JP2007004681A - Data acquiring method, data acquiring system, data acquiring device and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce an operational burden of a user required for retrieving a web site on the network. <P>SOLUTION: The user makes access to a data acquiring server 2 by using a terminal unit 10. The data acquiring server 2 transmits a data acquiring program to the terminal unit 10 by receiving the access from the terminal unit 10. The data acquiring program reads a character string stored in a storage area functioning as a clip board in a memory of the terminal unit 10 when received by the terminal unit 10. The terminal unit 10 automatically transmits the content (the character train) of the clip board to the data acquiring server 2 in response to processing regulated by a data processing program by regulating the processing for transmitting the readout character string to the data acquiring server 2. The data acquiring server 2 transmits a retrieval result to the terminal unit 10 by retrieving the web site corresponding to its character string when acquiring the character string. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides a data acquisition method and data acquisition in which a central device automatically acquires data held in a clipboard by a terminal device in response to access from the terminal device, and the acquired data can be used for various objects The present invention relates to a system, a data acquisition device, and a computer program.

  Conventionally, there is dictionary software for a computer in order to check the meaning of a certain word. When such dictionary software is started up after being installed in a computer, a dictionary screen is displayed, and a word to be examined is input into a search field in the dictionary screen. It is common to input a word using a user's manual input or a pasting function (copy & paste, cut & paste) provided by a computer OS (Operating System) (see Patent Documents 1 and 2). .

  Further, when searching for a desired web page from a large number of web pages provided on a network such as the Internet, the user uses a communication terminal (computer, PDA, mobile phone, etc.) to search for a predetermined search site. The search screen of the search site is first displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal. After this, it is the same as in the case of the above dictionary software. In the search field provided on the search screen, the word to be checked is input using the manual input or paste function, and the search instruction and the word to be checked are entered. Send. After the transmission, the server establishing the search site uses a predetermined search engine to search the database for a web page corresponding to the transmitted word, and transmits the search result to the access source communication terminal.

  In Patent Document 3, a symbol stored in an area that the OS functions as a clipboard is displayed from a user's computer to a memory area of a computer so that access to a web page corresponding to a certain symbol can be guided. By transmitting to a predetermined server, the server notifies the user's computer of the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the web page corresponding to the received symbol, and the user can access the desired web page without manually entering the URL. An invention that has been made possible is disclosed.

On the other hand, Patent Documents 4 and 5 disclose systems, methods, and the like that allow contents stored in a clipboard of a computer to be referred to by another computer connected through a network.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-146156 JP 11-328193 A JP 2001-273215 A JP 2002-288124 A JP 2002-288162 A

  As described above, in the conventional general method of searching for a desired web page, a word to be searched is input into a search field provided on a search screen of a search site by using a user's manual input or pasting function. Therefore, there is a problem that the operation burden on the user is large. Further, since the contents according to Patent Documents 1 and 2 relate to search processing in a stand-alone type computer, they cannot be directly applied to processing for searching a desired web page on a network.

  Furthermore, in the invention according to Patent Document 3, it is necessary to install a program called a linker on the user's computer, and only the URL of one web page corresponding to the symbol is notified to the user's computer. It cannot be used for the purpose of searching a large number of web pages on which information on the word is posted. Furthermore, in addition to the web page search as described above, a database constructed for a specific purpose (for example, a patent database storing patent applications, a database storing company information) Etc.) is often used as a search target. Such a search of various databases cannot be handled by the invention according to Patent Document 3, and the actual situation is that a search condition, a word, and the like are input using a manual input or pasting function.

  In the various searches via the network described above, the server (central device) that performs the search basically acquires data such as words and conditions to be searched from the terminal device. In addition to searching, there are many ways to use data, such as various surveys, marketing analysis and analysis, and maintenance and inspection of terminal devices by central devices. Therefore, it is important for various applications that the server acquires data efficiently and smoothly from the terminal device. Furthermore, between devices connected via a network, data held by one device is shared by other devices to improve work efficiency. If the target data is limited to data stored in the clipboard of the computer for data acquisition in such a server and data sharing between apparatuses, the systems, methods and the like according to Patent Documents 4 and 5 will be described. Applicable.

  However, the systems, methods, and the like according to Patent Documents 4 and 5 transmit data stored in the clipboard of one computer to another computer by the user's operation. The data stored in the clipboard cannot be automatically collected, and a predetermined operation by the user is required for data sharing between apparatuses. Therefore, there is a problem in that user acquisition is required for data acquisition via the network, and user-friendly processing cannot be realized.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem. When the central device collects data stored in the clipboard of the terminal device for various uses such as search and survey, the operation burden on the user is reduced. An object of the present invention is to provide a data acquisition method, a data acquisition system, a data acquisition device, and a computer program that can smoothly acquire data by reducing the above.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a data acquisition method in which a plurality of terminal devices can share data via a central device that has acquired data.
Furthermore, an object of the present invention is to provide a data acquisition method capable of efficiently searching various databases based on data acquired by a central apparatus while reducing a user's operation burden.

  In order to solve the above problem, a data acquisition method according to a first aspect of the present invention is a data acquisition method for acquiring data by receiving data transmitted from a terminal device having a display unit and a storage unit through a network by a central device. The terminal device accesses the central device. When the central device receives access from the terminal device, the central device transmits data stored in the storage area related to the clipboard of the storage unit included in the terminal device to the central device. When the program is received and the data stored in the storage area is present, the terminal device stores the program based on the processing specified by the received program. The data stored in the area is transmitted to the central device.

In the data acquisition method according to a second aspect of the present invention, when the central device acquires data, the central device can display the data on a display unit of the terminal device, and generates screen data representing a display screen on which the data is arranged. When the screen data is received from the central device, the terminal device displays a display screen related to the screen data on the display unit.
In the data acquisition method according to a third aspect of the present invention, when the central device acquires data, the central device searches a database based on the acquired data and transmits a search result to the terminal device.

