JP2003316887A - Personal connection retrieval system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a personal connection retrieval system used to search a desired person through an acquaintance capable of performing a smooth introduction without going against the intention of each person present in a personal connection linkage. <P>SOLUTION: This system comprises a server and a terminal transmittable to and receivable from the server. The server has a personal connection storage means for storing prescribed items of a plurality of registered persons and acquaintances thereof, a retrieval means for retrieving, with one registered person as a retriever, a series of personal connection linkages including other registered persons linked through the direct acquaintance of the retriever and acquaintances thereof as the object or retrieval; a result transmitting means for transmitting the retrieval result of personal connection linkage to the terminal of the retriever, and a personal connection confirmation means for confirming, every person present in the personal connection linkage, whether an acquaintance directly linked thereto is present or not. The personal connection confirmation means is executed starting from the person to be retrieved, and successively executed back one by one to the retriever side according to the personal connection linkage. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a personal connection search system used when searching for a desired person through an acquaintance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the problems to be solved by the invention
If you want to find an expert such as a lawyer or architect, a person who works for a specific company such as a press processing factory, or an artist, you would ask your acquaintance or look up in the telephone directory, but the spread of the Internet With this, it is possible to search for these people by searching the home page. As described above, there are various ways to obtain information, but in terms of its high reliability, it seems that the most common method is to receive an introduction through an acquaintance. However, it is often difficult to make inquiries to all acquaintances. For example, even if some of your acquaintances have an acquaintance with the person you are looking for, you may not be able to find it. . Also, although his acquaintance does not directly know the person he is looking for, his acquaintance may be acquainted with the person he is looking for. With difficulty.

In such a case, it is conceivable that a plurality of people register acquaintances in a computer and make a database of them. For example, when multiple people store their acquaintances in a server and create a database, a personal connection database that expands semi-infinitely according to the amount of data stored is built, and you can search for the desired person using this database. By using the acquaintance as a starting point, searching for a personal connection from the acquaintance (or an acquaintance of the acquaintance, or a further acquaintance) to a desired person (referred to as “search target person” in this specification) You can Then, a system is conceivable in which the searcher contacts the acquaintance by telephone or the like and receives the introduction of the search target person by referring to the obtained network connection (see JP 2001-306768 A for a similar system).

However, such a system has the following problems. For example, in the above system, if the search result is that the acquaintance B of the searcher's acquaintance A is the search target, the acquaintance A asks the search target B to introduce the searcher to the searcher. However, even if the person who is the subject of the search wants to decline it, he / she may have to consent because he was directly consulted by an acquaintance A.

Further, the personal connection database can be constructed in an extremely wide range as many people register acquaintances, but on the other hand, there is a possibility that registration which is originally not suitable is made. For example, when a certain registrant registers an acquaintance, a person who cannot be called an acquaintance may be registered as an acquaintance, or a mischief purpose or false content may be registered. For example, suppose that A is mischievously registered as an acquaintance, and B is extracted by a personal connection search via A, and O may be unknowingly recognized by the searcher, which infringes your privacy. May be

Further, as the personal connection database becomes wider, it is assumed that a plurality of routes can be extracted from the personal connections obtained by the search. However, if the searcher has too many choices, it is rather inconvenient, and , It takes time if there are too many choices when taking an action by referring to this personal connection.

Therefore, in view of the above points, the present invention provides a personal connection search system devised so as to be able to receive introductions smoothly without violating the will of each person existing in the connection. The second problem is to provide a personal connection search system devised so that the searcher can be quickly introduced.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problem As a means for solving the above problems, the inventor traces a personal connection from an acquaintance to an acquaintance, and a searcher searches for a desired search target person,
A personal network search system used for receiving an introduction through an acquaintance, comprising a server and a terminal capable of transmitting / receiving to / from the server, wherein the server stores a plurality of registered persons and predetermined items of acquaintances. A storage means and a search means for searching a series of personal connections with one registrant as a searcher and other registrants or their acquaintances who are connected through a direct acquaintance of the searcher as a search target, and the personal connection Result transmitting means for transmitting the result to the terminal of the searcher, for each person existing in the connection of personal connections, and a personal connection confirmation means for confirming the availability of acquaintances directly connected to himself, the personal connection confirmation means, (EN) Provided is a personal connection search system which is executed by a search target person and is sequentially executed one by one to the searcher side in accordance with the connection of personal connections.

