JP2004295878A - Inquiry processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inquiry processor capable of making an adequate answer without imposing unnecessary correspondence burden on a respondent. <P>SOLUTION: A server 20 stores a history of merchandise pages provided to a user terminal in a history database 25. An inquiry contents receiving part 26 receives inquiry contents from the user terminal. A history determining part 27 refers to the history database 25 to determine whether the user terminal is provided with a prescribed merchandise page. An inquiry information providing part 29 provides a respondent terminal with the inquiry contents and determination results. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for providing additional information other than the content of an inquiry to a respondent who answers an inquiry from a user who browses a web page group such as an electronic catalog.

In recent years, electronic catalogs have become popular. An electronic catalog is made up of a series of web pages on which various kinds of information about a product are described. The user can obtain information on the product by browsing the web page.
In addition, some electronic catalogs have an inquiry page prepared in order to accept an inquiry from a user and are linked to a product page on which product information is posted.

In general, the inquiry page is provided with an entry column for inquiry contents, a send button, and the like. The user enters the contents of the inquiry in this entry column and clicks the send button. Thereby, the content of the inquiry is transmitted to the respondent who should answer the inquiry. In response, the respondent returns the answer to the user by e-mail (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP-A-2002-7887

  However, if the content of the inquiry is insufficient, it may be difficult for the respondent to estimate the degree of the product knowledge of the user only from the text. In such a case, the respondent may respond to the inquiry with a general response for everyone or ask the user for the meaning of the inquiry. However, in the case of the former, there is a problem that the answer is not always accurate for the user, and in the case of the latter, there is an unnecessary burden on the respondent.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an inquiry processing device capable of giving an accurate answer without generating an unnecessary burden on the respondent.

  An inquiry processing device according to the present invention is an inquiry processing device that provides a web page group including a browsing page and an inquiry page to a browsing terminal via a network, and includes a browsing page provided to the browsing terminal. Storage means for storing a history, receiving means for receiving the inquiry content written and transmitted on the inquiry page at the viewer terminal, and receiving the inquiry content by the receiving means, the viewer terminal for predetermined browsing A determination unit that determines whether or not a page is provided based on the history; and a provision that provides to the respondent to the inquiry content the inquiry content received by the reception unit and the determination result of the determination unit. Means.

  According to the above configuration, the inquiry processing device can provide the respondent not only with the content of the inquiry but also with the determination result as to whether or not the predetermined browsing page has been provided to the user terminal. Thereby, the respondent can know from the determination result whether the user is browsing the predetermined browsing page. Therefore, the respondent can reply not only by referring to the content of the inquiry but also by referring to the determination result.

  For example, assume that a web page group is an electronic catalog, and a plurality of product pages have a hierarchical structure according to the level of detail of product information. Further, a product page having the most detailed product information is assumed as the predetermined browsing page. In this case, the respondent can know whether the user has browsed the product page with the most detailed product information, together with the content of the inquiry from the user. In general, a user with a good knowledge of products often browses a product page with detailed product information. Accordingly, the respondent can estimate the degree of the user's product knowledge, and can accurately answer without giving an unnecessary burden to the respondent.

Further, the inquiry processing device further comprises an inspection unit for inspecting whether or not the page is a predetermined page for browsing, each time the page for browsing is provided to the browsing terminal, and the storage unit includes: The inspection result may be stored as the history.
According to the above configuration, the query processing device only needs to store the test result as a history, so that the storage capacity can be effectively used.

  An inquiry processing method according to the present invention, in an inquiry processing device that provides a web page group including a browsing page and an inquiry page to a browsing terminal via a network, stores a history of the browsing page provided to the browsing terminal. A storage step of saving, a receiving step of receiving the inquiry content written and transmitted on the inquiry page in the browsing terminal, and, if the inquiry content is received by the receiving step, a predetermined browsing page is stored in the browsing terminal. Whether or not to provide, a determining step to determine based on the history, the query content received by the receiving step and the determination result of the determining step, providing step to provide a respondent to the query content including.

According to the above configuration, the inquiry processing method can provide the same effect as the above-described inquiry processing device.
An inquiry processing program according to the present invention is a computer for providing a group of web pages including a product page and an inquiry page to a viewer terminal via a network, wherein the computer stores a history of browsing pages provided to the viewer terminal. Step, a receiving step of receiving the inquiry content written and transmitted in the inquiry page at the browsing terminal, and, if the inquiry content is received by the receiving step, providing a predetermined browsing page to the browsing terminal. A determination step of determining whether or not the inquiry has been made based on the history; and a providing step of providing the content of the inquiry received by the receiving step and the determination result of the determination step to a respondent to the content of the inquiry.