  In the data acquisition method according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the program specifies that data is transmitted in response to a search instruction. When the central device receives access from the terminal device, Screen data representing a display screen that can be displayed on the display unit and provided with a receiving unit that receives a search instruction is transmitted to the terminal device, and the terminal device receives the screen data from the central device. In this case, a display screen related to the screen data is displayed on the display unit, and when a search instruction is received by a reception unit provided on the display screen, the data is transmitted based on a process defined by the program. To do.

  In a data acquisition method according to a fifth aspect of the invention, the program defines a process of reading out data stored in the storage area and arranging the data in the display screen, and the terminal device displays the display screen. In this case, the data is arranged in the display screen based on processing defined by the program.

In the data acquisition method according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the data is a character string, and when the character string includes a plurality of words, the central device is based on the first word in the column order in the character string. It is characterized by searching a database.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the data acquisition method, when the database is searched based on the first word and the search result corresponding to the first word is not obtained, the central device reads the string in the character string. The database is searched based on words after the first in order.

  The data acquisition method according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is such that the terminal device can transmit a history request to the central device, and the central device receives a plurality of accesses from the terminal device. A history table that associates the received data with the reception date and time of the data is created, and when a history request is received from the terminal device, the history table is transmitted to the terminal device.

  In the data acquisition method according to a ninth aspect of the invention, the central device communicates with a plurality of terminal devices, creates a history table based on access from the first terminal device, and receives the first table from a second terminal device. When a history request for a history table related to a terminal device is received, the history table is transmitted to the second terminal device.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data acquisition system including a terminal device capable of storing data in a storage area related to a clipboard of a storage unit, and a central device having means for receiving data transmitted from the terminal device through a network. In the data acquisition system, the central device stores a program that defines a process for transmitting data stored in the storage area to the central device, and when receiving access from the terminal device, the central device Means for transmitting to the terminal device, and when the terminal device receives the program and there is data stored in the storage region, the terminal device stores the data in the storage region based on processing defined by the received program Means for transmitting the processed data to the central unit.

  A data acquisition device according to an eleventh aspect of the invention is a data acquisition device that acquires data from an access source device in response to an access received through a network, and transmits data stored in a storage area related to a clipboard of the access source device to itself Means for storing a program that defines the processing to be performed, means for transmitting the program to an access source device upon access, and means for receiving data from the access source device in response to transmission of the program It is characterized by providing.

  A computer program according to a twelfth aspect of the invention is a computer for causing a computer having processing means for storing data in a storage area related to a clipboard of a storage unit and a communication means to transmit data stored in the storage area. A program that causes the computer to function as means for reading data stored in the storage area and means for transmitting the read data to a predetermined output destination using the communication means.

  In the first invention, the tenth invention, and the eleventh invention, when the central device receives an access from the terminal device, a program that defines a process for obtaining data that is stored in the clipboard of the terminal device is transmitted to the terminal device. Therefore, the terminal device transmits the contents of the clipboard to the central device according to the received program. As a result, the terminal device can automatically acquire the contents of the clipboard of the terminal device without any special operation by the user, and the central device can use the acquired data for various purposes. it can. Moreover, there is no need for the user to install any new program on the terminal device for data acquisition at the central device. Note that the type of data acquired from the clipboard is not particularly limited, and various data such as a character string such as text data, an image, and image data such as a photograph can be acquired.

  In the second invention, when the central device acquires data, the central device creates screen data representing the display screen on which the data is arranged and transmits it to the terminal device. Can be confirmed through the processing of the central unit, and after confirming, the central unit is instructed to proceed with various processes (various searches, investigations, analysis, analysis, maintenance, etc.) using the data. Can be.

  In the third invention, when the central device acquires the data, the database is searched based on the acquired data. Therefore, the search is executed without performing an operation for inputting the search condition, word, etc. The user's operation burden (manual input, paste operation, etc.) for search execution can be greatly reduced compared to the conventional case. The types that can be searched depend on the contents of the database to be searched, and various searches such as web page search, patent information search, and company information search can be performed by setting various databases as search targets.

In the fourth aspect of the invention, the program to be sent to the terminal device is a specification for performing transmission processing in response to acceptance of the search instruction, and the display unit of the terminal device is provided with a reception unit that can accept the search instruction from the user Since the screen is displayed, data transmission to the central apparatus can be started according to the user's instruction. Therefore, the data acquisition process in the central apparatus can be advanced by the user, and the central apparatus does not need to acquire useless data and useless search.
In the fifth invention, since the content stored in the clipboard is displayed on the terminal device side, the user can issue a search instruction after confirming the content of the data to be transmitted, and the user desires Searches according to words can be executed reliably.

In the sixth invention, when the data stored in the clipboard is a character string and the character string includes a plurality of words, the search is performed with the first word in the column order in the character string. Therefore, even if a plurality of words are included, the central device can smoothly perform a search process without using a search method such as AND search and OR search.
In the seventh invention, when the first word in the character string is searched and no hit is found, the next word is automatically searched, so an efficient search is performed for each word. Yes.

  In the eighth invention, when the central device receives a plurality of accesses from the terminal device, it creates a history table in which the received data is associated with the reception date and time, and if there is a history request from the terminal device, creates it Since the history table is transmitted to the terminal device, the user of the terminal device can check the data stored in the clipboard in the past together with the date and time, and can easily reuse the data.

  In the ninth invention, since the history table created by the central device can be referred to by another terminal device, the usage range of the history table is expanded to a plurality of terminal devices, and the usage rate of the history table is increased. Data can be shared between devices via a central device. Note that the plurality of terminal devices that can use the history table can deal with both cases where they are owned by the same user and when owned by different users.

  In the twelfth invention, the program that can be transmitted on the network regulates the process of reading the data stored in the storage area of the transmission destination device and transmitting the read data to the transmission source device. If the program is used, it is possible to suitably perform a process of acquiring data on the central apparatus side while reducing a user's operation burden for searching or the like. Note that this program can be used not only for searching but also for checking a user's operation status and for checking a user's preference.

