to appendix 1, further comprising the step of notifying the customer terminal of acquaintance information of the corresponding member when doing.

(Supplementary Note 4) The search method described in Supplementary Note 1 searches the acquaintance information database for acquaintance information of a member corresponding to the search condition, notifies the result to the customer terminal, and outputs the notified result to the customer terminal. When the customer is satisfied, a step of sending an email asking if the acquaintance information of the corresponding member may be notified to the customer terminal to the member who registered the acquaintance, and the member may introduce. Note 1 further comprising the step of notifying the customer terminal of acquaintance information of a corresponding member when the information is received.
Search method of the description.

(Supplementary Note 5) In the search method described in Supplementary Note 4, when the acquaintance information of the member is notified to the customer terminal,
The method according to appendix 4, wherein an incentive is given to the member.

(Supplementary Note 6) A program for causing a search server connected to a customer terminal via a network to perform a process to be executed based on a search request from the customer. Obtaining a search condition from a terminal, and based on the search condition, search member information corresponding to the search condition from a member information database in which the field of specialty of the member is registered, and obtain the result as the customer. The step of notifying the terminal and, when receiving the fact that the customer is not satisfied with the presented search result, from the acquaintance information database in which the field in which the acquaintance of the member is good is registered, the member corresponding to the search condition Searching for acquaintance information and notifying the result to the customer terminal.

(Supplementary Note 7) A device which is connected to a customer terminal via a network and which performs a search process to be executed based on a search request from a customer, and which has means for obtaining a search condition from the customer terminal and the search. Based on the conditions, from the member information database in which the field that the member is good at is registered,
Means of notifying the customer terminal of the member information corresponding to the search condition and notifying the result, and when it is received that the customer is not satisfied with the presented search result, the member's acquaintance is good at it. A searching device, comprising means for searching acquaintance information of a member corresponding to the search condition from an acquaintance information database in which fields are registered, and notifying the result to the customer terminal.

[0083]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, when it is desired to search for a person specialized in a certain field, the information of the field in which the member is good and the strength of the acquaintance of the member are made good. Information on fields can also be stored as a database, and if you are not satisfied with the search results in the member information, you can search from the acquaintance information of the member and introduce people who meet the search conditions. Becomes

Further, by accumulating acquaintance information other than the members in a database, it is possible to search for a desired person from the people other than the members, and the persons other than the members are acquaintances of the members. , It is considered that only accurate information is gathered because the source of information is certain,
Those who search can also make a search request with peace of mind.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of an embodiment of the present invention

[Figure 2] Member information database

[Figure 3] Acquaintance information database

[Fig. 4] Flowchart of processing in the search server

[Figure 5] Search condition input screen

FIG. 6 Primary search result display screen

[Figure 7] Secondary search result display screen

[Figure 8] Referral request screen

[Figure 9] Referral permission screen

FIG. 10 Primary search execution program

FIG. 11 Secondary search execution program

[Figure 12] Program for sending referral acceptance mail

[Figure 13] Referral acceptance result transmission program

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Search server 2: Network 11: Member information database 12: Acquaintance information database 13: Search condition acquisition program 14: Primary search execution program 15: Secondary search execution program 16: Referral request email sending program 17: Referral result transmission program 18: Input means 19: Output means 31: Client terminal 32: Client terminal 33: Client terminal

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A search method executed by a search server connected to a customer terminal via a network based on a search request from a customer, the method comprising: obtaining a search condition from the customer terminal; The member information database in which the field in which the member is good is registered, the member information corresponding to the search condition is searched and the result is notified to the customer terminal; When the customer receives dissatisfaction, the acquaintance information database in which the acquaintances of the member and the field of specialty are registered, the acquaintance information of the member corresponding to the search condition is searched, and the result is stored in the customer terminal. And a notification step. 2. The member information database and the acquaintance information database have a level representing the degree of knowledge for each field in which they are good at, and the field and field at which they are good at the search condition are designated for searching. The search method according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The search method according to claim 1, wherein the acquaintance information database is searched for acquaintance information of a member corresponding to the search condition, the result is notified to the customer terminal, and the notified result is added to the aforesaid result. When the customer is satisfied, a step of transmitting an email asking whether the acquaintance information of the corresponding member may be notified to the customer terminal, to the member who registered the acquaintance, and the information that the member may introduce When you receive
The search method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of notifying acquaintance information of a corresponding member to the customer terminal. 4. The method according to claim 4, wherein when the acquaintance information of the member is notified to the customer terminal, an incentive is given to the member. 5. A program for causing a search server connected to a customer terminal via a network to perform a process to be executed based on a search request from a customer, the search server comprising: The step of obtaining the search condition of, and based on the search condition, the member information database in which the field that the member is good at is registered is searched for the member information corresponding to the search condition and the result is notified to the customer. And when receiving that the customer is not satisfied with the notified search result, from the acquaintance information database in which the field in which the acquaintance of the member is good is registered, the acquaintance of the member corresponding to the search condition A step of searching for information and notifying the result to the customer terminal.