In such a personal network search system, first, predetermined items such as names, addresses, mail addresses, ages, telephone numbers, occupations and specialties of a plurality of registered persons are stored in the personal network storing means, and further, a plurality of registered persons are registered. The personal connection database is constructed by storing the personal information of the acquaintance. For this database, by searching by one of the registered persons as a searcher, the search target person is extracted from a direct acquaintance of the searcher through an acquaintance, or an acquaintance of the acquaintance, or a further acquaintance, It is possible to obtain a network of connections from the searcher to the search target person through the acquaintance. Then, by using the personal network confirmation means, the search target person is asked whether or not the personal network is connected such as "Do you really know an acquaintance who is directly connected to the target person or can you introduce yourself through the acquaintance?" Confirm your intention. If the search target person approves with this confirmation, next, the same confirmation is performed with respect to the acquaintance of the search target person existing in the network, and the searcher side is sequentially confirmed in the same manner. When all the persons existing in the personal connection are approved, the personal connection is established, and the searcher can receive the introduction of the search target person.
In this way, since the intention is confirmed by a person who has a personal connection, it is possible to respect the free will of the search target person who is a party to the introduction, and to receive a smooth introduction without being trapped by human error.

Further, in the above system, the result transmitting means anonymously displays each of the persons who are connected to each other on the terminal of the searcher, so that who specifically intervenes in the searcher. I do not know. Therefore, in the personal connection confirmation means, even if, for example, an acquaintance of the searcher who exists in the personal connection refuses the introduction (denies the personal connection), the searcher knows that the acquaintance has refused. Therefore, it is possible to more respect the free will of each person in the network. Further, even if a person existing in the personal connection is registered for the purpose of mischief, for example, there is no possibility that the personal information of the person is recognized by the searcher.

Further, in the above system, the personal connection confirmation means is performed through the terminal of each person existing in the personal connection, and only the acquaintance directly connected to the person is displayed on the terminal of each person with a real name. As a result, it is possible for each person to recognize who they are introducing or who they are receiving. Therefore, it is possible to contribute to the determination as to whether to accept or decline the personal connection.
In addition, since only the real names of the direct acquaintances (persons before and after the connection with each other) of each person are displayed, the privacy of other persons is protected.

Further, in the above system, when the connection of plural routes is obtained by the searching means,
By performing the personal connection confirmation means in parallel for all the routes, at least any one of them is compared with the case where the personal connection confirmation process is performed for only one route.
The probability that a personal connection will be established by one route is increased, and further, a personal connection may be established by two or more routes at the same time.

Further, the present invention is a personal network search system used by a searcher to search for a desired search target person by tracing a personal network connecting from an acquaintance to an acquaintance and to receive an introduction through the acquaintance. The server comprises a server and a terminal capable of transmitting / receiving data to / from the server, and the server includes a personal network storing means for storing predetermined items of a plurality of registrants and their acquaintances, and one registrant as a searcher, and Search means for searching a series of personal connections with other registrants or acquaintances who are connected through acquaintances as search subjects, result transmission means for transmitting the result of the personal connection to the terminal of the searcher, and the personal connections For each person existing in the connection, with personal connection confirmation means for confirming the availability of acquaintances who are directly connected to themselves, the result transmission means, to the terminal of the searcher, anonymously each person in the connection When displayed On the personal connections confirmation means, to provide a networking retrieval system running in parallel with each person all in networking connection.

According to such a system, the confirmation work can be completed in a shorter time as compared with the case where the confirmation processing is sequentially performed as described above.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of a personal connection search system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the personal connection search system 1 is mainly configured by a server 2 installed at a predetermined location and a terminal 3 installed on a client side. The server 2 and each terminal 3 are connected to the Internet. (WAN), LAN, and other communication line networks 5 are connected.