In the first invention, the tenth invention, and the eleventh invention, the central device transmits a program that defines processing for acquiring and automatically transmitting the contents of the clipboard to the terminal device. The contents of the device clipboard can be acquired efficiently.
In the second invention, when the central device acquires the data, screen data representing the display screen on which the data is arranged is transmitted to the terminal device, so that the user of the terminal device processes the contents of the clipboard with the processing of the central device. Can be easily confirmed.
In the third invention, when the central apparatus acquires data, the database is searched based on the acquired data, so that the operation burden on the user for executing the search can be greatly reduced.

In the fourth aspect of the invention, the process proceeds based on the search instruction, so that unnecessary search processing in the central device can be avoided.
In the fifth invention, since the contents stored in the clipboard are displayed on the terminal device side, the search can be performed after the user confirms the word used for the search.

In the sixth invention, even when a plurality of words are included in the character string of the data, the search is performed on the first word in the column order, so that a smooth search process can be realized.
In the seventh invention, even when the first word in the character string is searched and no hit is found, the next word is searched sequentially, so that the search can be smoothly performed according to a predetermined search procedure.

In the eighth invention, a history table in which data received by the central device is associated with the reception date and time is created, and if there is a history request from the terminal device, the created history table is transmitted to the terminal device. You can easily check past clipboard contents with date and time.
In the ninth invention, since the history table created by the central device can be referred to by another terminal device, the history table can be efficiently shared among a plurality of terminal devices.

  In the twelfth invention, the program that can be transmitted on the network regulates the process of reading the data stored in the storage area of the transmission destination device and transmitting the read data to the transmission source device. It is possible to contribute to the process of acquiring data by reducing the operation load of the user, and a user-friendly processing mode can be realized.

  FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a data acquisition system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The data acquisition system 1 of the first embodiment uses acquired data for search, and a terminal device 10 on a user side and a data acquisition server 2 (corresponding to a central device) are connected by a network NW, and data The acquisition server 2 acquires the contents of the clipboard of the terminal device 10 and searches for a corresponding web page from a large number of web pages based on the acquired contents. It is characterized by a significant reduction in comparison.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main internal configuration of the data acquisition server 2. In this embodiment, a server computer is used as the data acquisition server 2. The data acquisition server 2 connects the CPU 2a, the communication interface unit 2b, the memory 2c, and the hard disk device 2d with the internal bus 2e, and based on the control processing of the CPU 2a. Various processes related to data acquisition and retrieval are performed. The data acquisition server 2 constructs its own search site (web site, a collection of many web pages) in the network NW, and a specific URL is assigned to this search site (web page). Therefore, a device connected to the network NW accesses the data acquisition server 2 using the URL of the search site as a clue. Hereinafter, the data acquisition server 2 will be described in detail.

  The communication interface unit 2b is connected to the network NW, performs communication processing with an external device through the network NW, and performs transmission / reception processing of desired data. In the present embodiment, since the data acquisition server 2 has a search site, the hard disk device 2d allows a device that has accessed the search site to browse the search site with the access source device. Screen data D1 to Dn (n is an integer) representing the stored display screen for browsing are transmitted in a timely manner. Further, the memory 2c temporarily stores the contents of processing performed by the CPU 2a.

  The hard disk device 2d is a large-capacity storage medium, and in this embodiment, stores a data acquisition program P1, a basic program P2, a search program P3, a search database DB, screen data D1 to Dn, and the like.

  The basic program P2 defines the basic processing contents performed by the data acquisition server 2 as a server, the processing contents required for data acquisition, the processing contents related to the search site, and the like, and the CPU 2a defines the contents defined by the basic program P2. Based on the above, a predetermined control process is performed. As for the processing related to the search site, predetermined screen data D1 to Dn are transmitted to the access source device using the communication interface unit 2b according to the access situation. The screen data D1 to Dn are files in a markup language format such as an HTML (Hypertext markup language) file or an XML (extensible markup language) file. By transmitting the screen data D1 to Dn, the access source device, for example, A web page screen 20 (corresponding to a display screen) as shown in FIG. 4A is displayed based on the browser function. The web page screen 20 in FIG. 4A is based on the screen data D1 related to the top page of the search site, and in addition to the clipboard window 20a, a search execution button 20b (accepting a search instruction) that can be selected. And a cancel button 20c are arranged.

  The search program P3 corresponds to a so-called search engine, and defines a known search process equivalent to a search engine used in search sites such as Google (registered trademark) and Yahoo (registered trademark). The CPU 2a searches the search database DB based on the search program P3. The search database DB stores the name, content, URL, and the like of a web page provided on the network in association with a predetermined search word. During the search, the CPU 2a uses the data acquisition server based on the search program P3. 2 searches the search database DB for a web page corresponding to the data (character string) received by 2 and creates the name, content, URL, etc. of the corresponding web page as a search result and predetermined screen data (D1 The search result is arranged in any one of -Dn (see FIG. 5), and the screen data including the search result is transmitted to the transmission source of the character string (search word).

  Further, the data acquisition program P1 is a feature of the present invention, and does not prescribe the processing of the CPU 2a of the data acquisition server 2, but an external device (a device for transmitting a search character string to the data acquisition server 2). The terminal device 10 is equivalent to the processing performed by the terminal device 10 and can be transmitted through the network NW. The data acquisition program P1 is shown separately from the image data D1 to Dn in FIG. 2, but in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4B, the file of the screen data D1 corresponding to the top page is shown. When an external device accesses the data acquisition server 2 through the network NW, it is transmitted together with the screen data D1 to the access source device. Note that such transmission processing of the data acquisition program P1 is defined by the basic program P2 of FIG.

  The data acquisition program P1 is a program written in a script language. When the data acquisition program P1 is received together with the image data D1, a predetermined function of an OS used in the received device is used as an API (Application Programming Interface). Prescribes processing for Specifically, when the data acquisition program P1 is received by a certain device, the data is automatically started by the device, and the data stored in a storage area (memory) of the device that is used as a clipboard by the OS (Character string) is read out, and the process of arranging the character string in the clipboard window 20a provided in the web page screen 20 related to the image data D1 as shown in FIG. In 4 (a), “Tokyo Tower” corresponds to a character string).