  According to the above configuration, the computer can achieve the same effects as the inquiry processing device.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
<Overview>
Embodiment 1 describes a system including a user terminal that browses an electronic catalog, a server that provides an electronic catalog, and a respondent terminal of a respondent to an inquiry. The electronic catalog includes a plurality of product pages and one inquiry page. Each product page carries product information, and is classified into one of the following layers according to the level of detail of the product information: a large classification layer, a small classification layer, a series layer, and a product number layer. The inquiry page has a column for entering the contents of the inquiry.

The server according to the first embodiment receives the inquiry content from the user terminal, and saves, in the inquiry information database, a determination result as to whether the user is browsing the product page of the product number layer together with the inquiry content. The contents of the inquiry and the determination result are provided to the respondent terminal.
Generally, a user who has a good knowledge of products often browses the product page of the product number layer. Accordingly, the respondent can estimate the degree of the user's product knowledge, and can accurately answer without giving an unnecessary burden to the respondent.
<Structure>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a user terminal, a server, and a respondent terminal.

The user terminal 10 is a computer that presents a product page or an inquiry page of an electronic catalog to a user, and includes an operation receiving unit 11, a screen information requesting unit 12, a screen information receiving unit 13, a display unit 14, and an inquiry information transmitting unit 15. .
The server 20 is a web server that provides an electronic catalog, and includes a request receiving unit 21, a screen information extracting unit 22, a screen information database 23, a screen information transmitting unit 24, a history database 25, an inquiry information receiving unit 26, and a history determining unit 27. , An inquiry information database 28 and an inquiry information providing unit 29.

The server 20 is, specifically, a computer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk unit, and the like. Each function such as provision of an electronic catalog is realized by the CPU executing a computer program stored in the ROM or the RAM.
The respondent terminal 30 is a computer for presenting the contents of the inquiry from the user to the respondent.

The operation receiving unit 11 receives an operation from a user. The user's operation is, for example, clicking a link button on a product page, or entering an inquiry in an entry field on an inquiry page. The click of the link button of the product page or the transmission button of the inquiry page is notified to the screen information request unit 12.
The screen information requesting unit 12 transmits the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the linked page to the server 20.

The request receiving unit 21 receives the URL of the page of the link destination, and notifies the screen information extracting unit 22 and the history database 25 of the URL.
The screen information extracting unit 22 extracts an HTML (HyperText Markup Language) file corresponding to the linked page based on the URL from the screen information database 23. The extracted HTML file is sent to the screen information transmitting unit 24.

The screen information database 23 stores each HTML file corresponding to each page of the electronic catalog for each page.
The screen information transmitting unit 24 transmits an HTML file corresponding to the linked page to the screen information receiving unit 13.
The history database 25 classifies URLs notified from the request receiving unit 21 for each user ID and stores them. Thereby, the history of the product page browsed in the electronic catalog by the user is left.

The screen information receiving unit 13 receives the HTML file corresponding to the linked page from the screen information transmitting unit 24 and sends the HTML file to the display unit 14.
The display unit 14 interprets the HTML file by a browser and displays the HTML file on a monitor.
The above are the components necessary for displaying the linked product page on the user terminal.

  The link destination is not always the product page, and may jump to the inquiry page. This is realized by the user clicking the link button to the inquiry page on each product page. The inquiry page is provided with an entry field for inquiry contents and a send button. The inquiry content is received by the operation receiving unit 11 and sent to the inquiry information transmitting unit 15.

The inquiry information transmitting unit 15 transmits the contents of the inquiry to the inquiry information receiving unit 26.
The inquiry information receiving unit 26 receives the contents of the inquiry, notifies the history determining unit 27 of the fact, and inputs the contents of the inquiry to the inquiry information database 28.
Upon receiving the notification from the inquiry information receiving unit 26, the history determination unit 27 refers to the history database 25 and determines whether the user is browsing the product page of the product number layer. Here, the product number layer is a layer having the most detailed product information in the electronic catalog having a hierarchical structure.

The history determination unit 27 inputs the determination result to the inquiry information database 28.
The inquiry information database 28 stores the inquiry content from the inquiry information receiving unit 26 and the determination result from the history determination unit 27 in association with each other.
The inquiry information providing unit 29 provides the content of the inquiry stored in the inquiry information database 28 and the determination result corresponding thereto to the respondent terminal 30. In addition, as a method of providing the contents of the inquiry, a case where the inquiry content is provided by a web page when accessed from the respondent terminal 30, a case where the inquiry content is provided to the respondent terminal 30 by e-mail, and the like are considered.