The server 2 has a function as a general-purpose WWW server, and has a CPU, storage, hard disk, and RAM so that general processing of electronic information can be performed.
It is equipped with hardware such as a storage device, an input / output device, a transmission / reception device, a display, a printing device, and the like.
The terminal 3 includes a personal computer, a mobile phone, etc.
A WWW browser or the like for accessing to is provided.

The CPU of the server 2 processes the data from the terminal, the transmission / reception processing to / from the terminal, the processing of storing the personal information transmitted from the registrant in the storage device (personal network storage means), and the searcher (registrant). A process of searching for personal connections in response to a search request, a route narrowing process that discards routes when multiple routes are obtained, and multiple connections are obtained when multiple routes are obtained. Changing process, a process of transmitting a search result to the terminal of the searcher, a terminal of each person in the obtained personal connections, a process of confirming whether the connection is possible, various processes described later such as a route number determination means, Execution is controlled according to the program stored in the storage device.

The storage device of the server 2 stores predetermined items of registrants and their acquaintances, and constitutes personal network storage means. Specifically, the personal information of the registrant and his acquaintance, and the ID of the registrant are stored. The personal information stores the name, address, age, telephone number, email address, occupation, specialty, hobby, etc. ing. Also, in order to prevent variations in search keywords during searches, terms such as lawyers and architects are pre-assigned to personal information (occupation, specialty, etc.) that is likely to be used frequently as a search item. It will be displayed as a pull-down menu on the terminal screen. In addition, the storage device stores programs and data necessary for operating this system.

Next, the operation of the system 1 having the above configuration will be described below with reference to FIGS. <Embodiment 1> First, a registrant who participates in the present system 1 transmits predetermined information such as his / her name, address, age, telephone number, occupation, and specialty to the server, and the transmission / reception means of the server receives this. At this time, in order to prevent unauthorized use, the server confirms the identity with a credit card, a bank account, or the like, and then sends the registration ID to the terminal of the registrant. Next, the registrant, about his acquaintance, its name, address,
Predetermined items such as age, telephone number, occupation, specialty, and relationships are sent to the server. At the time of this acquaintance registration, the registrant sends the accreditation degree of the acquaintance. For example, when the acquaintance is a parent, the confidence level is 100, and when the acquaintance is a colleague of the company, the confidence level is 70 and the like is digitized and input. The sent acquaintance data is stored and accumulated in the storage device.

As the number of registrants increases, a broader personal network database is constructed. Specifically, the conceptual diagram of FIG. 3 (the alphabet indicates the registrant, the circle indicates the acquaintance registered by the registrant, and the arrow indicates which registrant registered the acquaintance. The circled alphabet indicates other (For example, the registrant indicates a registrant registered as an acquaintance), the registrant A registers the registrants B, D, and F as acquaintances, and the registrants B and D define A as an acquaintance. It is registered, and A, D and B, C are like registering common acquaintances.

The registrant can enter the ID and perform a search action. This will be described with reference to FIG. Step S
In 1, the one registrant (that is, the searcher) inputs a predetermined item of the search target person from the search screen of the server using the terminal, for example, when looking for a lawyer, the lawyer or the like and sends it to the server. To do. Although not shown in the figure, the interface screen for search is divided into predetermined items such as age, occupation, and specialty, and the search terms (lawyer, architect, etc.) used during registration are stored in it. You can select the display from the pull-down menu. Further, the search items can be searched by a conventionally known search method such as AND or OR search.

In step S2, the search means searches the relevant person to be searched by tracing the personal connection of the personal connection database according to the transmitted search item, and the found result is:
From a searcher through one or more acquaintances to a search target person, as a result of a series of network connections, a hard disk or RA
It is stored in M or the like. This search means uses the direct acquaintance of the searcher (acquaintance registered by the searcher) as a starting point and traces only the portion connected from the acquaintance to the acquaintance. For example, in the example of FIG. 3, the searcher A → direct acquaintance B → search target person, searcher A → direct acquaintance D → search target person, searcher A → direct acquaintance F → indirect acquaintance G → search target person You can get the result of connecting people to the route.