  Furthermore, if the search execution button 20b provided in FIG. 4A is selected by the user of the receiving device so that the device receives a search instruction from the user, the data acquisition program P1 The redirect function is used to specify the output destination of the read character string to the data acquisition server 2, and the process of transmitting the character string to the data acquisition server 2 using the communication function of the device is defined. In addition to the form described in the script language as described above, the data acquisition program P1 can be attached to a browser program installed in the access source device (terminal device) (a form in which a plug-in or the like is possible). It may be. In this case, the data acquisition program P1 operates in conjunction with a process that requires data transmission in the same manner as described in the script language in the state where the access source device has activated the browser program. Execute the process linked with the browser program. Further, the data acquisition program P1 is automatically deleted when the browser screen is switched or a predetermined process is ended.

  On the other hand, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of the terminal device 10 on the user side. In this embodiment, a personal computer is used as the terminal device 10. The terminal device 10 has a configuration in which a CPU 11, a communication unit 12, a RAM 13 (corresponding to a storage unit), a ROM 14, a display unit 15, a hard disk device 16, and an operation unit 17 are connected by an internal bus 18. Process. In the present embodiment, the terminal device 10 receives a search instruction for a certain word from the user, receives a search result for the search instruction from the data acquisition server 2, and displays it on the display unit 15. Hereinafter, the terminal device 10 will be described in detail.

  The communication unit 12 is connected to the network NW, performs communication processing with the data acquisition server 2 through the network NW, and transmits / receives desired data. The RAM 13 temporarily stores data, files, and the like based on the processing of the CPU 11, and a predetermined storage area in the RAM 13 is allocated as the clipboard 13 a with the activation of the OS program P 10 stored in the hard disk device 16. . The clipboard 13a stores (stores) data (character string M) acquired by the copy function and cut function of the OS program P10 in a predetermined file format, and pastes (pastes) the OS program P10. The data stored in the clipboard 13a can be pasted to a desired location in the work area in the activated application software. The RAM 13 also stores data and programs received by the communication unit 12 as appropriate.

  The ROM 14 stores a program that defines basic processing performed by the CPU 11, and the display unit 5 displays various screens based on the control of the CPU 11. The operation unit 17 is a device that receives an operation from the user. In the present embodiment, the operation unit 17 includes a keyboard and a pad unit as shown in FIG. The hard disk device 16 stores an OS program P10, a communication program P11, a browser program P12, and the like, and stores a program for application software, various data created by the user, and the like, although not shown.

  The OS program P10 defines a base process for the terminal device 10 to perform various processes, and the CPU 11 performs various control processes based on the OS program P10. The communication program P11 defines the control contents of the CPU 11 related to communication processing performed on the network NW using the communication unit 12. Further, the browser program P12 defines the processing content performed by the CPU 11 to display data such as an HTML file on the display unit 15. For example, when the screen data D1 is received from the data acquisition server 2 by the communication unit 12, FIG. As shown in FIG. 4A, processing for displaying the web page screen 20 is performed.

  The browser program P12 can also perform processing in cooperation with the communication program P11. For example, the browser program P12 has a function of setting a URL of a website on the network as a bookmark, and when the URL of the set website is selected. The communication program P11 performs processing for accessing the website of the selected URL.

  Next, a search processing procedure based on the data acquisition method in the data acquisition system 1 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to the first flowchart of FIG. As a premise of the processing in the first flowchart, the terminal device 10 side has already set the URL of the search site related to the data acquisition server 2 based on the function of the browser program P12, and the terminal device 10 has a desired application. It is assumed that the software has been activated and a predetermined character string has been input by the operation of the operation unit 17 of the user.

  First, the terminal device 10 side receives the user's copy operation or cut operation on the input character string (for example, “Tokyo Tower”), and stores the character string in the clipboard 13a of the RAM 13 (S1). Then, the data acquisition server 2 is accessed through a search site related to a predetermined URL by a communication operation by the user (S2). The data acquisition server 2 receives an access from the terminal device 10 and establishes a communication connection with the terminal device 10, and obtains the screen data D1 for the top page from the data acquisition program P1 as shown in FIG. It transmits to the terminal device 10 in the embedded state (S3).

  When the terminal device 10 receives the screen data D1 and the data acquisition program P1, the terminal device 10 temporarily stores the screen data D1 and the data acquisition program P1 in the RAM 13, and automatically starts the data acquisition program P1 accordingly, and stores it in the clipboard 13a based on the processing specified by the data acquisition program P1. The stored character string is read, and the web page screen 20 represented by the screen data D1 in which the character string (Tokyo Tower) is arranged in the clipboard window 20a as shown in FIG. 4A is displayed on the display unit 15 (S4). ). Next, in a state where the web page screen 20 is displayed, the terminal device 10 determines whether or not an instruction from the user has been received with the search execution button 20b or the cancel button 20c (S5).

  When the cancel button 20c is operated by the user (S5: Cancel), the terminal device 10 cuts off the communication connection and ends the process, and the data acquisition server 2 also ends the process accordingly. On the other hand, when the search execution button 20b is operated by the user (S5: Search execution), the terminal device 10 has received the search instruction, and the character string is converted into the data acquisition server 2 based on the processing specified by the data acquisition program P1. (S6).

  When the data acquisition server 2 receives (acquires) the character string, the data acquisition server 2 performs a process of searching the web page corresponding to the received character string in the search database DB based on the process defined by the search program P3 (S7), Screen data Dn on which the search results are arranged is created and transmitted to the terminal device 10 (S8). When the terminal device 10 receives the screen data Dn on which the search results are arranged, the terminal device 10 displays the result screen 21 on which the search results shown in FIG. 5 are placed on the display unit 15 based on the process defined by the browser program P12 (S9).