The above are the components necessary for providing the contents of the inquiry from the user to the respondent.
According to this, the server 20 can provide the respondent with the determination result as to whether the user has browsed the product page of the product number layer and the content of the inquiry.
<Operation>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating operations of the user terminal, the server, and the respondent terminal.

The user terminal receives a user operation (step S101). Here, the user's operation is a click on a link button on a product page or a click on a send button on an inquiry page.
The user terminal transmits the URL of the link destination to the server (Step S102). Here, when the transmission button of the inquiry page is clicked, the content of the inquiry is transmitted attached to the URL.

The server receives the URL (step S103), and stores the URL in a history database as a user's browsing history (step S104).
The server determines whether the inquiry content is attached to the URL of the link destination (step S105).
If the inquiry content is attached (Step S105: Yes), the server refers to the history database and determines whether or not the user is browsing the product page of the product number layer (Step S106). If the inquiry content is not attached (step S105: No), the process proceeds to step S109.

The server provides the result of the determination and the contents of the inquiry to the respondent terminal (step S107).
The respondent terminal presents the determination result and the content of the inquiry to the respondent (step S108).
The server extracts the HTML file indicated by the URL from the screen information database (Step S109).

The server sends the HTML file to the user terminal (Step S110).
The user terminal receives the HTML file (step S111) and displays the screen using a browser (step S112).
The following is a specific application example of the above server.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a hierarchical structure of the electronic catalog.

FIG. 3 assumes an electronic catalog provided by a manufacturer that manufactures and sells electronic components. Each product page is classified into any one of a large classification layer, a small classification layer, a series layer, and a product number layer according to the level of detail of the product information. The degree of detail of the product information increases as it approaches the product number layer. Each product page has an individual URL, and is linked using the URL.
For example, when a user browsing an aluminum electrolytic capacitor clicks a link button to a V-type S series, the URL of the V-type S series is transmitted to the server, and an HTML file corresponding to the URL is transmitted from the screen information database of the server. Is returned. The server further stores the URL of the V-type S series in the history database in association with the user ID.

In addition, an inquiry button that links to an inquiry page is prepared on each product page. As a result, the user can call the inquiry page by clicking the inquiry button, enter the content of the inquiry in the entry field of the inquiry page, and transmit the entry.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the contents of the history database.
The history database stores the history of the product page requested by the user for each user.

FIG. 4A shows the history of the user A.
According to this, it is understood that the user A is browsing each product page of “capacitor”, “aluminum electrolytic capacitor”, and “V-type S series”.
FIG. 4B shows the history of the user B.
Further, it can be seen that the user B is browsing each product page of “capacitor”, “aluminum electrolytic capacitor”, “V-type S series”, “ECEV0GA101SR”, and “V-type HB series”.

  Upon receiving the inquiry from the user terminal, the server refers to the history database to determine whether the user is browsing the product page of the product number layer. For example, the determination result is negative if the inquiry is from the user A shown in FIG. 4 and is positive if the inquiry is from the user B. This determination result is stored in the inquiry information database in association with the contents of the inquiry.

The server provides the content of the inquiry stored in the inquiry information database and the determination result corresponding thereto to the respondent terminal.
FIG. 5 is a display example of the content of the inquiry on the respondent terminal.
The respondent terminal displays the inquiry content provided from the server and the determination result.
The contents of the inquiry are displayed in the display column D11. In addition, the determination result is displayed in a display column D12. The display field D12 displays "No browsing of the part number layer" when the determination result is positive, and displays "No browsing of the part number layer" when the determination result is negative.

For example, in the case of an inquiry from the user A in FIG. 4, the content of the inquiry is displayed in the display column D11 and "No browsing of the article number layer" is displayed in the display column D12. In addition, if there is an inquiry from the user B, the content of the inquiry is displayed in the display column D11, and "displayed part number layer" is displayed in the display column D12.
For example, the respondent can guess that the user B has rich product knowledge and can omit a rudimentary explanation.

  Further, for example, when an inquiry is made from a user who has caused a trouble by actually using the product number “ECEV0GA101SR”, the initial response of the respondent is changed depending on whether the user is browsing the product page of the product number “ECEV0GA101SR”. be able to. For example, the user A may be asked to browse the product page first, and may be answered so as to confirm whether the product is suitable for the user's use environment. On the other hand, the user B can be provided with more detailed specifications that are not posted on the product page.