In step S3, it is determined whether or not a search target person exists. If there is no search target person, send the result to the terminal and prompt again whether to execute the search,
If there is a re-search request, the process returns to step S2, and if there is no re-request, the process ends. On the other hand, if the search target person exists, the process proceeds to step S4.

In step S4, the number-of-routes determining means determines whether the personal connection is one route or a plurality of routes. As a result of the search, if the personal connection is single, the process proceeds to step S6, and if there are a plurality of routes, the process proceeds to step S5.

In step S5, a plurality of personal connections are sorted by the sorting means. This rearrangement is performed by using the first criterion as the one having the fewest acquaintances intervening in the connection with the human network, and the second criterion as the second criterion having the high reliability of the registered acquaintance. For example, in the example of FIG. 3, when the network connection result of three routes of A → B → search target person, A → D → search target person, A → F → G → search target person is obtained, the sorting means First, first, A → B → search target person with a small number of intervening persons, A → D → search target person are ranked higher in the order of A → F → G → search target. The reliability of D is compared to determine the order of arrangement of both. If D is higher in reliability than B, A → D → search target person is sorted in the highest order, A → B → search target person, A → F → G → search target person.

In step S6, the result transmitting means anonymously transmits the search result to the terminal of the searcher who is in a personal connection. For example, if the searcher is Nippon Taro, the acquaintance X is Joji Jiro, the acquaintance Y is the trademark Hanako, and the search target is Umeko Isho, "Nippon Taro-> acquaintance X-> acquaintance Y"
→ Anonymously display each connected person such as "Search target". If it is determined in step S5 that there are connections among multiple routes, in the rearranged order,
And anonymously display all connections. By displaying anonymously in this way, the searcher recognizes that the search target person has hit, but since the specific name is not known, the privacy and free will of each person are respected.

When the searcher sends a message to the effect that he / she wants to be introduced, in step S7, the personal connection confirmation means first confirms with the search target person whether the personal connection is possible. Specifically, for example, the search target (lawyer) is asked, "For example, an acquaintance of Mr. Z is looking for a lawyer. You have a personal connection through Mr. Z. Are you OK?" , Confirm whether to accept or decline the referral. This confirmation is preferably performed on the terminal of the search target person and notified by e-mail or the like. Also, in this notification
In order to contribute to the judgment of the search target person, the real name is displayed only for the direct acquaintance of the search target person. In particular,
For example, if the searcher is Nihon Taro, the direct acquaintance X is Jiro Jiro, the direct acquaintance Y of X is the trademark Hanako, and the search target is Umeko Isho, then the searcher is called “acquaintance X → Hanako trademark Hanako Is displayed. And the search target is
Access the server, enter consent or non-acceptance, and if approved, in step S8, in the case of non-acceptance, notify the terminal of the searcher to the effect that "connection was cut off halfway", Close the search system. In addition, even if the personal connection is obtained by a plurality of routes, the personal connection confirmation means may be configured so that this confirmation processing is executed for the highest connection among the rankings by the rearrangement means. Good but
It is preferable that the confirmation processing is executed in parallel for all the routes or a plurality of routes selected by the searcher. If the confirmation process is performed only for one connection route, and if one of the interveners denies the connection, the system will either terminate or the search will have to be performed again. By performing these routes in parallel, it is more likely that a personal connection will be established on any route than when one route is confirmed, and the time loss of the searcher can be saved. Because. In addition, a plurality of routes for establishing personal connections may be obtained at the same time, and there is an advantage that a searcher can select which route of the established personal connections will be introduced.