  As described above, in the present invention, even if the user does not perform the operation of pasting the character string stored in the clipboard 13a into the search field of the predetermined search site, the character string to be searched as shown in FIG. Can be displayed, and the user can confirm the character string to be searched and then select the search execution button 20b to obtain the search result. The operation burden can be greatly reduced. Therefore, when the user of the terminal device 10 is working using the terminal device 10, if there is a word (character string) that he / she wants to check, simply store it in the clipboard and access the data acquisition server 2. Since a desired answer (search result) can be easily obtained, it is possible to contribute to improvement of the user's work efficiency.

  Also, considering the realistic implementation level of the present invention, the website display screen can be handled simply by adding a clipboard window 20a and a search execution button 20b to the existing search site as shown in FIG. 4 (a). Therefore, it is not necessary to modify the display screen drastically, and it can be implemented smoothly.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be applied. For example, in the web page screen 20 of FIG. 4A, when it is not necessary to check the clipboard window 20a, the specification of the clipboard window 20a may be omitted. In this case, the data content in which the data portion related to the clipboard window 20a is deleted is changed with respect to the screen data D1, and the character string stored in the clipboard 13a is selected from the processing content defined by the data acquisition program P1. Processing to be arranged in the window 20a is deleted.

  As another modification, when the user terminal device 10 accesses the data acquisition server 2 without displaying the web page screen 20 corresponding to the top page itself, the search result screen shown in FIG. 21 may be displayed on the display unit 15 of the terminal device 10. In this case, the data acquisition server 2 omits the screen data D1 for the top page and embeds the data acquisition program P1 in the file of the screen data D1 as shown in FIG. According to the access to the terminal device 10 alone. For the data acquisition program P1, when the character string stored in the clipboard 13a is not transmitted to the data acquisition server 2 in response to acceptance of the search instruction, it is received by the terminal device 10 and automatically activated. The processing content is changed so that the character string stored in the clipboard 13a of the terminal device 10 is automatically read and the read character string is automatically transmitted to the data acquisition server 2.

  As described above, in the modified example in which the various parts are changed, the first flowchart of FIG. 6 shows that the screen data transmission is omitted in the processing stage of S3 and the display of the character string is omitted in the processing stage of S4. As a result, the result screen 21 of FIG. 5 is immediately displayed on the display unit 15 of the terminal device 10 after accessing the data acquisition server 2 (S2). As a result, the time until the user obtains the search result can be greatly shortened, and the search result can be provided to the user speedily.

  Furthermore, as another modification, the process of arranging the character string on the clipboard window 20a in the web page screen 20 shown in FIG. 4A is not performed by the terminal device 10 based on the data acquisition program P1, but is acquired by data acquisition. It is also possible for the server 2 to create screen data related to the web page screen 20 and transmit it to the terminal device 10. In this case, the data acquisition program P1 is configured to automatically transmit the contents of the clipboard 13a to the data acquisition server 2 when received by the terminal device 10 while the process of placing the character string in the grip window 20a is omitted. It has become.

  The second flowchart shown in FIG. 7 shows a processing procedure for creating screen data related to the web page screen 20 in which character strings are arranged on the data acquisition server 2 side described above. , S11) is the same as the first flowchart of FIG. Further, when receiving data from the terminal device 10, the data acquisition server 2 transmits only the data acquisition program P1 to the terminal device 10 (S12). When the terminal device 10 receives the data acquisition program P1, the data acquisition program P1 Based on the prescribed process, the character string stored in the clipboard 13a is transmitted to the data acquisition server 2 (S13).

  When the data acquisition server 2 acquires (receives) the character string, the data acquisition server 2 creates screen data representing the web page screen 20 as shown in FIG. 4A in which the acquired character string is arranged in the clipboard window 20a. Is transmitted to the terminal device 10 (S14). Note that the processing for creating the screen data is defined by the basic program P2 (see FIG. 2). The subsequent processes (S15 to S19) are equivalent to the processes (S5 to S9) in the first flowchart of FIG. Therefore, in the processing mode shown in the second flowchart, since the character string arrangement processing is performed on the data acquisition server 2 side, the terminal device 10 only needs to display the transmitted screen data. The processing burden can be reduced.

  In the second flowchart, when the data acquisition server 2 transmits the data acquisition program P1, the character string is automatically acquired in the initial stage (S14), and therefore when the terminal device 10 receives a search instruction (S15: search) Execution), instead of transmitting the character string, the terminal device 10 may transmit only the search execution instruction to the data acquisition server 2. In order to perform this processing mode, when the terminal device 10 communicates with the data acquisition server 2, the terminal device 10 transmits information (identification information) for identifying itself, and the data acquisition server 2 acquires from the terminal device 10. It is necessary to store the character string in association with the identification information of the terminal device 10.

  Furthermore, as another modification, when a plurality of words are included in the character string stored in the clipboard 13a, a search may be performed for each word in the column order in order to perform an efficient search. Good. In this case, processing for determining whether or not a plurality of words are included in the received character string is added to the search program P3 shown in FIG. Specifically, the CPU 2a determines whether or not there is a word indicating a break such as a punctuation mark such as “,” “.” “;” “;” In the character string. Then, it is determined that the character string includes a plurality of words, and if it does not exist, it is determined that the character string does not include a plurality of words.

  In addition, the following processing is added to the search program P3 in relation to the above determination processing. That is, if the CPU 2a determines that a plurality of words are included, the search is performed using only the first word in the column order in the character string. If the corresponding web page is found as a result of the search, the screen data Dn on which the search result is arranged is transmitted to the terminal device 10, and if the corresponding web page is not found, the second word in the column order in the character string. Do a search only. The processing for the search with the second word is the same as described above. When the corresponding web page is found, the screen data Dn on which the search result is arranged is transmitted, and when it is not found, the third word exists. If so, search for the third word. The processing for the search with the third word is the same as above, and thereafter, if it is not found, the search is performed in the same manner as above until the last word. The screen data Dn to be notified is transmitted to the terminal device 10.