As described above, since the respondent can estimate the degree of the product knowledge of the user, it is possible to accurately answer without giving an unnecessary burden on the respondent.
(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the user terminal, the server, and the respondent terminal.
In the server 40, the functions of a screen information transmitting unit 44, a history database 45, and an inquiry information providing unit 49 are different from those of the first embodiment. Hereinafter, only the configuration different from the first embodiment will be described.

The screen information transmitting unit 44 transmits the HTML file corresponding to the product page to the screen information receiving unit 13 and inputs the attribute information of the product page to the history database 45.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an HTML file.
In the HTML file, a “name” tag and a “value” tag are described as attribute information of the HTML file (see t1).

  According to the “name” tag, it is understood that the level of the hierarchy of the product page is “1”. Here, level “1” indicates a large classification layer, “2” indicates a small classification layer, “3” indicates a series layer, and “4” indicates a part number layer. Further, according to the “value” tag, it can be seen that the product code is “AAB0000”. The screen information transmitting unit 44 can know the attribute of the product page by monitoring the tag.

The history database 45 stores the level and the product code of the HTML file transmitted by the screen information transmission unit 44 as a history.
FIG. 8 shows the contents of the history database.
FIG. 8A shows the history of the user A, and FIG. 8B shows the history of the user B.
The history database stores a user ID, a hierarchy, a product code, a level, and a URL. The product code and the level are input by the screen information transmitting unit 44.

When the inquiry information is received from the inquiry information receiving unit 26, the inquiry information providing unit 49 specifies the name of the product page such as “capacitor” from the product code and the level in the history database. For identification, a classification database, a series database, and a part number database are used.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a classification database, a series database, and a part number database.

FIG. 9A shows a classification database that associates classification codes with classification names.
The classification database manages each product page of the large classification layer and the small classification layer in FIG.
FIG. 9B shows a series database that associates series codes with series names.

The series database manages each product page of the series layer in FIG.
FIG. 9C shows a part number database that associates a series code with a part number code.
The product number database manages each product page of the product number layer in FIG.
Here, in each code, the upper two digits correspond to the large classification, the third digit corresponds to the small classification, and the fourth to seventh digits correspond to the series. Thus, the inquiry information providing unit 49 can grasp the hierarchical structure of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a display example of the content of the inquiry on the respondent terminal 30.
The display field D23 displays a product page (hereinafter, referred to as a “reference page”) for which the user has clicked the inquiry button. Furthermore, if there is a product page at the end of the hierarchical structure as viewed from the reference page among the product pages viewed by the user, the product page is also displayed.
For example, when the user clicks the inquiry button on the product page of "V-type S series", "V-type S series" is displayed in the column of series. Furthermore, if the user has already browsed the product page of the product number layer at the end of the “V-type S series”, the product page is displayed in the column of the product number layer (see D24 in FIG. 10). If the user is not browsing the product page of the product number layer at the end of the “V-type S series”, the display column D24 is blank. In addition, if the user is browsing a plurality of product pages of the product number layer at the end of the “V-type S series”, a list box D25 is displayed. The list box D25 is an icon indicating that there are a plurality of product pages viewed by the user. When the respondent clicks the list box D25, a list of a plurality of product pages viewed by the user is displayed.

  The inquiry page is linked from any product page. Therefore, the user does not always call the inquiry page from the product page on which the product to be queried is posted. For example, there is a user who browses the product page of the product number layer, returns to the product page of the series layer, and then clicks the inquiry button. Even in such a case, according to the display method, the respondent can infer the degree of the product knowledge of the user. Therefore, the respondent can give an accurate answer without any unnecessary burden.

Further, in the above description, the case where the user clicks the inquiry button on the product page of the series layer is described, but the same applies to the case where the user clicks the inquiry button on the product page of the small classification layer. For example, when the user clicks the inquiry button on the product page of “aluminum electrolytic capacitor”, which is a small classification layer, “aluminum electrolytic capacitor” is displayed in the column of the small classification. At this time, similarly to the above, the display of the series layer and the article number layer differs depending on whether or not the user is browsing the product page at the lower end.
<Modification>
(1) In the embodiment, the target of determining whether or not the user is browsing is the product page of the product number layer, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the following determination targets can be considered.
(A) An arbitrary product page preset by the electronic catalog provider.
(B) A product page belonging to a specific hierarchy in the electronic catalog having a hierarchical structure.
(C) A terminal product page in an electronic catalog having a tree structure.
(D) A product page of a specific level of detail in an electronic catalog in which the level of detail is assigned in advance according to the product information for each product page.
(2) In the embodiment, the history of the product page browsed by the user is stored, and it is determined whether or not the product page of the product number layer is browsed when the inquiry content is received. Absent. For example, each time a user requests a product page, whether or not the product page is a product page of a product number layer may be checked, and only the inspection result may be stored as a history. Thus, the server can effectively use the storage capacity.
(3) When providing an inquiry page in response to a request from a user, the server may provide a different inquiry page in accordance with the browsing history of the user.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the inquiry page.
The inquiry page shown in FIG. 11A is provided with an entry column for the purpose of use.
The inquiry page shown in FIG. 11B is provided with an entry column for the purpose of use and an entry column for the specifications desired by the user.
The inquiry page shown in FIG. 11C is provided with an entry column for the purpose of use, an entry column for specifications desired by the user, and an entry column for use conditions.