Next, in step S8, the personal connection confirmation means confirms with a direct acquaintance of the search target person whether or not the same is possible. That is, the presence / absence of consent is confirmed at the terminal of the direct acquaintance of the search target person. At this time, in order to contribute to the determination, only the direct acquaintances of the search target person's direct acquaintances are displayed with real names. Specifically, for example, the searcher is Taro Nippon, the direct acquaintance X is the patent Jiro, the direct acquaintance Y of X is the trademark Hanako,
When the person to be searched is Umeko Isho, it is displayed as "Searcher → Jiro Jiro → Hanako Trademark → Umeko Isho”. Then, if the acquaintance of the search target person consents, if there is an unidentified intermediary (acquaintance) in the network connection, the remaining person is sequentially traced back to the searcher side, and this is repeated (step 9). ). When all the persons in the personal connection have agreed, the personal connection is established and the process proceeds to step 10.
Note that it is possible that the search target person or intermediary person may leave the server as it is without accessing the server. Therefore, if you leave it for a certain period (for example, 3 days) despite sending the confirmation email, etc. The timed process to be treated as is programmed.

In step S10, the result display means displays the real names of all the persons existing in the personal connection on the searcher's terminal, and accordingly, the searcher directly identifies the acquaintances who are intervening in the personal connection. You can receive referrals from the search target via. In this way, the first embodiment
According to the search results, even if connection is obtained,
Immediately the searcher does not recognize the real name of each person who is connected to the network, and the search target person confirms whether or not the connection is established. be able to. Also, when confirming,
Since the real names of the people before and after are displayed, it is possible to grasp the connection from who to who, and there is no fear of giving an unexpected disadvantage to each person due to mischievous purposes or false registration.

<Second Embodiment> The second embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, step S7
The personal connection confirmation means first confirms whether or not the search target person is permitted, and then sequentially executes confirmation to the searcher side. However, the personal connection confirmation means of the second exemplary embodiment is provided for each person existing in the personal connection. The confirmation processing is executed in parallel (simultaneously) with respect to all (search target person and one or more acquaintances).
Specifically, for example, in the case of the network connection of searcher → acquaintance X → acquaintance Y → search target person, if there is a searcher introduction request in step S6, the acquaintance X, the acquaintance Y, and the search target person are simultaneously broadcast. The personal connection confirmation means is executed. Then, if at least one of the persons has disconnected or left the personal connection, the personal connection is not finally established, and the search system ends. In this way, by performing the confirmation processing for all the persons who are connected to each other at the same time, the time required for the confirmation work can be shortened. It should be noted that the searcher may be configured to be able to select whether to execute sequentially as in the first embodiment or in parallel as in the second embodiment. In this case, in step S6 , Program the searcher to select it.

<Third Embodiment> In the first embodiment described above, as a result of the search, when it is determined in step S4 that there are a plurality of routes, the sorting means of step S5 ranks the routes. In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, when it is determined in step S4 that there are a plurality of personal connection routes, route narrowing means is inserted.

In step S11, the route narrowing means confirms, for each of a plurality of routes, whether or not a person is connected to a person who is randomly or artificially selected from among the persons who are connected to each other. Specifically, for example, A (searcher) → B → C → D (search target person), A → E → F, A → G
When a plurality of personal connection routes such as → H → I, A → J → K → L → M → N are searched, the route narrowing means determines which of the persons existing in the personal connection of each route. Server randomly selects (eg, B, F, H,
(K, L, etc.), and confirms whether this person knows his / her acquaintance by e-mail or the like in parallel. This confirmation processing may be performed by the same method as the personal connection confirmation means described above. Then, when the personal connection is denied on all the routes, the fact is transmitted to the searcher and the system is terminated.
When the network connection is approved by any of the routes, it is judged how many approved routes exist (step S
4 ') If only one route is approved, go to step S6. If a plurality of routes are approved, sort them in step S5, and perform the same processing as in the first or second embodiment. To do.

In the third embodiment, since the confirmation process is first performed after the search, it is possible to preliminarily filter out routes that are unlikely to establish personal connections. Therefore, it is possible to increase the possibility that a personal connection will be established when the confirmation process is performed in the subsequent step S8, and it is particularly meaningful when the personal connection database becomes huge and an extremely large number of routes are detected. It should be noted that the searcher may be configured to select whether or not to execute the narrowing-down means. In this case, an interface screen that allows the searcher to select it may be provided between step S4 and step S11. You can insert a program to display it.