  The third flowchart shown in FIG. 8 is an arrangement of the search processing procedure in the data acquisition method to which the contents for determining whether or not a plurality of words are included in the character string described above are added. This corresponds to the processing in steps S7 and S8 in the first flowchart shown in FIG. 6 and the processing in steps S17 and S18 in the second flowchart shown in FIG. When the processing contents of the data acquisition server 2 are organized based on the third flowchart, first, the data acquisition server 2 determines whether or not a plurality of words are included in the character string (data) acquired (received) from the terminal device 10. Is determined (S21). If it is determined that it is not included (S21: NO), the data acquisition server 2 performs a search using the character string (S22), and transmits the search result to the terminal device 10 (S28).

  On the other hand, if it is determined that a plurality of words are included (S21: YES), the data acquisition server 2 searches for the first word in the column order of the character string (S23). Next, the data acquisition server 2 determines whether or not a web page corresponding to the first word has been found (there is a hit) (S24). If a hit is found (S24: YES), the search result is sent to the terminal device. 10 (S28). If there is no hit (S24: NO), the data acquisition server 2 searches the second word in the column order of the character string as the next word (S25) and determines whether there is a hit (S25). S26).

  If there is a hit (S26: YES), the search result is transmitted to the terminal device 10 (S28). If there is no hit (S26: NO), the data acquisition server 2 determines whether there is the next word in the column order. Is determined (S27). If there is no next word (S27: NO), the fact that no hit has been made is transmitted to the terminal device 10 as a search result (S28). On the other hand, if there is a next word (S27: YES), the process returns to the processing step (S25) for searching with the next word, and the processing after step S15 is performed.

  Therefore, in the above-described modification, when a character string includes a plurality of words, a search is performed on each word from the front in the column order. When a character string in a state where each word is delimited by punctuation marks is created, put into the clipboard 13a and searched by the data acquisition server 2, a search is sequentially performed on each word. Therefore, the user is freed from the operation of inputting the word to be searched many times, and the operation burden on the user related to the search can be reduced. In the process defined by the search program P3, as to whether or not the character string includes a plurality of words, the character code (JIS code, ASCII code, shift JIS code, etc.) of each character constituting the character string is determined. ) And the type of character changes (for example, kanji to katakana, katakana to numbers, etc.), the number of words included in the character string may be determined with different words before and after the change.

  Furthermore, as another modified example, the character string (data) acquired by the data acquisition server 2 every time it is accessed from the terminal device 10 is stored in the hard disk device 2 together with the reception date and time, and the history of the character string used for the search is stored. Table 25 (see FIG. 9) may be created. In this case, the data acquisition server 2 needs to create a history table in which the history of the terminal device 10 is recorded in association with the information for identifying the terminal device 10. A method is conceivable.

  For example, the terminal device 10 is configured to transmit information (identification information) for identifying itself when communicating with the data acquisition server 2, and the data acquisition server 2 uses the character string transmitted from the terminal device 10 as identification information of the terminal device 10. It is conceivable to create a history table for the terminal device 10 by distinguishing it from other accesses by recording it in the hard disk device 2d in association with. Alternatively, when the data acquisition server 2 receives the first access from the terminal device 10, the data acquisition server 2 transmits screen data for inputting an identification ID (password or the like) to the terminal device 10, and the identification ID is transmitted from the terminal device 10 to the data acquisition server 2. When the data has been transmitted, the data acquisition server 2 may collect the data acquired according to the identification ID in a group and create a history table.

  In the above-described modification related to the history table, the basic program P2 shown in FIG. 2 needs to define a process for creating a history table in association with information for identifying the terminal device 10, and the previous access causes When the data acquisition server 2 is creating a history table for the terminal device 10, the screen data relating to the web page screen 30 shown in FIG. 10A is used instead of the web page screen 20 shown in FIG. The transmission to the terminal device 10 is defined. The web page screen 30 is similar to the web page screen 20 shown in FIG. 4A in that a clipboard window 30a, a search execution button 30b, and a cancel button 30d are provided. The difference is that a history button 30c is provided as a reception unit for receiving instructions. The web page screen 30 shows a state in which no character string is stored in the clipboard 13a when the terminal device 10 accesses the data acquisition server 2. Since no character string is stored, the clipboard window 30a A character string is not arranged, and the search execution button 30b cannot be selected (indicated by a broken line in the figure).

  When the history button 30c is selected on the web page screen 30a, a history request is transmitted to the data acquisition server 2 together with information (identification information or identification ID) for identifying the terminal device 10, and the data acquisition server 2 stores The screen data Dn on which the history table for the terminal device 10 is arranged is created and transmitted to the terminal device 10, and this processing is also defined by the basic program P2. The data acquisition server 2 can select a character string listed in the history table arranged in the screen data Dn by a predetermined operation on the operation unit 17 of the terminal device 10 when the character string is displayed on the terminal device 10. In addition, screen data Dn is created. In addition, the selected character string is a target of the copy and paste function in the terminal device 10, and the contents of the past clipboard 13a can be easily used for the current work.

  When the terminal device 10 receives the screen data Dn, the terminal device 10 displays the history screen 31 related to the screen data Dn on the display unit 15 as shown in FIG. The history screen 31 is provided with a history table column 32, a search execution button 31a, and a cancel button 31b. The contents of the history table 25 shown in FIG. When the character string in the history table covers many lines, a scroll bar is displayed at the right end of the history table column 32 as shown in FIG. In the terminal device 10, when the history screen 31 is displayed on the display unit 15, the user selects any of the character strings in the history table column 32 using the up / down keys of the operation unit 17 or a mouse. When the search execution button 31a is selected with either one selected, the selected character string is transmitted to the data acquisition server 2, and the data acquisition server 2 performs a search.

  A fourth flowchart shown in FIG. 11 shows a search processing procedure in the data acquisition method of the modified example related to the history table described above. Hereinafter, the flow of the modified example relating to the history table creation will be described based on the fourth flowchart. As a premise of the processing shown in the fourth flowchart, the data acquisition server 2 receives a plurality of accesses from the terminal device 10 in advance and associates the history table 25 as shown in FIG. 9 with the identification ID of the terminal device 10. It is assumed that the terminal device 10 accesses the data acquisition server 2 without storing a character string in the clipboard 13d.