For example, a user who has a browsing history only up to the large classification layer or the small classification layer is provided with the inquiry page in FIG. In addition, a user who has a browsing history up to the series layer is provided with an inquiry page shown in FIG. A user who has a browsing history up to the product number layer is provided with an inquiry page shown in FIG.
As a result, the entry content can be simplified for a user who does not have much product knowledge, or the entry content can be made more detailed for a user who has a great deal of product knowledge. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the user is confused on the inquiry page by seeking entry contents exceeding the product knowledge of the user.

  In addition, the display of the answer screen provided to the respondent may be different depending on the difference in the entry fields of these inquiry pages.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention can be utilized for the server which provides the respondent who responds to the inquiry from the user who browsed the web page group, such as an electronic catalog, other than the contents of an inquiry.

It is a figure showing composition of a user terminal, a server, and a respondent terminal. It is a figure showing operation of a user terminal, a server, and a respondent terminal. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hierarchical structure of an electronic catalog. It is a figure showing the contents of a history database. It is an example of a display of the contents of an inquiry in a respondent terminal. It is a figure showing composition of a user terminal, a server, and a respondent terminal. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an HTML file. It is a figure showing the contents of a history database. It is a figure showing a classification database, a series database, and a part number database. It is an example of a display of the contents of an inquiry in a respondent terminal. It is a figure showing the example of a display of an inquiry page.

Explanation of reference numerals

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 User terminal 11 Operation reception part 12 Screen information request part 13 Screen information reception part 14 Display part 15 Information transmission part 20 Server 21 Request reception part 22 Screen information extraction part 23 Screen information database 24 Screen information transmission part 25 History database 26 Information reception Unit 27 history determination unit 28 information database 29 inquiry information providing unit 30 respondent terminal 40 server 44 screen information transmission unit 45 history database

Claims (4)

An inquiry processing device that provides a web page group including a browsing page and an inquiry page to a viewer terminal via a network,
Holding means for holding a history of the browsing page provided to the viewer terminal,
Receiving means for receiving the contents of the inquiry that has been written and sent to the inquiry page at the viewer terminal,
If receiving the inquiry content by the receiving means, determining whether or not a predetermined browsing page is provided to the browsing terminal, determining means based on the history,
An inquiry processing device comprising: a providing unit that provides the inquiry content received by the receiving unit and the determination result of the determination unit to a respondent to the inquiry content. The inquiry processing device further includes:
Each time a browsing page is provided to the browsing terminal, an inspection unit for inspecting whether the page is a predetermined browsing page is provided,
The inquiry processing device according to claim 1, wherein the holding unit holds an inspection result of the inspection unit as the history. An inquiry processing method in an electronic catalog providing apparatus for providing a Web page group including a browsing page and an inquiry page to a viewer terminal via a network,
A holding step of holding a history of the browsing page provided to the browsing terminal;
A receiving step of receiving the content of the inquiry written and sent to the inquiry page at the viewer terminal,
If the inquiry content is received by the receiving step, a determination step of determining whether or not a predetermined browsing page is provided to the browsing terminal, based on the history,
A providing step of providing the contents of the inquiry received in the receiving step and the result of the determination in the determining step to a respondent to the contents of the inquiry. An inquiry processing program in a computer that provides a web page group including a browsing page and an inquiry page to a viewer terminal via a network,
A holding step of holding a history of the browsing page provided to the browsing terminal;
A receiving step of receiving the content of the inquiry written and sent to the inquiry page at the viewer terminal,
If the inquiry content is received by the receiving step, a determination step of determining whether or not a predetermined browsing page is provided to the browsing terminal, based on the history,
A providing step of providing the contents of the inquiry received in the receiving step and the result of the determination in the determining step to a respondent to the contents of the inquiry.

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