[0034]

As described above, in the personal connection search system according to the present invention, after the searcher uses the personal connection database and searches for the search target person through an acquaintance, the search target person sequentially proceeds to the searcher side. In order to confirm whether or not there is a personal connection, it is possible to respect the free will of the search target person who is a party to the introduction. Therefore, the personal connection is established only when the search target person or the intermediary wants to introduce the person, and the searcher can receive the smooth introduction by following the personal connection.

Further, in the personal network search system in which the transmitting means is configured to anonymously display each person who is in the personal network on the terminal of the searcher, the searcher cannot recognize who is actually intervening. Therefore, each person who is in the network connection can also deny the network connection without hesitating to the searcher. Therefore, it is possible to further respect the free will of each person existing in the connection. Further, there is no fear that the searcher recognizes the personal information of the person registered for the purpose of mischief.

Furthermore, the personal connection confirmation means is configured to be performed through the terminal of each person existing in the personal connection, and to display only the acquaintances who are directly connected to the person's terminal with the real name. Can recognize who each person who makes the connection or not is connected with or who is being introduced. Therefore, it is possible to contribute to the determination of whether or not the personal connection can be accepted or rejected.

Further, in the personal-connection searching system constituted so that the personal-connection confirmation means is operated in parallel for all the routes when the personal connections of a plurality of routes are obtained by the searching means, the personal connections are established. The probability of doing so increases.

In addition, the personal-connection check system, in which the personal-connection confirmation means is configured to be executed in parallel for all the persons who are connected to each other, makes the confirmation as compared with the case where the confirmation processing is performed for each person in sequence. The work can be completed in a shorter time.
Therefore, the searcher can quickly follow the network and receive the introduction of the search target person.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a personal connection search system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of the same.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing personal relationships in a personal database of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Personal network search system, 2 ... Server, 3 ... Terminal

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Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A personal network search system, which is used for a searcher to search for a desired search target person and to receive an introduction through an acquaintance by tracing a personal connection from an acquaintance to a server, and a server, The server comprises a terminal capable of sending and receiving data, and the server includes a personal network storing means for storing predetermined items of a plurality of registrants and their acquaintances, and one registrant as a searcher, via a direct acquaintance of the searcher. Retrieval means for searching a series of personal connections with other registered persons or their acquaintances who are connected as search targets, result transmitting means for transmitting the result of the personal connections to the terminal of the searcher, and being present in the personal connections For each person, provided with personal connection confirmation means for confirming the availability of acquaintances who are directly connected to themselves, the personal connection confirmation means is executed from the search target person, and sequentially traces back to the searcher side one by one according to the personal connection Fruit A personal connection search system characterized by being performed. 2. The personal connection search system according to claim 1, wherein the result transmission unit anonymously displays each person who is in the personal connection on the terminal of the searcher. 3. The personal connection confirmation means is performed through the terminal of each person existing in the personal connection, and displays only the acquaintances who are directly connected to the person with the real name on the terminal of each person. Personal network search system. 4. The personal network confirmation means is performed in parallel for all the routes when the personal network connection of a plurality of routes is obtained in the search means. Personal network search system. 5. A personal network search system, which is used for a searcher to search for a desired search target person and to receive an introduction through an acquaintance by tracing a personal network connected from an acquaintance to a server, The server comprises a terminal capable of sending and receiving data, and the server includes a personal network storing means for storing predetermined items of a plurality of registrants and their acquaintances, and one registrant as a searcher, via a direct acquaintance of the searcher. Retrieval means for searching a series of personal connections with other registered persons or their acquaintances who are connected as search targets, result transmitting means for transmitting the result of the personal connections to the terminal of the searcher, and being present in the personal connections For each person to be provided with a personal connection confirmation means for confirming the availability of acquaintances directly connected to himself, the result transmission means, to the terminal of the searcher, while anonymously displaying each person in the personal connection, The above Pulse check means, networking retrieval system characterized in that it is performed in parallel with each person all in networking connection.