  First, the terminal device 10 accesses a search site related to the data acquisition server 2 (S31), and the data acquisition server 2 receives the access from the terminal device 10 and obtains screen data D1 for the top page and the data acquisition program P1. It transmits to the terminal device 10 (S32). The terminal device 10 that has received the screen data D1 and the data acquisition program P1 displays the web page screen 30 (top page) shown in FIG. 10A (S33), and an operation instruction from the user to the web page screen 30. Is determined (S34).

  When the cancel button 30d is operated by the user (S34: Cancel), the terminal apparatus 10 cuts off the communication connection and ends the process, and the data acquisition server 2 also ends the process. When the history button 30c is operated by the user (S34: history), the terminal device 10 transmits a history request together with its identification ID to the data acquisition server 2 (S35). The data acquisition server 2 that has received the history request reads out the history table 25 corresponding to the identification ID attached to the history request from the hard disk device 2d, creates screen data Dn on which the history table is arranged, and sends it to the terminal device 10. Transmit (S36).

  The terminal device 10 that has received the screen data Dn displays the history screen 31 shown in FIG. 10B (S37), and determines whether or not an operation instruction from the user has been accepted for the history screen 31 (S38). . When the cancel button 31b is operated (S38: Cancel), the terminal device 10 cuts off the communication connection and ends the process, and the data acquisition server 2 also ends the process. When the search execution button 31a is operated in a state where the character string is selected (S38: Search execution), the terminal device 10 uses the data acquisition server to select the character string selected based on the processing specified by the data acquisition program P1. 2 (S39). The data acquisition server 2 that has received the character string searches for a web page corresponding to the character string and transmits the search result to the terminal device 10 (S40), and the terminal device 10 receives the search result and shows it in FIG. Thus, the search result is displayed (S41).

  As described above, in the modified example related to the history table, the user of the terminal device 10 can check the character string previously stored in the clipboard 13a together with the date and time. Therefore, when searching for many times by changing the date and time with the same character string, you can search smoothly, and even if you forget the character string used for the search, you can check the history using the history table By doing so, re-search and reuse can be easily performed.

  Moreover, although the data acquisition system 1 of 1st Embodiment demonstrated the case where a web page was searched based on the data (character string) which the data acquisition server 2 acquired, search object is not restricted to a web page, By searching other types of databases, it can be used for other purposes. For example, if the database to be searched by the data acquisition server 2 is a database that stores patent applications, it can be used for searching patent information. If it is a database that stores company information, company information can be used. It can also be used for searching, and various other types of databases can be searched. The database to be searched is stored in the database as long as the data acquisition server 2 can be accessed through the network NW in addition to being stored in the hard disk device 2d of the data acquisition server 2 as shown in FIG. The destination is not particularly limited.

  Furthermore, although the data acquisition system 1 of the first embodiment has been described in the case where the data acquired by the data acquisition server 2 is used for search, including various modifications, the acquired data may be used for other purposes than search. Of course, it can be used. Specifically, the acquired data can be used for market research, questionnaires, inspection and maintenance for the terminal device 10, trend surveys for users of the terminal device 10, and various marketing analysis / analysis. As described above, when the data acquired by the data acquisition server 2 is used for purposes other than search, the processes in the first to fourth flowcharts described above are performed for data acquisition when the data acquisition server 2 acquires data. Such processing ends, and thereafter, processing corresponding to each application is performed. Note that the type of data acquired by the data acquisition server 2 is not limited to text data related to character strings, and data related to images and photographs, and various files are also stored in the clipboard 13a of the terminal device 10. If so, the data acquisition server 2 can acquire data by the processing described above.

  Therefore, the data acquisition program P1 that defines the processing for acquiring the character string stored in the clipboard 13a of the terminal device 10 by the data acquisition server 2 is also applied to the search processing, and the contents of the clipboard 13a of the terminal device 10 are networked. It can be applied to a case where the information is acquired by another device connected via the NW, a case where the information is confirmed, and the like.

  FIG. 12 shows a data acquisition system 50 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The data acquisition system 50 has a configuration in which a first terminal device 51, a second terminal device 52, and a data acquisition server 55 are connected by a network NW. I have to. The data acquisition system 50 of the second embodiment creates a history table by associating the data acquired by the data acquisition server 55 based on access from the first terminal device 51 with the identification ID related to the first terminal device 51, The feature is that the contents of the history table can be confirmed also by the second terminal device 52. The configuration of each terminal device 51, 52 is the same as that of the terminal device 10 shown in FIG. 3, and the configuration of the data acquisition server 55 is the same as that of the data acquisition server 2 shown in FIG. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and the second embodiment will be described below.

  The fifth flowchart shown in FIG. 13 represents a processing procedure when the second terminal device 52 confirms the history table for the first terminal device 51 in the data acquisition method processing performed by the data acquisition system 50. is there. As a premise of the processing shown in the fifth flowchart, the data acquisition server 55 receives access from the first terminal device 51 a plurality of times in advance, and stores the history table 25 shown in FIG. 9 in the same manner as in the modification of the first embodiment. Assume that it is stored in association with the identification ID associated with one terminal device 51. In addition, when the data acquisition server 55 receives the first access, the data acquisition server 55 transmits the screen data for inputting the identification ID to the access destination, and the identification ID associated with the history table 25 storing the identification ID; It is assumed that the process of confirming whether or not they match is performed based on the definition of the basic program P2. In the fifth flowchart, the second terminal device 52 accesses a search site related to the data acquisition server 55, receives screen data, can input an identification ID, and arranges a history request button. Processing from a state in which the screen is displayed is shown.

  First, the second terminal device 52 receives the identification ID related to the first terminal device 51 input from the user with respect to the displayed screen, and also receives the history request by the user's operation, and receives the identification ID and the history request. Is transmitted to the data acquisition server 55 (S51). When receiving the identification ID and the history request, the data acquisition server 55 determines whether or not an identification ID that matches the received identification ID is stored (S52). If the matching identification ID is not stored (S52: NO), the data acquisition server 55 transmits a notification that the identification ID does not match to the second terminal device 52 (S53), and ends the process.

  On the other hand, when the matching identification ID is stored (S52: YES), the data acquisition server 55 reads the history table 25 corresponding to the received identification ID from the hard disk device 2d and arranges the contents of the history table 25. The created screen data Dn is generated and transmitted to the second terminal device 52 (S54). The second terminal device 52 that has received the screen data Dn displays the history screen 31 (see FIG. 10B) on which the history table is arranged (S55). After the history screen 31 is displayed, as in the modification of the first embodiment, it is possible to select a character string from the history table and perform a search or use it for work.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, even between different terminal devices 51 and 52, a history table created based on access on one terminal side can be confirmed on the other terminal side. Therefore, when the data acquisition method of the data acquisition system 50 according to the second embodiment is used, even when one user uses a plurality of terminal devices, the same search environment as when working with only one terminal device Can be secured by a plurality of terminal devices through the processing of the data acquisition server 55. Also, even when different users use terminal devices, the history based on the access of one user can be shared by other users, and work can be carried out efficiently, for example, when a group forms a single work. Can be realized by using the processing of the second embodiment. The data acquisition system 50 and the data acquisition method according to the second embodiment can also be applied to the various modifications described in the first embodiment.

1 is a schematic diagram of a data acquisition system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the main internal structures of a data acquisition server. It is a block diagram which shows the main internal structures of a terminal device. (A) is the schematic which shows the web page screen which is an example of a top page, (b) is the schematic which shows the form when screen data are communicated. It is the schematic which shows the search result screen. It is a 1st flowchart which shows the search processing procedure in a data acquisition method. It is a 2nd flowchart which shows the search processing procedure of the data acquisition method which concerns on a modification. It is a 3rd flowchart which shows the search process procedure in the data acquisition method in case the character string contains a several word. It is the schematic which shows a history table. (A) is the schematic which shows the web page screen which concerns on the top page of a modification, (b) is the schematic which shows the history screen which has arrange | positioned the history table. It is a 4th flowchart which shows the search processing procedure of the data acquisition method which concerns on transmission of a history table. It is the schematic of the data acquisition system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a 5th flowchart which shows the process sequence of the data acquisition method which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Data acquisition system 2 Data acquisition server 10 Terminal device 13a Clipboard 15 Display part P1 Data acquisition program P2 Basic program P3 Search program P10 OS program P11 Communication program P12 Browser program D1-Dn Screen data DB Search database NW Network

Claims (12)

In a data acquisition method for acquiring data by receiving data transmitted through a network from a terminal device having a display unit and a storage unit by a central device,
The terminal device
Access the central unit,
The central device is
When receiving access from the terminal device, the terminal device transmits a program that defines processing for transmitting data stored in the storage area related to the clipboard of the storage unit included in the terminal device to the central device,
The terminal device
When the program is received and there is data stored in the storage area, the data stored in the storage area is transmitted to the central device based on processing defined by the received program Acquisition method. The central device is
When data is acquired, it is possible to display on the display unit of the terminal device, create screen data representing a display screen on which the data is arranged, and transmit to the terminal device,
The terminal device
The data acquisition method according to claim 1, wherein when the screen data is received from the central device, a display screen related to the screen data is displayed on the display unit. The central device is
When data is acquired, the database is searched based on the acquired data.
The data acquisition method according to claim 1, wherein a search result is transmitted to the terminal device. The program stipulates that data be transmitted in response to a search instruction,
The central device is
When receiving access from the terminal device, it can be displayed on the display unit of the terminal device, and screen data representing a display screen provided with a receiving unit for receiving a search instruction is transmitted to the terminal device,
The terminal device
When the screen data is received from the central device, a display screen related to the screen data is displayed on the display unit,
The data acquisition method according to claim 3, wherein, when a search instruction is received by a reception unit provided on the display screen, data is transmitted based on processing defined by the program. The program defines a process of reading out data stored in the storage area and arranging it in the display screen,
The terminal device
The data acquisition method according to claim 4, wherein, when displaying the display screen, the data is arranged in the display screen based on a process defined by the program.   The data is a character string, and when the character string includes a plurality of words, the central device searches the database based on the first word in the column order in the character string. 5. The data acquisition method according to any one of 5.   When the database is searched based on the first word and the search result corresponding to the first word is not obtained, the central device is based on the word after the first in the column order in the character string. The data acquisition method according to claim 6, wherein the database is searched. The terminal device is adapted to transmit a history request to the central device;
The central device is
When receiving a plurality of accesses from the terminal device, create a history table that correlates the data received for each access and the reception date and time of the data,
The data acquisition method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein when a history request is received from the terminal device, the history table is transmitted to the terminal device. The central device is
Communicate with multiple terminal devices,
Create a history table based on access from the first terminal device,
The data acquisition method according to claim 8, wherein when a history table history request relating to the first terminal device is received from a second terminal device, the history table is transmitted to the second terminal device. In a data acquisition system comprising a terminal device capable of storing data in a storage area related to a clipboard of a storage unit, and a central device having means for receiving data transmitted from the terminal device through a network,
The central device is
Means for storing a program defining a process for transmitting data stored in the storage area to a central device;
Means for transmitting the program to the terminal device when receiving an access from the terminal device;
The terminal device
When there is data stored in the storage area when the program is received, there is provided means for transmitting the data stored in the storage area to the central device based on processing defined by the received program. Data acquisition system. In the data acquisition device that acquires data from the access source device according to the access received through the network,
Means for storing a program defining a process for transmitting data stored in the storage area related to the clipboard of the access source device to itself;
Means for transmitting the program to an access source device when receiving access;
Means for receiving data from an access source device in response to transmission of the program. A computer program for causing a computer having processing means for storing data in a storage area related to a clipboard of a storage unit and a computer having communication means to transmit data stored in the storage area,
Means for reading the data stored in the storage area from the computer;
A computer program that causes the read data to function as means for transmitting the data to a predetermined output destination using the communication means.

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